Whole Grain Spelt Pizza with Jerk Sauce and Veggies

I have been wanting to do more experimenting with whole grain pizza doughs for awhile. We've tried whole wheat pizza doughs and either the taste has been off or the texture has been fairly unpleasant. Not wanting to consume a bunch of white flour laden pizzas, I felt like I was in a rut. Courtney suggested spelt flour awhile back, and I noticed some whole grain spelt flour in the bulk bins at the nearby Hy-Vee. We picked up a few pounds and successfully made our Cinnamon-Raisin Biscuits using it (they were actually better with the spelt flour), so we decided to try our hands at making spelt pizza dough.

The verdict? This is the best pizza dough we've had so far! We both agree that we really like spelt flour and plan on using it for the many baking adventures I have planned for the near future. The crust had a hearty, slightly nutty flavor and the crust was flaky and soft in the center. It was really, really good. The recipe (found below) is just the Using Up the White Flour Pizza Dough recipe with 2 parts spelt flour, 1 part organic all-purpose flour.

I've also been wanting to try out a "jerk" recipe for awhile now, but couldn't figure out what to do since a) "jerking" is a lot like BBQ, it is a seasoning mix yes - but more so a way of cooking things and b) meat is the most oft "jerked" item, and since I'm a vegetarian who doesn't like meat analogues or tofu, tempeh, or seitan, I didn't know what to do. Then somewhere along the way I decided it might make a good sauce for a pizza. So, that is what we did! The recipe is based off of the many jerk seasoning recipes online, combined with what was available, and our tastes. This jerk sauce is pretty spicy - it contains habaneros - so those who prefer mild food should beware.

You may also notice that there are sliced sweet potatoes in the picture, but that pineapple is called for in the recipe, and that there is no mention of the sweet potatoes. This is because I had originally conceptualized there being pineapples on this pizza - not sweet potatoes - but we are participating in the Eat Local Challenge this month, and I thought sweet potatoes and jerk sauce would complement each other well. I think that sweet potatoes and jerk sauce would be a good pairing - just not on this pizza. The texture of the sweet potatoes didn't turn out well, so we ended up taking them off.

The local booty legend:
no asterisk = grocery store
+ = The Root Cellar
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden
**** = the non-profit buying club, Blue Planet or Purcell Mountain Farms

















J's Jerk Sauce
Makes 1 1/2 cups (I frozen the left over cup of sauce)

2 habanero peppers, seeded *
6 cloves of garlic, peeled *
2 small yellow onions, skins removed **
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp allspice
1 tbsp thyme
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tbsp shoyu
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup safflower oil
pepper
salt

Combine in a food processor and let blend in fridge for a few hours.

Whole Grain Spelt Pizza Crust
2 cups whole grain spelt flour
1 cup of organic all-purpose flour
1 small package of active dry yeast
2 tbsp organic raw sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup of very hot water

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Slowly add the oil and the water. It's easiest to use your hands to work the dough.

Spread out the crust on a pizza stone dusted with flour, using your fingers to pinch the dough at the edges to create a crust.

Whole Grain Spelt Pizza with Jerk Sauce and Veggies
1/2 cup of jerk sauce
1/2-1 cup of black beans, cooked ****
1 cup pineapple chunks (if using canned, drain)
1 pimento pepper, seeded and thinly sliced *
1 green bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced ***
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced *
sliced black olives (optional)

Preheat oven to 375.

Spread jerk sauce on the crust and top evenly with the ingredients.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

A yummy spicy, sweet, tasty pizza!

'Til next time!