Homemade Gluten Free Pizza

Learn all the tips and tricks to making the best gluten free pizza at home. There are no hard to find ingredients and the dough actually rises! You won’t believe it’s gluten free!

How is it Thursday already?! This week is flying right by. The weather is getting warmer (finally!) and my wedding is right around the corner. I have 7,567 things to do, but life is still good. 

I am extremely excited about today’s recipe! Gluten free pizza that tastes like regular pizza – no crumbly, starchy, leaves-an-after-taste pizza here. If you have ever ordered a gluten free pizza at your local pizza shop, you probably know what I’m talking about. 

Don’t get me wrong, I love that there are pizza shops out there that offer gluten free pizza. Most of them are all the same (most likely from the same supplier) – they come in their own little tin pan with a little pizza cutter to avoid cross contamination. It’s nice to have this option available when I’m in a pinch and need a take out dinner. However, it’s very starchy and leaves an aftertaste. 

For some reason I’ve been terrified of attempting my own pizza dough. Maybe because I spent so many years making pizza on a weekly basis. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while or know me at all, you know I never really liked pizza. I come from a pizza-loving family, though, so making it on the regular was a must. I enjoyed the process and let’s be real, homemade pizza is on a whole different level than takeout pizza. 

When I went gluten free I was more upset I wouldn’t be making pizza anymore than I was about not being able to eat it. I tried a gluten free pizza crust mix from the grocery store once and it was ok, but very crumbly.

I finally mustered up the courage to try my hand at making my own. I started with my tried and true pizza dough recipe (you can find that here) and tweaked it to make it work with gluten free flour. I don’t want to toot my own horn or anything, but this pizza is pretty dang tasty. 

It’s really challenging to create a gluten-free pizza that has the same texture as traditional pizza. This is because gluten is so important in making pizza. In my go-to homemade pizza recipe, I use bread flour specifically for the higher amount of gluten it contains. Remove the gluten all together and you may think delicious pizza is lost forever, right?

Wrong!

I was actually shocked at well my first test run came out. The crust was crispy on the outside, but still had a little chew to it. I have no idea where that “chew” comes from as there are no special or hard-to-find ingredients to “replace” the gluten.

The only issues I had with the first attempt were the measurements were off slightly and I over baked it. Both pretty easy fixes and by the third attempt, I had it perfect!

You’ll notice the dough is much different in texture and appearance than traditional pizza dough. Gluten free flours work better with more moisture, so the dough will be quite sticky. 

I’ve found the pizza comes out best when you use wet fingers and pat it out rather than using a rolling pin. I tried it with a rolling pin, but needed to dust it with too much flour and it came out too dry and starchy. So, just have a little patience and pat it out!

Next up you’ll pre bake the dough before topping it however you’d like! I went with the classic – homemade pizza sauce, mozzarella, and pepperoni. I plan to make a white pizza very soon as that’s always been my favorite type of pizza!

I also have plans to make a few batches of dough up to the pre bake step and then try freezing the pizza shells. That way I’ll always have pizza at the ready! I’ll be sure to report back on how that works. 

I’m sure there are plenty of great prepared gluten free pizzas and also restaurants out there that make a tasty one, but where I live, I’m pretty limited. If you have to eat gluten-free or know someone that does you definitely need to make this. Your faith in gluten free pizza will be restored and you will no longer have to be subjected to less-than-perfect gluten free pizza!

Gluten Free Pizza

2016-04-21 13:16:37

Serves 4

Crisp and chewy pizza crust that you’ll never believe is gluten-free! Learn all the tips and tricks to making the best gluten-free pizza at home.

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Prep Time

1 hr 15 min

Cook Time

17 min

Total Time

1 hr 32 min

Prep Time

1 hr 15 min

Cook Time

17 min

Total Time

1 hr 32 min

For The Dough

1. ¾ Cup Warm Water (100-110º)
2. 2 Teaspoons Sugar
3. 2 ¼ Teaspoons Dry Active Yeast
4. 1 ¾ Cups Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour, preferably Cup 4 Cup*
5. 2 Tablespoons Dry Milk Powder
6. 1 Teaspoon Xanthan Gum, omit if your blend already contains it
7. 1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
8. 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil, plus more for brushing the dough

For Topping

1. ¾ - 1 Cup Your Favorite Pizza Sauce
2. 1 ½ -2 Cups Freshly Grated Mozzarella Cheese
3. 2 Tablespoons Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
4. Pepperoni, or your favorite topping

Instructions

1. In a small bowl or measuring cup, add the warm water and sprinkle the sugar and yeast over the top. Give it a gentle stir and let it sit in for 5 minutes. The mixture should be bubbly and smell yeasty. If it hasn’t bubbled, start over with new yeast. (See recipe notes for troubleshooting)
2. While you’re waiting for your yeast to proof, combine the flour, milk powder, xanthan gum (if you’re blend doesn’t contain it), salt, and olive oil in the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.
3. Pour the proofed yeast mixture into the mixer and turn the mixer to low speed. The dough will look like it’s not going to come together at first, but it will. You may need to stop and scrape the sides to incorporate all of the flour. Once the dough has come together it will be wet and sticky in texture.
4. Lightly oil a bowl and scrape the dough into the bowl. Wet your hands slightly and smooth the surface of the pizza dough. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap and place it in a warm oven (turn the oven on for a few minutes and then shut it off before placing the bowl in). Allow the dough to rise for 45 minutes – 1 hour.
5. Preheat the oven to 425º and place a pizza stone (if you have one) in the oven.
6. Lightly flour a 14-inch round piece of parchment paper and dump the dough onto it. Sprinkle the dough lightly with flour and using wet fingers, press the dough into a 12-14 –inch round. Have patience with this part – it takes a little bit!
7. Once you get the dough patted out, remove the pizza stone from the oven and gently slide the pizza (still on the parchment) onto the hot stone. Brush the pizza dough evenly with olive oil.
8. Bake the pizza with no toppings for 8 minutes. Remove the stone from the oven and gently slide the parchment onto a work surface. When you can handle the pizza, gently peel off the parchment paper. Drizzle the stone lightly with olive oil and place the pizza back onto the stone.
9. Top the pizza as desired – I went the classic route with tomato sauce, cheese, and pepperoni!
10. Bake the pizza for 12-14 minutes, or until the crust is lightly browned and the cheese is bubbly.

Notes

1. *I used Cup4Cup Gluten-Free Flour Blend - I highly recommend this blend to get the same results. If you use a different blend please do let me know if it works out so that others can benefit!
2. *If your yeast doesn't bubble you'll need to start over with new yeast. First, make sure your yeast isn't expired. If it's still fresh and it didn't proof, the water could have either been too hot or too cold, so please do be careful with the water temperature!

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