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This Einkorn pizza dough makes a soft and tender pizza crust that has a deliciously rich flavor. It is packed with all the wholesome goodness of ancient einkorn wheat and is perfect for those avoiding modern wheat products. You can use the dough to make one large pizza or several small pizzas.
The easy-to-follow recipe includes simple ingredients like flour, yeast, salt, and water so you can whip up a homemade pizza in no time.
Pizza Crust with Einkorn Flour
We have instructions to make this pizza crust with either all-purpose or whole wheat einkorn. Either option will make a great pizza.
Einkorn is the most ancient variety of wheat that is still in its original state. It has never been hybridized or altered.
Einkorn, the wheat cultivated and consumed in biblical times, was undoubtedly the very grain used to make the bread that Jesus enjoyed. Its heritage and significance make it a remarkable ingredient that connects us to ancient traditions and flavors. Einkorn is the original wheat. Wheat the way God intended.
This einkorn recipe is clean eating at its best and it makes a super flavorful pizza. The unique flavor of Einkorn gives the pizza a distinctly earthy, nutty taste.
The Gluten in Einkorn is Different
Over time, wheat has undergone hybridization, influenced both by natural factors and human intervention. These transformations in wheat have brought about significant alterations in the composition of gluten.
Einkorn has a unique gluten structure. While it’s not suitable for those with celiac disease, some people notice a difference when baking with this ancient grain compared to modern wheat.
Making Pizza Dough with Einkorn Flour
Einkorn flour requires less kneading compared to traditional flour. The gluten in Einkorn behaves differently and does not develop with excessive kneading.
In fact, overworking the dough can break down the gluten, resulting in a stickier and harder-to-handle pizza dough. It can also lead to a more crumbly texture after baking.
If you love making your own pizza, this is a recipe you should try. The pizza dough is easy to make and the crust is delicious!
A simple method to develop gluten without overworking it is by using the stretch and fold technique. Start by keeping the dough in the bowl, then gently stretch and fold it in half. Next, turn the bowl 1/4 turn and repeat the process of stretching and folding. This technique helps develop the gluten without overworking the pizza dough.
How to handle sticky dough
When working with dough made with einkorn flour, you’ll notice it’s a bit stickier than regular bread dough. No worries though! Just use wet hands and tools to handle the dough, or even apply a little oil to your hands and tools to prevent sticking.
Einkorn takes its time to absorb liquids and fats. If the dough seems too wet when you first mix it, just let it rest and go through the first rise before adding more flour. And if you do add more flour, use just enough for it to hold its shape. Adding too much flour will make the bread dry and dense.
Pro Tip When Making Whole Grain Einkorn Pizza Dough:
With that said, this recipe calls for a 68% hydration dough, which initially may seem quite wet. Paired with the inherently sticky nature of Einkorn, handling this pizza dough might pose a challenge. It isn’t suitable for tossing in the air to stretch, but it is remarkably pliable and easy to shape when you keep your hands moist.
Damp hands will prevent the dough from sticking to you. When you’re ready to shape it, sprinkle flour on a sheet of parchment paper. Use your moistened hands to spread the pizza dough, then effortlessly transfer it onto your pizza stone or baking sheet using the parchment paper. This simple trick will make working with the dough a breeze, guaranteed.
Instead of pulling the dough apart, which can tear the gluten, opt for using a bench scraper or knife to divide it. Not only will this method maintain the dough’s integrity, but it will also make it easier to keep your work surface clean.
If you are curious how other types of flour stack up when making pizza dough, see my post comparing pizza flour vs bread flour.
Storing Whole Wheat Einkorn Pizza Dough
You can make this dough in advance and freeze it for up to three months.
Simply divide it into portions that are suitable for a pizza and store them in an airtight container. When you’re ready to make pizza, take it out of the freezer and let it thaw at room temperature. This way, you’ll have perfectly sized dough portions ready to use whenever you crave a delicious homemade pizza.
Other Einkorn Recipes you might like:
- Try this delicious Einkorn Milk and Honey Bread
- Einkorn Chocolate Banana Muffins
- Whole Grain Einkorn Blueberry Pancakes
- Sourdough einkorn bread
- Wild yeast sourdough starter
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Einkorn Pizza Dough
If you make this recipe, please leave a star rating and comment.
Ingredients
- 4 ½ cups whole wheat einkorn flour, 432 grams (or 432 grams of all-purpose einkorn flour)
- 1 packet instant dry yeast, 2-¼ teaspoons (7 grams)
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt, 8.5 grams
- 1 ¼ cups warm water, 295 grams, see notes
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 39 grams
- 1 tablespoon honey, 21 grams
Instructions
- Add the Einkorn flour, instant yeast and salt to a large bowl. Stir in the water, olive oil, and honey until well combined. The dough will be wet and sticky.
- Let the dough sit for 5 minutes to give it a chance to absorb moisture. (Einkorn flour needs extra time to absorb liquid.)
- Dip your hands in water or grease them with oil to stretch and fold the dough several times. Keep the dough in the bowl and stretch it up then fold it in half. Turn the bowl 1/4 turn and repeat the stretch and fold. Continue pulling the dough up and over itself 4 to 6 more times then let it rest for 5 minutes. Repeat the same stretch and fold process three more times every 5 to 10 minutes.
