So enough chit chat...let's get to the pizza!
Ingredients:
For crust
1 cup hot water
2 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour (you can also use white flour if making a more traditional pizza)
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tablespoon active yeast
1 tablespoon honey
Mix all ingredients in your mixer. I added my dry ingredients first and slowly poured in the hot water. The dough will quickly become sticky and formed. Once all dry ingredients have been mixed with water, let the dough sit in your bowl for about 10-15 minutes to rise some. In the mean time, preheat your oven to 425. I also greased a baking stone with an olive oil mister to get it ready as well. Your dough ball may not rise a lot but will rise some. You can always let it sit longer if you want but I typically do not have that much extra time.
While your dough is rising, this is the perfect opportunity to gather up your ingredients for your pizza!
For this particular pizza I used:
-spinach
-pre cooked diced chicken
-prediced red onions
-basil pesto sauce (any brand will work)
-diced cherry tomatoes
- 1/4 skim mozzarella cheese
-1/4 cup fat free feta cheese
-1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
-pre sliced portabello mushrooms
-I sprinkled the toppings with Italian herbs and oregano
Take your dough ball and and use a rolling pin to smooth it out on your baking sheet. I was pretty surprised the first time I made this at how think the dough cooked the first time. So if you are wanting a thinner crust use a bigger pan to spread it out more. Honestly, whatever type of crust you personally prefer is how you should make it. Once you have your dough rolled out, place in the oven to "precook" the dough for 10 minutes. This step just helps assure your dough gets fully cooked in the center before adding toppings.
Once you dough has done its initial "pre cooking", remove dough from oven and go to town with your toppings! The fun thing about this is that it is pizza so you can really get creative with your toppings. Once you have your toppings in place, you can garnish with some dried herbs/seasonings if you want, place in oven for an additional 20 minutes.
This dough does not get super crispy so if you are looking for a thinner, crispier crust this may not be the one for you. Although I suspect if you took half the dough and rolled it out you could get an even thinner crust. But the choice is up to you!
I really hope you enjoy this! I know I have the last three times I made it! I had been searching for a way to have pizza (even healthier pizza) that is more budget friendly for my family. This definitely fits the bill for that. All in all you can make a pizza for a few dollars that tastes amazing compared to a more expensive version of the same pizza from a restaurant. Not to mention its healthier, cleaner, and a fun activity you can do with you kids!!
Please feel free to leave comments when you try it! Or ask questions about other healthy & budget friendly recipes!
Until next time...
xoxo
Meghan
