I love it when a great recipe happens on accident.
The truth is, I was trying to make the pizza dough recipe out of the Clean Eating Magazine I just bought, but I didn’t have enough of some ingredients, or any of the others. So I improvised.
I also cut down on the salt by half, and the oil by a third.
What I got, it probably the best pizza dough I’ve ever had. Soft, chewy and full of fabulous flavor.
How I love pizza! I firmly believe it should be its own food group on the food group pyramid. But maybe that’s just me.
Oh I’m sorry, did you want the recipe? Silly me. Here ya go!
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Clean Eating Pizza Dough
(Makes enough for 1 large pizza)
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 2 cups oat flour
- 4 teaspoon vital wheat gluten
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
Directions:
- Mix your honey and warm water together. dissolve the honey completely. Then add the yeast and let it sit (do not move the bowl or stir). It should foam.
- While all this is taking place, mix all your dry ingredients in a bowl.
- Once you have a nice bowl of foam, pour it into the flour mixture and stir until just blended. Add 1 tbsp. olive oil and blend again. I had to knead a little with my hands to get everything blended.
- Coat the base of a bowl with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Then, roll your ball of dough around in it to coat the surface. Cover the bowl securely with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 1 hour.
- If your dough is very wet, add 1/4 cup extra oat flour while you knead a second time. Mold the dough into a ball once more and let it rise for another half hour.
- Roll the dough with a rolling-pin to about 1/4 inch thickness. Form to your pizza pan or a cookie sheet, and let rise for another 20-30 minutes (covered with plastic wrap) while you prepare your pizza toppings.
- Top your pizza, bake and get ready to enjoy one yummy pizza!
Would you share the oven temp and baking time?
Thanks so much!
Hi Betty,
I always bake my pizza at 350. Baking time depends on what you put on your pizza. The thicker the toppings, the longer you have to bake. It’s done when everything has that nice golden brown color.
This recipe marks the moment I fell in love with your site! Can you recommend clean toppings? I’m new to this. I’ve also discovered that large amounts of dairy may cause problems for me. Thoughts?
Thanks so much Julie!
It’s funny you should ask. One of the best pizzas I ever made had no cheese on it at all! (I forgot to put it on!)
I would pile up the veggies – mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, shredded zucchini and anything else you enjoy.
For sauce, you can use plain tomato sauce and just add a few spices like garlic and onion powder… and maybe some basil or oregano.
Try new things! It’s hard to make mistakes with pizza.
Let me know how it turns out for you!
Tiffany
Thank you! Trader Joe’s just sent the new flyer and they have fresh mozzarella sticks. Thinking I can do a little bit of cheese with tomatoes and basil and make a margherita pizza. I’m going to have a lot of fun with this recipe.
Did I say I love your blog? 😉
Thanks Julie! I really appreciate that!
Making pizza is ALWAYS fun. You can get so creative! Your idea sound fabulous. I might have to borrow it for dinner tonight! lol.
Thanks for stopping by!
I made pesto, and I used that instead of sauce and loaded it with veggies….GOOD TIMES
Heather – LOL. Ya, pesto is amazing on pizza. In fact, now I’m craving it too. Guess what’s gonna be for dinner tonight? lol
Vital Wheat Gluten? Is that a powder or liquid? I have WW Flour and WW Pastry Flour, but not the gluten.
It’s a powder. You can get it at any health food store, usually in bulk, but not always.
I’m confused, you mention that if your dough is wet to add more oat flour. With only 1 cup of water to 3 cups of flour, how in the world could the dough be “to wet”? Mine was so dry that is wouldn’t come together and 3 cups of flour is going to make much more than 1 pizza after the dough has risen, are you sure the amounts are correct? I really want to try this but it seems very off. I’m going to try using your ingredients and adapting them to my non clean eating pizza crust recipe to see how it works.
Jennifer – I haven’t had any problems with it coming together. Are you sure you measured correctly? There may also be a difference in altitude between my kitchen and yours. You can try adding a bit more water and see how that works.
