Gluten Free Pizza Dough

A basic recipe for gluten free pizza dough is one of the single most important staples to have in your kitchen. And it’s so simple to make!

A basic recipe for gluten free pizza dough is one of the single most important staples to have in your kitchen. It’s super simple to make, freezes well, and defrosts easily.

In the recipe as written, there really are very few gluten free pizza crust ingredients—and you don’t need our gluten free bread flour blend, which is made with some specialized ingredients. But it’s worth a quick discussion of that flour, to help you understand the difference between this recipe and our other gluten free pizza dough recipe.

What’s in gluten free bread flour?

The gluten free bread flour blend from Gluten Free on a Shoestring Bakes Bread is a combination of an all purpose gluten free flour blend like Better Batter, whey protein isolate plus Expandex modified tapioca starch .

Whey protein isolate is simply a milk protein powder that is nearly 100% protein and is often used for bodybuilding and low carb recipes these days. I’ve found that it behaves a lot like gluten in baking.

However, whey protein isolate tends to make raw dough very soft. Together with Expandex modified tapioca starch, it allows for the creation of gluten free bread recipes that look, feel and taste more like conventional yeast bread.

The gluten free bread flour and the recipes in GFOAS Bakes Bread is so important to me and valuable to readers. But I understand that its reach is limited.

If you can purchase whey protein isolate and Expandex, and  tolerate dairy you can and should use the gluten free bread flour. There is no perfect nondairy substitute for whey protein isolate.

Whey protein isolate in gluten free bread flour

The whey protein is essential to the gluten free bread flour since milk protein (casein) is the protein that behaves most like wheat gluten in baking applications. Chemically, they’re very similar.

But that means that I can’t provide viable suggestions for a dairy-free version of those recipes. Baking with whey protein does cause the dough to relax quite a bit.

Expandex modified tapioca starch is amazing when you’re trying to create the “chew” of conventional, gluten-containing bread.  The combination of whey protein isolate and Expandex, plus our all purpose gluten free flour, creates gluten free bread flour.

In the bread book, I recommend a few dairy-free substitutes for whey protein isolate (pea protein isolate and rice protein isolate). None of them is a perfect substitute. Plus, each requires that you use 150% of the liquid the original recipe calls for, which nearly defeats the purpose of using protein powder.

Measuring gluten free flour

Always measure individual gluten free flours and blends by weight, not by volume. There’s unavoidable human error in measuring by volume, and dry measuring cups simply aren’t standardized. Measuring by weight on a simple, $15 digital scale (Escali is a good, inexpensive brand) means that we’re all on the same page.

Let your gf pizza dough rest

After you’ve made your raw gluten free pizza dough, let it rest in the refrigerator. That allows the flours to absorb the moisture of the water, leaving the dough still hydrated, but making it much less sticky.

Working with sticky gluten free pizza dough

If your gf pizza dough is still a bit sticky because you can’t afford the time to let it rest more, or it’s not cold enough, sprinkle it very lightly with more all purpose gluten free flour, and handle it with a light touch. You can also lightly oil your hands.

This recipe is naturally egg-free, which isn’t something you can often say about most gluten free bread recipes, which tend to rely upon eggs for structure.

How to make gluten free dairy free pizza dough

The crust recipe itself is already dairy-free, so no worries there. For a dairy-free shredded cheese to use as a topping, I really like Daiya brand.

Using Expandex modified tapioca starch for chewier gluten free pizza dough

For a complete discussion of how Expandex adds value to this recipe, please scroll up a bit. If you don’t have or don’t want to use Expandex, you can use 2¾ cups all purpose gluten free flour and make up the remaining ¼ cup of flour with regular tapioca starch/flour.

Tapioca starch will help a bit to make the recipe chewier, although not as much as if you used Expandex. There is no need to add more water to your dough if you aren’t using modified tapioca starch.

FAQs

Can I bake this recipe without a pizza stone?

Yes! Place an overturned rimmed baking sheet in the oven to allow as much air circulation as possible. Or try a perforated pizza crisper.

Can I freeze the pizza crust?

