Whole Wheat Veggie Pizza

Category: Pizza
Preparation Time: 15 mins + Rising time
Cooking Time: 15-20 mins
Servings: yields 4 small sized pizzas

Want a Slice? :)

I have made Pizza few times either with our Chappathi (whole wheat) flour or a combination of wheat & oats flour. Both versions came out great:) And since its home made and with whole wheat flour, we can give our kids a healthy treat. We can add any of our favourite veggies like Capsicum, Onion, Sweet corn, Paneer, Broccoli, Baby corn, Mushroom, Zucchini or even Chicken, etc., Also Kids love to pick up and arrange their toppings. So it will be a great treat as well as a fun project for them:)

Whole Wheat Veggie Pizza 

Ingredients:
For Pizza Dough:

• Whole Wheat flour / Atta - 2 1/2 cups
• Active Dry Yeast - 2 tsp (I used fast acting yeast)
• Sesame Seeds - 1 tbsp
• Sugar - 1 tbsp
• Salt - 1 tsp
• LukeWarm Water - 1 cup
• Olive Oil - 2 tbsp

For Toppings:

• Home made Pasta Sauce - 1/4 cup
• Mozarella Cheese, grated - 1 cup
• Olive Oil - 1 tsp 
• Salt - to taste
• Italian Seasoning - to taste
• Chilly flakes - to taste (I didnt use here)
• Milk - 1 tbsp, for brushing the crust (Optional)

Choose any 2 or more from the below:

• Capsicum, thinly sliced - 1/2 cup (I used a mix of Red, orange and yellow capsicums)
• Sweet corn kernels, boiled - 1/4 cup
• Broccoli florets, blanched - 1/2 cup
• Mushrooms, sliced - 1/2 cup
• Paneer cubes - 1/2 cup (tossed in 1 tbsp of Pizza sauce)
• Onion, cubed - 1/2 cup

Method:
Pizza Dough:

1. Yeast Proofing: If you're using yeast for first time or not sure of the quality of the yeast, proofing is recommended. Add yeast and Sugar to the warm water and allow to sit for few mins; after few mins, if it bubble up nicely, this proves the yeast is active and we can proceed further with the dough preparation. The water shouldnot be very hot, it should be lukewarm for the yeast to get activate. Here I used Instant active dry yeast so I didnt proof it, so add it together
2. In a wide bowl, add wheat flour, active dry yeast, Sesame seeds, Sugar, Salt and mix together
   
3. Then add Olive Oil and mix well
   
4. Slowly add in the warm water and knead to form a soft dough
5. Coat the dough with few drops of oil, cover it with a lid and place it in a warm place for atleast 1-2 hours. I warmed up the oven for few mins; switch off and place the dough inside it for rising
   
6. After around 1-2 hrs, the dough would be doubled in size
   

Pizza Toppings:

1. Grate the cheese and keep it ready
   
2. If using sliced Capsicum, sliced mushrooms and broccoli florets, heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan and add in the veggies along with a dash of salt and saute in medium high flame for few mins till they become little soft; switch off
3. If using paneer cubes, toss them with 1 tbsp of pizza sauce and keep aside
4. Steam / Boil the sweetcorn kernels
5. Cube the onions
   

Making Pizza:

1. Preheat Oven to 425 F for atleast 15-20 mins
2. Dust the pizza pan with a little flour / cornmeal
3. Slightly punch the rised dough and divide it into 4 parts 
4. Roll each dough ball into a thin or slightly thick circular pizza using rolling pin; dust with flour if necessary; Repeat for the remaing dough
   
5. Prick holes using fork over the pizza to prevent puffing up while baking the crust
6. Here we can either pre-bake the base alone for 5-7 mins and then add the toppings and bake again for 6-8 mins or we can add the toppings and bake them together for around 13-18 mins. I prefer pre baking the base so that we can add the toppings and bake whenever we need
7. Pre bake the rolled pizza crust for 5-7 mins in the preheated oven
   
8. Once its done, spread the pizza sauce over it
9. Sprinkle little cheese over it and layer with prepared veggies (as per our choice:))
   
10. Then layer with the grated cheese in such a way it covers the toppings
    
11. If using milk, we can brush the edges with milk to get uniform browning
12. Bake in the preheated oven for around 6-10 mins until the crust started to brown and cheese melts and bubbled up
    
13. Sprinkle Italian seasoning / chilli flakes over it
14. Slice them and Serve hot!
15. If we want to store the base, we can allow them to cool down after pre-baking and then store it in a zip lock or a box in refrigerator for 2 days. While preparing pizza, we can bring them to room temperature and proceed as usual