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Home / Main Dishes / Healthy pepperoni pizza

Healthy pepperoni pizza

Main Dishes 20 January 2021 by Magdalena Marsden

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Healthy recipe for homemade thin pizza crust with pepperoni and mozzarella made with wholemeal flour. Easy to make and delicious to eat.

Why make this recipe?

  • healthy version of a traditional pepperoni pizza
  • make in advance & freeze for later

Any specialist equipment needed?

There is no need to buy any specialist baking equipment a simple baking tray will do. If you have a pizza stone or a pizza baking sheet that’s great, but don’t worry if you don’t.

If you decide to bake pizza more often, it’s worth getting the pizza baking sheet as it’s usually cheaper and bakes your pizza nice and without the soggy crust. The pizza tray has small holes, which help to bake your pizza from the bottom as well as from the top.

Ingredients & Possible Substitutions

Wholemeal flour

I’ve used wholemeal bread or wholemeal plain flour for my pizza to make it a bit more healthy than a traditional pizza base baked with white bread flour.

You are welcome to use white bread flour, the recipe will work the same, but you might need a little bit less water when you are making your dough.

Pepperoni

Delicious pepperoni of your own choice and taste. Anything goes… and if you don’t have pepperoni just add salami or pieces of cut up sausage or pre-cooked meat.

Mozarella cheese

I use firmer mozzarella cheese that doesn’t melt too much when you bake it, but you are welcome to use any mozzarella cheese you have.

MORE PIZZA RECIPES

Buckwheat pizza
Easy pizza omelette with vegetables
Spelt Pizza
Pepperoni & Mushroom Pizza with lupin flour crust

Making your pizza & timings

If you are making your pizza from scratch, which is what we are doing in this recipe, you need to start with a bit of forward planning. When do you want to eat? If it’s within the next 30 minutes, then I’m afraid, it won’t happen and you are better off with a cheaters omelette pizza instead.

Normal timetable for baking pizza

Make it the same day or evening for your lunch or dinner

Preparing ingredients, mixing pizza dough, kneading20 min
Leaving dough to prove30 min
Rolling dough, adding toppings, pre-heating oven10 min
Leaving dough to quickly prove5 min
Baking (depends on pizza size)15-25 min
Time needed before you bake/eat90 min
TOTAL TIME90 min

Longer timetable for baking pizza

Perfect if you have a bit of time in the morning to prepare your dough and then want to bake the pizza for dinner. The evening preparation is much easier and quicker and you can be sitting at the table a lot quicker.

Preparing ingredients, mixing pizza dough, kneading20 min
Leaving dough to prove in the fridge6-8 hrs
Rolling dough, adding toppings, pre-heating oven10 min
Leaving dough to warm up & prove10 min
Baking (depends on pizza size)15-25 min
Time need for the final stage50 min
TOTAL TIME9 hrs

Interupted timetable for baking pizza

Pizza making done in stages – it’s the quickest way to make pizza on the day, but you need to prepare the dough in advance (any time) and freeze it (rolled out like a pizza base)

Preparing ingredients, mixing pizza dough, kneading20 min
Leaving dough to prove30 min
Rolling dough10 min
Freeze on a greaseproof paper & tray uncovered2-3 hrs
Wrap individually & stack in the freezer20 min
Take out pizza base, add toppings, leave to quickly prove10 min
Baking (depends on pizza size)40 min
Time needed before you eat50 min
TOTAL TIME5 hr

How else you can make this recipe?

You can easily use sourdough or gluten free pizza base for this recipe as well as any specialist flours.

What can you serve pepperoni pizza with?

  • Side salad of any kind
  • Coleslaw
  • Garlic bread
  • Sourdough style bread without starter >>

Serving size & scalling up or down

It’s totally fine to make this recipe from 1/2 the dough or double/triple the recipe if you are cooking for a large family. I find it’s particularly useful to double the recipe, leave it to prove and then roll out my pizza bases and freeze them separately to use at a later day.

