Gluten Free Pizza Crust

Today, I'm sharing a recipe for Gluten Free pizza crust. My family tried several gluten free pizza crusts and they were always just ok. We tried cauliflour pizza crust, we tried subbing in gluten free flour into different pizza crust recipes and it was always just meh. Now I should mention that while my mom is completely gluten free, the Bean, my Dad and myself still eat gluten when we're not eating a meal all together as a family. So, we can pretty closely compare the gluten free to the not gluten free. Where we usually notice a big difference, my Mom says that because she's been gluten free for so long, she hardly remembers the real thing and is way more adventurous with gluten free recipes!

That being said, we all liked this pizza crust - it's different from usual pizza crust but not at all bad, just different. If you are gluten free this is a really good alternative when you're making pizza.

The recipe is from America's Test Kitchen Gluten Free cookbook. We have been loving this cookbook. It has so many great gluten free alternatives and recipes. Not only are the recipes great but they explain the chemistry behind all of the recipes that have really helped me get how cooking/baking without gluten works. It's so different from plain old cooking & baking and this cookbook helps you through all of it!

And by all of it, I mean this - the America's Test Kitchen GF flour blend, the Psyllium husks, the almond flour and all of the other gluten free alternatives!

Ok, let's get started on the recipe... put 3 1/3 cups + 1/4 cup of America's test Kitchen Gluten Free flour blend in the bowl of your stand mixer. Add in 1/2 cup + 1/3 cup of almond flour and 4 1/2 teaspoons of powdered psyllium husk. Next add in, 2 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder, 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of instant or rapid rise yeast.

Using the paddle attachment for your mixer, allow the mixer to combine the dry ingredients.

Then, add in 2 1/2 cups of warm water and 1/4 cup of vegetable oil simultaneously in a slow, steady stream as the mixer is mixing at a low speed. Once all of the water and oil has been added, increase the mixers speed to medium and let the dough mix for about 6 minutes. When the mixing is doen, the dough should be sticky batter like.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and cover it tightly in plastic wrap. Let the dough sit for 90 minutes until the inside is bubbly. The dough will not rise at all, but if you lift some of the dough with a spoon after the 90 minute rest time, you will know that the yeast has been activated if there are bubbles in the dough.

Can you see the bubbles in there? That's what you are looking for!

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and spray the parchment paper with vegetable oil. Transfer half of the dough to one of the pizza trays and the other half of the the dough to the second pizza tray. Drop the dough in the center of the tray. Do not handle the dough! It is way to sticky! You will need to rely on a spatula sprayed with vegetable oil when you are transferring and shaping the dough. Use your oil sprayed spatula to spread the dough into a 8 inch circle.

Then, spray the surface of both 8 inch circles with vegetable oil and use a piece of plastic wrap to flatten the dough into a 11-12 inch circle. The dough should be about 1/4 of an inch thick. Once you've flattened the dough, go back around the edges to form a thicker edge for the crust. The outer 1/4 inch should be slightly thicker than the rest of the dough. Repeat this process with the second pizza crust.

I had a hard time taking pictures around this time because I had oil everywhere! So the picture above is the final product after all of the steps discussed above.

Then you're going to bake the pizza crusts before you top them! Weird, I know! But trust me, it works! Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and bake the dough for 45-50 minutes (mine was in for 45). The dough should be just firm to touch and beginning to turn golden brown on the underside.

When the crusts comes out of the oven, transfer them to a wire rack to let them cool completely before topping them.

Now the cookbook goes on with some wild instructions for the rest of the bake. It recommends turing the oven up to 500 degrees. Ah! I was a little apprehensive to do that, so I strayed from the cookbook and kept it simple! Top your pizza with whatever you like. I used marinara sauce, pepperoni, Italian sausage, red pepper and onion sautéd in some garlic and then topped it all with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

While you are topping your pizza, increase the oven's temperature to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and bake the pizza for 12-15 minutes. I think mine was in for around 15. I was really just waiting for the cheese to melt. This short time in the oven was perfect - the toppings congealed well and the cheese melted. I was worried that it would affect the crust but it was all delicious!

Now, I only added these last two pictures to document my current love for broccoli. I don't know if this is a phase or my body telling I'm missing some crucial vitamins but I am always craving broccoli! Several times over break, I steamed a whole head of broccoli and just ate it out of a bowl while wrapping presents! I've always like broccoli but now I'm really loving it!

GLUTEN FREE PIZZA CRUST
yield: two 12'' pizza crusts

ingredients
3 1/3 cups + 1/4 cup America's Test Kitchen Gluten Free flour blend
1/2 cup + 1/3 cup almond flour
4 1/2 teaspoons powdered psyllium husk
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon instant or rapid rise yeast
2 1/2 cups warm water
1/4 cup vegetable oil

directions
1. Combine the America's test Kitchen GF flour, almond flour, powdered psyllium husk, baking powder, salt and yeast in the bowl of an electric mixer fit with the paddle attachment.
2. When the dry ingredients are combined, add in the warm water and the vegetable oil simultaneously in a slow, steady stream while the mixer is mixing on low speed. Once the water and oil are added, turn the mixer up to medium speed and let it mix for 6 minutes until the dough is uniform and sticky.
3. Remove the bowl from the mixer and cover it tightly in plastic wrap. Let the dough sit for 90 minutes until the inside is bubbly. The dough will not rise at all, but if you lift some of the dough with a spoon after the 90 minute rest time, you will know that the yeast has been activated if there are bubbles in the dough.
4. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and spray the parchment paper with vegetable oil. Transfer half of the dough to one of the pizza trays and the other half of the the dough to the second pizza tray. Use an oil sprayed spatula to spread the dough into a 8 inch circle.
5. Then, spray the surface of both 8 inch circles with vegetable oil and use a piece of plastic wrap to flatten the dough into a 11-12 inch circle. The dough should be about 1/4 of an inch thick. Once you've flattened the dough, go back around the edges to form a thicker edge for the crust. The outer 1/4 inch should be slightly thicker than the rest of the dough. Repeat this process with the second pizza crust.
6. Next, preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and bake the dough for 45-50 minutes. The dough should be just firm to touch and beginning to turn golden brown on the underside.
7. When the crusts comes out of the oven, transfer them to a wire rack to let them cool completely before topping them.
8. Top your pizzas however you'd like. Then, Increase the oven's temperature to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and bake the pizza for 12-15 minutes.Your pizza is ready when the toppings are congealed and the cheese is melted.

Let me know if you have questions.