I am a big fan of pizza night and I have the best Whole Wheat Pizza Dough to share. This crust is made with 100% whole wheat flour and it makes a perfectly chewy whole grain crust that everyone will rave about.
There is something magical about making your own pizza dough at home with your loved ones. This particular dough is rested overnight so that the gluten can develop and boy is it worth it! The crust comes out delicious and oh so chewy.
Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
Whole wheat pizza crust often gets a bad rap but this recipe will not disappoint. It’s an overnight recipe- although it works just about as well if you make it in the morning and let it sit until dinner. Something beautiful happens when you let the dough sit and give the starches time to break down a bit. The texture and flavor is unmatched.
This recipe turns out an amazingly chewy yet tender pizza crust and you’ll never go back to your old recipe (or baking method for that matter) again! Those whole grains are just better for you in general and the fiber aids in digestion and helps everyone feel full a lot longer.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you don’t have a stone you can turn your biggest cookie sheet upside down (so that the flat side is up) or use a rimless baking sheet. If you are using a stone let the stone heat for 30 minutes. If using a baking sheet, let it heat for 10 minutes.
If you can’t wait that long try this recipe you can make my mom's famous pizza dough recipe (and it's great with whole wheat flour too!)
Hot water will kill the yeast. Use lukewarm water that is about 105 degrees F. If the water is much hotter than that you can actually kill the yeast, so don't get it too hot.
Pizza dough freezes incredibly well. Once your pizza dough has risen you can freeze the ball of dough. Simply spray the dough on all sides with non-stick spray or olive oil and store in a freezer safe bag. It will stay fresh for up to 3 months in the freezer. Let it thaw overnight in the fridge before you use it.
The Crust:
This 100% whole wheat pizza crust has a great texture and is full of whole grain goodness. It's an overnight recipe (though it works just about as well if you make it in the morning and let it sit until dinner). There's something magical about letting the dough sit and giving the starches time to break down a bit. This recipe turns out amazingly chewy yet tender pizza crust and you'll never go back to your old recipe (or baking method for that matter) again! Those whole grains are just better for you in general and the fiber really keeps you (and those kiddos) full a lot longer.
The Sauce:
Ditch the premade which generally has too much sugar and about a million extra ingredients you don't need hiding in it. Just make this super simple homemade pizza sauce that only need THREE ingredients.
The Cheese:
Love live the cheese. Use your favorite mozzarella cheese for this recipe. You'll need about 1.5 cups of cheese per large pizza.
Pizza toppings:
Go heavy on the veggies or just keep it cheese, you get to pick. When I let my kids pick what they want on it and then have them help me "decorate the pizza" aka add the toppings, they are much more likely to eat all the veggies. We love all the traditional vegetables - mushrooms, black olives, bell peppers, red onion, and diced tomato top our list.
Pizza Recipes:
- Pizza Sauce Recipe
- Quick and Easy Flatbread Pizza Recipe
- French Bread Pizza
- Easy Skillet Pizza
- Gluten Free Pizza Recipe
- Homemade Veggie Pizza
- Same Day Sourdough Pizza Crust
- Easy Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe
If you’ve tried this Homemade Whole Wheat Pizza Dough recipe or any other recipe on Bless this Mess, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some pictures of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories AND add your photo to your comment so that other can see your creation.
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100% Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
- Total Time: 24 hours
- Yield: 2 medium to large pizzas 1x
Description
This 100% Whole Wheat Pizza Crust Recipe that you can make ahead of time! It gets more flavorful and chewy but the rising time is flexible!
Ingredients
- 3 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons sugar or honey
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 â…“ cups cold water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- pizza sauce (about 2 cups)
- fresh grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 cup)
- mozzarella cheese (about 3 cups)
- toppings
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl add the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Mix to combine. Add the cold water and oil and mix until a soft dough forms. The dough will be sticky to the touch and a lot wetter than a traditional yeast bread dough. This is how it's supposed to be.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 24 hours or up to 3 days. The dough will not rise much in the fridge and that's ok.
- Pull the dough out the the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for one hour before using. While the dough is resting preheat your oven to 500 degrees.
- If you have a baking stone, put it in the oven to heat, too. I would recommend using a stone for baking this pizza. If you don't have a stone you can turn your biggest cookie sheet upside down (so that the flat side is up) or use a rimless sheet. If you are using a stone let the stone heat for 30 minutes. If using a baking sheet, let it heat for 15 minutes.
- When the oven is hot, cut your dough in half. Place half of the dough on a piece of parchment paper that is 18 inches long. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough (on top of the parchment paper) into a 12 to 14 inch circle. The dough should be pretty thin (and the thickness of the dough determines the size of pizza in the end). I like mine very thin so I roll it out to about ¼ inch in thickness. My husband likes a more "bready" pizza so I make one that is about ½ inch thick for him. The dough will rise a bit while baking and the very thin does not get crispy. I say try a few thicknesses out and see which you prefer.
- Top with 1 cup of pizza sauce, ¼ cup grate Parmesan, 1 to 1 ½ cups of shredded mozzarella, and toppings of your choice.
- When the pizza is all ready, slide the pizza, which is on the parchment paper, onto a rimless cookie sheet or one that is upside down. This will help you get the pizza to the oven.