My top tips on making this pizza recipe successfully the first time

  • The gluten in the flour will be fighting you, so roll out the dough from the middle and out to the sides. You can also pull the dough rather than roll it out, its much easier that way.
  • Make your oven as hot as you can and then reduce the heat to about 180C or 350F – this will give your pizza a lovely crust

Can this recipe be made in advance?

Yes, like any other pizza, make it in advance and re-heat it in the oven or microwave just before you want to serve it. But to be honest it’s probably better to served straight from the oven.

How to store your pizza if you have any leftovers

Leftovers? You lucky thing! Put it in the fridge wrapped and reheat in the microwave (or oven) when you are ready to polish the rest. Meet pizzas should be eaten within 1-2 days.

You can also freeze your pizza (providing you have not used frozen pizza base) and store it in the freezer for up to 3-6 months.

How to re-heat this recipe

  • Few seconds in the microwave
  • 10 minutes on 180C or 350F in the oven
  • It’s perfectly O.K to eat it cold too

More healthy recipe ideas

  • Scotch Eggs (oven baked) >>
  • Meatloaf Muffins >>
  • Chocolate & Peanut Butter Smoothie >>
  • Sugar free blueberry pancakes >>

Healthy pepperoni pizza

Magdalena Marsden
Homemade pizza made with wholemeal pizza base, mozzarella cheese and pepperoni.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 1 hour hr
Cook Time 25 minutes mins
Course dinner, Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

For the pizza base

  • 500 grams wholemeal or brown bread flour swap 250g for white bread flour for a lighter version
  • 1 ½ teaspoons of dried yeast
  • 1 ½ teaspoons of salt or according to taste
  • 320 ml approx. of water
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

For the toppings

  • 12-16 pieces pepperoni whatever you have at hand
  • 1 mozzarella cheese sliced
  • 2-3 tablespoons concentrated ketchup paste or ketchup
  • fresh basil
  • salt & pepper to taste

Instructions
 

To make the pizza base

  • Mix all the ingredients for the pizza base together and kneed for about 10 minutes until the dough becomes elastic.
  • Shape in ball and place in oiled or buttered bowl, cover with tea towel or plastic bag. Leave until it doubles in size.
  • Preaheat the oven to about 220 C or 380F
  • Knock back the dough and divide into 2 large pizza bases (or 4 smaller ones). Roll out to a thin round and place on baking tray. If you use a greaseproof paper it will be easier to take your pizza off the tray later.

To finish the pizza

  • Spread the tomato ketchup paste on the base leaving sides of the crust out.
  • Add mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, basil and any other topping or seasoning you like.
  • The oven should be initially as hot as you can make it (even up to 250 C – 400 F) and after about 10 mins reduce it to about 180C or 350 F. Bake the pizza for about 20 minutes and then check. If your crust is nice and golden, you are done and your pizza is ready to come out.
  • Serve straight away with a side salad and a garlic bread.
Keyword pizza
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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20 January 2021 · Leave a Comment

About Magdalena Marsden

Hello, my name is Magdalena Marsden and welcome to 'YUM eating' food blog, where I share my easy cooking, bread, cake baking, sourdough and marmalade making recipes. I'm an experienced home cook, bread baking teacher and chocolate making expert with 20+ years of experience of recipes testing and developing. Read more >>

The Bread e-Book by Magdalena Marsden

Learn how to bake bread at home with my practical bread making e-book. Step by step techniques, photos and tips on how to bake artisan bread, sourdough and enriched dough treats. Read the customer’s review on Amazon and download your copy today >>

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Hello! It is lovely to meet you!

Welcome to ‘YUM eating’ food blog, where I share my easy cooking, bread, cake baking, sourdough and marmalade making recipes. I’m an experienced home cook, bread baking teacher and chocolate making expert with 20+ years of experience of recipes testing and developing.

Happy cooking, baking and eating!

Magdalena Marsden

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