Whole Wheat Pizza (Instant Pot proofed Dough)recipe

Whole Wheat Pizza recipe with dough proofed in Instant Pot.

Easy to make, no-knead Pizza dough recipe, with crusty base made with a mix of Whole Wheat Flour, Semolina and Oats Flour. Instantly proved/proofed dough in Instant Pot now makes it super quick to make Pizza from scratch, at home.

No more kneading or waiting for proving of Pizza dough for long especially in harsh winters here when dough takes forever to rise. Now with the ease of Instant Pot, even if you decide, making pizza an hour before dinner, you can enjoy fresh hot pizza with nutritious pizza base.

We all love Pizza, what can be better than a crusty pizza with your favourite topping and loaded with cheese. Kids adore it and even the grown ups can't say no to it. My family loves pizza like many of your's.

Love Pizza!! then do try these variations.. Bread Pizza, Pizza Crackers

It's been quite a while that I didn't make any pizza at home. Either we went out to someone's place there we had pizza or on a weekend outing we ended up having pizza outside. Kids were asking for my homemade pizza. Yes they love Homemade Pizza!!

Recently I saw many bread recipes where the dough was proved in Instant Pot. I never used Instant Pot for proving bread, though I use it regularly for my everyday Indian meals.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough in Instant Pot

So, when Preethi from my facebook group Foodies Monday Bloghop, suggested the the theme #PizzaMania for this week, challenge , I decided that I will try my Instant Pot for proofing the dough and make kids happy too!!

Preethi blogs at Preethi's Cuisine and has a treasure of easy to understand and cook, recipes from Indian and International Cuisines. She juggles between her work and blogging and balances both equally well. Do check out her blog for authentic Indian recipes especially from South Indian cuisine and many fusion recipes.

My first trial at proving Pizza dough in Instant Pot

I decided to make Pizza for Sunday dinner. Kneaded the dough after our lunch and was little skeptical about proving the dough in Instant Pot. Since it was my first trial, how it will come out. So I kneaded another dough and kept it on the counter to prove.

For timings I took reference from various sites, some specified 30 minutes timer and some said 50 minutes. I decided to take the middle way, and set the timer for 40 minutes.

After 40 minutes, when the opened the lid(kept my fingers crossed), I was relieved and happy to see beautifully proved dough!! I carefully took that out on the counter dusted with flour, lightly folded it and then divided into equal parts. The dough was was moist and elastic (without any all purpose flour), patted with my hands to gave rustic pizza shape to one part and other I shaped on these mini pizza plates.

These mini pizza plates make it easy to roll out individual portions for each one of us, and I can easily personalize the topping as per everyone's choice.

My another dough that was on counter took around 1.5 hrs to prove as the weather was a bit cold as it was raining since last two days.

Let's see now how I made this Whole Wheat Pizza(Instant Proofed Dough)

Ingredients for Whole Wheat Pizza base

Whole wheat Flour(Atta), Semolina(Sooji) and Oats flour.

I powdered 1/2 cup of steel cut oats in my coffee grinder. You can omit oats or use powdered rolled oats.

Semolina makes the crust crispy and also adds softness to whole wheat dough.

I do not use All purpose flour for pizza as it does not have any nutritional value. I used to make Pizza using bread flour, so if you want to use it you can check my post Pizza Tonight where I used a mix of bread flour and whole wheat flour.

Other ingredients used are.. mix of Italian herbs for flavourful Pizza base(skip if you want a plain base), sugar, salt oil and water and yeast.

I used Instant active yeast. You can use active dry yeast but activate it before adding to flour. You can check out the method in my post from archives Pizza Tonight

I got 8 portions of equal sized dough .

With the dough, I made 4 mini pizza bases, one thin crust pizza medium size and few garlic knots.

With other dough that I proved on counter, I am making some Cheesy Pizza bombs (will update recipes later)

Method for dough

In a bowl mix, all the flours(Whole Wheat flour, Semolina and Oats Flour).To it add milk powder, salt, sugar and herbs if using.

Make a well in center, add lukewarm water(it should be just warm enough to touch), add yeast, and mix well. it just enough so that the dough comes together.

I added around 400 ml of water for 500 g or 3½ cups of flour. Add around 325 ml water if using All-purpose flour and skipping oats flour.

Substitute for milk powder-- Knead dough with half of water and half of milk. To use milk for kneading, use boiled and pasteurized milk.

Let the dough rest for 2-3 minutes, add oil and then knead it for 2 minutes.

Notes to use Yeast

I used Instant Yeast that needs no blooming. If you are using Fresh Yeast then you add it directly to your flours while kneading. If using Dry Yeast , you need to activate it first then add to dough.

To use Dry Yeast-- In a cup/bowl add yeast and sugar to just enough to touch lukewarm water required to knead the dough. Or, you can measure the water temperature using food thermometer.Keep it covered for about 10 mins. It will bubble up. Then add it to the flour to knead the dough.If there are no bubbles, discard the liquid and make again.

Water should be 105 – 110?F (37 – 40?C).Do not use very hot or very cold water. It kills yeast.

Proving Dough in Instant Pot

Oil the inner pot, transfer the dough carefully to inner pot.

Cover the lid and set the Yogurt Mode on for 40 minutes. I covered it with Instant Pot lid, you can use any glass or steel lid also. Take care it should cover it properly as the upper crust can become dry and dough will not prove well.

After 40 minutes, the timer will go off. Check the beautifully risen dough and carefully transfer it to another bowl or on dusted counter.

Divide dough into equal portions give pizza shape. If immediately baking, line the shaped pizza on dusted baking trays. You can also refrigerate the dough or freeze it. Leave the frozen dough on counter to thaw and then use it.

Shape it as you like it and leave on counter covered with damp cloth for next 10 minutes.

Baking Pizza Bases to store for later use

In case, you want to bake the base first, prick the base with fork , bake in pre-heated oven for 10 minutes at 427ºF or 217C.

Use base as and when required, with your favourite toppings.

Baking Pizza immediately

After the 2nd proving time (10 minutes), spread pizza sauce to base. Add toppings of your choice. I added some paneer pieces(from leftover Paneer Makhani, yes it makes delicious topping) , green bell peppers and onions. Kids don't like tomatoes so I skipped these. I love adding tomatoes to my pizza..

Add toppings as per your choice..

Bake in a pre-heated oven for 12 minutes(thick crust) and 8 minutes thin crust at 427ºF or 217ºC.

Made thin crust pizza for hubby with less cheese, onions and olives.

I had Navaratri fast, kids and hubby enjoyed the pizza and they also liked the Italian flavoured Pizza base.

How to store Pizza Base

These stay good for 4-5 days in refrigerator and you can freeze these for a month. Though I never did it for that long. To store, keep in zip-lock bag or freezer friendly air-tight container. Line parchment paper in between two bases, so that these don't stick due to moisture while thawing.

Do try Pizza proofing in Instant pot, if you still not tried it. For people like me who bake breads at how regularly it is a boon especially during harsh winters.

If you don't have Instant Pot you can still prove it. Pls see recipe card for details..

If you love baking breads, do check out these easy bread recipes from the blog.. Basil Pesto Bread , Rosemary Cherry Focaccia , Brioche buns , Whole Wheat Mini Beetroot Sliders, Bread Kulcha, Bhaji Stuffed Pav

Hope you and your family will love this Whole Wheat Pizza recipe with Italian herbs flavoured crusty base.

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