Easy Healthy And Delicious Pizza Dough Recipe

Pizza dough can help prevent diabetes and some forms of cancer. Learn more about the facts, how to make healthy dough and get ideas for delicious toppings

Generally, pizza might not be perceived as a dish of choice for health freaks. However, this might change. Food chemists from the University of Maryland have found that pizza dough can help prevent diabetes and some forms of cancer. All it takes is to choose an optimal fermentation period, baking length and the right oven temperature. Even more uplifting for pizza fans – the recipe is easy.

The key to creating healthy pizza dough is to maximize the level of antioxidants There are four central factors in achieving this.

Four Steps to Making Healthiest Pizza Dough

First, choose the right flour. Whole wheat flour is a healthy choice, as it contains more of the antioxidant rich bran and endosperm components than fore example refined flour.

Second, let the dough ferment longer. The Food Chemists at the University of Maryland experimented with fermentation periods between zero minutes and 48 hours. It was found that antioxidant levels could increase 100 percent by using a longer fermentation period.

Third, turn up the temperature in the oven. The researchers considered temperatures between 204 and 285 degrees Celsius and found that the higher temperatures increased antioxidant levels by 82 percent.

Finally, let the pizza stay in the oven for a longer period. Baking times between 7 and 14 minutes were tested and the longer periods increased the antioxidant levels in the pizza dough by as much as 60 percent.

A thicker pizza can take higher temperatures and longer baking times. Thus, deep pan pizzas are seemingly the healthy choice. Moreover, planning your dinner menu a few days ahead would be a good idea, as this will give the dough plenty of time to ferment However, the following recipe is created to fit more spontaneous individuals.

Potato and Bacon Pizza Recipe

After initial preparation, such as taking ingredients out of your kitchen drawers and pouring the chef a tall glass of good wine, the pizza can be prepared in just an hour.

Serves: two people

Ingredients for the dough:

330 grams of whole wheat flour
½ teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of basil
1 spoon of virgin oil
2 decilitres of lukewarm water
2 teaspoons of dry yeast

Toppings:

Enough of your favourite tomato/pasta sauce
2 hands full of mozzarella
4-5 potatoes
½ a package of bacon
1 spoon of rosemary

Directions:

1. First, you prepare the dough. Put the flour, salt, basil and virgin oil in a bowl. Mix the lukewarm water and dry yeast. Then pour it in the bowl and mix the dough with your hands for approximately 2 minutes. Cover the dough and leave it to rest in a warm spot for 30 minutes.
2. Whilst the dough is resting, you peel the potatoes. Once they are peeled, cut the potatoes into ½ centimetre thick slices and put them in a pot filled with water. Put the pot on the stove and turn up the heat. Let the water boil for 7-10 minutes, pour out the water and let the potatoes rest till the dough has finished resting.
3. The dough has rested for 30 minutes. Put the dough on some parchment paper and flatten the dough till it is just ½ centimetre think. Roll up the edges to create what will become the crust of the pizza.
4. Now, you add the topping, starting with the pasta sauce. Just apply a thin layer of pasta sauce – you should be able to see the dough trough the sauce. Distribute the cheese evenly followed by the potato slices. After sprinkling the rosemary onto the pizza, the (raw) bacon is added.
5. Turn up the heat in your oven to 220 degrees Celsius and put in the pizza. The pizza should stay in the oven for 20-25 minutes. This provides you with just enough time to clean up the kitchen and set the table.

Healthier and Vegetarian Pizza Topping Alternative

Critics of the Maryland Food Chemists’ findings are stressing that the choice of pizza topping also matters. An even healthier alternative to the recipe found above can easily be made by exchanging the bacon with thin slices of fresh tomato and spinach. These two toppings should be added after the pizza has been taken out of the oven. In addition, cut the amount of mozzarella down to an absolute minimum and add some salt and pepper .

Finally, this healthier alternative fits into a vegetarian diet. Bon appetite!