Do you know if this recipe could be done in a bread machine? Also, if I need to make this ahead of time and refrigerate it for a couple of days longer (going to make the BBQ Chicken Roll for the Super Bowl!), would I follow all the steps, refrigerate, and then just bake it when I need it? Or would I refrigerate half-way through and then let it rise right before I bake it?
Thanks for your effort on this blog! I’m really loving it!
Michele – You could certainly do the mixing in a bread machine. I think the only thing they do is mix the ingredients, right? I would make this the day before. I think a couple of days would be too long. Chill the dough overnight, then let it return to room temp before proceeding. Chill when the recipe (including rising) is completely done. I would even roll it out and chill it that way if you have the room in the fridge. Just be sure to cover tightly with plastic wrap to avoid any air drying it out. Hope you enjoy it!
I absolutely LOVE this dough! I sliced up tomatoes and fresh basil and put them all over the dough (no sauce) and then put just a bit of mozzarella cheese on top. I also sprinkled the dough with a little garlic powder and a bit of extra salt before baking. I really think this is the best dough I have ever made – clean or not. Thanks for the yummy recipe!
Kelly – That’s fantastic! I love your toppings too! Glad you enjoyed it!
Ok I’m new to this…what is agave?
Kerry – Agave is a natural sweetener, much like honey or maple syrup.
Do you know how long you can keep the dough in the refrigerator, or if you can freeze it?
Pam – I believe somebody (here in the comments??) said it freezes well. But I’ve never tried, so I can’t say. I wouldn’t keep it in the fridge any longer than a day, and only after you have let it rise. Hope that helps.
I just sitting here looking over your recipes, zucchini bread in the oven. I just started to eat clean and find that most of the ingredients I have never heard of. So I’m not sure if its something I would want to try or not. Is there some where a link I can go to to see what these things are. Just so you know I always have been a working mom so most baking and time consuming cooking has been out of the question.
Robin – My hat goes off to you! It’s tough having kids and having to work. I’m not sure what ingredients you are referring to, but if you can tell me which ones you haven’t heard of, I can explain them and maybe even tell you where to find them.
Could I just form this dough into a round shape and cook it on a pizza stone or does it need to be stretched across a pizza pan? I’m also curious as to the oat flour – could I use all whole wheat pastry flour if I didn’t have any oat flour or is it necessary to have the oat flour? Thanks!
Lindsey – The oat flour is great for flavor, but you can certainly use all whole wheat pastry flour if that’s all you have. A round shape is fine, just be sure you get it big enough. This isn’t meant to be a very thick crust. Get to about 1/4 inch in thickness and you should be fine. Enjoy!
Lindsey – The oat flour is great for flavor, but you can certainly use all whole wheat pastry flour if that’s all you have. A round shape is fine, just be sure you get it big enough. This isn’t meant to be a very thick crust. Get to about 1/4 inch in thickness and you should be fine. Enjoy!
Hey, this is what I got at the Farmer’s Market….Flour Gluten Vital Wheat…..is this the right thing? It tasted a little funny, but it was my first time EVER making homemade dough!! But we also used ground lamb on top, so it could have been a combination of different tastes in my mouth, lol!!
Amy – Hmmm. I’m not sure!! The stuff I got was just called Vital Wheat Gluten. There was no flour. It should have been a white powdery substance kinda like baking soda or baking powder. Is that what it looked like?
Well shoot I was going to use the Clean Eating Magazine recipe but I LOVE oat flour! I’ll be trying this on Friday! 🙂
goofycancook – Great! Let me know how it turns out!
Kim – It’s a basic pizza dough, so it should work pretty well for that. I would cook it for at least 10 minutes before adding your toppings. Maybe longer. You want it to be firm, but not brown. So watch it closely.
LP – It’s probably more that the water wasn’t the right temp. Use a thermometer and shoot for between 105 F. and 115 F. I’ve used honey before and it works.
Where would I find Vital Wheat Gluten? Is it the same as Wheat Gluten Flour?
