Whole Wheat Einkorn Sourdough Pizza Dough Recipe

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Pizza nights happen to be a special night at our house. The ability to purchase store bought pizza or run down to the take-n-bake pizza shop has all but been eliminated due to special diets. When I gather together our pizza ingredients, excitement builds. The most important ingredient by far isn’t the pizza sauce, cheese or pepperoni (nor the anchovies). It’s the crust of course! This einkorn flour pizza crust is made with sourdough, making it easily digestible. The whole grains are fried crispy on the bottom and then puff up to a crispy top. Here’s the directions and tips to get the best whole grain sourdough einkorn pizza dough recipe possible.

A Little About Einkorn Flour

There is a big difference between modern wheat and einkorn wheat. As my favorite of the ancient grains, it became rediscovered in recent years. It’s scientific name, triticum monococcum, that means “one kernal” because it only produces one grain per hull. The genetic structure of our modern wheat has resulted in an overabundance of wheat being produced. This, and the fact that einkorn it isn’t as easy to grown as our modern varieties of wheat, gave reason to forget the heritage grain.

Carla Bartolucci’s daughter had many health problems and when Carla discovered einkorn flour, the health problems began to fade. You can learn more about how Carla introduced this high nutrition wheat back onto the market as well as more about einkorn HERE.

As far as nutrition, this ancient wheat is a powerhouse. This grain has an impressive 9 grams of protein per serving compared to whole modern soft wheat which has 5g. Phosphorus content is approximately 75% higher in einkorn. Lutein is 215% higher and B12 is 55% higher in einkorn when compared to modern soft wheat. This is just the beginning. It’s really pretty amazing. You can see the full nutrition facts chart here.

I personally use einkorn, because I could barely tolerate any grains. I’d followed a paleo style diet for digestive issues, but soon found that I had autoimmune issues with nuts that were an important part of that diet. When I found einkorn, I could suddenly enjoy bread again! Not only that, but my husband also enjoyed the sweet nutty flavor. I soon began to create recipes and learn how to use this new (but very ancient) wheat day to day.

The Ingredients

Sourdough Starter

I use an einkorn sourdough starter for my baking but if you don’t have an einkorn starter, any sourdough starter will do. You can easily make an einkorn sourdough starter by following these steps. I keep my starter at a thick consistency do to the fact that einkorn likes having more grain to stay active. When I add this starter it is like very thick pancake batter.

Warm Water

You want the water to be about 100-110 degrees Fahrenheit. Not hotter than you’d take a bath. Just warm enough to awaken your starter and help it activate well within the dough.

Salt

You MUST have salt in your pizza dough to bring out the flavor. Don’t get me wrong, einkorn flour has a beautiful nutty flavor, but salt is what elevates it. Sea salt is best.

Whole Wheat Einkorn Flour

I like to grind my own flour using my Mockmill 100 flour mill. If you don’t grind your own flour like this pioneer girl, just grab a bag of 100% whole wheat einkorn flour. Where do I get einkorn flour? My favorite place for einkorn wheat berries is the Idaho Ancient Grains company that grows their einkorn right in the U.S.A. I also look to Azure Standard, my once a month grocery pick up, for Jovial brand einkorn flour. They also carry whole wheat einkorn flour.

DO NOT try all-purpose einkorn flour in this recipe as the dough will not turn out the same. All-purpose einkorn and whole wheat einkorn act differently in recipes and you need to follow a recipes specific to their flour type or you may be disappointed. Grab My FREE Printable sheet to see what recipes are best for whole wheat einkorn.

Sugar

To me, adding sweetener to pizza dough is truly important. Hear me out on this. I don’t add sweetener to all my bread loaves but pizza is made with red sauce. Red sauce has a quite acidic taste and, in my opinion, the acid needs to be balanced with a bit of sweetness in the crust. This is just opinion mind you. It’s always optional. Sort of.

Ingredients From Top to Bottom

• 1/2 Cup Active Sourdough Starter
• 1/4 teaspoon dry active yeast (optional)
• 1 1/2 Cups Warm Water about 100 degrees Fahrenheit
• 5 1/2 Cups Whole Wheat Einkorn Flour
• 2 Tablespoons Sugar (I like to use sucanat)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons Fine Sea Salt

Pizza Toppings

You can’t make pizza without having some toppings to give it the amazing flavor! Here are some ideas.