Yes! You can freeze the parbaked (half-baked) gluten free pizza crust recipe by completing the shaping and first bake of the crust for 5 to 7 minutes at 400°F. I don’t ever recommend freezing raw gluten free yeast dough, as the yeast can die at extreme temperatures.

Can I bake my gluten free pizza crust in a toaster oven?

If you have a large enough toaster oven that has a round cutout in the back allowing you to bake rounds, you can try cranking up the heat and baking this gluten free pizza crust recipe in a toaster oven.

Do you have to use olive oil in this dough?

A good-quality extra virgin olive oil really helps give this pizza dough really nice flavor. You can replace it with a neutral oil, like grapeseed, but you’ll miss the richness of the olive oil.

Can I use almond flour as an all purpose gluten free flour?

No, almond flour can never be used as an all purpose gluten free flour blend, so you can’t use it to make this particular gf pizza dough recipe, which has been developed to be made with a rice-based all purpose blend. But we have an amazing Paleo pizza recipe that is made with blanched almond flour and tapioca starch/flour. Use that!

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Rising time: 1 hour

Total Time:1  hour 40 minutes

Yield:  pizzas 2

Equipment

• Stand mixer with paddle attachment or Food processor with steel blade
• Pizza stone (recommended)

Ingredients

• 3 cups (420 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend (I used Better Batter), plus more for sprinkling
• 1 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum omit if your blend already contains it
• 1 tablespoon (9 g) instant yeast
• 1 ½ teaspoons (6 g) granulated sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons (9 g) kosher salt
• 1 ⅛ cups (9 ounces) warm water (about 95°F)
• 4.5 tablespoons (63 g) extra-virgin olive oil (plus more for brushing)
• Your favorite pizza toppings

Instructions

Make the pizza dough.

• In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or your food processor fitted with the metal blade, place the flour, xanthan gum, (optional Expandex), yeast, and sugar, and whisk to combine with a separate, handheld whisk. Add the salt, and whisk again to combine well.
• Add the water and olive oil, and mix on medium speed in your stand mixer or pulse in your food processor until the dough begins to come together.
• Turn the mixer to high speed or your food processor on and process until the dough is no longer a ball but has begun to appear whipped (about 3 minutes).
• Transfer the dough to an oiled container with a tight-fitting lid or a greased bowl, spray lightly with cooking oil spray, and cover tightly.
• Place in a warm, draft-free area to rise until it’s about 150% of its original volume (about an hour), or refrigerate the dough for up to 3 days.
• When you’re ready to make the pizza, place a pizza stone or overturned rimmed baking sheet in the oven and preheat it to 400°F.
• If you’ve refrigerated the dough, work with it straight from the refrigerator. If you haven’t, place the tightly sealed dough in the refrigerator to chill for at least 15 minutes before working with it, as it’s easiest to work with when it’s chilled.
• To make pizza, place the dough on a lightly floured surface and sprinkle the top lightly with a bit more flour. Knead the dough a bit until it’s smoother, then divide it into two equal portions. Cover the unused portion, so it doesn’t dry out.
• Roll the other half on the floured surface with a rolling pin, moving the dough frequently to prevent sticking. Sprinkle very lightly with additional flour as necessary.
• Create a smooth edge around the perimeter of the dough by pressing the edges with one hand toward the palm of your other.

Bake the pizza.

• Transfer the dough to a large piece of unbleached parchment paper and brush the top of the dough generously with olive oil. Using a pizza peel or other flat surface like a cutting board, transfer the dough to the pizza peel or baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake it plain for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the crust has begun to crisp on the underside.
• Remove the crust from the oven using a pizza peel or large spatula. At this point, the parbaked crust can be cooled completed, wrapped tightly and frozen for at least one month. Simply defrost at room temperature, and then continue with the recipe as written.
• To continue preparing the dough, add your favorite toppings to the parbaked crust, and return the pizza to the hot oven until any cheese is melted and the edges have browned and puffed (another 5 to 7 minutes).
• Remove the pizza from the oven using a pizza peel or large spatula, and allow it to set for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 pizza | Calories: 305kcal | Carbohydrates: 171g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 23g | Sodium: 1930mg | Potassium: 27mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin C: 0.01mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 0.2mg