Whole-Wheat Pizza with Roasted Garlic and Tomato Confit
The ultimate whole-wheat pizza dough…with a gourmet topping upgrade!
How did I get started making my own pizza dough?
Well, I was living out of town, in a place where pizza stores were non-existent, but I refused to miss my Saturday night pizza. That just wasn’t an option. For years, I settled with what we out-of-towners called “fresh frozen pizza” — which is exactly as it sounds, boxed pizza from the freezer section heated in the oven — but I quickly got bored of that. I needed a better option. So I set out to look for the best homemade pizza dough out there.
It took me months to perfect my classic pizza dough, but when I finally did, I couldn’t stop! I made fresh pizza every Saturday night, made it Sunday afternoon for the kids’ lunch, made it Thursday night for supper. It was so easy to put together, I soon knew the recipe by heart. I was going through bags of bulk yeast from Costco!
After a while, I started having fun and experimenting. I tried new dishes, like calzones and focaccia bread. And I discovered that this recipe can really be used as a base for anything that needs a chewy, crusty base.
Years later, I decided to take it up a notch and make my dough whole wheat. I was nervous that my family would revolt. Why fix it if it ain’t broken, right? But I tried it anyway. I used a white whole-wheat flour and didn’t say anything to my family. I served the pizza. And whaddya know? No one said a word! They devoured it as always!
And so I put away my white flour recipe and have been making whole wheat pizza ever since. There are so many positive benefits to eating whole grains (read about some of them here). If I can give that to my family without any complaints, I may as well!
You may think of pizza as one of those super-labor intensive suppers, but in reality it isn’t a big deal at all! Unlike most doughs, whether you make this whole-wheat version or my regular pizza dough, you do not need to shlep out your mixer. Both doughs come together beautifully by hand in minutes.
A few points to note:
You can prepare the whole-wheat pizza dough a few hours in advance and let it slow rise. This requires using cool/room temp water instead of warm water and letting it sit in a cool place (or in the fridge if it’s more than a few hours). However, if you’re doing this, you need to do the slow rise at the dough stage, not once the pizza is already prepped. So don’t roll out the dough, put on the toppings and then let it sit. If you do that, the dough can rise too much and develop a yeasty taste. Once you roll it out, you should be ready to add the toppings and bake it.
I don’t find that the type of pan the pizza is baked on makes a huge difference. I often switch between a cookie sheet (making it rectangular), a round pizza screen or even a few 9×13 pans.
This recipe yields enough dough for:
2 16” round pizzas
1 deep dish 9×13
1 cookie sheet
The idea of making garlic confit pizza came from wanting something a little different on my whole-wheat pizza than the usual cheese and sauce. I was rummaging around in my fridge trying to figure out what I could use and came across some leftover roasted garlic confit from Shabbos. I thought to myself, Oh my! This can only be amazing! And let me tell you — it was!
Since the kids don’t always love such exotic toppings, sometimes I will make half the pizza with garlic confit, jalapenos, and any other fun goodies I am in the mood for for the adults, and half I’ll make with just sauce and cheese for the kids.
Once baked, whole-wheat pizza freezes very well. Although there are usually no leftovers, if there are, I like to freeze individual slices in foil so my husband or kids can grab one for lunch.
Whole-Wheat Pizza with Roasted Garlic and Tomato Confit Topping
Ingredients
Roasted Garlic-Tomato Confit
- 10-15 cloves garlic peeled
- ½ pint grape tomatoes
- 1 cup oil
Whole-Wheat Pizza Dough
- 3 cups white whole-wheat flour
- 1-1½ cups warm water
- 1 Tbsp dry yeast
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 1 tsp salt
Toppings
- Shredded pizza cheese
- Fresh basil leaves (optional)
Instructions
For the Confit:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Place garlic cloves, tomatoes and oil in a small pan.
- Cover and bake for 45 minutes. Allow to cool.
For the Dough:
- Mix all ingredients together by hand until it forms a smooth dough. (Start with less water and add more if it’s too dry.) Let rise for about 20 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Roll out the dough to fit a cookie sheet, 2 round pans, or a deep-dish 9×13.
- Gently smash the garlic and tomatoes in the confit and spread over the dough.
- Top with grated cheese and sprinkle with a few fresh basil leaves, if desired.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is browned and bubbly.
Notes
Recipe by Faigy Murray | https://mykitchenmystudio.com/whole-wheat-pizza-with-garlic-confit/
Here’s just the dough recipe, if you’d rather clip and save without the toppings and other instructions:
Whole-Wheat Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- 3 cups white whole-wheat flour
- 1-1½ cups warm water
- 1 Tbsp dry yeast
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together by hand until it forms a smooth dough. (Start with less water and add more if it seems too dry.) Let rise for about 20 minutes.
- To make as pizza, preheat oven to 400°F.
- Roll out the dough to fit a cookie sheet, 2 round pizza pans, or a deep-dish 9×13.
- Top with sauce, cheese and and/or any toppings of your choice.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is browned and bubbly.
Notes
Recipe by Faigy Murray | https://mykitchenmystudio.com/whole-wheat-pizza-with-garlic-confit/
