how to make easy spelt pizza dough with prosciutto, caramelized onions

Friday pizza nights have never tasted so good with this spelt pizza dough, topped with roasted butternut squash, crispy prosciutto and golden, caramelized onions. 

On Fridays, my husband takes everyone’s order for our weekly take-out night. I hear the muffled shouts behind closed doors, requesting meatball parmesan subs, crispy chicken sandwiches, or artery clogging meat lover’s pizza.

Hearing these foods make my mouth water and I’m once again reminded how my weekly healthy eating streak will be ruined with one fell swoop of a take-out order.

If only I could delete Fridays, I’d never eat poorly again.

Rather than wish a day of the week to disappear, I’ve developed a tasty plan B.

Is this how you approach Friday nights too? Or, worry that holidays, gatherings or celebrations will bulldoze your healthy eating stretch? 

Instead of staring longingly at other people’s melty mozzarella, deep fried chicken tenders or Italian hoagies packaged in fresh amoroso rolls, enjoy your own delicious foods.

Go ahead and have pizza—but on your terms.

Try this spelt pizza dough, brushed with crispy sage butter, garlic and flaky sea salt. Topped with caramelized onions, crispy prosciutto and roasted, sweet & peppery butternut squash. Finally, add fresh herbs and sliced buffalo mozzarella.

Never feel deprived with this healthy spelt pizza in your corner. You’re still treating yourself to pizza with some clear differences to traditional pizza.

which is healthier: white, all-purpose flour or spelt flour?

White, all purpose flour is created by stripping the nutrient-filled bran and germ. Only the starchy, nutrient-poor center remains, which is typically the base of pizza crusts.

Crust made from spelt flour, an ancient grain, keeps the bran and germ intact so you benefit from nutrients like fiber, protein and iron. 

Spelt is more water-soluble and easily digested than all-purpose flour. It is preferred by many people with wheat sensitivities and may be an acceptable substitute for some people with gluten intolerance however; it is not gluten-free.

Below are the nutrition profiles for both:

Even though spelt flour has a bit but more calories, it has 3x’s the fiber and more protein than all-purpose flour.

Increased fiber improves gut health, helps manage weight, and reduces blood sugar spikes after a high-carb meal.

With all of these added benefits, bring on the pizza!

the perfect way to top spelt pizza dough

Sky’s the limit on what you can put on this spelt pizza.

Enjoy these toppings or swap some for foods you have on hand.

• Roasted butternut squash
  Now, read me out on this 😉 You may question squash on pizza and I get it. I’d have thought the same before I tasted THIS caramelized squash that’s salty, peppery and has a slight kick.

• Caramelized onions
  Take your onions to the next level. Place thinly sliced onions in a sauté pan and cook them on low for about 25 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes. They’ll be jammy and golden brown when they’re finished.

• Prosciutto
  Prosciutto crisps up and seasons this pizza without making it too heavy. You can substitute with shredded chicken, pepperoni or sausage.

• Fresh Mozzarella
  Use fresh mozzarella to keep this pizza on the healthier side because it’s lower in sodium and calories than most other cheeses. You can use cow’s milk or fresh buffalo mozzarella (mozzarella di bufala) which is made from the milk of water buffalo. If you have trouble digesting cow’s milk, try this option. It’s slightly more expensive and sometimes hard to find but worth it!

TIP: You’ll have leftover ingredients so add them to some greens to create this wonderful butternut squash salad with warm cider vinaigrette.

For the sauce, melt clarified butter (you can use regular butter) and add a handful of sage leaves and let them crisp around the edges. Then, add chopped garlic. Keep an eye out for the garlic so it doesn’t burn. This process should only take about 3 or 4 minutes.

level up your pizza

Pizza nights are an opportunity to use up refrigerated items that are on their way out! Below are some additional suggestions for your spelt pizza crust.

• Veggies: Instead of adding raw broccoli, peppers or cauliflower to pizza, kick it up a notch by seasoning and roasting them first.
  • Roasting instructions: chop up the vegetables, place them on a sheet tray, and drizzle them with olive oil, sea salt and garlic powder. Roast them on 400 degrees until they’re caramelized (10-20 minutes, depending on cut and vegetable).
    
• Dairy: I love cheese but realize it’s not always best for me. Here are a couple of suggestions to keep in on the healthier side.
  
  • stick to parmesan cheese which is a harder cheese and tends to be lower in fat/higher in protein.
  • use whipped ricotta cheese, like in my fearless ricotta and prosciutto pizza. Ricotta cheese contains mostly whey protein, which has many benefits. Kite Hill also makes a Dairy free ricotta cheese you can try.

