Pizza. A family favorite that is easy, tasty, and fun to eat! In the interest of making this meal a bit healthier, I set out to create a concoction that is lower in carbs and higher in fiber than the average pizza dough. I was eventually successful, and I am now happy to present version 1.0 of my healthier pizza crust for all of your pizza adventures!

This dough is made with high fiber oat bran, plus a little bit of coconut flour (high fiber, low carb) and almond flour (low carb). The only “grain flour” I used was for flouring my cutting board, and you could use more oat bran for that instead if you are avoiding wheat flour.

To start, combine warm water, honey, and dry active yeast in a measuring cup and let sit for 10 minutes while the yeast activates. Add olive oil to the yeast mixture. Add this to a mixture of oat bran, coconut flour, almond flour, garlic powder, and salt; mix to combine.

Place the dough on a floured cutting board and knead it for about 10 minutes. If your dough is too sticky, knead in a little more oat bran. Place your kneaded dough in a bowl (lightly greased with olive oil) and let rest for an hour under a towel.

After an hour, your dough will have risen (it will likely not double in size, as is typical with “normal” pizza dough, but it will somewhat!). Roll out the dough until it is about 1/4 inch thick (this yields a thin crust). Poke some holes in it for air, and prebake the crust for 10 minutes at 425 degrees.

Remove from the oven and top with your favorite toppings! For this particular pizza, I pre-sauteed some peppers, broccoli, shiitake mushrooms, and chicken sausage. I added these to my crust, along with some tomato sauce, and finished it off with olives and vegan Daiya cheese.

This crust, which I plan to continue to develop and perfect, has a lovely nutty texture and is rather rustic. It isn’t flimsy (look at all my toppings!) and will leave you feeling full and satisfied with all of its wholesome, healthy ingredients.

Recipe (makes a mini pizza crust for one)

• 1 tsp active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp warm water (about 110 degrees F)
• 1/4 cup honey (sugar works, too)
• 1/4 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup oat bran
• 1 tbsp coconut flour
• 1 tbsp almond flour
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• whole wheat flour (for flouring your cutting board)

Directions

1. In a measuring cup or bowl, combine the active dry yeast, warm water, and honey. Let sit for 10 minutes in order to activate the yeast.
2. In the meantime, combing the oat bran, coconut flour, almond flour, garlic powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
3. After 10 minutes have passed, add the olive oil to the yeast mixture. Pour this over the flour mixture and stir to combine.
4. Flour a cutting board with whole wheat flour and knead your dough for 10 minutes. If your dough is too sticky to knead, add a little more oat bran.
5. Place your kneaded dough in a lightly-greased bowl, cover it with a towel, and let sit for about an hour. The dough will have expanded somewhat and is ready for baking.
6. Roll/smooth out your dough onto a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Poke holes in the dough with a fork. Bake (without toppings) in a 425 degree oven for 10 minutes.
7. Depending on the density of your toppings, you may want to sauté these briefly before putting them on your pizza to bake.
8. Remove your pre-baked crust and top with your favorite pizza toppings. Bake for another 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.
9. Cut into slices and enjoy!

(Note: this recipe has not been tested on a larger scale, but I am sure that you could double/quadruple this recipe to make a larger pizza crust. If you try this before I do, please leave a comment below!)

Armed with this healthy pizza crust, you can make any homemade pizza night into a delicious and nutritious affair. Bon appetit!