Healthy Vegan Spelt Yeast-free Pizza

Sometimes I just get this crazy craving for… Pizza! I think serving pizza to your family once in a while can still be totally healthy! That’s if the dough and toppings are quality pure ingredients! 

And now that Spring is here, what better way to enjoy a fun pizza-making day with my daughter to make a Flower Pizza! ;)

I’ve embraced my diet change to live wheat-free and yeast-free (and vegan) and it’s all good…. BUT one thing I totally missed and craved was PIZZA!

Yes, I just really really love pizza! Which is also why I’m so so happy we went for our honeymoon to Italy because I just know for a fact I could not go anytime soon…. I mean, I could just imagine with all that pasta and pizza everywhere made with wheat! So when my pizza cravings hit…. I happily took on the challenge to make a wheat free, yeast free, dairy free and meatless pizza.

So me and my pizza making helper got to it! (She loves pizza too!) And to make it extra special – we made it a Flower Pizza. Wheat-free, yeast-free, and vegan.

SPELT FLOWER PIZZA : wheat-free, yeast-free & vegan

Pizza Crust Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup organic spelt flour
• 1/2 cup rye flour (textured wholemeal flour)
• 1 tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 2/3 cup water (pour in slowly and use less or a bit more depending on dough texture)
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (plus extra for oiling pan and drizzling on top)
• 2 tbsp of cornmeal for bottom of dough

Pizza Sauce Ingredients:

1. 1 organic tomato
2. 1/2 cup chopped onion
3. 1 clove of garlic
4. 1/4 tsp sea salt
5. fresh ground pepper

Vegan Pizza toppings:

• Daiya Mozzarella Style Shreds
• (home-made pizza sauce) or store-bought
• veggies : we used red and yellow onion for flower petals, red onion thinly sliced for in between the petals, sundried tomatoes and cherry tomatoes
• spinach and fresh basil leaves placed around the pizza pie as the ‘salad’

(have fun and use different veggies as your topping)

To make the dough : Mix all the dry ingredients and knead with the liquids in a bowl. Shape into a ball and let it ‘rise’ for about 10 minutes (about the time you’ll need to cut up your veggies).

To make the pizza sauce : saute the onions, tomato and garlic in olive oil until soft. (squish with a fork for textured sauce, or blend with a handheld blender once a bit cooled).

I should be honest and tell you that my plan was not to make my own pizza sauce from scratch! But, I must have forgotten to buy tomato paste at the store a couple of days before (or it could be rolling in the trunk of the car at this very moment – because I’m sure I did get it). Regardless if I’m loosing my mind or not, making a pizza sauce, is not rocket science. You just need a few ingredients to get the tomato sauce/paste going. If you have more time, you can simmer the sauce until it becomes thicker, or you could roast all these ingredients in the oven, and then mix them with a small blender. All these options work. Just keep it simple – it will have a great home-made taste in the end ~ and that’s always the best! ;)

Lightly oil a pizza baking dish, sprinkle the cornmeal and roll out the pizza dough thinly. Spread out pizza sauce, sprinkle with vegan mozzarella cheese and top with favourite veggies – arranged in a Flower shape! (because that’s just so much cuter! ;) Drizzle with olive oil just before going into the oven. Bake at 400 degrees F for 18-20 minutes.

 

Choosing healthier ingredients to make a pizza is easier than you think. Spelt and rye grains are high in fibre and are a lot more healthier than wheat. Vegan cheese such as Daiya is completely natural (it’s not *fake* cheese with artificial ingredients) and it’s low in fat and has zero cholesterol. The tomato sauce made from scratch is so good and very healthy ~ and so are all the other fresh organic veggies.

ps. My husband raved about it also! Even though it’s all vegan and wheat and yeast free! And the guy really loves his wheat, cheese and pepperoni! So it was fun to see his surprise “it’s Actually good” – he said! Well, yeah ~ of course it’s good! ;D

What pizza dough and toppings are your favourite?