WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS Loaded with healthy kale, this is a nutritional powerhouse of a pizza that’s also delicious. “Healthy” pizzas often seem to taste like cardboard, but this one is guaranteed to satisfy all your pizza cravings. We used whole-wheat flour along with a smaller amount of bread flour for the crust, which required making an extra-wet dough for optimal chew. Our Kale and Sunflower Seed Pesto topped the dough, and cherry tomatoes on top provided bursts of sweetness and acidity to balance the earthy pesto underneath. We topped the pizza with even more kale, which crisped up nicely in the oven. A few shavings of Parmesan completed the picture. The pizza dough needs to proof for at least 18 hours or up to 2 days before baking, and the superhot oven is key to getting a crisp, chewy, not-at-all-cardboardy crust. If you do not have a baking stone, you can use a preheated rimless (or inverted rimmed) baking sheet, though the crust will be less crisp. Shape the second dough ball while the first pizza bakes, but don’t top the pizza until right before you bake it. We prefer to use our whole-wheat pizza dough, but you can substitute 2 pounds store-bought whole-wheat pizza dough.

Makes two 12-inch pizzas

TOTAL TIME: 1 hour 45 minutes (plus 18 hours for proofing the dough)

INGREDIENTS

• FOR DOUGH:
• 1½ cups (8¼ ounces) whole-wheat flour
• 1 cup (5½ ounces) bread flour
• 2 teaspoons honey
• ¾ teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
• 1¼ cups ice water
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1¾ teaspoons salt

• FOR KALE AND SUNFLOWER SEED PESTO:
• 2½ ounces kale, stemmed and chopped (1½ cups)
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1 cup baby spinach
• ⅓ cup roasted sunflower seeds
• 3 tablespoons water
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• Salt and pepper
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 ounce grated Parmesan cheese (½ cup)

• TOPPINGS:
• 5½ ounces kale, stemmed and cut into 1½-inch pieces (3½ cups)
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• Salt and pepper
• 6 ounces cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1 ounce Parmesan cheese, shaved

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. FOR THE DOUGH:

• Combine whole-wheat flour, bread flour, honey, and yeast in a food processor until combined.
• While the processor is running, add ice water until the dough is combined.
• Let the dough sit for 10 minutes.
• Add oil and salt to the dough and process until it forms a sticky ball.
• Knead the dough on an oiled counter until smooth.
• Divide the dough in half, shape into balls, and place in oiled bowls.
• Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 18 hours or up to 2 days.

2. ONE HOUR BEFORE BAKING PIZZA:

• Adjust oven rack to middle position, set pizza stone on rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees.
• Remove dough from refrigerator and let sit until ready to use.

3. FOR PESTO:

• Process kale, basil, spinach, sunflower seeds, water, garlic, and salt in a food processor until smooth.
• Slowly add oil until incorporated.
• Stir in Parmesan and set aside 1 cup for recipe; reserve ½ cup for another use.

4. FOR TOPPINGS:

• Combine kale, oil, and salt in a bowl and massage lightly to coat leaves evenly.
• Heat broiler for 10 minutes.
• Coat 1 ball of dough generously with flour and flatten into an 8-inch disk.
• Stretch dough into a 12-inch round and transfer to well-floured pizza peel.
• Spread ½ cup pesto over surface of dough.
• Scatter half of tomatoes and half of kale mixture over pizza.
• Slide pizza onto stone and bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
• Remove pizza and let rest for 5 minutes.
• Drizzle with additional oil and sprinkle with half of Parmesan.
• Slice pizza into 8 slices and serve.

5. Repeat process of stretching, topping, and baking with remaining dough and toppings, returning oven to 500 degrees when pizza is placed on stone.