Sprouted Grain & Hummus Pizza. (Vegan)

I will admit when I was introduced to cold veggie pizza last year I fell in love.  Absolutely in love.  All the delicious fresh veggies on top are deceiving, however, and they do very little to balance out the junk food underneath.  I’m talking about Pillsbury croissants rolled into a pizza crust and topped with cream cheese.  It’s delicious.  Just not I need to run 10k to balance out this one slice delicious.  So, as with all things delicious - I tried putting a healthier spin on it.  It’s not so healthy you can eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day - but it’s pretty derned healthy.  

Sprouted grain crust, hummus as the “sauce” and fresh veg toppings made for a flavourful and DELISH version of…

Cold Veggie Pizza

This recipe is so relaxed and versatile.  I keep my crust separate from the toppings and sauce until I'm ready to sit down and eat.  I'm sure it could be packed in a lunch, but I think the sooner you eat it after put together - the better. 

Crust

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 tsp sugar (you can use any kind - honey, agave, something to feed the yeast)

2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

Mix water and sugar in a large bowl and sprinkle yeast on top.  Let sit for five minutes to make sure yeast isn’t “dead”.  It will look bubbly.  

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp seasoning (I used Costco’s organic no-salt seasoning) 

2 tbsp oil (olive oil works best, but you can use anything)

1 1/2 cups sprouted grain kamut flour

1 1/2 cups sprouted grain spelt flour

Up to 1 1/2 cups additional flour

Add salt, seasoning and oil to water and yeast mixture.  Add flour and use a large wooden spoon to mix.  You will quickly see how much more flour you need.  Depending on what climate you live in and what flour you use will greatly vary how much you need.  Regular all purpose flour is about 4 cups.  Spelt is only 3.  Don’t use a gluten free all purpose mix in this recipe, I’ve tried - it was terrible.  If you want to go the GF route, use Bob's Redmill Pizza dough mix.  It's badass.  

Knead your dough in the bowl a few times until it’s well blended and begins to spring back once you knead it.  You want your dough to be a little sticky but not cling to the sides of your bowl.  You may have read my tip in a previous post, but with breads the rule is “the wetter the better” so don’t add too much flour.  Cover the bowl with a wet dishcloth or saran wrap and leave for 30 minutes to an hour, until it’s doubled in size.  This depends on the temperature of your house of course. 

Preheat oven to 425.  This recipe will make two large 12-14 inch pizzas (depending on how thick you want your crust).  I like a very thin crust. I pressed mine down into a square shape because I wanted to cut the pieces into squares and not triangles.  If you don't use parchment paper - you should.  I just plop mine out of the bowl onto parchment paper and I'm ready to go.  If you refuse to use parchment, go ahead and grease & flour the cookie sheet.   When dough is ready bake for 10-12 minutes.  You can tell the bread is done as it will brown slightly and the edges will crisp up.  

Store bread in a large dishtowel once it's cool.  If you put it in a bag or tupperware it will lose some of its crunch.  

Toppings

I washed and cut romaine nice and small (you could also use a cheese grater).  I chopped up some green onions and cucumber and sliced tomatoes.  If it wasn’t the end of the week I would have liked to put on fresh mushrooms and peppers - but my little 3 year old is obsessed with both and eats them like they’re candy.  Anyways - put on whatever you have!  

Suggestions: baby kale, sprouts, broccoli, roasted garlic.....  

If you want to make your own hummus, it’s SUPER easy.   Super-duper easy.  

Hummus

1 can chickpeas, rinsed

1-2 lemons, juiced

Tahini (sesame seeds ground into a paste)

Optional add ins

- roasted garlic (the more the better)

- roasted red pepper

- salsa (oooh la la)

- cumin

- roasted jalepeno peppers (when I do this I sub lime juice for lemon juice)

Simply place your chickpeas, and roughly 1/4 cup Tahini in a food processor with the juice from one lemon.  Pulse for a while.  You are the boss of your own hummus so if you like it chunky so be it - but I like it smooth.  If you find you need more lemon juice, add as much as you’d like.  You can also add olive oil to get it smooth and keep the food processor from getting gunked up - I just prefer to keep mine oil free.  That’s it - definitely not worth paying $6.00 at the grocery store!  Ok, when I get store bought hummus I pay way less than that and buy what seems like an uneatable amount at Costco - but we eat it.  Every time.  No such thing as an uneatable amount of hummus at this house.

I'm not sure why I insist on embarrassing myself publicly ALL THE TIME but something about it makes me think it's endearing?  You'll like me because you KNOW you're better than me.  My lovely husband took these of me enjoying the pizza, and I kid you not - they are the best shots.  

