Dinkel-Pizza mit Gemüse (spelt pizza with vegetables)
A wholegrain spelt pizza dough, nuttier and slightly denser than a white-flour base, topped with roasted vegetables rather than the usual cured meats. Spelt gluten is more fragile than wheat gluten, so this dough wants a gentler hand and a shorter, less aggressive knead than a standard pizza dough.
Prep25 min
Cook15 min
Rest60 min
Oven240°C
Servings4
Christoph's wholegrain spelt pizza, kept gentle in the kneading since spelt gluten tears more easily than wheat.
Ingredients
Units
Temperature
Servings
Dough
- 350 g wholegrain spelt flour rounded
- 220 ml warm water rounded
- 7 g instant dried yeast rounded
- 6 g fine salt rounded
- 20 ml olive oil rounded
Topping
- 200 g zucchini, sliced thin rounded
- 150 g red bell pepper, sliced thin rounded
- 100 g red onion, sliced thin rounded
- 30 ml olive oil, for tossing the vegetables rounded
- 200 g tomato passata rounded
- 1 g dried oregano rounded
- 200 g mozzarella, torn or sliced rounded
- 20 g fresh basil, for the top, after baking (optional) rounded
Dietary labels are a guide, not a guarantee. If you have an allergy, read the ingredients yourself.
Method
- Whisk the flour and yeast together. Add the warm water, mix to a shaggy dough, then let sit 10 minutes; spelt hydrates quickly and this rest cuts down on kneading time.
- Add the salt and oil, and knead gently by hand for about 5 minutes, less than a standard wheat dough. Spelt gluten breaks down if overworked, so stop once the dough is smooth rather than pushing for maximum elasticity.
- Cover and prove in a warm place for 45 to 60 minutes, until roughly doubled.
- Toss the zucchini, pepper and onion with the olive oil, spread on a baking sheet, and roast at 220°C for 15 minutes, until softened and lightly browned at the edges, while the dough proves.
- Heat the oven to its highest setting, at least 240°C, with a baking sheet or pizza stone inside to heat through.
- Divide the dough in two and stretch each piece on a floured surface or piece of parchment into a rough 28 cm round, thin in the centre with a slightly thicker rim.
- Spread the tomato passata thinly over each base, scatter with oregano, top with the roasted vegetables and mozzarella.
- Slide onto the hot sheet or stone and bake 12 to 15 minutes, until the crust is deep golden brown and the cheese is bubbling. Scatter fresh basil over just before serving.
Method in the Thermomix
Written for a TM5 or TM6, 2.2 litre bowl. This covers only kneading the dough; roasting the vegetables and baking the pizza are conventional.
- Flour and yeast into the bowl. Add the warm water. Mix 10 sec / speed 5, rest 10 min in the bowl.
- Add the salt and oil. Knead 2 min / dough mode, shorter than a wheat dough would need; spelt tears if overworked.
- Tip out, prove and continue by hand from step 4 of the hand method.
Notes
- Knead spelt dough less than you would a wheat dough. Its gluten is more fragile and breaks down under prolonged working, giving a slack, tearing dough instead of a stretchy one.
- Roast the vegetables before topping the pizza, not raw. Raw vegetables release too much water in the short bake time and leave the crust soggy.
- A pizza stone or steel gives a noticeably crisper base than a plain baking sheet, since it holds and transfers heat faster into the dough.
- The dough does not keep well raw; bake both portions, then reheat leftover slices in a hot oven rather than trying to hold the dough for a second day.
Ingredient substitutions
- Wholegrain spelt flour can be swapped for white spelt flour for a lighter, less nutty crust; reduce the water slightly since white spelt absorbs less.
- Zucchini, pepper and onion can be any vegetables that roast well; mushrooms and cherry tomatoes both work.
- Mozzarella can be any melting cheese; a mix with a little grated hard cheese adds a sharper edge.
From Christoph Mayer