Whole-Wheat Pizza with Kale and Sunflower Seed Pesto
By America's Test KitchenPublished on December 9, 2019
Time
1¼ hours, plus 18 hours proofing, and 1 hour resting
Yield
Makes two 12-inch pizzas
Ingredients
Dough
1½ cups (8¼ ounces/234 grams) whole-wheat flour 1 cup (5½ ounces/156 grams) bread flour 2 teaspoons honey ¾ teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast 1¼ cups ice water 2 tablespoons cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil 1¾ teaspoons saltToppings
5½ ounces (156 grams) curly kale, stemmed and cut into 1½-inch pieces (3½ cups)1 tablespoon cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzlingSalt and pepper 6 ounces (170 grams) cherry tomatoes, quartered1 ounce (28 grams) Parmesan cheese, shavedBefore You Begin
The pizza dough needs to proof for at least 18 hours before baking. If you do not have a baking stone, you can use a preheated rimless (or inverted rimmed) baking sheet, however the crust will be less crisp. Shape the second dough ball while the first pizza bakes, but don't top the pizza until right before you bake it. We prefer to use our pizza dough, but you can substitute 2 pounds store-bought whole-wheat pizza dough (1 pound of dough per pizza).
Instructions
- For the dough: Process whole-wheat flour, bread flour, honey, and yeast in food processor until combined, about 2 seconds. With processor running, add ice water and process until dough is just combined and no dry flour remains, about 10 seconds. Let dough sit for 10 minutes.
- Add oil and salt to dough and process until it forms satiny, sticky ball that clears sides of bowl, 45 to 60 seconds. Remove from bowl and knead on oiled counter until smooth, about 1 minute. Divide dough in half, shape each half into a tight ball, and place each in lightly oiled bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 18 hours or up to 2 days.
- One hour before baking pizza, adjust oven rack to middle position, set pizza stone on rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees. Remove dough from refrigerator and let sit until dough springs back minimally when poked gently with your knuckle, at least 1 hour.
- For the toppings: Combine kale, oil, and ¼ teaspoon salt in bowl and massage lightly to coat leaves evenly. Heat broiler for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, coat 1 ball of dough generously with flour and place on well-floured counter. Using your fingertips, gently flatten into 8-inch disk, leaving 1 inch of outer edge slightly thicker than center. Lift edge of dough and, using back of your hands and knuckles, gently stretch disk into 12-inch round, working along edges and giving disk quarter turns as you stretch. Transfer dough to well-floured pizza peel and stretch into 13-inch round.
- Spread ½ cup pesto over surface of dough, leaving ½-inch border around edge. Scatter half of tomatoes and half of kale mixture over pizza. Slide pizza carefully onto stone, return oven to 500 degrees, and bake until crust is well browned and edges of kale leaves are crisp and brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove pizza, place on wire rack, and let pizza rest for 5 minutes. Drizzle with additional oil to taste and sprinkle with half of Parmesan. Slice pizza into 8 slices and serve.
- Heat broiler for 10 minutes. Repeat process of stretching, topping, and baking with remaining dough and toppings, returning oven to 500 degrees when pizza is placed on stone.
Time
1¼ hours, plus 18 hours proofing, and 1 hour restingYield
Makes two 12-inch pizzasIngredients
Dough
1½ cups (8¼ ounces/234 grams) whole-wheat flour
1 cup (5½ ounces/156 grams) bread flour
2 teaspoons honey
¾ teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
1¼ cups ice water
2 tablespoons cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
1¾ teaspoons salt
Toppings
5½ ounces (156 grams) curly kale, stemmed and cut into 1½-inch pieces (3½ cups)
1 tablespoon cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
Salt and pepper
6 ounces (170 grams) cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 ounce (28 grams) Parmesan cheese, shaved
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Dough
1½ cups (8¼ ounces/234 grams) whole-wheat flour
1 cup (5½ ounces/156 grams) bread flour
2 teaspoons honey
¾ teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
1¼ cups ice water
2 tablespoons cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
1¾ teaspoons salt
Toppings
5½ ounces (156 grams) curly kale, stemmed and cut into 1½-inch pieces (3½ cups)
1 tablespoon cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
Salt and pepper
6 ounces (170 grams) cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 ounce (28 grams) Parmesan cheese, shaved
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Dough
1½ cups (8¼ ounces/234 grams) whole-wheat flour
1 cup (5½ ounces/156 grams) bread flour
2 teaspoons honey
¾ teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
1¼ cups ice water
2 tablespoons cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
1¾ teaspoons salt
Toppings
5½ ounces (156 grams) curly kale, stemmed and cut into 1½-inch pieces (3½ cups)
1 tablespoon cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
Salt and pepper
6 ounces (170 grams) cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 ounce (28 grams) Parmesan cheese, shaved
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
For starters, we replaced over half of the bread flour with whole-wheat flour, which required making an extra-wet dough for optimal chew. For a sauce, we used our powerhouse Kale and Sunflower Seed Pesto. Cherry tomatoes provided bursts of sweetness and acidity to balance the earthy pesto underneath. We topped the pizza with even more kale, which crisped in the oven. A few shavings of Parmesan completed the picture.
Before You Begin
The pizza dough needs to proof for at least 18 hours before baking. If you do not have a baking stone, you can use a preheated rimless (or inverted rimmed) baking sheet, however the crust will be less crisp. Shape the second dough ball while the first pizza bakes, but don't top the pizza until right before you bake it. We prefer to use our pizza dough, but you can substitute 2 pounds store-bought whole-wheat pizza dough (1 pound of dough per pizza).
Instructions
- For the dough: Process whole-wheat flour, bread flour, honey, and yeast in food processor until combined, about 2 seconds. With processor running, add ice water and process until dough is just combined and no dry flour remains, about 10 seconds. Let dough sit for 10 minutes.
- Add oil and salt to dough and process until it forms satiny, sticky ball that clears sides of bowl, 45 to 60 seconds. Remove from bowl and knead on oiled counter until smooth, about 1 minute. Divide dough in half, shape each half into a tight ball, and place each in lightly oiled bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 18 hours or up to 2 days.
- One hour before baking pizza, adjust oven rack to middle position, set pizza stone on rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees. Remove dough from refrigerator and let sit until dough springs back minimally when poked gently with your knuckle, at least 1 hour.
- For the toppings: Combine kale, oil, and ¼ teaspoon salt in bowl and massage lightly to coat leaves evenly. Heat broiler for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, coat 1 ball of dough generously with flour and place on well-floured counter. Using your fingertips, gently flatten into 8-inch disk, leaving 1 inch of outer edge slightly thicker than center. Lift edge of dough and, using back of your hands and knuckles, gently stretch disk into 12-inch round, working along edges and giving disk quarter turns as you stretch. Transfer dough to well-floured pizza peel and stretch into 13-inch round.
- Spread ½ cup pesto over surface of dough, leaving ½-inch border around edge. Scatter half of tomatoes and half of kale mixture over pizza. Slide pizza carefully onto stone, return oven to 500 degrees, and bake until crust is well browned and edges of kale leaves are crisp and brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove pizza, place on wire rack, and let pizza rest for 5 minutes. Drizzle with additional oil to taste and sprinkle with half of Parmesan. Slice pizza into 8 slices and serve.
- Heat broiler for 10 minutes. Repeat process of stretching, topping, and baking with remaining dough and toppings, returning oven to 500 degrees when pizza is placed on stone.
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