Author Topic: Question about level of nutrition in the best pizza crust (Read 19775 times)

kroxic · « **on:** August 01, 2007, 03:44:28 PM »

To give you an idea for my motivation of nutrtion with this project, I am a bodybuilder. Thus, my diet is controlled constantly. However, for 8 months out of the year I am in "offseason" mode where I can be lax and i dont have to weigh everything i eat and I can go out to eat but i still keep an eye out for whats healthy.

Now for the pizza part. I have a contest this weekend and for the next two weeks I will be celebrating with healthy pizzas. I haev read a lot of things about different flours on this site but I have failed to piece together quality flour and nutrution. My plan is to use whole wheat flour with maybe even some oat flour mixed in for a unique nutty flavor.

My question is...
Can I successfully make a crust with ALL whole wheat flour? if so, what brand should I look for?
If not, how much of the lesser nutrient rich flour will I have to have with the whole wheat to make a solid crust?

PS I plan on using an IDY for my first few pizzas while I get my italian starters going from sourdo.com at which point I will be making almost all of my crust and other baked goods with the starter.

pcampbell · « **Reply #1 on:** August 01, 2007, 06:43:09 PM »

I wonder why you are that concerned about whole wheat flour? I don't think it will taste good. My wife is obsessed with it... "it's so healthy yada yada yada." I think all you are really getting is more fibre. Look at the ingredients and nutritional information on the labels compared to whole wheat flour and regular wheat flour. P.S. I am a cyclist - I spend 20 hours a week riding 300+ miles and I eat tons of whole wheat, bran , vegetables, etc. But when it comes to pizza, I can see nothing wrong with eating a pizza crust made from quality unbleached flour, salt, yeast and water. If you want to be healthy, go easy on the quantity of cheese (maybe use part skim?), and a good healthy sauce with no junk(sugar,etc.) in it and healthy toppings. I love broccoli. If you are set on wheat flour, you could try a few things: different percentages of wheat flour: whole wheat flour. For my bread I use about 66% regular and 33% wheat. You could also try "white wheat flour". If anyone has any information as to what nutritionally you really get from whole wheat vs wheat I would love to hear.

BTW for flour, King Arthur's is a great brand...

kroxic · « **Reply #2 on:** August 01, 2007, 06:49:09 PM »

The fiber is exactly what i am after. I need that to slow digestion and help regulate my insulin levels

pcampbell · « **Reply #3 on:** August 01, 2007, 06:59:27 PM »

Interesting... I thought I would post this that I found while googling after pondering my own reply

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0820/is_329/ai_n12938278

If you really need it, give it a try. Maybe start off with 50/50 and see how it tastes? Some of the pizza experts will chime in I am sure...

pcampbell · « **Reply #4 on:** August 01, 2007, 07:05:14 PM »

Check out http://www.kingarthurflour.com/flour/home.html for all the different kinds of KA flours. Oddly I prefer their red whole wheat to white whole wheat.

charbo · « **Reply #5 on:** August 01, 2007, 07:57:17 PM »

I think a 100% whole wheat pizza can be good, but it’s harder to make. If you look under the heading “Other Types”, you will find the topic called “Whole Wheat Crust Ideas”.

As far as flours go, King Arthur white whole wheat has worked for me, but I add vital wheat gluten (VWG). (By the way, one of the recipes in the KA Whole Grain Baking book is 100% whole wheat, but I haven’t tried it.) For a 100% WW pizza, I would recommend Wheat Montana’s Bronze Chief or Prairie Gold. These hard spring wheats are very high in protein and low in moisture. Their high absorption % will require extra water.

