whole wheat pizza dough recipe with step by step photos – a simple and easy method to make a pizza dough from 100% whole wheat flour or atta. this recipe gives a soft textured pizza base and one which is crisp from outside after getting baked. there is no denseness or chewiness felt in the pizza bread.
pizza is one of those dishes that is popular all over the world. i make pizza once or twice a month. recently i developed this atta pizza dough recipe and i thought i should share it with the readers of vegrecipesofindia. i made three types of pizza with this recipe on various occasions. no one could tell that the pizzas were made from whole wheat flour. so good and yet healthy.
the recipe uses instant yeast. in the indian markets, dry active yeast is sold as instant yeast and it causes a lot of confusion.
instant yeast granules are small and resemble poppy seeds. dry active yeast granules are larger and have the size of large mustard seeds. so if you buy a pack mentioning instant yeast and the size is bigger, than its actually dry active yeast. you can also check this no yeast pizza dough recipe.
if using dry active yeast:
- proof dry active yeast in warm water and sugar solution separately till the mixture froths and bubbles. then mix with rest of ingredients and knead.
- double the leavening time.
- the time taken to leaven will depend on the temperature conditions in your city. so you can keep the dough for 2 to 3 hours or more if required. i have mentioned the details if using active dry yeast or fresh yeast in the notes section of the recipe card below.
- use good quality dry active yeast and do make sure that the water is neither on the cooler side or hot. it should be warm.
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast = 1.5 teaspoons active dry yeast = 3 teaspoons fresh yeast
with this whole wheat pizza dough recipe i have made quite a number of pizza varieties. two pizza recipes i have shared are margherita pizza and pesto pizza.
this whole wheat pizza dough recipe yields 7 thin crust pizzas of 9 inches each. you can refrigerate or freeze the dough easily.
do note that i have used a stand mixer to knead the dough, but its also easy to knead the dough with hands. just make sure that the dough is kneaded till smooth, soft and supple.
i have also shared another atta veg pizza recipe, which is slightly different from this one. you can check it here – whole wheat veg pizza recipe.
if you are looking for similar recipes then do check:
whole wheat pizza dough
INGREDIENTS FOR whole wheat pizza dough
- 3 cups whole wheat flour (atta) OR 360 grams whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast OR 3 grams of instant yeast
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup water - you can also add 1.25 cups water OR add as required depending upon the quality of wheat flour
HOW TO MAKE whole wheat pizza dough
- take 1 teaspoon instant yeast (3 grams) in a mixing bowl or in the stand mixer bowl.
- add ½ teaspoon sugar and 1 cup water. mix well.
- next add 3 cups whole wheat flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 3 tablespoons olive oil and 1 tablespoon lemon juice..
- if you do not have olive oil, use any neutral flavoured oil.
- attach the bowl to a stand mixer with the hook attachment. on a medium-high speed knead the dough. if kneading with hands, then mix everything very well and then knead for atleast 8 to 10 minutes.
- the dough should be smooth, pliable and soft. if the dough looks dry, then you can add some water while kneading. if the dough looks sticky, then you can sprinkle some flour.
- spread some water all over the dough.
- cover with a lid or a kitchen towel and allow to leaven for 45 minutes to 2 hours till the dough increases in volume and doubles up. if using dry active yeast, then keep for 2 hours to 3 hours or more. timing varies with the temperature conditions in your city.
- the pizza dough will nicely increase in volume and double up.
- knead the dough lightly again and then you can directly make pizzas from these. or you can keep them covered in a tight box or pan. spread some olive oil all over the dough before placing them in the box.
- cover the box or pan with a tight fitting lid. keep in refrigerator or freeze the whole wheat pizza dough.
- in the refrigerator this dough stays good for 4 to 5 days. in the freezer, you can store for a couple of weeks.
RECIPE TIPS
- dissolve the yeast in 1 cup warm water + ½ teaspoon sugar solution. cover the bowl and let the yeast proof for 10 to 15 minutes.
- the water should be warm and not on the cooler side or hot. or else the yeast solution will not get proofed or activated.
- when the yeast solution has become bubbly and frothy, then mix it with the whole wheat flour, olive oil, salt and lemon juice. knead to a smooth dough.
- spread some water or olive oil all over the dough. cover the bowl and allow the dough to leaven for 2 to 3 hours or more (depends on the temperature conditions in your city).
how to make whole wheat pizza dough recipe
1. take 1 teaspoon instant yeast (3 grams) in a mixing bowl or in the stand mixer bowl.
2. add ½ teaspoon sugar.
3. then add 1 cup water. mix well.
4. next add 3 cups whole wheat flour.
5. season with 1 teaspoon salt.
6. add 3 tablespoons olive oil. if you do not have olive oil, use any neutral flavoured oil.
7. now add 1 tablespoon lemon juice.
8. attach the bowl to a stand mixer with the hook attachment. on a medium-high speed knead the dough. if kneading with hands, then mix everything very well and then knead for atleast 8 to 10 minutes.
9. the dough should be smooth, pliable and soft. if the dough looks dry, then you can add some water while kneading. if the dough looks sticky, then you can sprinkle some flour. depending on the quality of flour, you will need to add less or more water.
10. spread some water all over the dough.
11. cover with a lid or a kitchen towel and allow to leaven till the dough increases in volume and doubles up. i kept for 1 hour 45 minutes as its cold here. that too i kept the bowl in the sun, which is not very strong in the winters. in a warm temperature, you can easily keep for 45 minutes to 1 hour. if using dry active yeast, then keep for 2 hours to 3 hours (depends on the temperature conditions in your city).
12. the pizza dough will nicely increase in volume and double up.
