How to make the BEST homemade whole wheat pizza. Including a super easy homemade pizza sauce recipe!

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Friday means one thing in our house, pizza!

It’s a tradition.

If you’ve ever watched Fiddler on the Roof then you know, don’t EVER mess with tradition!

“Tradition, Tradition!”

Tradition can be changed-up, such as pizza rolls or pizza pockets, but Friday night always consists of some sort of dough, sauce, and cheese. Tradition!

Before real food, we ate a lot of pizza from a box or freezer section. Can that stuff really be called pizza? Special occasions called for our version of “homemade” pizza. A package of Pillsbury Dough or dough from the bakery of our grocery store.

After turning to real food and label reading, I realized pre-made pizza and dough just weren’t going to make the cut anymore. There is absolutely no reason real pizza should contain over 10, 20, 30 plus ingredients.  Even the “fresh” pizza dough from my grocery store was filled with preservatives and dough stabilizers. Ingredients I didn’t want to feed my family.

What’s a tradition-loving girl to do?

Make my own.

How to make the BEST homemade whole wheat pizza. Including a super easy homemade pizza sauce recipe!

My first few attempts were awful. That’s putting it nicely. My pizzas either turned out like a brick or sponge. I just couldn’t get pizza right.

One Friday it happened. The perfect pizza was made. Perfectly melted cheese.  The sauce,  just the right consistency and flavor. The crust, crispy and soft.

How to make the BEST homemade whole wheat pizza. Including a super easy homemade pizza sauce recipe!

Today, I am going to share two recipes with you: perfect pizza dough and a delicious multipurpose red sauce.

How to make the BEST homemade whole wheat pizza. Including a super easy homemade pizza sauce recipe!
Quick and Easy Homemade Pizza (Dough and Sauce)
5 from 10 votes

Perfect Homemade Pizza (and Sauce)

Perfect pizza dough and a delicious multipurpose red sauce.
Kristin Marr
Prep Time1 hour 10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time1 hour 30 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 4 people
Calories 1785 kcal

Ingredients

Sauce:

Dough:

Instructions

  • For the Sauce: Combine all the ingredients in a blender or food processor. Pulse on high until smooth. If you’re using this recipe for spaghetti, simmer the sauce on the stovetop for 30 minutes. No cooking is required if you’re using this recipe for pizza.
  • For the Dough: In a large mixing bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water. After about 5 minutes, the yeast will begin to foam. Stir in the salt.
  • Using the dough hook on your stand mixer (you can also mix the dough by hand), gradually add one cup of flour at at time. Mix the flour and yeast mixture together.
  • Knead the dough with the bread hook or by hand until the dough is smooth and elastic, adding a tsp of water at a time, if needed. You may not need all 3 cups of flour.
  • Coat the dough with olive oil (2 Tablespoons). Cover the bowl with a towel. Let the dough rest on the counter for 1 hour, until doubled in size.
  • Place a baking stone in the oven and preheat the oven to 490F.
  • While the oven is heating and stone is getting hot, roll out the dough on a well floured surface.
  • Remove the baking stone from the oven and quickly place the dough on the hot stone. Top with sauce, cheese, and toppings.
  • Bake for 15- 20 minutes, until the crust is golden and cheese bubbles. Makes 2 medium pizzas or 1 large.

Nutrition

Calories: 1785kcalCarbohydrates: 328gProtein: 66gFat: 36gSaturated Fat: 4gSodium: 6095mgPotassium: 3805mgFiber: 54gSugar: 42gVitamin A: 4155IUVitamin C: 119.2mgCalcium: 624mgIron: 22.3mg
Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!

Flour Note: I used einkorn flour in the updated photos (2015).

Einkorn is known as the oldest variety of wheat making it an “ancient” grain. The ancient grain is believed to have originated in the Tigris-Euphrates region and is possibly the main grain referenced in the earliest accounts of the Bible.  To put it simply, einkorn is the wheat men were eating in the earliest days before modern-day wheat varieties. While modern wheat has undergone hybridization, einkorn still holds true to its original properties. Einkorn is slowly gaining popularity, but is still grown in only a few regions in Europe.

The sweet, ancient grain has a lighter texture and taste than modern-day wheat, and contains a more favorable gluten ratio. People with minor gluten sensitives may be able to consume einkorn without the issues associated with whole wheat due the lack of D-genome, however, einkorn is not gluten-free. Einkorn is packed with nutrition, containing high levels of protein along with the antioxidant beta-carotene lutein and minerals.

Einkorn looks and tastes similar to white flour, so it’s the perfect healthy flour to use when making pizza dough. Einkorn is sold in some health food stores and online.

Einkorn doesn’t like to be kneaded or overworked, so you’ll want to stop kneading einkorn pizza dough once the flour is combined into the dough. If you continue to knead the dough, it will “deconstruct” and turn into a mushy dough that’s impossible to handle.

The secret to making the perfect pizza and cooking instructions:

  • Secret 1:  You will need a baking stone. Despite my love for cooking and making everything in my kitchen, I hate spending money on new kitchen gadgets, so when I say “You need a baking stone to cook pizza,” I mean it. I actually have three.  Pizza cooks perfectly on a baking stone. (My baking stone)
  • Secret 2: Oven temperature. A temperature as close to 500º as possible.  I have a natural gas oven and this means my oven gets extremely hot.  I tend to set my oven around 490º. You want a really hot oven.
How to make the BEST homemade whole wheat pizza. Including a super easy homemade pizza sauce recipe!

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47 Comments

  1. Hi! Is it possible to make double the sauce portion and store it in the fridge for easy grab and make? How long would the sauce be good for? Thanks!

    1. Hey Vanessa, Yes, definitely! I do that all the time. I make a double batch and freeze the other half. You can also refrigerate the other half. Just use within about 2 days. The sauce will last for about 3-4 days in the fridge or you can freeze for months.

  2. 5 stars
    I made this pizza dough last night and my family and friends loved it! Thanks for such a great recipe. We will definitely make Again!!

  3. 5 stars
    Hi! We made the dough tonight and it turned out delicious! Just bought a bag of white whole wheat flour (Kroger brand) and I am thrilled at how the pizza tasted. We’ve been using store bought dough mixes so I’m glad to have this recipe!

  4. can I use a pan if I don’t have a stone? how long do I need to heat it for? is it the same amount of time as a stone?

    1. Hey Bethany, Definitely. It probably won’t produce quite the same crust, but the crust should still be delicious. I would heat it for about 10 minutes before placing the dough on the pan.