Does It Actually Taste Like Pizza
Does it taste like comfort and cheese and fun?Does the cheese melt and get all gooey and stringy?
Is the tomato sauce chock-full of herbs and just perfect?
Is the pizza dough crispy and soft and slightly soggy from the sauce?
Is this the real deal, the answer to our gluten-free-pizza-puhleaaaase prayers?
YES!!! So much yes.
So do your happy dance and get baking!
P.S. And look: no cauliflower in sight!
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Gluten Free Dairy Free Pizza
This gluten-free pizza recipe is already dairy-free. It uses olive oil. You can top this gluten free dairy free pizza crust with your favorite dairy-free cheese to make a gluten free dairy free pizza.
Another options is to leave the cheese off all together and brush on some dairy-free butter and sprinkle it with garlic salt, after its cooked.
Here Are 5 Gluten Free Pizza Crust Alternatives To Test Out The Next Time A Pizza Craving Strikes:
1. Quinoa Pizza Crust
Quinoa has long been one of my favorite whole grains OK, technically its a seed. This recipe is full of whole grains and flavor, but gluten free and easy to make in less than 30 minutes. You can grab the full recipe here.
2. Portobello Mushroom Cap Pizzas
I share this recipe a couple of months ago and it was a HIT! Just stuff all of your usual pizza toppings into a large portobello mushroom, and voila pizza in minutes! This is also a great way to deliciously increase your veggie intake.
3. Cauliflower Pizza Crust
This trend isnt new at all, but I have a feeling its going no where! Although its definitely NOT pizza , its a great vehicle to satisfy your hankering for some za! You can check out this recipe I shared with Dr. Oz here.
4. Pumpkin Oat Pizza Crust
The original pizza crust alternative I shared years ago continues to be a favorite in our house. Its so easy to make with an ingredient you likely have in your pantry OATS! Plus, it contains a hefty dose of vitamin A, thanks to canned pumpkin. I hope you try this one out because it really is a favorite!
5. Brownie Pizza Crust
I couldnt round up my favorite gluten free pizza crust alternatives without a dessert option too! This brownie pizza crust is low in added sugar, full of healthy fats and made with coconut flour, a high fiber grain alternative.
Many mainstream grocery stores are starting to carry coconut flour, but you can easily order it online .
Dont forget to PIN IT
Also Check: Venice Bakery Gluten Free Pizza Crust
How To Handle The Raw Dough
To get this pizza crust to be chewy and foldable, you need whats called a high hydration ratio. That just means how the amount of water compares to the amount of flour. Here, the hydration ratio is nearly 85%.
In our most lovely basic gluten free pizza dough recipe, the hydration ratio is only 60%. Thats actually low for a conventional pizza recipe, but I think we know by now that gluten free baking is just different in so many ways.
An 85% hydration ratio means that this is a wet dough, and we need to keep it that way if we want a chewy, foldable crust. When youre handling the dough, you dont add any more flour at all. You shape it with wet or oiled hands. Its not fun, but it works.
Youll notice that, even after shaping, the raw gluten free pizza dough isnt smooth. Its kind of dimply.
Try not to judge it like I am. Im judging it pretty hard, since Ive been avoiding this sort of sad-looking gluten free bread dough for years, but here, it works like no other.
What Makes This Gluten Free Pizza Crust Different
This pizza crust is NY style because it has a thin, chewy crust that folds in half on the horizontal when you grab a slice. Its only slightly crispy on the very, very outside, like in darker spots underneath the pie and on the edges.
Almost no matter how thin you make it, youre not going to have a cracker-like crust. A super crispy crust is not a bad thing. But its just not the texture were going for here.
They say the price of a slice of pizza in New York City tracks the price of a subway ride . When I lived in Manhattan and then Brooklyn, I dont remember ever ordering a whole pie except for delivery.
You generally buy pizza by the slice, and then you eat it walking down the street. And if youre going to eat it walking down the street , youre going to want to fold it in half. You end up finishing it way too fast, but again, you dont know thats bad because youre 20.
Also Check: Costco Gluten Free Food
Other Ways To Cook Gluten Free Pizza
Ive also used a portable pizza oven when I offer samples at gluten free shows. My favorite so far is the Presto Pizazz® Pizza Oven. This handy gadget is fun to watch in action and takes any guess-work out of rising and baking a pizza.
Another option is to simply cover a baking sheet with parchment paper sprayed with cooking oil and bake the pizza in a round or rectangular shape on that. Whichever pan or method, this recipe can make a thin or thick crust and will make your whole family happy.