Brandy – No, vital wheat gluten is different. It’s typically in the bulk section at Whole Foods here, but if you ask around at other health food stores, they may have some in packages.
I found the vital wheat gluten at the Christmas tree shop. Just bought it yesterday… Too bad I didn’t pick up the oat flour. I want to try this recipe this weekend!!!
Patricia – It’s worth the trip! I love this crust! 🙂
Christine – Glad you enjoyed it! And yes, the temperature of the water makes ALL the difference!
Cec – I don’t see why not.
I have been making pizza dough from scratch for years and would really like to try this recipe. Do you need the vital wheat gluten in order for this to work? I have never heard of it.
Mac – I recommend it, yes. It makes the dough more “pliable”. Check your local health food store. I get mine at Whole Foods.
Celeb – I’m in the USA, so I’m not sure. Hopefully somebody else here will have an answer for you. If nothing else, check with amazon.com. They have everything.
Celeb – Yes, that’s it.
Amy – Hmmm…. something doesn’t sound right. It should make a nice, soft, pliable dough.
Amy – Hmmm….The only thing I can think is that is has something to do with the yeast.
Stephanie – Let me know!
Debbie – Hmmm… did you change anything about the recipe?
Debbie – The entire top of the water should be covered with foam. It can take up to about 15 minutes sometimes.
Okay, I didn’t change a thing except using a bread machine on the dough cycle, but my dough came out crumbly. I used Bob’s Red Mill Vital Wheat Gluten Flour (is this the same as vital wheat gluten?). I ended up mushing the dough around and making it work to roll out and add toppings. It’s in the oven now, so I’ll let you know the results. My Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes also turned out weird, so I wonder if my vital wheat gluten flour is really different from vital wheat gluten?
Elizabert – I’m not sure because I’ve never used it, but if that’s the common link between the 2 recipes, I’d bet that’s the problem.
I tried to make this over the weekend. Came together easily enough, but did not rise at all. A dense, heavy pile – not dough-like at all. Followed the recipe exactly, and my yeast foamed up just fine, so not sure what the problem is.
Valerie – How old was your yeast?
Nicole – If you roll it out first, sure. I wouldn’t freeze it as a ball.
Yes, there is. Pastry flour is a finer “grind” and has less gluten.
Is it possible to use just whole wheat flour? I don’t have pastry flour or vital wheat gluten and don’t want to add to the shopping list if I don’t need to. Thanks!
Sure. It’ll be a little more dense, but should still be good.
🙂
Well, you are already using whole wheat flour. But if you mean you want to substitute 4 tsp. of whole wheat flour for the gluten, that won’t work. You can leave out the gluten completely, but the dough won’t be as soft and “spongy” as it usually is. That’s the only difference.
You don’t have to use the oat flour. It does give it a wonderful flavor, but it’s not necessary. Spelt is fine or you can just use more of the flour already called for.
By chance do you grind your own grains or do you buy whole grain flours? I’m thinking ww pastry flour would be ground soft white wheat. ???
There is a difference in the type of wheat in pastry flour. I believe it’s called “spring wheat”?? Not sure at the moment. It’s a finer grind, and has less gluten. I do not grind my own flours, although I have tried making oat flour and really enjoyed the outcome thanks to my Vitamix.
So I’m a bit confused, the “clean” eating that is out by a doctor (cannot remember his name) excludes gluten…is this not from the same plan?
No. I haven’t heard of anything by a doctor, but this is not that. Sorry.
Barb: the doctor is the author of Wheat Belly. That diet has no substantiation by long term clinical studies and fails to properly monitor variables (ie. a lot of the people involved were looking to lose weight therefore began eating more along the lines of the eat-clean diet, more veggies, fruit, more exercise) so it is impossible to know whether or not wheat was the actual problem (which it probably isn’t).
In other news, what would be a helpful addition to this recipe would be length of time it takes to prepare. 🙂 Does it freeze well? I’d rather prepare it in advance because it’s too time consuming for when I just get home from work and am looking for something much quicker.
