Pizza is great. Even to begin with, it has its nutritional value- veggie vitamins from the sauce, some calcium from the cheese. So why not pump it up? This was my thought as I wandered the aisles of Trader Joe's and ran across their pizza dough ($0.99 for a pound of fresh dough!). They had a white flour dough, a whole wheat dough, and an herbed pesto style dough - they all looked great. My line of thinking: I'll make homemade pizza when Kyle and John come to visit! Then I thought, "well I want whole wheat, but they'll probably want white flour dough." Clearly the answer was to get both. (And I never made either of them during the boys visit.) Instead, this week pretty much became pizza week, and today was the day to use the whole wheat dough.
Whole Wheat Red Pepper Topped Pizza
1 lbs. Whole Wheat Pizza Dough (take out of fridge 20 min before using)
1/3 jar Trader Joe's Fat-Free Pizza Sauce
1 1/2 c. Part Skim Mozzarella
1 Red Pepper, sliced into rings
Flour
1. Preheat the over to 425 degrees, spray cookie sheet with non-stick spray
2. Sprinkle dough liberally with flour, and use your hands to work it into the dough. Stretch the dough to the size/shape/depth you would like and (This may take a little while) place dough on cookie sheet.
3. Use a basting brush to evenly spread the pizza sauce on the crust
4. Top with cheese and red pepper slices.
5. Bake for about 15 minutes
So here's what we thought (we = me and my roommate/culinary guinea pig, Meg)
- The dough didn't crisp up like the white flour dough did, but provided a unique, chewy texture
- There was definitely the nutty, flavorful taste that comes with true whole wheat products, and it was slightly overwhelming
Overall a great success. In the future, I would pair the intenseness of the whole wheat dough with stronger flavors (ie. pesto, parmesan cheese instead of pizza sauce and mozzarella) or add WAY more veggie toppings. Dividing the pizza into 6 servings provided a whopping 5.5g of fiber per serving and Penny Wise only cost $0.78 per serving!
Dietetically Yours,
Lorilyn
You mean we could have had pizza?! If your stew wasn't so good, I'd be very angry with you right now.
ReplyDeleteWhat would you think about black beans and corn and salsa on the whole wheat pizza with colby/jack cheeses and peppers?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kyle!! Pizza will just have to be next time (after I perfect the 'recipe' of course!)
ReplyDeleteCookie Monster, I think that sounds delicious! I'll definitely give that one a try the next time I pick up the whole wheat dough. I think I'd add onions and green peppers too. Thanks for the suggestion! :)