Particularly when using a regular baking sheet though, dont make the center of the crust too thick or use a very watery pizza sauce, as it will be harder to get that part of the pizza nice and crispy on the bottom.
Who Makes The Best Gluten Free Pizza
Our favorite gluten free frozen pizzas to order online
- Pizanos gluten free deep dish pizza two-pack.
- California Pizza Kitchen BBQ chicken gluten free pizza.
- Tonys Pizza Napoletana gluten free pizza three-pack.
- DiGiornio ultra thin gluten free sausage supreme pizza.
- Califlour Foods gluten free cauliflower pizza crust two-pack.
- Against the Grain gluten free pesto pizza.
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Giving Up Gluten For A Trial
Homemade sourdough bread was the first thing I freaked out about when giving up gluten for a trial period. Homemade pizza dough was the second. After making so many gluten free pizza dough recipes, tweaking methods and ingredients, Im finally super excited about this gluten free pizza crust recipe! Add my Homemade Pizza Sauce to make your gluten free pizza even better!
Adapted from Americas Test Kitchen, this gluten-free pizza dough recipe is crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside and tastes amazing! The Test Kitchens key ingredients include psyllium husk powder, which adds chewiness similar to a gluten crust, baking powder to give the dough a leavening boost and almond flour for structure building protein.
The Dough Gets Better With Age
You can double or even triple this recipe, and the longer it sits in the fridge the better it gets! You can make the dough one day and have pizzas the following day, or even up to 10 days afterward!! How great is that?
Letting the dough sit in the fridge actually increases fermentation. Fermentation is when yeast feeds off the sugars in dough and creates gas, which helps the dough rise. The gasses produced by the yeast during fermentation is what gives bread its flavor and aroma. Generally, more fermentation means tastier bread, or in this case, tastier pizza dough. It also helps with the stretch of the dough. Its similar to the effects of sourdough without fiddling with a starter!
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What Is The Key Ingredient To Gluten Free Pizza
Traditionally pizza crust is made from flour, water and yeast. So the most important ingredient is the flour.
The same is true of gluten free pizza. The most important ingredient is flour. So my advice is to make sure you use a good gluten free flour blend.
There are a lot of gluten free flour blends on the market. Thats because using one gluten free flour alone wont do anything to replace wheat flour. The result youll get if you try is a horrid, dry one!
Enter gluten free flour blends. These are a mixture of different gluten free flours that are supposed to replace wheat flour. However, to keep costs down, most companies use cheap, tasteless white starchy flours into which you need to add gums and flavours to get a good result. You can read more about what a gluten free flour blend is, here.
Thats why I developed my own gluten free flour blend. It is made from high quality wholegrain flours and can be used in all baking with great results. You can find out more about it here. And you can buy it from my gluten free flour shop.
Its what I use in all my recipes now and its what makes this gluten free pizza crust taste delicious and function like normal pizza.
Paleo Pizza Crust Ingredients
Previously, when I first published this recipe I used palm shortening instead of the olive oil that is now listed. While that works equally as well, a lot of readers dont commonly keep palm shortening on hand. We tested this with olive oil and love the results, so weve updated the recipe to call for that instead. If you know and love this with palm shortening, you can still go ahead and use equal the amount of that.
- Olive Oil
- Fine Sea Salt
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Why This Recipe Works
So what makes this recipe work as well as it does? Well, first of all, lets talk about the flour. Youll notice that for this recipe, were using 1:1 gluten-free flour, which usually has xanthan gum added to the blend.
That xanthan gum essentially takes the place of wheat gluten for recipes like this. You probably know that gluten is the stretchy, expandable part of wheat-based dough that allows the dough to rise when the yeast begins to work. The xanthan gum does that here, creating a nice, stretchy texture to the dough, rather than a crumbly one.
For sandwich bread and other recipes that need a double rise, I would recommend adding extra xanthan gum, but for this one, a normal 1:1 ratio of gluten-free flour is just perfect.
I also use instant dry yeast to make this recipe quick and easy. Instant dry yeast is a super useful ingredient to stock, and it keeps for a long time.
Freezing Uncooked Gluten Free Pizza Crusts
If youd like yet another way to prepare several of these yummy gluten free pizza crusts in advance, freeze them and bake them later all at one time hop to In Angelas Kitchen for her how-to photos of how to make your own frozen pizzas with my mix! Angela:
Cut 8 parchment circles 2 inches larger than trays. Lightly oil trays so parchment sticks, put parchment circles on trays, then oil parchment. Set aside.
