Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
Make whole wheat pizza dough in a bread machine for perfect crispy-chewy pizza crusts and easy homemade bread sticks. The whole wheat flour adds so much flavor to this easy dough recipe.

My family loves homemade pizza night. We experiment with so many different pizza topping combinations throughout the year but we usually use my favorite bread maker pizza dough for the crust.
I wanted to experiment with a whole wheat pizza dough because I love ordering them when we eat out at restaurants. Whole wheat gives a pizza crust extra flavor and makes the final texture a little more chewy on the inside while keeping crispy on the outside--my favorite!
This easy whole wheat pizza dough takes just 5 minutes to prep with your bread maker and is even easier to work with than my original pizza dough recipe. We'll be using it as our go-to pizza crust this season for sure.
Why This is the Best Recipe
Homemade pizzas are one of my favorite things to make with our bread maker. I think this is the best whole wheat pizza dough recipe because:
- Just 5 Ingredients: This is an excellent, wholesome recipe made from very basic ingredients that you can feel great about feeding your family.
- Just 5 Minutes: Using a bread maker means just 5 minutes of hands-on time to make the dough.
- Amazing Flavor and Texture: I love everything that the whole wheat flour brings to this party.
Ingredients
This simple recipe only needs these 5 ingredients (plus water):
- Whole Wheat Flour: I used 100% whole grain whole wheat flour from King Arthur.
- All-Purpose Flour: I also used King Arthur flour for this.
- Olive Oil
- Active Dry Yeast: You don't need the yeast marked specifically "bread machine yeast" but if that's what you have already, it will totally work.
- Kosher Salt
Bread Machine Tips
As the author of The Ultimate Bread Machine Cookbook, I'm very passionate about baking homemade bread with a bread maker.
If you're curious and wondering if a bread maker is worth it, not only do I think the answer is yes but I've reviewed the most popular bread machine for beginners.
For this recipe, I used my Cuisinart bread machine because I just love how easy it is to make dough with the DOUGH program.
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Prep the Dough
This recipe starts as all my bread machine recipes do: By adding the wet ingredients first. This helps the bread maker properly mix the dough.
Add the water and olive oil to the bread pan fitted with the bread paddle:
Then add the dry ingredients right on top. Add the all-purpose flour, the whole wheat flour, and the kosher salt.
Dig a shallow well in the center of the flour and add the yeast there like this:
Place the bread pan back into the bread machine and select the DOUGH program. Press Start.
That's it! So easy, right? The dough program should take about 1.5 hours to complete.
Second Rise
When the timer goes off on the bread maker, brush some olive oil around the inside of a large mixing bowl.
Add the dough to the bowl and punch it down. Remove the bread paddle if it stuck to the dough. Turn the ball of pizza dough over to coat it in olive oil and then cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
Let the dough rise for an hour before using it.
Make Ahead Tips
If you want to prep the dough in advance, STOP before the second rise. Just place the dough in the oiled mixing bowl and cover.
Then put it directly into the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
When you want to use it, you will need extra time for it to sit on the counter to warm up before doing the second rise.
Rolling and Baking Instructions
Rolling and baking whole wheat dough is the same as my methods for my bread maker pizza dough.
I've included everything you need to know in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post but if you'd like to see very detailed instructions and step-by-step photos, you can read how to roll pizza dough with your hands here and see my tips for how to bake pizza dough here.
Whole Wheat Pizza Topping Ideas
You can use whole wheat dough to make any pizza you'd like to make but I think it pairs especially well with hearty sauces, spicy toppings, and hot honey drizzles.
I first used it to make my autumn harvest apple pizza with sliced apples, red onions, goat cheese, and arugula.
It would be a perfect pick for a hearty barbeque chicken pizza and it would hold up well to the spice in my buffalo chicken flatbread.
I also think it would be amazing to use for whole wheat pokey sticks and I loved it in these whole wheat breadsticks.
More Pizza Recipes
If this recipe got you excited to try making more homemade pizzas, you won't want to miss these family favorites:
๐ Recipe
Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cup water
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 1/2 cups (342g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (137g) whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
Instructions
- Add the ingredients in the order they are listed to your bread machine's bread pan fitted with the paddle attachment.
- Select the Dough program and press "Start". Most machines take about an hour and a half to complete the cycle.
- Brush olive oil around the inside of a large mixing bowl. Transfer the dough from the bread pan to the bowl and remove the paddle. Gently punch the dough down and turn it over in the bowl so that it is covered in the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean towel.
To Store the Dough
- If you don't want to bake with the dough today, you can place the covered bowl in the fridge and leave the dough for up to 3 days.
- Plan to move the bowl to a warm spot in your kitchen 2 hours before you want to bake so that the dough can come to room temperature and then rise.
To Use the Dough
- Place the covered bowl of dough on your stovetop or another warm spot in your kitchen and let the dough rise for 1 hour. (If the dough was refrigerated, add an additional hour.)
- Transfer the pizza dough to a baking mat. Do not flour the mat, you want the dough to stick a little bit so it is easier to pat into shape. Use a bench scraper or pizza wheel to cut the dough in half. Put one half back in the oiled bowl while you pat out the first crust.
- Use your fingers to pat the dough into a 12-inch circle. If the dough insists on shrinking, let it rest for 5 - 10 minutes and try again.
- Place a piece of parchment paper over the pizza crust and smooth out the air bubbles. Roll up the baking mat, flip it, and unroll the mat so the parchment paper is now on the counter and the baking mat is on top. Peel back the baking mat, you should now have the pizza crust sitting on parchment paper.
- Brush olive oil around the edges of the crust and then top with your favorite pizza toppings.
- Repeat with the second half of the dough.
To Bake the Pizza
- Place a pizza stone on a rack in the center of your oven and preheat to 450ยฐF for at least 30 minutes.
- To get the crispiest crust, you'll want to bake the pizza on the parchment paper directly on the hot pizza stone in the oven. For a softer crust, you can place the pizza on a metal pizza pan and bake it on the hot stone.
- To get the pizza onto the hot stone without spilling, it is a good idea to slide the pizza on the parchment to a metal pan and use it as a "pizza peel" to carry it to the oven. Rest one edge of the pan on the hot stone and carefully slide the parchment off the pan and onto the stone.
- Bake the pizza for 12 - 15 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and your toppings have melted and are gently bubbling.
- To remove the pizza from the stone, use a metal pan and slide the parchment off the stone onto the pan.
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