- The dough will get firmer and easier to handle with each stretch and fold interval. It will still have a sticky texture but if you keep your hands wet, it won't stick to them.
- Coat the ball of dough with oil and cover it with plastic wrap. Let it sit at room temperature for 1-½ to 2 hours.
- Divide in half with an oiled bench scraper. Use wet or oiled hands to form two balls of dough. Coat each ball with oil and cover with plastic wrap. Let them rise for 1 to 2 hours
To store the pizza dough
- At this point, you have two options: you can either store it in the fridge (or freezer), or you can proceed with baking.
- To store the dough, wrap it in plastic wrap and place it in ziplock bags. Keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you're ready to use it, thaw the frozen dough in the refrigerator overnight. Once thawed, remove it from the fridge and let it rest at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours before using it to make pizza.
To shape pizzas
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. Sprinkle some flour on a sheet of parchment paper and press the dough into a flat circle. If the dough is too sticky, dip your hands in water so it doesn't stick to them.
- Add your toppings and use the parchment paper to slide the pizza onto your baking pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
Notes
- If you use all-purpose einkorn flour, start with 1 to 2 tablespoons less water. You can add additional water if it seems too dry.
- You will have best results if you use a scale to weigh your flour. Whole wheat einkorn weighs 96 grams per cup and all-purpose einkorn weighs 120 grams per cup. If you don't have a scale, fluff the flour with a fork and lightly spoon it into the measuring cup.
- It is not necessary to knead einkorn bread as much as traditional bread. If you knead it too much, you will break down the fragile gluten structure.
- Dough made with einkorn flour tends to be stickier compared to standard pizza dough. It will be easier to handle if you keep your hands oiled or dip them in water frequently (wet hands won't stick to the dough).
- When you are ready to shape it, spread the dough onto a sheet of parchment paper, then slide the parchment paper onto your pizza stone or baking sheet. The parchment paper will make it easy to transfer, and you can bake the pizza right on the paper.
- This recipe is a fairly high-hydration dough (68% hydration). If you find it is just too difficult to work with, then you can add up to 30 grams of flour without making the pizza dough too dry.
- Einkorn flour absorbs fat and liquid slowly. If the dough seems too wet initially, give it some time to rest before adding more flour.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
Would the recipe need something extra if I were using sprouted einkorn flour?
You can definitely swap the flour for sprouted einkorn flour. I would add 50 to 100 grams more water.
hi
what size round in inches does 1 ball of dough make?
like this i will know how thin to roll it.
do you roll it with hands or a rolling pin?
I generally stretch and push the dough with my hands, but it is fine if you want to use a rolling pin. Use what works best for you. One ball of dough will stretch to 12 inches in diameter but it you want a thinner pizza go ahead and stretch or roll it larger (or make it smaller if you want a thicker pizza). There are really no hard and fast rules. You can make the crust thinner or thicker as long as you adjust the baking time.
Hi there, if I want to do a cold ferment on this dough for a couple days, can I cut down on the amount of yeast? I’m new to pizza dough but so far my favorite recipe calls for a 72 hour ferment which I loved. Just curious if that would work ok for einkorn. Thanks!
That works great with this recipe. If you want to do a 72-hour ferment, I would suggest decreasing the yeast to 1 teaspoon or about 3 grams.
I had printed this recipe a while back and just now have attempted it since Einkorn flour isn’t something I bake with regularly. Since the top of my recipe says total time 2 hours and 20 minutes I thought I had plenty of time starting around 6 pm. I see now where the total time has been changed. I am making for tonight and will give one rising since I thought the second might have been in error. Hopefully it will turn out.
Thanks for the comment Mari. Yes, I updated the total time so it includes the rise time as well. If you run out of time tonight, you can put the dough in the fridge and let it ‘hibernate’ until the morning or whenever you have a chance to get back to it. If you do place it in the fridge, give it about 1-1/2 to 2 hours to come to room temperature when you take it out of the fridge. If your house is on the cool side, it can take longer.
There is no way your water to flour ratio is correct. I tried your recipe and I needed to add tons of water to it because it was just crumbly flour, not even a dough. And then I had no idea what I was doing.
The ratio is correct. Did you weigh your flour? Are you using einkorn flour? There can be variables in how much water you need depending on the weather and humidity or how old your flour is but it shouldn’t vary by much.
@Dahn Boquist, thanks for your reply. I weighed the flour this time and 216g was exactly 1.5 cups, not 2.25 as expected, so that is the issue. I otherwise followed the recipe, dusting with a bit extra flour to make it moist but kneadable, and it turned out great. Now I can see how lovely einkorn can be.
I’m glad it worked for you. You sure do have some heavy flour. Your flour is 144g/ cup. Are you lightly spooning the flour into the cup when you measure it? If you dip the cup into the flour and scoop it out then it will pack the flour down and you will get much more flour than you should. Store-bought whole grain einkorn flour, when properly measured will weigh between 95 to 115g per cup.