I think that among “bad for you” foods, pizza has got to be up there among the worst perpetrators. But really, is pizza that bad?
I guess that my opinion is that it can be, or it can be a really healthy and nourishing meal. When I lived in Vancouver I was surrounded by pizza places. There were all of the usual suspects of big brand delivery pizza offering a staggering array of greasy, heavily processed cheese stuffed into a heavily processed crust, topped with about eight tons of heavily processed toppings including enough cheese to keep a dairy farm in business for a year. I somehow doubt that (as glutinously enjoyable as it is while eating it)it’s very good for you. There was also the gourmet pizza place that offered really expensive slices topped with all kinds of weird and wonderful toppings (I once had a slice there that was topped with linguine!). Also, probably not the best for you, but maybe not as bad as the really highly processed verison.
However I don’t think there’s anything wrong in indulging in some good old greasy pizza sometimes. I’m a really firm believer that if you make good choices about food the majority of the time it doesn’t really matter if you decide to have delivery, donuts, or ice cream at other times. I don’t think that food should ever be a source of guilt. Actually, one of my big missions on this road to magnificence is to try and get rid of guilt as much as I can. I think we all feel far too guilty far too often.
Having said all of that, I also really enjoy taking things that I love and trying to make a healthier version of them too. This is how I came to start thinking about pizza dough. I figure that with pizza the toppings are pretty easily controllable. You can top a pizza with anything (as the linguine slice taught me)and it just happens to be delicious topped with lovely fresh veggies and different sauces. Also, you can vary the type and the amount of cheese and you really don’t need to load it down with a mountain of it to get a really beautiful flavour. The one element that I kept noticing was the dough. It seemed to be made invariably with white flour and with a fair bit of sugar.
I don’t have a problem with white flour, but I really enjoy experimenting with variations and other flours. A lot of the healthy pizza recipes that I found on-line had cauliflower or other veggie based crusts. I love the idea of that, and will definitely try it out, but sometimes you just need some bread! So I decided to try making a dough with my two current favourites, spelt and rye, and I love the results. The earthier flavours of the flour complement a variety of toppings really well.
This pizza that I have pictured is topped with some kale pesto that I made the other day, cherry tomatoes, toasted pine nuts (toasting them really brings out the flavour and gives them a gorgeous crunchy outside with a softer middle), and feta. I topped it off with a really small amount of mozzarella. With all of the flavour from the veg and the pesto and the saltiness of the feta, a little bit of mozza just to give it a melty topping is all you really need, in fact it would be as lovely if you omitted it all together.
All in all, if you’re looking for a healthy pizza I think this dough is an excellent option. It still offers the bready texture that we associate with pizza but with the added flavours of rye and spelt.
- 300g whole spelt flour
- 100g whole rye flour
- 7g instant yeast
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1Tbsp oil plus a bit for kneading
- 250mL water, at room temperature
- Measure out the flours into a medium sized bowl, or the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Stir the two flours to combine.
- Add the yeast to one side of the bowl, and the salt to the other, making sure the two don’t touch as direct contact with the salt will kill the yeast.
- Add the oil and 3/4 of the water and turn the mixture together with your fingers until it is a rough dough. Conversely, if using a mixer, turn it on to low until the dough just comes together. Add more of the water as needed, you’re looking for a fairly sloppy, sticky dough.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled surface and knead well for at least five minutes until the gluten has developed. The dough should become a lot less sloppy but should still be a little bit sticky. If using a mixer, turn it to the second level and allow to mix until the gluten has formed as mentioned above.
- Place the dough into a very lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with cling film and allow to stand at room temperature until doubled in size 1-2 hours.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and dust the top with flour too. Divide in two and flatten each half out a bit. Transfer the pieces onto lightly oiled tins and flatten it to the size and shape of your tin with your fingers.
- Apply your desired toppings and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for about half and hour, or until well cooked underneath.
yes!!! This one looks amazing, healthy pizza would revolutionize how I eat :p
I know! I might have to work of healthy poutine next hahaha