I’m so bummed. I stumbled across this recipe and was excited to have some pizza! Unfortunately, something went wrong – twice.
The first time, I mixed the yeast and honey with the water – not paying attention, I stirred it and let it sit only long enough for small foam/bubbles before adding to dry.
The second time, Iet the yeast & honey sit for at least 10 minutes and it was nice and frothy.
My dry ingredients were the same : Oat Flour, Vital Wheat Gluten, Salt, but had 100% Whole Wheat Flour( not the pastry).
The results were the same both times, it was a smooth heavy ball that I allows to sit, covered in a warm spot to double. While the ball softened some, it never double. Not after an hour, not after two.
Any thoughts or suggestions? I’m willing to try again!
Hmmm… That is very strange indeed! Are you at a high altitude? Perhaps try it with the pastry flour? Although it should have worked with the regular whole wheat. Did you make the pizza anyway? You can just roll it thin and use it.
Thank you for your quick reply. I did use the first batch, tossed the second. Yesterday I tried a third time and it was perfect. i did much the same as the second time around: waited 10 minutes for the yeast to fully proof, checked the temp of the water via thermometer and exact same ingredients.
The only thing I tried differently was adding the yeast to 2 c of flours in the dry mixture & BARELY kneading it. Then on the second part adding 1/2c more of the oat flour.(I use 1/2c less flour and it was not wet or anything.) It rose and make the most perfect pizza.
Do you think the dough could be overworked and cause it not to rise?
Bianca – It’s always possible. I have to admit, I’m baffled. But I’m really happy the third time was the charm!
What is whole wheat pastry flour? Is it the same as whole wheat flour (which I have). How can I sub and also, do I need the vital wheat gluten, can I sub with something else? Thanks, jessica
You can use the regular stuff, but it will be more dense and “bready”. The pastry variety is a different type of wheat. It has less gluten and give a lighter texture. The vital wheat gluten will give more “stretch” to the dough, which gives it a better texture as well. But you can leave it out.
Thanks so much for the reply! It there a way to make the regular whole wheat into a pastry flour. Like how you can make cake flour with while flour and cornstarch. Is there a “cool” trick to make WW pastry flour?
No, unfortunately because it’s an entirely different type of wheat.
Thanks 😉
I used 1-1/2 cups of regular whole wheat flour (that’s all I had) and 1-1/2 cups of brown rice flour. I also made this in my bread machine and with the flour added 1 tsp thyme, 1 tsp oregano and 1 tsp basil. Remember that adding the salt with the yeast will slow its “power” – so keep that in mind if you’re looking for a nice rice.
As for the vital wheat gluten, I found it at Kroger (MI) in the baking aisle where the “alternative” sugars are shelved. It’s in a small box and it was $2.99. Hope this helps!
That’s rise, not rice!
Hi ladies! Like an earlier poster, I’m a working mom and baking is my hell but I want to give this a try. Are Bobs Red Mill products clean? The health store in my town carries a lot of his products. Also, since I am a horrid baker but love pizza – would the dough from my local pizza place be clean? I know they make it fresh daily but wasn’t sure what that mean exactly.
Elizabeth – Most of those products are clean, yes. The main thing is that they are whole grain. A local pizza shop isn’t going to have 100% whole grain dough. At least not as far as I’ve seen…
ok…seriously… I LOVE YOU :).I can give up any food except pizza …and now i dont have to.xoxo from New Zealand
Marinka – LOL!! Happy I could help! 😀
This is a wonderful idea, just wish it were lower in calories.
Angel – Lower in calories? What numbers did you get when you figured the data? How many servings did you divide by?
Just wondering where you would get oat flour from. I’m not sure where you live, but stores like Wal-mart and Target don’t carry oat flour. I’ve tried Harris Teeter since they usually carry stuff I can’t find anywhere else. Thanks!
Kelly – If it’s not in stores and you can’t grind it yourself, Amazon.com has it. You can order it from them.
