Shop
Joyous Health Recipes Food
Joyous Health Wellbeing Well-Being
Joyous Health Beauty Beauty
Joyous Health Family Family
Podcast
Previous Episodes 
ABOUT
Contact
RESOURCES
Podcast
ABOUT
Contact
RESOURCES

Organic Spelt Pizza Crust Recipe (gluten-free option)

I love pizza. Many people raise one eyebrow when I tell them not only this, but that I eat it too. Dear gawd! Gasp! A nutritionista who eats pizza? Who woul
Mar 6, 2012 | Joy McCarthy

I love pizza. Many people raise one eyebrow when I tell them not only this, but that I eat it too. Dear gawd! Gasp! A nutritionista who eats pizza? Who would have thought?! :) If you are eating the kind of pizza I'm going to share with you that is made of 100% REAL FOOD and foodgasmically delicious, then heck ya!

Lucky for me, recently one of my girlfriends not only cooked for me, but gave me her amazing pizza dough recipe too! All I had to do was bring a bottle of local Ontario wine to accompany her crispy, flavourful spelt crust pizza -- it was a match made in heaven. So I decided to whip up this recipe for my boyfriend for dinner on the weekend.

Now I won't take all the credit for this photo because had it not been for him, the pizza dough would have not ended up so pretty. You see, it was my first time making it and I was having trouble getting the dough to form a ball and not get stuck all over me! So I'm giving you a heads up that making a great pizza dough takes a bit of practice. I will share all my tips after the ingredients list to make sure you don't make the same mistakes I did.

Before I share the recipe, I beg you... please don't buy frozen pizza from the grocery store. The majority of these packaged pizzas are chock-full of sodium and goodness knows how many other unpronounceable ingredients that don't belong in your joyous body! Have you ever noticed that you are NEVER satisfied after eating this type of fast-food pizza? Plus the fact, there is no comparing the taste and freshness of your OWN toppings to a frozen junk food pizza.

Pizza Dough Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups organic stone ground spelt crust (You could swap this with brown rice flour, but you may need to experiment a few times to get it right - I haven't tried it yet, but I swap in gluten-free flours like brown rice in my baking and use a 1:1 ratio)

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

1 tsp baking powder (aluminum-free)

1 organic egg (slightly beaten)

1/4 cup water or almond milk

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Method:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Using your mixer, combine flour, salt, and baking powder together. In another small bowl, beat egg with a fork, add half of the olive oil, add the water or milk. Add these wet ingredients to the dry ingredients in your mixer and mix together until it forms a ball of dough. You may need to sprinkle the mixture with more flour as it's mixing to prevent it from sticking to the side of the bowl.

Sprinkle flour onto a flat surface (your counter). This is where you are going to roll and knead your dough. Take the dough from your mixer and roll into a ball. Knead it for 3-4 minutes max and then roll it into a flat circle-ish shape slightly bigger than your pan. Scoop the rolled dough onto the pan and roll/press around the pan to make the crust edge. Using the remaining olive oil, brush the dough before adding sauce and toppings (so that toppings don't bake into the crust).

When it comes to topping your pizza, the only limitation is your creativity. Here's one suggestion: I made arugula pesto, then placed chopped onions, cremini mushrooms, tomatoes, and some nitrate-free spicy salami. Then I sprinkled goat cheese, dried hot chili peppers and some freshly ground black pepper.

Once your favourite toppings have been added, bake for 20 minutes or the crust edges are golden.

Serves 2. Double the recipe or make 2 separate pizzas for more people.

Tips on making a great pizza dough:

If the dough is still sticky when you remove it from your mixing bowl, that's okay. Just sprinkle more flour onto it and you are kneading it.

Make sure you coat your hands with flour so the dough doesn't stick to you!

I actually used a cookie sheet and rolled it onto the cookie sheet once it was kneaded, rather than rolling it out and then transferring it. Much easier, but I'm a rookie at this. Give me a couple months and I will be a pizza dough making goddess (I hope!).

Don't be shy with your toppings because they shrink a bit, especially if water dense like vegetables.

Mar 6, 2012 BY Joy McCarthy
13 Comments
Dorothy   •   March 7, 2012

I am definitely going to try this recipe as it looks delice! Just have a question. You say to use a mixer for this recipe, but I don't normally use a mixer for dry ingredients such as flour, salt and the baking powder. Do you think the dough would form just as well by hand-mixing all the ingredients including when adding the second stage of ingredients? A little bit of olive oil or coconut oil rubbed into your hands before forming the pizza ball might help it from sticking to your hands. Also when I roll out dough I wrap the rolling pin in parchment paper secured at either end with elastics and the dough doesn't stick. I will try this when I make the pizza dough.

Reply

Joy McCarthy   •   March 7, 2012

Really great suggestions Dorothy! I didn't even think of the oil making it non-stick. I love all your suggestions and hope the readers check them out. I will try this the next time I make this amazing pizza!

Reply

Clint   •   April 22, 2012

This is an awesome recipe!It turned out great.I doubled it and it was perfect for 5 people(2 pizzas).I made one round in a pizza pan and one in a cookie sheet.Thanks for the recipe...Ps,I cooked the dough bare for 2 minutes and then let it cool for assured crispiness

Reply

Nancy Marshall   •   August 31, 2012

Just made this recipe and realized I forgot to add the olive oil. I was able to roll it nicely onto my pizza pan , will let you know how it tastes. I love how easy it was to make. I used my food processor and it worked well.

Reply

Ken   •   October 31, 2012

Hate to be a stickler but it should be noted that spelt is not a gluten free grain but it is easier to digest than wheat. I look forward to trying this recipe!

Reply
Joy McCarthy   •   October 31, 2012

Paul McGrath, UK   •   December 2, 2012

Hi, want to try this with a GF flour as I am on a low FODMAP diet. Has anyone tried this with a Xanthum or Guar gum substitute? I may use maizemeal, polenta or white rice flour or a mix of all three.

Reply

Steven Rogers   •   January 18, 2013

Thanks for the info. You would think it would be easy to talk about pizza in calgary, but it's a lot harder than you think. I like pizza.

Reply

Sherry   •   January 25, 2013

WOW THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU, this is an amazing recipe, I have been trying different recipes to find the right mixture of ingredients to make the perfect spelt pizza crust and this is it!!!! Your suggestion to add flour on surfaces works perfectly and didn't stick to my hands or my pizza paddle, and I was able to slide it off the paddle with a little promting from a grill spatula, but it floated right onto my heated pizza stone!

Reply
Joy McCarthy   •   January 26, 2013

It’s Lent!! (Take 2){plus some meatless ideas for foodies!} | My Tiny Way   •   March 9, 2014

[…] is a great option! Here is a spelt crust that I used that was D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!! I topped it with some Amish goat cheese, sundried […]

Reply

Catherine C.   •   April 5, 2023

Can't wait to try it with the brown rice. Curious, have you ever tried grilling it on grill stone?

Reply
Joy McCarthy   •   April 5, 2023

Post Comment

Welcome to thoughtful, organic beauty

Hello Joyous is an organic, plant-based, sustainable beauty brand here to bring more joy to your day.