Pesto Pizza with Oat Wheat Crust

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Oat and Oat flour are fast becoming my favorite resource in baking breads. Oats,  in addition to being ultra healthy, add such a wonderful texture to bread. Also unlike whole wheat flour, oat flour does not seem to make the bread too dense and makes it easier to make bread healthier without compromising on the lightness of the bread. 

After having experimented with oat flour in loaf bread a few times, I thought of trying oat flour in pizza crust. I have also been wanting to try the idea of adding a small amount of cornmeal to the pizza crust, since I read somewhere, that doing so,  makes the crust a little more crunchy. The verdict....the pizza crust turned out fantastic, we loved it even more than the whole wheat crust I regularly make. The crust was slightly crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside, just the way I like  it:-)    Try this if you are looking for a healthier alternative to the all purpose flour crust but find the whole wheat a little too dense for  your liking.

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Ingredients and method for the crust

1 1/4 cup oat flour (I powdered Rolled Oats in my spice jar of my blender to get flour)

1 cup whole wheat flour (atta)

1 cup all purpose flour (maida)

1 tbsp active dry yeast

2 heaped tbsp cornmeal

1 tsp sugar

3 tbsp olive oil

1 1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp Italian seasoning (optional)

3/4 cup warm water

1/2 cup warm milk

For the pizza

2 tbsp pesto 

toppings according to choice (I used onions, mushrooms, bell pepper)

Crushed red pepper (according to taste) (Optional)

Shredded pizza blend cheese (a combination of cheddar and mozzarella) (according to taste) 

Mix the oat flour, wheat flour, all purpose flour, cornmeal, salt and Italian seasoning in a large bowl and keep aside

Place warm water in  a bowl add active dry yeast and sugar to it and mix well. Keep aside for about 5 to 10 minutes until it froths up.

Pour this water and warm milk as needed to knead into a soft pliable dough. Knead for about ten minutes.

Add olive oil to this and knead again for a few minutes.

Keep covered in a warm place for about an hour to an hour and a half. (I place this in my oven with the light on)

Remove, punch down gently and knead again for a minute or two and divide the dough into three parts and keep covered in a warm place to rise again.

Pre heat oven to 425 deg F

Roll the dough to required thickness and apply pesto sauce.

Top with toppings of choice and finally add grated cheese

Bake in oven for about 15 to 20 minutes until the cheese on top is melted and beginning to brown slightly.

Remove, cut into wedges and serve  hot.

This yielded me about 3 eight inch crusts of medium thickness.

Notes

You can use store bought oat flour instead of grinding rolled oats.