Pizza is my favorite food to eat and make! It is a fun dinner activity to do with friends and family and the meal always comes out tasting delicious. This is a healthy, tasty, and savory pizza that has sweet red onions, tangy goat cheese, and a nutty crust.
I used spelt flour to make this dough because it gives the pizza a deeper and nuttier flavor. You can use a different flour to make the dough such as whole wheat or all-purpose flour. I would recommend substituting with whole wheat flour because whole wheat flour also gives off a nutty flavor.
What is spelt flour? I recently starting using spelt flour in my cooking. It is an ancient whole grain that has a high fiber content. It also has significantly more protein than other types of flours.
I loved eating this pizza because it was different than a traditional pizza. The depth of the spelt mixed with the hazelnut flavor is unique and delicious! I could eat pizza every day and I did when I was a kid. I use to have the same cheese slice of pizza for lunch when I was in high school because NY pizza tastes so good! Although I can't eat NY pizza every day I do love making different variations of pizza with different toppings and sauces to eat.
Check out my video below on how to make this pizza!
Red Onion, Spinach, and Goat Cheese Hazelnut Pizza
Serving size: 12-inch pizza
Total Time: 2 hours
Source: Adapted from A Modern Way to Eat cookbook by Anna Jones.
Dough:
3 1/2 cups spelt flour (or whole wheat flour)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dry yeast (about 1 packet of yeast)
1/4 cup roasted hazelnuts, crushed
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup olive oil
Topping:
2 red onions, sliced
2 cups spinach
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
a pinch of garlic salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 cup goat cheese, crumbled
Step 1: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roast hazelnuts in the oven for about 5-10 minutes. If you have bought roasted hazelnuts you can skip this step. After hazelnuts have roasted blend the nuts until they form a powder. You can leave the nut mixture chunky if you prefer.
Step 2: Add warm water and yeast to a mixing bowl and let sit for a few minutes. Then add the flour, salt, crushed hazelnuts, and oil. Mix well until dough begins to form. You may need to add extra water. Knead the dough for 5-8 minutes. You can do this by hand or with an electric mixer with a dough hook.
Step 3: Place kneaded dough in an oiled mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap and dish towel. Let rise for 1 hour. If you must expedite this process you can put the dough in a warm environment to help the rising process. I put my bowl above a preheated stove to create a warm environment.
Step 4: Saute red onions in a medium skillet over high heat, for about 15 minutes. The red onions should fry up and taste soft and sweet when ready. Add the spinach, nutmeg, oregano, garlic salt, and pepper. Set aside.
Step 5: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease a round pizza baking pan or baking sheet. When the dough is ready, roll out onto a flour work surface into a 12-inch round pizza. Move the pizza dough onto a round baking pan or a baking sheet. I had extra dough so I rolled the dough into a larger round pizza and made a cheese-stuffed crust. Let dough rise again for about 20-30 minutes.
Step 6: After the second rise, add the onion spinach mixture on top of the pizza. Then add the crumbled goat cheese. I also added parmesan cheese on top. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until pizza is lightly browned.
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