Bonus Story:  I sat down with my second slice of pizza and said to my husband - "hey, we should get a pic of me eating them since I have a bra on and your'e home."  Those are real reasons.  He said "yeah".  So, I got the camera - sat down and handed it to him and got my pizza ready.  I sat and waited for a minute (or more) and then said, "Ron!"  He looked at me, dumbfounded, with the camera in his hands and said - "what do you want me to do with this thing?"
Yes, he really had no idea why he was holding a camera and why I was facing him holding (and not eating) my pizza.  Husbands!  

The Easiest Pizza you'll ever make…. and the BEST tasting!

We only turn the stove on during the weekends when energy prices are low.  I usually pick whichever day is least busy (Saturday or Sunday) and turn the stove on early in the afternoon and have it on until well after dinner.  I bake batches of whatever I think we might need throughout the week - muffins, breads, something special if company is coming, and ALWAYS pizza.  

If a weekend passes without pizza, the kids can't figure out what they did to deserve such deprivation!  

I have been using this recipe for years, and it has never failed.  It is quick, simple, and is truly better than any pizza you can order or pick up at a grocery store.  

Pizza Dough

1 1/4 cups lukewarm water (not too hot or you'll kill your yeast!)

1 tsp sugar

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (one package if you use individual packages)

Put warm water in large bowl, and dissolve sugar in it.  Sprinkle yeast on top and it will get kind of foamy looking.  If it doesn't get foamy, your yeast is dead - start over.

Once your yeast is proofed, add:

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup milk (you can use water)

3-4 cups flour

This is where you will start adding flour.  Use no more than 4cups, starting with two.  I add two cups (I'm going to be honest here, I haven't measured flour with this recipe for years because I've been doing it so long) and mix in with a wooden spoon.  When the dough is difficult to stir with the spoon, take the spoon out and start kneading by hand.  I knead IN the bowl so I don't make a mess in the kitchen and have less dishes when it's done.  Add flour until the dough isn't totally sticking to your hands.  You may need to rub the flour in your hands before mixing it in to help remove the dough. This kneading process shouldn't take more than a few minutes.  You want the dough to be well mixed and retain a ball shape - once that happens, just leave it.  A tip I read at the beginning of my bread making adventures is "the wetter the better" - so don't go crazy with the flour trying to get a dough that isn't sticky at all.  

2 tbsp olive oil

Leave the dough in the bowl and drizzle olive oil around the sides.  Roll the dough in the oil until it's coated and cover with wet cloth or saran wrap.

If your kitchen is FREEZING like mine, you may need to proof your dough somewhere other than the counter.  Sometimes I turn the oven on for 5 minutes and turn it back off - putting the dough in and giving it a warm place to sit for half an hour.  When I'm already baking I proof my dough where the heat vents out from my oven.  This can take anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour.  If you're busy - you can leave it proof on the counter for up to 2 hours, or put it in the fridge and take it out when you'd like to use it.  

When the dough is doubled in size, rip off a piece to make your pizza.  I make two large thin crust square pizzas that fill a cookie sheet with this recipe.  You can make your dough as thin or thick as you'd like.  I roll mine out with an oiled rolling pin directly onto the parchment paper I will bake it on.  Once rolled out, move it to cookie sheet and begin to assemble sauce, cheese and toppings.

Bake at 450 for 15 minutes.  Let rest for 5 minutes before cutting and ENJOY!

Want to make your own sauce?  It's easy, delicious and you know what's in it!

I still have canned tomatoes from the summer of 2011, but if you don't have any you can use fresh or canned whole tomatoes.

It's as simple as pulsing tomatoes in a food processor until it's as liquid-y as it's going to get.  Add fresh herbs and spices, or dried (I only had dry for this batch) and stick to the classic Italian herbs - basil, oregano, parsley.  I put the sauce right back in the jar I got the tomatoes from and will have enough  left over for pasta during the week.  

Other Pizza Making Tips

- Buy cheese when it's dirt cheap and freeze it!  I always have a few bricks of mozzarella in the freezer, and take it out on the morning of pizza making day.

- Let your kids join in the fun and make their own personal pizzas!  They can get creative, and they always love eating something they've made on their own.  I love hearing my kids brag about what a good job they did and how they can't believe how good it is!

- Have fun with toppings!  I'm going to be honest - I go through phases of what I want on my pizza pie.  I'm in a major garlic and hot pepper phase, that's all I want.  I sliced HUGE chunks of garlic and lined my whole pizza with it, topping that off with mounds of hot pepper.  I also enjoy doing a veggie mix of broccoli, peppers, fresh tomato slices, asparagus, and anything else I can find in my fridge.  

Happy Baking!