Pesto Veggie Whole Wheat Pizza

Who doesn't love pizza?!?!?!?  We eat homemade pizza about once a week and we love it!  I make a whole wheat crust in my Cuisinart Convection Bread Maker CBK-200.  I make two pounds of pizza dough at a time.  I use half of it and then freeze the other half.  As soon as the dough is finish in the bread maker, I wrap up the half of the dough I am going to freeze.  I use cling wrap to do this and then put the wrapped dough in a freezer safe ziplock bag and immediately put it in the freezer.  It thaws out great, when we are ready to use it.  As for the dough we are going to use immediately.....I roll the pound of dough out real thin to make a 14 inch large pizza (we like a thin crust pizza).  I use the pizza dough recipe that's in the manual that came with my bread maker, although  I have adjusted the recipe a little.  The ingredients I use to make the crust are: 2/3 cup water (80-90 degrees), 1/2 tsp. honey, 1 tsp. sea salt, 1 Tbsp. olive oil, 2 cups whole wheat flour and 1 1/4 tsp. yeast (Please note, this is a different recipe than what's listed below).  

For those of you who don't have a bread machine, I'm including a recipe for pizza dough that doesn't require a bread machine.  I have never used this particular recipe, as I always use my bread machine, but Lisa Leake (from 100 Days of Real Food) has great recipes, so I am sure the recipe below will turn out perfect.     

We always make a Pesto Veggie Whole Wheat pizza and it's delicious!!   I have included the pesto recipe that I like to use (see below).  It makes a lot of pesto, so I freeze it in an ice cube tray.  Whenever I make a pizza, I just pop out two ice cubes of pesto, let it thaw and then spread it onto the crust.      

Don't forget to load on lots of healthy vegetables.  Some of our favorite veggies to put on our pizza are mushrooms, tomatoes and  green peppers.  Here's a little hint, if you are planning on using fresh tomatoes, slice the tomato and lay the slices on a paper towel.  Sprinkle the tomato slices with salt and pepper.  Do this at least 30 minutes before putting the tomato slices on the pizza.  This will help draw out a lot of the water in the tomatoes, so your pizza doesn't end up soggy. The salt and pepper help flavor the tomato slices too.  

Also, you may want to look through your spice cabinet to "dress up" your pizza.  Some that we use from time to time are garlic powder, Italian seasoning,  and onion flakes (my husband doesn't like onions and I love onions....so our compromise is dried onion flakes!).  

Lastly top your pizza with cheese.  I use an 8 oz block of Mozzarella.  I grate the cheese and then sprinkle it on top.  Remember, block cheese doesn't have the anti-caking additive(s) that the shredded cheese has, plus it's cheaper and creamier.  It doesn't take long to shred a block of cheese, so I encourage you to skip the pre-shredded cheese.  

I bake my pizza at 500 for 8-10 minutes.  This is a family favorite at our house.  Hope you enjoy it too.  Remember, get creative  and  make this recipe your own!

Enjoy!
~Davis 



click here for HOMEMADE WHOLE WHEAT PIZZA DOUGH recipe - without a bread machine
(from: www.100DaysofRealFood.com)

Ingredients:
-water
-yeast
-kosher salt
-olive oil
-whole wheat flout
-cooking spray




click here for PESTO recipe
(from: www.100DaysofRealFood.com)

Ingredients:
-fresh basil (I use more than what the recipe calls for)
-pine nuts
-Parmesan cheese (I've omitted this before and the pesto still tasted great!)
-fresh garlic (I used 3 cloves of garlic) 
-olive oil (I used 3 Tbsp of olive oil)
-salt and pepper to taste (this is not in the original recipe)
-1/2 bag of fresh spinach (this is not in the original recipe)
* Remember, leftover pesto can be stored in ice trays to freeze.

Pesto Veggie Whole Wheat Pizza

Pizza dough is ready.

Pesto

Pizza is ready for toppings. 

Ingredients for the pizza dough.