If you are interested in 100% WW in order to lower your glycemic load, I’ve seen on the web that it’s not much of an improvement over refined flour. It may have something to do with whole wheat’s having mostly insoluble, not soluble, fiber.

abatardi · « **Reply #6 on:** August 02, 2007, 02:14:39 AM »

I would say also stick to just regular unbleached flour. Everyone says there are no extra nutritional benefits (except the fiber, I suppose).. But hasn't it also been shown that mixing low glycemic foods with higher glycemic (the dough) in the same meal results in an "averaging down" scenario for blood sugar regulation anyway? Seems you could just add some high fiber, low glycemic veggies to the pizza and/or drink down some fiber with it and get the same net result.

Villa Roma · « **Reply #7 on:** August 04, 2007, 03:02:06 AM »

kroxic.....Most of my pizzas contain some whole grains. Lately I use at least 1/3 whole grains. I think it is much healthier than white flour and tastes better. I also don't believe that the food scientists totally understanding or know everything about the benefits of a diet rich in whole grains. Most of them are employed by big corporations that are more interested in the bottom line than your good health.

I made a pizza with 100% stone ground whole wheat. It is called Rambo pizza and is located under other types. It came out OK but was heavy. I also made a 100% whole grain pizza made with Gold Medal whole wheat flour that came out pretty good (sorry no pics). If you are looking for fiber I have found that stone ground rye flour has 20 grams of fiber per cup as opposed to 12 grams for whole wheat. Coincidentilly, I made a 50% whole grain dough just this morning and will bake it this afternoon. I'll post pictures later this weekend.

The bottom line is pizza can be a healthy meal and does not have to be a dumping ground of excess fat, salt, and colon clogging white flour!

Villa Roma

Villa Roma · « **Reply #8 on:** August 04, 2007, 12:47:52 PM »

Here's the pics of the pizza made with 50% whole grains. I used 33% stone ground rye and 17% stone ground whole wheat with a 68% hydration rate.

The recipe:
400 gm GM Harvest King bread flour
268 gm Hodgson mills stone ground whole rye flour
132 gm Hodgson mills stone ground whole wheat flour
800 gm

362 gm cold water (45%)
182 gm cold milk (23%)
544 gm (68%)

1 cup stiff rye starter
16 gm sugar (2%)
16 gm salt (2%)
16 gm olive oil (2%)

Mix together to combine in KitchenAid mixer on stir for 2 minutes, let rest 30 minutes. Mix on stir for 3 minutes. Let rise at room temperature with a stretch and fold every 3-4 hours. Scale at 180 gm and let rise for another 2 hours for a total of 9 hours. Baked at 675+ degrees for 3 minutes in the LBE.
Check out this video of the LBE cooking pizza #4: ()

Villa Roma

abatardi · « **Reply #9 on:** August 04, 2007, 01:02:57 PM »

any cross sections?

Villa Roma · « **Reply #10 on:** August 04, 2007, 01:46:30 PM »

Quote from: abatardi on August 04, 2007, 01:02:57 PM

any cross sections?

Ask and you shall receive! Keep in mind that this pizza crust is 50% stone ground whole grain.

Villa Roma

abatardi · « **Reply #11 on:** August 04, 2007, 04:11:51 PM »

nice, looks good.

kroxic · « **Reply #12 on:** August 05, 2007, 01:00:06 AM »

Hey thanks Villa Rome. I JUST got back from my bodybuilding competition like an hour ago.... now im REALLY hungry for some pizza. The recipe you posted might just make me run out to the 24 grocery right now and get soem rye and try it.

naschol · « **Reply #13 on:** September 20, 2007, 09:45:30 PM »

I only make 100% whole wheat pizza crusts, now, because of health issues in my family. I use home-milled hard white wheat and use one of two recipes. I sometimes make it with sourdough, using Mike Avery's recipe (http://www.sourdoughhome.com/pizzacrusts.html) and sometimes I use Peter Reinhart's recipe in the BBA. They both make excellent crusts, whether pressed thin or left thick. Of course, they are a little different than crusts using processed white flour, but they are very tasty. I don't think they would taste as good using store bought whole wheat unless you can get white whole wheat. The regular has kind of a bitter flavor.