13. here is a look at the texture. it should be stringy with tiny air pockets.
14. knead the dough lightly again and then you can directly make pizzas from these. or you can keep them covered in a tight box or pan. spread some olive oil all over the dough before placing them in the box.
15. cover the box or pan with a tight fitting lid.
16. keep in refrigerator or freeze the dough. in the refrigerator this dough stays good for 4 to 5 days. in the freezer, you can store for a couple of weeks.
Hi Dear,
Thanks for a wonderful receipe again. I have used your website for many receipes, just wanted to know if I can use the same receipe for any other baked items like pav or calzone etc. really enjoyed cooking with this receipe
Thanks again
thank you namrata. you can use the same recipe to pav. you can add herbs and even some minced or crushed garlic in the dough and make herbed rolls. can call these are herbed pav. yes calzone can also be made with the same pizza dough recipe.
Which instant Yeast brand u use ? please share link for online purchasing… thanks ..we love ur recipe …and thank you soo much for sharing your tasty tasty recipes.
thanks shilpa. i am using mauripan instant yeast brand. you should be able to get it on amazon.
Hi Dassana
After refrigeration or freeze, before baking hope I should bring the dough to room temperature right..?? Sorry if it is too silly.
sukanya, your query is not silly 🙂. yes do bring the dough at room temperature and then bake.
Tried this ….came out awesome. …thanks
Welcome Chhavi
Hi Dassana, your blog is my all time favourite blog which has healthy recipes too . I have tried many recipes and they turned out great. Can you please post a whole wheat dinner roll recipe too .
thank you anita. nice to know. yes i do plan to add whole wheat dinner roll recipe.
Hi dassana, when I bought bluebird dry active yeast 4 to 5 packet which did not proof. Then bough dry active yeast online the urban platter brand. After reading this post realised that actually they sent instant yeast because they are small granules. However made pav which were soft and nice. But my pizza dough failed because of the confusion. Thanks a lot dassana for letting us know so many things. U take care and regards
marina, even i had problem with blue bird yeast. sometimes they would proof but okay and sometimes never. i guess the pizza dough must have got over leavened. for instant yeast, you just need to half the time for any recipe that calls for dry active yeast. in fact even i mistakenly thought instant yeast as active dry yeast. i had actually purchased active yeast (that was mentioned on the pack). but then when i purchased instant yeast, the granules size was smaller as the active dry yeast packet i had purchased. in fact all the breads that i made with this pack, turned out very good.
welcome marina and wish you a happy christmas and a prosperous new year 2017.
Wishing you and your loved ones merry Christmas. Thanks s lot for your reply . Will try donought this Christmas. Tk care
thank you marina and welcome. you too take care.
dassana… in your next app upgrade it would be great if one could attach pics to comments. i am sure you will be proud to see the results your readers produce.
thanks divya for this suggestion. the app software that we use and all the tech help is done by the company which has made the software. and they are mighty slow. even to ask them for anything is like too much and that too everything is paid. i will see how i can approach them with this suggestion and they will let me know if its possible or not. in the website it is possible and we will see how to streamline the commenting system. i am deleting your email id for privacy reasons.
you can write to me at this email id ([email protected]) if you want to write something which you are not comfortable in commenting.
hi dassana.. no i havent felt the bitterness. ofcourse i am very particular abt baking soda being fresh. and if you want to be extra cautious i would think a levelled teaspoon or may be 3/4 tsp would do. Esp with wheat crust rolled thin, i dont think a little less would effect the extent to which it is cooking or its speed
thanks divya for the info. i guess 3/4tsp or even 2/3rd teaspoon will do. what you say is right. in a thin crust, a little less won’t make much of a difference. thanks again.
Hi dassana,
There are two pics of pizza in the recipe introduction part. How did you make the left one? It has very nice golden color
ruchi, the technique i used to make the left one is i kept the pan on the bottom rack (crumb tray) and kept both the top and bottom heating elements on. when the base became golden the cheese also became golden. while a few other pizzas, the cheese melted but did not become golden, so i kept the tray on the top second bottom rack and kept only the top heating element on. then baked till the cheese was golden. but when keeping close to top element, attention has to be given as the browning happens very fast. i baked at the highest temp in the oven which is 250 degrees celsius.
Hi Dassana! noticed addition of lemon juice in the dough.Is it for extra crispiness?
meveera, its for helping in gluten development. little bit of acidity in bread or pizza doughs made from whole wheat flour help in gluten development. even vinegar or buttermilk can be added.
Hi Dassana, not a day passes with going through your recipes and i make it almost everyday if I am not making family food. 2 questions. When will we get pizza recipe using this dough and next, did you say it yields 7 pizzas?
thanks sindhu. i will add the recipes soon. yes the dough yield 7 thin crust pizza of 9 inches. depending on the size and thickness of the base, the portion will vary.
Hi Dassana,
I am a big fan of your recipes. Every dish turns out amazing.Thank you for these recipes.
I have a ques- after kneading the pizza dough, we should first roll out and bake the base first or we can roll out and put all the toppings and bake them together?
thanks salony. after the dough is leavened, then knead lightly. make medium to large balls (depending on the size of pizza). then roll and add the pizza sauce, cheese and toppings. bake at the highest temperature in your oven. you do not need to bake the base first.
Thanku you so much?
welcome salony.
my measurements for yeast free whole wjeat pizza are: 1⅓ cup whole wheat flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ cup water, 2 tablespoons olive oil
rest for 45 mins n roll. i also add some mixed italian herbs to the dough for more flavour
thanks divya for sharing your recipe. i do plan to add whole wheat yeast free pizza dough too. just one query. isn’t the slight bitter taste of baking powder felt in the dough. let me know.