Hi! I made this tonight and I liked it! But I’m not sure if I was supposed to bake the dough before adding the toppings?? It seemed a little “doughy” to me, but I am a TOTAL novice at this so what do I know, ha! Thanks for your blog, I’m loving it : )
Lisa – You can bake it first for about 10 minutes. Some people need to bake it first, some don’t. I think a lot depends on how thin/thick you roll it and how much sauce you use.
This sounds so good, but before I attempt it, is there anything different that needs to be done at high altitudes? I’m at 6750 feet. Thanks!
Natalie – To be honest, I don’t know anything about baking at higher altitudes. I would assume it would affect how the dough rises, but I’m not sure how to adjust for that. I’ll ask around and see if I can get any info for you.
Thank you! I still need to get some of the ingredients anyway. Obviously I don’t have much experience with doughs, at least not here in the mountains, or I might have figured out the answer already. 🙂
Natalie – So I asked my fans on Facebook, and it seems like the best option is to add a bit extra flour (about 2-4 tablespoons). Also, your rise time will be longer and you may have to play around with the baking temp a bit. Sorry, wish I could having some more solid advise. But that seems to be the general consensus. Hope it helps!
Thank you so much for searching that out for me. I’ll play around with it! 🙂
Natalie – My pleasure!
I just put the dough in the fridge and after mixing everything I realized at the beginning it you said you cut down the salt and oil which I did not do!! ahhhh, I really hope it still turns out good, this is my first time making pizza from scratch and I really want to impress my pizza critic boyfriend (he doesn’t know Im using this “clean” recipe. oh, this is where my rookie chef skills come in to play, I always read a recipe over and over before trying it and then when it’s time to do it I always forget all the little side notes:( I LOVE pizza and really hope it still turns out good even though i didnt reduce either ingredient!!
Jessica – Let me know how it turns out!
Just finished the pizza, did not rise and was doughy. Almost like it didn’t cook all the way through but if I left it in longer would have burnt the cheese. I think even if i baked the dough a little but before putting the toppings it still would not have turned out right. No rise at all!! Im pretty bummed. My boyfriend hasnt tried it yet but I know he wont enjoy it and probably ask why it is brown. oops. guess he will find out that it is not traditional pizza he is used to. I would like to try making it again seeing as I have big full bags of all the flour and wheat gluten that weren’t cheap and do not want to go to waste. Maybe i can bake some cakes for family and friends or something. Please help! I know other people had a problem with it rising. wonder why… maybe you just have the magic touch!! I know I don’t haha
Jessica – How exactly did you proof the yeast? Exactly what flours did you use? Was the yeast recently purchased or was it older? There are many factors that could affect it. Bread recipes, even pizza dough, can be touchy.
I just started out clean eating three days ago…well trying to clean eat…the pizza dough recipe, why is there gluten in it? I thought gluten is not clean?
Jen – Gluten, in and of itself is clean. It’s a naturally occurring component of wheat. However, some people cannot tolerate it, so they avoid it. If you are referring to the VITAL wheat gluten, you can leave that out if you need to. It just makes the dough a bit softer and more elastic which gives you a lighter crust. But it works well without it too.
This is my first attempt at a clean eating recipe. Looove this site! My questions is: Those of you that used a bread maker – did you just throw all the ingredients in the machine and push start, or did you need to do other prep work. And once it is done in the machine, is it ready to go? Meaning, can I just roll it out and add toppings?
Thanks
I finally got my pantry stocked with what I need for this clean lifestyle I began in June. Couldn’t wait to try the pizza. Eating my first slice of veggie pizza! Oh yum! No changes needed for altitude. Happy camper! 🙂
Natalie – Yay! So glad you like it! 🙂
And my WW friends are drooling over my pictures! 🙂
Natalie – Haha!! 😀
We are always on the hunt for “the” pizza dough. I have a lot of recipes, and just haven’t found one that makes the family happy. We have a family pizza making contest about once every 2 months or so. Really gets my kids involved, and its great fun. Truth be told, I think mine are the best 😉
Thanks for sharing, can’t wait to try yours.