Nancy

Bryan S · « **Reply #14 on:** September 22, 2007, 10:28:05 PM »

Quote from: Villa Roma on August 04, 2007, 12:47:52 PM

Here's the pics of the pizza made with 50% whole grains. I used 33% stone ground rye and 17% stone ground whole wheat with a 68% hydration rate.

The recipe:
400 gm GM Harvest King bread flour
268 gm Hodgson mills stone ground whole rye flour
132 gm Hodgson mills stone ground whole wheat flour
800 gm

Villa Roma

Villa, Have you tried using the Hodgson Mills Whole Wheat White flour for a pizza dough? I'm thinking 25% HM whole wheat white and 25% MH Rye with 50% Harvest King or Ceresota AP. Any thoughts? TIA, Bryan

Villa Roma · « **Reply #15 on:** September 23, 2007, 03:48:22 PM »

Quote from: Bryan S on September 22, 2007, 10:28:05 PM

Villa, Have you tried using the Hodgson Mills Whole Wheat White flour for a pizza dough? I'm thinking 25% HM whole wheat white and 25% MH Rye with 50% Harvest King or Ceresota AP. Any thoughts? TIA, Bryan

Bryan....I can't get American white whole wheat here unless I order it from the states. I can only get what they stock at the commissary so I use German white whole wheat that I get from a local bakery. It's milled really fine and I made a 100% whole wheat pizza with it and Hodgsons mills stone ground graham flour mixed 50/50. See below picture. I cooked it in my kitchen oven at 500 degrees. It came out good but it needs more heat. Next time I'll go with the LBE at 625+.

Villa Roma

Furo · « **Reply #16 on:** September 23, 2007, 04:06:48 PM »

I have used freshly ground Kamut wheat with both instant yeast and a starter I made with grapes from our vines. The style is the same our family has always made, what is referred to as Sicilian style. It has a high protein and good flavor, not bitter like some whole wheats. Just flour, water, salt and yeast (or starter), have on occasion added a little honey (less than a tablespoon) to dough for a little difference. I use some olive oil when I spread the dough out, and a simple sauce. The sauce is just fresh tomatoes, fresh onion, fresh garlic, basil (home grown and dried), kosher salt, black pepper, and a little Aleppo pepper (for a little zing). As far as toppings mostly whatever is available or leftover plus some cheese, usually mozzarella, sharp provolone and romano. Keep it as simple and fresh as possible.
Woody.

naschol · « **Reply #17 on:** September 24, 2007, 08:49:05 PM »

Oooooo, Furo. And, don't forget to mention the wonderful buttery flavor of kamut!

Nancy

Bryan S · « **Reply #18 on:** September 24, 2007, 11:22:03 PM »

Quote from: Villa Roma on September 23, 2007, 03:48:22 PM

Bryan....I can't get American white whole wheat here unless I order it from the states. I can only get what they stock at the commissary so I use German white whole wheat that I get from a local bakery. It's milled really fine and I made a 100% whole wheat pizza with it and Hodgsons mills stone ground graham flour mixed 50/50. See below picture. I cooked it in my kitchen oven at 500 degrees. It came out good but it needs more heat. Next time I'll go with the LBE at 625+.

Villa Roma

Thanks for the info. I'm trying to eat a "little" more on the healthy side and was just wondering about the use of the HM white whole wheat. Just looking at the flour it would seem to me that if I used it at 100% for a pizz crust it would be a very heavy pizza crust. Really need to get away from all this refined crap I eat, and I'll just have to experiment with some different flours and combos. If I hit on something I'll be sure to post my results.

Bryan S · « **Reply #19 on:** September 25, 2007, 12:24:19 AM »

Quote from: Villa Roma on August 04, 2007, 03:02:06 AM

and colon clogging white flour!

Villa Roma

Villa, Do you have a link or could you shed some more info for me? Thanks, Man