• Basil Leaves
• Mozzarella Cheese (combine fresh sliced mozzarella balls with shredded mozzarella)
• Other Cheeses such as Monterey Jack or Cheddar Cheese
• Bell Peppers
• Olives
• Sausage, Pepperoni or Ham Slices
• Onions

Instant Yeast (Optional)

“I thought this was a sourdough recipe!” I hear you say. I rarely use commercial yeast in my recipes. Personally, I’m sensitive to yeast and do much better with sourdough starter. Still, there’s a comfort in certain breads that have a little extra rise. Those are cinnamon rolls and Pizza dough. With these two things I break my “no yeast” rule and add just a bit to help give it more comfort food rise. Sourdough will absolutely conquer this recipe and hold it’s own so only add the yeast if you want to do so.

Tools To Make Whole Grain Einkorn Pizza

Stand Mixer

I must admit, I don’t use a stand mixer for most of my baking. I prefer to do it by hand. That said, a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment can be very helpful when mixing together ingredients

Measuring Cups and Spoons

Whenever baking, having measuring cups and spoons on hand is so important. You can’t bake without them.

Pizza Stone, Baking stone or Cast Iron Skillet

If you don’t have any of these, feel free to simply use a baking sheet. Otherwise, grab your cast iron and baking stones. We’ll preheat these in order to get a nice brown bottom. Cast Iron and Pizza Stones hold and distribute heat well across the surface. I love how they make a bit of a crunchy bottom and allow the dough to rise into a soft top.

Preparing to Make Sourdough Pizza Dough With Einkorn

Prepping for your Pizza Night

I love to think about weekend food on Monday or Tuesday just to get me excited. It’s a good thing too because sourdough doesn’t just up and start running. Make sure to be feeding your sourdough consistently the days before you make your pizza dough. This will help it to activate and grow. By the time you make your dough, it will be plenty strong.

Make this Pizza the Day of OR Night Before

You don’t have to make this recipe overnight. You can also make and bake this pizza the day you eat it. Just make sure to give it at least eight hours of rise time before rolling it into a flat pizza crust. When I make this recipe the day of, I make it for dinner, while my overnight pizza crust will usually be used for lunch the following day. Mixing ingredients at eight a.m. and rolling the dough into a crust at four p.m. allows that eight hours rise time.

To make this crust the night before, prepare your dough the night before and cover with a damp cloth. The next day, take the dough out to fold (I fold rather than knead) and roll out about 90 minutes before baking. If you have to let the dough rise more than 12 hours, place in the refrigerator and take out an hour before rolling out to come to temperature.

The Recipe for Whole Wheat Einkorn Sourdough Pizza Crust

Prepare your Dough

Measure out your active sourdough starter and pour into a large mixing bowl or bowl on a stand mixer. Add warm water and active dry yeast if using. Let the yeast dissolve and then mix these ingredients together.

Add in your sugar, salt and flour. Mix until the ingredients just combine into a dough loose dough ball. Let the dough sit for 15 minutes to absorb all the moisture.

Note: Einkorn (especially whole wheat) absorbs moisture very slowly so you’ll want to let it sit a bit after first mixing dough no matter what you’re baking.

Take your dough out onto a lightly floured surface and fold the dough about 10 times before rolling it back into a ball and placing back into the bowl. I fold the dough instead of “kneading” it because it encourages air pockets to stay inside the dough. To learn more about folding dough check out this post.

Cover your dough ball with a damp tea towel or cloth and set aside to rise for about 8-10 hours.

Roll Out the Dough

Divide the dough into two balls for large pizzas and three balls for medium sized pizzas. Roll one ball of dough between two pieces of parchment paper. Roll it out to about 1/8 inch until just before it’s begins to tear. I like to take the dough out of the parchment and stretch it by hand or roll it without the parchment after it gets to about 1/4 inch thick.

Rise the Dough again

Move the rolled out pizza crust to a floured surface. To do this, fold the circle crust into thirds after sprinkling some flour on top, then unfold it on the floured surface. Cover once again and let it rise an hour while the oven preheats. Now is the perfect time to prepare your toppings.

Preheat the Oven and Pizza Pan

Put your pizza pan, stone, or cast iron skillet into the oven to preheat to 490 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 30 minutes. When the oven and baking tray are hot (or a skillet in my case) take it out. Melt a Tablespoon of butter in or on the pan and coat the bottom.

Bake your Pizza

Drop the unbaked pizza crust on the skillet, stone or pan and add toppings. Bake at 490 degrees Fahrenheit for 11-15 minutes or until the crust is browned and the cheese melted on the toppings.

Take the pizza out and let it sit for five minutes before transferring to a cutting board.

Enjoy!

More Recipes You may Like

The Best Einkorn Flour Recipes for Every Season

How to Make Christmas Chocolate Chip Cookies with Einkorn

Sourdough Einkorn Lemon Poppy Seed Muffin Recipe

Simple Recipe for Einkorn in Sourdough Starter

Hope you have as much fun eating your pizza as making it. From the Hilltop!

Krista