Katrina – How fun!!! Let me know if mine wins! LOL
Is there any reason why I couldn’t knead the dough in my KitchenAid with a dough hook? My assumption would be that I could make this dough like the (“dirty”) pizza dough I’m accustomed to making with bread flour – but I’ve never cooked with Vital Wheat Gluten and not sure if I need to work a bit more gently to make this dough work??
Toyia – You can knead this with a dough hook. Just keep eye on it as the vital wheat gluten gives it it’s elasticity. So you don’t want to overdo it either.
I wonder if you could make this dough, split it to make individual sized pizzas,let it rise, then partially bake and freeze? I have teenagers who love pizza and having something like this would be a great thing they could just top and bake. They are really missing frozen pizzas and all the other delightful junk since their mom became a health nut ( their words not mine). I am picturing a frozen version of the Boboli crusts I see in the grocery. Any thoughts. My baking e experience is limited to desserts!
Tracy – Sure, you could do that. It won’t be as bubbly as Boboli, but it will work.
Also is oat flour just ground oatmeal? I have a Ninja could I do it in that? Dreaming of a Vitamix would love a recommendation on which model. P.S. Very little housework has been done since I discovered your blog and my grocery list is a mile long but I am so inspired! Thank you for your hard work.
Tracy – Haha! Oh dear. Yes, oat flour is just ground oats. I’m not sure how well a ninja will do. Your best bet is to just put a little in there and see how fine it gets. If you end up with flour, you’re good to go!
Are there any nutritional facts for this dough recipe? Trying to watch sodium intake.
Tina – Thanks for pointing that out! Just added… Also, you could cut the salt in half or leave it out completely if you need to.
Hi I am new to this to clean eating so I have lots of questions. I usually make my (naughty)pizza dough in my food processor do you think this pizza dough process would work in there as well? Thanks
Tahra – I haven’t tried it, but I would think it would work just fine.
I have always been a healthy person but I recently committed to clean eating…this was the first (intentionally) clean recipe I’ve ever made…the dough came out delicious!! I topped with kale pesto, asparagus, shrimp and mozzarella. Your site is so helpful!! Thank you so so much!! I’ve added this recipe to my book of homemade favorites!!
Jennifer – My pleasure! So glad you enjoyed it! 😀
What would the changes be so I could make this as bread in a loaf pan?? Thank you!! Love your site!!
Kathleen – I don’t recommend it for this recipe. This is more of a flatbread recipes. But I do have other recipes in my bread section for loaf breads.
When I make pizza, I typically will “pre-bake” the dough for about 10 minutes and then add my toppings. It seems to help keep the center from being doughy. My mom almost always made pizza growing up, and that is how she taught me to do it.
Cherilyn – Yep! I’ve done that on occasion as well. It does help! 🙂
I just ran across this website and I see comments are from early 2016 and earlier. Is this still a viable website? If so, I have questions. Just decided to try to eat clean, but seems like a LOT of work. However I am willing to try to give it a go. I saw something about brown rice syrup. Do you make that or buy it? I HATE avocado and seems like every time I turn around, it’s in a recipe (usually as some kind of garnish). What options (plural) are there to avocado where you presumably get “good” fats benefits. Was wondering if olives (green of black?) might be a substitute in some cases. Other ideas? I tried quinoa, however discovered after several bites, that dirt from my backyard was an excellent substitute, and, bonus, tasted better. Kidding but I was definitely not a fan… Thanks, Leigh
Leigh – Yes, this site is still up and running just fine. 🙂
Brown rice syrup is something you buy. You don’t have to eat avocados. Substitutions would depend heavily on the recipe. I don’t believe olives would be a good sub for most, but I’m sure a few recipes would do just fine. Again, it totally depends on the recipe. With quinoa, you have to rinse it really, really well before you cook it, otherwise it does have a not-so-great flavor. But you certainly don’t have to eat it. There are plenty of whole grains out there you can enjoy.