• Butter: You can swap olive oil for butter or If you prefer to use a tomato sauce, check out step 3 in my healthy vegetable lasagna recipe! This is an incredible, quick fresh tomato sauce that goes well on pasta or pizza!

• Pizza stone: If you don’t have one, I highly recommend pizza stones. I recently got one and it’s taken our pizzas to the next level. I preheat the oven on 500° F for 1 hour prior to baking the pizza.
  
  TIP: When I first moved the pizza from the peel to the stone, it was a nightmare. Build the pizza on parchment first so you can easily slide the pizza from the peel. Then, about 6 minutes in, remove the parchment once the crust is harder and can easily slide.

make Friday dinners fun again

Hopefully you now have ideas on how to enjoy Friday night dinners, gatherings or holidays. Keep it interesting by trying out new toppings or crusts. Check out my fearless ricotta and prosciutto pizza with an amazing honey rosemary drizzle, make your own easy, scrumptious whole wheat thin crust pizza, or grilled chicken Caesar salad pizza (yes, salads are fantastic on pizza crust!).

You can finish your night by adding a healthier fruit pizza!.

make spelt pizza dough

Organic Spelt Flour – Arrowhead Mills

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KitchenAid stand mixer

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Pizza stone

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Pizza peel

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how to make easy spelt pizza dough with prosciutto, caramelized onions

4 from 15 votes

Recipe by Karen Lachman Course: Dinner, Lunch, AppetizersCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

1

hour 

15

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Calories

461

kcal

Try this spelt pizza dough, brushed with crispy sage butter, garlic and flaky sea salt. Topped with caramelized onions, crispy prosciutto and roasted, sweet & peppery butternut squash. Finally, add leafy spinach and fresh buffalo mozzarella.

Ingredients

• Pizza dough

• 250 g Spelt flour

• 1 tsp. Kosher or fine sea salt

• 125 ml warm water (between 105-110F)

• 1 tsp. honey (sub with sugar)

• 1 tsp. active yeast

• 1 tbsp. olive oil, plus more for the bowl.

• Pizza toppings

• 1 cup butternut squash, peeled and cubed

• 1 tbsp. olive oil

• 1 tbsp. Swerve Brown (substitute with maple syrup, brown sugar or coconut sugar)*

• 1 tsp. Kosher or fine sea salt

• 1 tsp. black pepper

• 1/4-1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

• 1 sweet or yellow onion, sliced thin

• 3 oz. thinly sliced prosciutto

• 8 oz. fresh mozzarella, sliced*

• 1 tbsp. unsalted butter, clarified butter or ghee

• 2 cloves, garlic, roughly chopped

• 2 tbsp. fresh chopped sage

Directions

• Place honey, 125ml of warm water and yeast in a large bowl (I use stand mixing bowl b/c use mixer to knead). Cover with a towel for 15 minutes. In the meantime, whisk, flour and salt in a small bowl. After 15 minutes, water mixture should be bubbly, add the flour, salt and olive oil. Mix to make a rough dough then tip out onto a floured work surface and knead for 5 minutes until smooth or use your stand mixer with dough hook to knead for 5 minutes. Transfer to a clean, oiled bowl and cover with cling wrap. Leave to rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

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• Preheat oven to 425° F. On a baking sheet, toss together the olive oil, butternut squash, Swerve brown, salt, pepper and cayenne. Roast for 15-20 minutes, until the squash is browned just tender and remove from oven.
• Meanwhile, caramelize the onions by adding a little olive oil to a sauté pan. Add the onions and cook them on low-medium, stirring every couple of minutes. Cook until the onions are golden and caramelized, about 25 minutes.
  

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• When you’re ready to make the pizza, preheat the oven to 500° F. NOTE: if you’re using a pizza stone, preheat the oven an hour before you plan on cooking pizza.
• Melt butter in a small saucepan on low-med heat. Add sage. Once the sage is crispy around the edges, add chopped garlic. Cook for another minute or 2 (careful garlic doesn’t burn). Remove from stove.
• To assemble, press or roll the pizza dough out on a floured surface. If you’re using a pizza stone, place the dough on top of parchment paper (so it will easily slide onto the stone). If not, press the dough until it covers a sheet pan.
  TIP: Use a fork to poke some holes around the dough to minimize bubbles when it cooks.
• Drizzle the dough with oil. Brush the sage, garlic butter over top. Add the onions (you may not need them all), butternut squash and prosciutto. Top with sliced mozzarella.
• Slide into the oven. If the pizza is on parchment paper, carefully remove it after about 6 minutes. Cook the pizza for 10 minutes, rotate and bake for another 3-4 minutes until the cheese is melted and crust is golden brown.

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