Working with only 4 crusts at a time, mix together 4 crusts according to the package directions. Divide pizza crust between 4 prepared trays. Drizzle a bit of olive oil over each crust. With well oiled hands, pat out pizza crusts, leaving a ridge at the edge to contain toppings.
Spread pizza sauce onto each crust. Add toppings.
Wrap each pizza well, label and freeze. Repeat with remaining pizza crusts and toppings.
To bake: unwrap pizzas and remove from trays. Place pizza on your favorite pizza baking pan, pizza stone or directly on the baking rack of the cold oven. Close oven door. Set oven to bake at 400 degrees F. Check pizza after 25 minutes. Depending on toppings, bake for another 15 to 20 minutes until crust is baked through and toppings and bubbly and cheese is melted. Enjoy!
I hope you love this recipe as much as we do!
Pin it for later!
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Gluten Free Pizza That Is Actually The Real Deal
For gluten free pizza dough:
- In a large bowl, mix together all dry ingredients.
- In a smaller bowl, mix together all wet ingredients.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and mix until you get a very sticky dough.
- Turn the dough onto a work surface and use a bench scraper to work the pizza dough. I like to spread the dough onto the surface, scrape it off, and repeat this for about 2 minutes. Even if the dough is sticky, DO NOT add flour.
- Place the dough into a well-oiled bowl, cover with cling film and allow to proof for 2 – 3 hours. The dough probably won’t double in volume, but it should rise slightly.
- In the mean time, prepare the tomato sauce and toppings.
For simple tomato sauce:
- In a saucepan or small pot, add the crushed canned tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cook on medium heat for 15 – 20 minutes with occasional stirring, until slightly reduced .
- Add the olive oil, chopped garlic and oregano. Cook for a further 3 – 5 minutes with occasional stirring.
- Allow to cool.
Assembling and baking the pizza:
Gluten Free Flour Blend
I try to develop recipes that can be relatively agnostic about which of my recommended all purpose gluten free flour blends you choose, since I know not everyone has access to the same ingredients. But this recipe is designed to create an especially specific texture.
For that reason, I highly recommend using either Better Batter or my mock Better Batter in this otherwise very simple recipe. Its a sturdy flour that is best for creating a chewy crust that doesnt puff up too much like a blend like Cup4Cup would. Using the proper flour blend here also helps us avoid using any other enrichments or stabilizers, like Expandex modified tapioca starch or eggs.
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Troubleshooting Tips & Faqs
Crust too crumbly or dry?
Make sure to use the blend of gluten-free flours we recommend in the notes. We cant guarantee results with other combinations of gluten-free flours as we havent tried them. For tips on store-bought brands, we recommend checking the comment section to see what others have tried.
Crust too tough or hard?
Next time, try cooking it for less time and/or rolling it slightly thicker.
Whats the best way to freeze this pizza crust?
Par-bake crust 20-30 minutes, then let cool and transfer to a sealed container and store in the freezer up to 1 month.
What are you waiting for? Make. This. Pizza!
Gluten Free Pizza Faqs
Can I Make and Bake the Crusts Ahead of Time?
I get this question a lot and the answer is YES!! You can bake the crusts without any toppings beforehand and load your freezer with them! To do this, bake for only 3-4 minutes without broiling, remove from the oven and allow to cool. Wrap well and freeze. Of note, the crusts without any toppings tend to puff up and get bubbly. I personally love those craters, but if you dont, feel free to prick them with a sharp knife or skewer to allow the air to escape. When ready to make a pizza, pull out a crust from the freezer, load it with toppings, and place it in the oven under the broiler for a few minutes. The crust is already mostly baked, so you dont need to bake it much further and youre just heating up the toppings and melting the cheese until crusty.
Can I Make Whole Pizzas and Place Them in the Freezer?
YES!!! I love this idea because you can have a hot pizza on the table in minutes with no prep work! Roll out the dough onto parchment, add the toppings, and place the pizza on a flat surface . Freeze the pizza until solid enough to wrap in plastic wrap and freeze. I like to put mine on a cardboard round, such as a cake round like this one. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F with your pizza steel on the middle rack. Slide the pizza onto the steel and bake for about 10 minutes, or until the crust is puffed and the cheese is melted.
I Dont Have a Pizza Steel. Can I Still Make This?
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