Easy 20-Minute Thin & Crispy St. Louis-Style Whole Wheat Pizza

Why We Love This St. Louis Style Pizza Recipe?

• Using premium ingredients is better for you and is still less expensive than takeout
• Using whole wheat flour adds even more flavor to the crust
• Ready in less time than it takes to order out for pizza delivery
• No weird preservatives or ingredients in this pizza recipe
• Kids and adults both love this easy pizza recipe
• There's no yeast in the dough so there's technically no resting or rising time needed (although, I like to let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes to make it easier to roll out).

What is St. Louis Style Pizza?

By all accounts, most of the "authentic" St. Louis-style recipes online have evolved from Imo's, a mom-and-pop pizza joint in St. Louis with over 90 locations in and around the city.

A true St. Louis-style pizza is made without yeast and has a crispy cracker-like crust and uses provolo cheese. Check out the St. Louis-Style original recipe post over here for more information if you're interested.

Homemade Whole Wheat St. Louis Style Pizza Ingredients

All you need to make this delicious Whole Wheat St. Louis-style pizza is flour, salt, baking powder, olive oil, water, and golden syrup (or corn syrup). I use Lyle's Golden Syrup but you can substitute it with light corn syrup, honey, or even maple syrup instead.

Its purpose in the dough is to help with the browning of the crust and add moisture to the dough giving it a tender, finer crumb. But again, it's not totally necessary. If you don't have any of these syrups, just omit this ingredient from the recipe altogether and add sugar if desired.

This is a versatile pizza crust that can be made with just about any type of flour. I've used Italian 00 flour, all-purpose flour, bread flour, and this 100% whole wheat flour (see comparison photos below) and it always tastes great.

For the dough:

• whole wheat flour (sub "00" or all-purpose flour)
• salt
• baking powder
• extra virgin olive oil
• Lyle's Golden Syrup (sub maple syrup, brown rice syrup, or light corn syrup) 
• water

For the sauce and toppings:

• canned tomatoes plus a pinch of salt (or your favorite homemade pizza sauce)
• fresh mozzarella, mozzarella balls, or provolo (or your favorite shredded cheese)
• sliced veggies and/or preferred meat toppings
• dried or fresh oregano (or Italian herb blend)
• grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Parmesan cheese
• salt

How to Make Whole Wheat St. Louis-Style Pizza 

For extra crispy St. Louis style whole wheat no yeast pizza, preheat your baking pan or stone (instructions with photos below). For best results, I highly recommend this method - but if you're short on time, place rolled dough directly on a lightly oiled room temperature pan, add sauce and toppings, then bake 10-15 minutes until crispy and cheese melts.

Step 2: Mix the dry ingredients and whisk to combine. Add the wet ingredients and combine everything until you have a shaggy dough; let the dough rest for 10 minutes if you have time, otherwise start rolling it out immediately!

Step 3: Roll out the dough to fit on your pizza peel, OR if you don't have a pizza peel, use my DIY method of transferring the dough to a piece of parchment paper (as seen above).

Step 4: Top the pizza with your favorite sauce, and pizza toppings. At this point, you can use your pizza wheel to cut a more perfect circle, rectangle or other shape.

Step 5: Transfer the pizza off of the pizza peel onto the stone/steel OR if you don't have a pizza peel, transfer the entire sheet of parchment paper onto the a preheated stone/steel/oven grill pan. Bake the pizza for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown! (*see below photos of this process)

Find the full instructions in the recipe card!

How to Safely Get a Pizza Into the Oven Without a Pizza Peel

In the photos directly above below, you can see I've used the shallow grill pan (that came with my oven) as my pizza baking pan. I allow the pan to preheat on the oven "floor" where I get the most heat.

By using an oiled piece of parchment paper under the raw rolled-out dough, I'm able to add sauce and toppings to this super-thin crust and still be able to easily transport it to the hot oven (using a cutting board underneath for support).

Working quickly, open the oven door and gently slide the piece of parchment paper with the pizza on it right onto the hot baking pan or stone. After about 10 minutes I have a super delicious pizza to eat.

How to Shape Your Pizza Dough & Make it Prettier

If you want to make a shaped pizza (like this Valentine's Day Heart-Shaped Pizza below) use your pizza cutter to cut the desired shape. You can use it simply to make a more perfect circle, rectangle, or fun shape you want!

Whole Wheat St. Louis-Style Pizza: Top Tips for Extra Crispy Thin Crust

Getting Maximum Crispiness Without a Pizza Stone

Key principle: Preheat your baking surface to start cooking the bottom crust immediately. Without a pizza stone's refractory heat, a hot cookie sheet or baking pan creates the same effect.

Oven Setup for Best Results

Preheat your baking sheet in the oven while it heats. For ovens that heat from bottom and top, place a grill pan on the oven floor for maximum heat. If your oven only heats from the top, position the baking tray in the upper third since heat rises.

The Parchment Paper Transfer Method

This technique safely transfers thin crust pizza to hot baking sheets without tears or burns:

Step 1: Oil the Dough

• Roll dough to ⅛ inch thick on a non-stick mat or parchment paper
• Drizzle lightly with extra virgin olive oil and spread evenly
• This oiled side becomes the bottom, creating direct contact with the hot pan for extra crispness

Step 2: Add Parchment Paper

• Place parchment paper over oiled dough, pressing gently to adhere
• Use parchment slightly larger than the dough for easy handling
• The oil acts as "glue" to keep parchment in place

Step 3: Flip and Support

• Place flimsy cutting boards or plastic placemats on top of parchment
• Flip everything over including the non-stick mat
• Remove the mat, leaving oiled dough on parchment paper

Step 4: Add Support and Top

• Slide cutting boards under the parchment for support during topping
• Add sauce, cheese, and toppings while dough sits on supported parchment

Step 5: Transfer to Oven

• Hold pizza securely on cutting boards with one hand
• Open oven with other hand and get close to hot baking sheet
• Pull parchment paper with pizza directly onto hot pan
• Remove cutting board support

This method delivers crispy St. Louis-style thin crust pizza without requiring a pizza stone or peel.

3 Examples of St. Louis-Style Pizza (All-Purpose, 00-Flour, 100% Whole Wheat)

All-purpose and bread flour both make a somewhat shaggy dough compared to softer, smoother Italian 00 flour dough (seen in middle photos). But even this very shaggy whole wheat dough creates an excellent pizza crust with a little extra flavor. Luca's favorite is the regular all-purpose dough and mine is the whole wheat but we love both. Try out different flour options or combinations to see what you like best.

Easy Side-Dishes & Desserts to Pair with Homemade St. Louis-Style Whole Wheat Pizza

Depending on how hungry you are, or how many people you're serving, here are a few tasty recipes that make any pizza night even better.