Since starting out on the weight-loss trek, we have searched high and low for a low-calorie-yet-delicious pizza dough. Using pita bread, tortillas, flatbreads, or even large mushrooms will indeed serve as an adequate substitute in times of need, but sometimes, they just aren't enough.
Taking a look at this dough, you'll note that the calories come in at right about 1100 (that's rounding up, you may have more exact numbers). The trick to this is splitting the dough in half after it rises. Yes, it's a thin crust, but it didn't burn or get flimsy like so many do. I'll be giving you our procedure...not sure if it matters exactly, but it is what has worked for us.
That said, this recipe is enough for two 12", thin-crust pizzas. Before toppings, this is (again, rounding up) 550 calories for the entire pizza's worth of crust. Behold, the best low-calorie pizza crust that we have discovered so far:
3/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons instant active dry yeast
-Put the water, salt, olive oil in a large mixing bowl.
-Stir to dissolve the salt
-Add yeast and herbs, stir again
-Add the flour (I added 1 cup, stirred it until it mostly mixed, dumped in the other cup and began mixing and kneading with my hands)
-In the beginning stages of kneading, add in the minced garlic and any last-minute herbs that sound lovely.
Knead the dough. Don't just pass it around it your hands; dig your fingers in deep, work it! This dough seems awfully dry at first - don't add water or oil, just keep kneading...it helps sometimes to make a crater in the dough mound, scoop up all the loose flour and dry bits, and fold them in that way...
As you keep kneading, the moisture in the dough will make itself known. I kneaded for probably close to ten minutes...your mileage may vary, but know that if your dough is flaky/crusty/dry, you probably just need to keep working at it!
Once all the dry bits are worked in (it won't be all that stretchy, don't stress about it): put the dough back into the mixing bowl, lay a damp bar rag/tea towel/paper towels across the top of the bowl, and let rise for about 45 minutes.
(This is a good time to make your sauce, chop up your veggies, so on)
The dough should have grown significantly. It came in at a little over 17 ounces on our handy scale, so divided it into two approximately 8.5 oz balls. Smear a little dab of olive oil on the inside of a ziplock bag and keep one of the balls in the fridge for another pizza within the next couple of days.
Preheat your oven to 425F
Take the remaining ball and roll it out flat (you might need a little flour to keep it from sticking to your rolling pin, but we didn't find it necessary). Place the dough on your pan (we have a 12", and there was enough dough to round the edges to form a little bit of outer-rim).
BEFORE you put on any toppings, put the dough in the oven for about 5 minutes. This firms it up and I believe contributes greatly to the end product.
Take it back out, put on all of your toppings.
Bake for 10 minutes...it shouldn't take much longer than that. Keep an eye on it *smiles*
Ta-da! You're done! Enjoy the delicious pizza goodness.
I hope this helps someone in their own pizza-making endeavors. I'm not sure what it's like for those of you on other diets, but as a calorie counter I love having something that I can actually work into my day...
and is actually worth it.
(Giving credit where it is rightly due: this recipe is pretty much
this recipe from KitchenSlave. However, we did not use a bread machine, added some herbs...little changes like that.)
Unleashing the pizza dough glory!
