Bread Machine Stars: Round Two

We continue our series about delicious and healthful foods that you can make in a bread machine with today's discussion of pizza. That's right, pizza. When prepared in a thoughtful way, pizza can actually be good for you. The two pizzas we're featuring today are nutrient dense and low in both sodium and saturated fat. And trans fat? It's nowhere to be found!

Whole Wheat Pizza

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 1 teaspoon dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 3 cups white whole-wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Toppings:

• 1 cup no-salt-added pasta or tomato sauce
• 1 sliced tomato
• 1 cup sliced fresh spinach
• 1/4 cup sliced red onion
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat shredded cheese
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano to taste

Directions:

1. Mix the dry yeast with the water, then add the rest of the dough ingredients. Mix by hand or with a bread machine until the dough is stretchy, about 3-5 minutes. It should be a little on the wet side but not too sticky. If it is too sticky, add a dash of flour, a little at a time, until the dough is the desired consistency.
2. Allow the dough to rise for 30-40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400° F. Place the dough on a clean board or countertop and roll out to a 10"-by-15" rectangle. Place dough on a cookie tray that is oiled and dusted with cornmeal. Prick dough with a fork.
3. Prebake the crust in the preheated oven for 8 minutes.
4. Remove crust from oven and top with the sauce, tomato, spinach, and onion. Cover those with the cheese and oregano.
5. Bake the pizza until crust is golden and the cheese is melted, about 8 more minutes.
6. Cut pizza into 6 squares and serve hot.

Chef's Tips:

No white whole wheat flour on hand? Substitute 2 cups all-purpose flour and 1 cup whole-wheat flour instead. We recommend serving this pizza with a large green salad.

Nutrition Information:

This recipe makes 6 servings. Each serving contains 298 calories, 8 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 10 milligrams of cholesterol, 98 milligrams of sodium, 49 grams of carbohydrate, 8 grams of fiber, 4 grams of sugar, and 12 grams of protein.

Peach Pizza

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 1 teaspoon dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 3 cups white whole-wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Topping:

• 3 ripe peaches, pitted and sliced into wedges
• 1 cup vanilla pudding

Directions:

1. Mix the dry yeast with the water, then add the rest of the dough ingredients. Mix by hand or with a bread machine until the dough is stretchy, about 3-5 minutes. It should be a little on the wet side but not too sticky. If it is too sticky, add a dash of flour, a little at a time, until the dough is the desired consistency.
2. Allow the dough to rise for 30-40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375° F. Place the dough on a clean board or countertop and roll into a 9 inch circle.
3. Place dough on a cookie sheet and bake for 8 minutes or until firm but not brown.
4. Place cookie sheet on cooling racks and spread the pudding in an even layer over the dough. Arrange the peach wedges in a circular pattern on the top. Return to oven and back for about 10 minutes or until the peaches are tender and the edges of the crust are brown.

Chef's Tips:

Garnish the pizza with dried cranberries and peach puree. Be sure to use ripe peaches. If you don't have any white whole wheat flour on hand, you can substitute a mix of 2 cups all-purpose flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour.

Nutrition Information:

This recipe makes 8 servings. Each serving contains 147 calories, 1 gram of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 229 milligrams of sodium, 30 grams of carbohydrate, 2 grams of fiber, 9 grams of sugar, and 5 grams of protein.But wait, there's more! If you're looking for more resources, check out our Nutrition Education Store or sign up for our newsletter. Remember, we are here to help you!