- Open the oven and slide the pizza which is still on the parchment paper, from the cookie sheet onto the hot baking stone or hot cookie sheet. I just tug on the edge of the parchment paper with my hands and slide it on to the stone. BE CAREFUL! Your oven is set to 500. It's super hot, obviously! Make sure the babies are out of the way and be careful when sliding the pizza into the oven.
- Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until the top is bubbly and the edges are starting to brown. When the pizza is done, tug the edge of the parchment paper and slide the pizza back onto the cookie sheet you used to transfer it to the oven. Again, be careful!
- Let your stone reheat for 10 minutes. While the stone is heating, repeat the whole thing with the second half of the dough and bake the same way.
- Enjoy, enjoy enjoy!
- I serve it right off of the parchment paper (which gets all dark and cooked looking) or I'll tear off a new piece and serve it on a crisp white sheet of parchment. Very pretty!
Notes
- This pizza dough can hang out in the fridge a LONG time (up to 72 hours) and it just gets chewier with time, that being said, I've skimped on the resting period too and it's worked fine. If it's only resting for the afternoon in the fridge, it'll work too. Don't get too hung up on the chilling time but do know that it does improve in texture and flavor over time.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dough
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: whole wheat pizza dough, homemade pizza dough, homemade pizza dough recipe, easy homemade pizza dough, how to make homemade pizza dough, how to make pizza dough, how to make pizza dough from scratch, best pizza dough recipe, best homemade pizza dough
Your pizza night will never be the same with this chewy and delicious 100% Whole Wheat Pizza Crust recipe. I hope that you love it as much as I do!
Rae
When you make it in the morning and just let it sit through the day for an evening meal, do you still put it in the fridge until the last hour, or do you let it sit on the counter all day?
Melissa
I just let it sit on the counter all day if I'm planning on using it the same day. I have actually left it on the counter overnight too without any issues!
miranda
Parchment paper is rated to 450 degrees since paper burns at 451. You don't have any issues with it burning or fire hazards putting the parchment paper in a 500 degree oven? I just want to be sure before I do this.
Danielle Ray
Hi! Is there anyway this dough can sit in the fridge more than one night? Like if I made it on a Wednesday for a Friday night?
Melissa
I think so! I've let mine sit that long. The dough tastes more like a sour dough and gets crunchier when cooked but it's fabulous that way!
Tonya
Can you freeze the dough?
Melissa
I assume so, but I haven't tried it and I have had much luck freezing dough in the past though I know it can be done.
april
Thanks for the recipe. I was so excited for tonight, but the dough never rose even after 2 hours at room temp. Then I did some research and saw that I used active dry yeast instead of instant yeast. I didn't realize there was a difference (I'm not a baker) . Maybe you could specify in the ingredients "instant yeast" so others won't make the mistake I did? I will plan on buying the instant kind and tying again soon. Looks like a good recipe though!
andrika
I made the same mistake, but didn't throw the dough away. To my delight, the recipe still turned out fabulous! Thank you so much for this new staple in our weekly menu! Your blog rocks!
nalz
Am trying this now and my dough is not wet? Did I do something differently? Followed the measurements..thanks for your help!
Melissa
Is it overly dry?? If it's still a pretty typical dough you'll be fine, but if it's dry then I'd add a little more water. Your wheat flour might be a little more course than mine or just using more water.
nalz
Hmm a little bit dryer than normal but I popped it in the fridge and will fiddle with it tomorrow. Thanks!
Courtnay
I made this last night and it was delicious! I had never made homemade pizza before and never had whole wheat pizza. It was just as good as regular pizza. My dad loved it as well!! My whole family wanted the recipe.
Karla
Made this and it turned out perfect....except one thing! The parchment paper stuck to the bottom of my crust! Did you spray it before hand? Can I do this without putting the paper in the oven? I was skeptical to begin with but when you said the paper browns a bit I figured you were suppose to. What did I do wrong?
Melissa
That's crazy! Parchment doesn't stick to anything 🙂 That really is odd. I used waxed paper once on accident and it was a mess, but I've never had parchment stick. Even if my pizza is really sticky and trying to pull the parchment paper back in (you know when you roll it out and the dough shrinks back in a little), it still always comes off clean after cooking. I bet that was annoying! I'm so curious as to what might have done that.
Karla
Well I figured it out! Looks like I made the same mistake you did and used waxed paper instead of parchment paper!! No wonder! Thanks so much for your response, I'll get it right next time!
Heather Jackson
This was amazing!!! I'm not a yeast-rolling pin-fancy baking type person, but this was super easy, so don't hesitate to make it even if "fancy" baking scares you! I'm also not a huge fan of thin crust (or whole wheat crust, TBH) but this was absolutely delicious, with a nice chewy crust. Even my husband, who does NOT branch out in his pizza choices (I'm lucky if I can convince him to go to Domino's instead of Pizza Hut) devoured 4 pieces before mine was even done baking. He said he was "blown away". Now he wants me to make taco pizza with the same crust next week!
I also brushed the edges of the crust with a garlic-butter sauce and sprinkled italian seasoning on it. Amazing, and the edges still didn't burn.
Melissa
Great idea with the garlic crust!!! Love a great review THANK YOU!