Spelt Crust Pizza with Homemade Pizza Sauce

This recipe for homemade spelt crust pizza was first published on The Culinary Jumble.

In my last post, I proclaimed loudly that I was sick of food and that for the foreseeable future, the recipes on the blog would veer heavily towards healthier alternatives. So, you might be wondering why you are looking at a pizza?

And at first glance, I can see why people might think it didn’t take me long to slip back onto the path of less than nutritious food. However, this recipe is not as unhealthy as you may imagine.

Yes, it’s pizza. No fooling you lot. But it is made with a homemade spelt flour dough and a pizza sauce made from scratch. There’s also tons of veggies on top and only a smattering of cheese. So really, rather than unhealthy, we have ourselves a fairly balanced meal. Don’t you think?

I am not the pizza sauce maker in our house; I leave that to the chef (and yes, he really is a chef), but it is simple to make (he says).

The really great thing about making your own is that you can whip up a huge batch and freeze it in individual bags. Then, you can just slather it over a healthier pizza whenever you fancy one.

Pizza is just so adaptable and you can literally top it with anything you like. This was made between Christmas and New Year and I threw on fridge huggers that needed using up.

Making dough can be a little time-consuming. However, my bread machine makes mine in less than two hours. I just sit back and wait for the hard work to be done for me.

As mentioned, the dough is made with spelt flour and to be honest, I rarely use regular flour these days.

Although spelt is still a grain and is not gluten free, I find it easier on our stomachs. There is certainly much less bread bloat going on. If you’re unfamiliar with spelt, check out this informative piece from The Spelt Bakers.

If you have a bread maker, check out my other bread machine recipes.

Print Pin

From Scratch Spelt Crust Pizza with Homemade Pizza Sauce

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Ingredients

Dough

• 250ml milk
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 40g butter (chopped)
• 400g spelt flour (see notes)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ½ tablespoon salt
• 7g dried yeast

Sauce (large batch)

• 3 x 400g tins of tomatoes
• 2 medium-sized onions (finely chopped)
• 4 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Sea salt
• Around 2 tablespoons of sugar

Toppings

• Cherry tomatoes
• Green pepper
• Onion
• Green and yellow chillies
• Cheddar and parmesan cheese

Instructions

• Add the milk, egg, olive oil and chopped butter to your bread machine. Then add the remaining ingredients (keeping the salt and dried yeast away from each other as much as possible). Set your machine to make the dough.
• For the sauce: Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and add the onions and garlic. Fry until softened.
• Stir in the tomatoes, and then add salt, pepper and sugar.
• Let simmer for about 45 minutes, and then taste – adjust seasoning and sugar if necessary. Add the remaining two tablespoons of oil.
• Blitz in a food processor until smooth, and then leave to cool.
• Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC (400ºF).
• When the dough is ready, divide into two. Roll out each bit (you shouldn’t need a floured surface because the dough is perfect for working with, but add little to your surface if necessary) until they are a rough, round shape.
• Grease two pizza tins and press the dough (I have a dough “roller” which nicely pushes things into place) until it covers the whole tin. Alternatively, place the dough on a baking tray lined with grease proof paper and roll out using a rolling pin until it is the required thickness.
• Spread over the pizza sauce (if using a pizza tin and you have a raised edge, only spread on the bottom surface and not up the sides). Any sauce you have left, freeze in small individual bags.
• Sprinkle with a little cheese, top with whatever vegetables or toppings you are using, then add a final touch of cheese.
• Bake for around 20 minutes until the outer crust is a dark brown and the cheese is bubbling. Remove, slice and eat immediately. Enjoy!

Notes

The ingredients for the bread machine dough made two pizzas (one large square and one round 12 inch). However, the sauce is made in a large batch. If you don't need such a large amount, just reduce the ingredients accordingly. Please note that if the dough is made by hand, results can't be guaranteed.

1. If you'd like to use regular or bread flour, use 420g instead of the 400g mentioned
2.  I use grams in my recipes as weighing ingredients is the most accurate method. However, if cups are your thing, you can convert my measurements at Cook it Simply.