Are you sick of buying cardboard-ish, pre-made pizza bases from the grocery store? Well, look no further. This is my tried-and-trusted reliable vegan wholemeal pizza dough recipe...It is easy to prepare with only 5 ingredients! This pizza dough is absolutely amazing because it gets crunchy on the outside but deliciously fluffy on the inside! The wholemeal flour gives the base a really nice earthy flavor and also a nice crunch. When using wholemeal flour, your pizza bases will not turn out as fluffy as the white bases due to its dense, rough, and unprocessed consistency. HOWEVER, I believe that it cooks amazingly and tastes so beautiful! It is the best wholemeal base I have ever eaten. I guarantee that you will never buy a pre-made pizza base again!
Wholemeal Pizza Dough [Vegan]
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons dried yeast
- 15 oz warm water*
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 3 ¾ cups (640g) wholemeal flour plus more for kneading
- pinch of salt
Preparation
- In a small bowl, add the water, sugar and yeast. Use a metal spoon to stir until combined. Sit for 5 minutes until the yeast has dissolved into the water and is foaming. (*The warm water is activating the yeast so make sure that the water is not too hot or it will kill the yeast. Use water that is warm and able to be touched with your fingers.)
- In a large bowl, add the flour and the salt and stir with a metal spoon until combined.
- Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in the yeast and water mixture. Stir with a metal spoon until it forms a wet dough. (At this point it will be quite sticky and will stick to your hands and any surfaces.
- Lightly flour a clean surface.
- Add the wet dough to the floured surface and knead the dough for about 5 minutes until it is easily rolled into a ball and does not stick to your hands or to the surface. If it is still too wet, add more flour. If it is still too dry add a little bit of water until you reach the desired consistency.
- Spray oil the inside of a large bowl.
- Add the dough ball to the bowl and cover with a wet tea towel or plastic wrap and place into a warm place.
- Allow to rise for about 45 minutes until it has doubled in size. (This could be more or less depending on the temperature of the surroundings)
- Take off the tea towel or plastic wrap and use your fist to punch the air out of the dough. It should be very soft and airy.
- Lightly flour a surface. (Do not over-flour the surface or you will change the consistency of the dough)
- Add the dough to the surface and knead for another 1 to 2 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. At this point, the ball will reduce to its original size before the rising. (The dough should be able to be rolled into a ball without sticking to your hands or to the surface. If it starts to stick to your hands or to the surfaces, add a little bit more flour to the surface and knead again for a few seconds and then roll into a ball).
- Rip the dough ball into two even pieces and roll them into balls.
- Using a rolling pin or a glass, roll them out into pizza base shapes.
- Apply them to two lightly-oiled 30cm diameter pizza trays and use your fingers to push the dough into the sides of the tray.
- Pre-bake the bases at 392 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 to 10 minutes until slightly browned on the bottom before adding your toppings.
Notes
I do not use bread flour… just wholemeal plain/all-purpose flour. Make sure the water is warm but not too hot. Hot water will kill the yeast. You must use water that is hot but you are still able to touch with your fingers. I am using the metric system. So, my 'cup' measures at 250ml. Make sure you too are using metric measurements or your pizza dough may be sticky or dry.
What is wholemeal flour? Is that whole wheat flour?