Whole Wheat Pizza Dough Recipe + Homemade Sauce

Up your pizza game with this easy vegan fluffy pizza dough recipe made from whole wheat flour and paired with a savory and herbaceous homemade pizza sauce!

If we took a poll of all-time favorite foods, I am sure that pizza would be in the top three for most people, including my kids! I’m sure some might be asking, why do we need a homemade vegan pizza dough recipe when we could just order take out? Isn’t most pizza dough vegan?

While ordering take out is great for convenience, speed and supporting local business, making homemade pizza is a way to better control the ingredients that go into your recipe (especially if you or someone in your family has allergies) and result in a better tasting pizza pie! I have come across pizza dough made with eggs, for example.

I chose to make my homemade pizza dough with whole wheat flour instead of white flour. White flour is heavily processed and stripped of it’s natural nutrients whereas whole wheat is much less processed.

Why whole wheat instead of white flour?

A big difference is that whole wheat flour more closely retains its fiber content, closer to it’s whole form. In white flour, most of the fiber has been stripped. Fiber is incredibly important to the human diet: it helps regulate the gut and digestive system, keeps you full, helps manage and control blood sugar levels, helps with weight loss and management and more. Whole wheat flour also contains more iron, calcium, protein and B vitamins than white flour.

For the homemade pizza sauce, it’s so easy and quick to whip up and typically healthier than the cans and jars found on store shelves. Pre-packaged sauces usually contain unnecessary amounts of salt, sugar, and preservatives.

The toppings are totally up to you and this is a great recipe to do with the kids! After making the dough, letting it rise and rolling it out, I let my kids top it off with sauce, cheese and whatever toppings their little hearts desire. I personally like a thicker crust but you can roll it out to whatever thickness you want.

There are a few steps to making this homemade pizza dough so you will need to carve out some time: about 2 -2.5 hours. It’s important that your water is warm but not hot (not surpassing 110 degrees F). If your water is too hot, it can kill the yeast and your dough will not rise. I use an instant read thermometer (meat thermometer can work too!) to get a quick reading.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough Recipe + Homemade Sauce

Up your pizza game with this easy vegan fluffy pizza dough recipe made from whole wheat flour and paired with a savory and herbaceous homemade pizza sauce!

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Prep Time 1 hour hr 45 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 2 12″ pizzas

Ingredients

  

• 3.5 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 3/4 cups warm water
• 1 packet instant yeast or 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt

Tomato Sauce Ingredients

• 1 15oz can of tomato sauce
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1.5 tsp dried basil
• 1.5 tsp dried parsley
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

 

• In a medium bowl, whisk together the yeast, sugar and warm water. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes so it can "proof" or "bloom". It will start to bubble and grow.
• In a large bowl, add the flour and the salt. Dig a little hole or "well" in the middle of your flour. Add the 2 tablespoons of olive oil and your yeast mixture.
• With your hand, start scooping the flour into the yeast mixture from the sides and mixing. Dough will begin to form as you continue to combine and knead.
• Once it's fully incorporated and you have a moveable dough, you can dust your countertop with a little bit of extra flour or cornstarch and move the dough to the counter. You want to knead the dough really well so it becomes smooth. The dough should be wet but not sticking to your fingers. This process takes about 7-10 minutes of kneading.
• Once you get the desired dough, oil your bowl and add the dough back. Cover it with plastic wrap and then cover with a towel or two. We want to keep the dough moist and warm so it can rise. Find a warm, draft-free area of your home to let it rise.
• While you wait for your dough to rise, you can make your pizza sauce. In a medium bowl, add all of the ingredients, mix well and then cover and refrigerate until use.
• After your dough has doubled, remove from the oven and then preheat your oven to 475° F. Punch the dough down to release the air bubbles inside the dough and move the dough to your countertop. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, slice your dough into equal sections (2 for 2 12-inch pizzas or 3 8-inch pizzas or 4 6-inch pizzas). I recommend 3 or 4 sections if you're doing this for a family activity. While you're working with one dough, keep the others covered with the plastic wrap or towel so they don't dry out.
• Using a rolling pin on your lightly floured surface, begin to roll your pizza dough out – you can do circular or rectangular – the shape doesn't matter. Or you can stretch it out onto a pizza pan. You'll want to roll it out so that the dough is no more than 1/4 inch thick. Fold over the edges to create the thicker edge crust – I used my fingers to fold it over and then press down.
• Place your rolled and shaped pizza dough on a parchment/silicon lined or very lightly greased pan or pizza stone. Then, poke your pizza dough with the prongs of a fork several times in all areas of the dough. This will prevent those pesky air bubbles from rising during the baking and will allow the dough to cook more evenly.
• Add the sauce, cheese and desired toppings, and then bake for 12-15 minutes. The crust should turn a light tan brown and get a little crispy.
• Remove from the oven. (I recommend letting it sit for 5 minutes). Slice. Serve!

Notes

For the texture of the dough:

If your dough is too wet: add 1 tablespoon of flour and knead. Continue adding until you get the desired texture.

If your dough is too dry: add 1 tablespoon of water and knead. Continue adding until you get the desired texture.

To get your dough to rise:

If your house is a little cold or drafty, you can warm your oven up to 150° F, shut off the heat in the oven and then place the bowl of dough with plastic wrap and towels in the oven to rise. Your dough will need at least one hour to rise – it should double in size.

Keyword pizza

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