What do readers say about this gluten-free pizza crust? “AMAZING!”
June 1st, 2010 by PJ HamelRecipe: Gluten-Free Pizza Crust
“Wow!! I’ve been gluten free for 4 months and I thought my other recipes were as good as it was going to get… This tastes like the REAL thing! My picky non-celiac husband said it tasted like real pizza!” – Ingrid, Maine
“Oh my word!!! My son has been gluten-free for 10 years. I have made every variation of every pizza crust attempt and this outweighs them ALL! He has eaten 5 pizzas in 5 days… and would have had more but his poor mother can’t make them fast enough! Thanks King Arthur Flour!” – Jen, New Jersey
“This is one of the best pizza crusts I have tried.” – Diana, Montana
“I was a bit dubious whether the dough would bake up nicely, as it looks, feels and handles differently than a gluten dough. I never should have doubted you King Arthur! The crust turned out beautifully light and crisp! Best of all, my husband is happy! Again, a thousand thanks!” – MZH, North Carolina
Our readers say it best – if you need to bake gluten-free, this pizza crust recipe is going to make you very, very happy indeed. Without further ado, let’s make a GF pizza.
Now, you have two choices for flour here. Our King Arthur Gluten-Free Multi-Purpose Flour is pre-blended, so you can use it “straight” – no need to combine multiple flours. It’s a carefully tested blend of white rice and whole-grain (brown) rice flours, tapioca starch, and potato starch.
This blend is not only handy; it includes ingredients that reduce the grittiness sometimes found in gluten-free baked goods. It also increases the shelf life of your treats, keeping them fresh longer. Which really isn’t key for pizza… so let’s move to the homemade option.
If you’d rather make your own blend of GF flours, the following brown rice flour blend, featuring stabilized brown rice flour, works well when substituted for our GF multi-purpose flour; and it tastes better than a blend using regular brown rice flour. The recipe below makes 9 cups, so you’ll have plenty for future GF baking projects.
Whisk together 6 cups (32 ounces) King Arthur stabilized brown rice flour; 2 cups (10 3/4 ounces) potato starch; and 1 cup (4 ounces) tapioca starch or tapioca flour. Store airtight at room temperature. Note: You can substitute white rice flour for the brown rice flour if you like; it’ll make your baked goods grittier (unless you manage to find a finely ground version).
Now, on to our crust.
Put the following in a mixing bowl:
1 1/2 cups King Arthur Gluten-Free Multi-Purpose Flour or brown rice flour blend
2 tablespoons buttermilk powder or nonfat dry milk powder
1 tablespoon sugar or honey
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
Whisk to combine.
Aw, do I REALLY need the xanthan gum? I don’t have any. What happens if I leave it out?
Your pizza crust falls apart. Yes, you really do need xanthan gum; it steps in for the missing gluten to provide baked goods with their structure.
If you’re going to be baking gluten-free, bite the bullet – buy some xanthan gum.
In a separate bowl or measuring cup, combine the following:
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons olive oil
Scoop 1/2 cup of the GF multi-purpose flour or brown rice flour blend from the other bowl, and add it to this liquid mixture.
Stir to combine; a few lumps are OK.
Set aside for 30 minutes or so, until the mixture is bubbly and smells yeasty.
Look at that yeast go!
Add the yeast mixture to the dry ingredients you stirred together earlier.
Beat on medium-high speed for 4 minutes, using an electric mixer. Yes, you must use a stand mixer or electric hand mixer to make this dough; mixing by hand doesn’t do a thorough enough job.
The mixture will be thick and sticky; if you’ve ever applied spackling compound to a wall, that’s exactly what it’ll look and feel like.
Cover the bowl, and let the dough rest for 30 minutes or so.
While the dough is resting, grease a baking sheet or ≈ round pizza pan, and drizzle 2 tablespoons olive oil into the center.
Let’s go back to the dough. It doesn’t look like it’s done much, does it?
But take a peek underneath the surface – the yeast is doing its thing.
Scrape the dough from the bowl onto the puddle of oil.
Using your wet fingers, start at the center of the dough and work outwards, pressing it into a 12” to 14” circle.
Let the dough rest, uncovered, for 15 minutes. As you can see, there’s plenty of oil to keep it moist.
Don’t like using so much oil? Your choice. But all of us here at King Arthur much preferred gluten-free pizza with an ultra-crisp bottom crust, an attribute only oil can give. And besides, 2 tablespoons of oil divided by 8 slices is less than 1 teaspoon per slice.
Preheat the oven to 425°F while the crust is resting.
Put the pan on a lower rack, and bake the crust for 8 to 10 minutes, just until it’s set.
The surface will go from shiny to matte.
Remove the crust from the oven, and take a look underneath; it should be browning nicely.
Top crust with whatever you like. Here we’re using classic red sauce, mozzarella, and pepperoni.
Return to the oven to finish baking, about 10 to 15 minutes depending on the toppings you’ve chosen.
Remove from the oven. Gluten-free baked goods can tend towards gumminess; this crust, with its beautifully crisp, brown bottom avoids that pitfall.
Serve warm – with kudos from your GF friends.
A plain cheese version is fine for your vegetarian buddies.
And, feel free to make the crust a bit thicker, if you like. After all, not everyone likes “thin ’n’ crispy.”
Read, rate, and review (please) our recipe for Gluten-Free Pizza Crust.
Tags: gluten-free, pizza
June 1st, 2010 at 9:31 am
I placed an order yesterday for your g-free flour, choc chip cookie mix and pancake mixes. My 15 y/o granddaughter, who is Celiac, is coming for a visit this month so will try your flour and mixes out on her!
June 1st, 2010 at 9:51 am
This looks amazing! Nobody I know has celiac, but knowing that there are decent gluten-free recipes out there certainly calms my mind. Thanks!
Wei-Wei
June 1st, 2010 at 11:47 am
this looks SO GOOD! i’d have a slice, please!
For those of us who can eat gluten – it looks great, and for those who can’t eat gluten – it looks even better! Irene @ KAF
June 1st, 2010 at 11:48 am
I am so excited by this posting. My niece is arriving in one week and she needs gluten-free food, so this is definitely on my list to serve just for her. She is moving to Costa Rica with her family and i am going to arrange for a shipment of your gluten-free mixes to arrive when they move into their new home in a couple of months. Thank you again for all the research which went into producing your mixes. What a wonderful service to your customers and i hope they become a financial success for King Arthur. Your company is the best.
Our customer suggestions encourage and inspire us….our customer enthusiasm keeps us going! Happy Baking! Irene @ KAF
June 1st, 2010 at 4:34 pm
You made me cry! Been gluten free since January & I would do almost anything for a pizza. THANK YOU, Thank you, Thank you.
(now for a good Ciabata bread recipe, please)
June 1st, 2010 at 5:20 pm
I have only one crucial problem here. Difficult to find Xanthan-gum here in my region, specially in my city. I´ll try to find it at Rio de Janeiro to try this thin crust pizza. I love this kind of thin crust pizza. Here in Brazil are commons pizzas made with fry-pan, thin and crusty, lovely. I have a nice recipe of Pizza Romana from Stella Standard book called Homemade Breads.I´ll give a try at that recipe with gluten-free ingredients!
June 2nd, 2010 at 7:54 am
I tried this crust recipe yesterday and it was really good. Mine was a bit thick so next time I will use less dough and make it thinner. But the taste and texture was great! Now if I could just get the King Arthur GF flours locally. Shipping makes it so hard to afford ording from you. Check out my blog (links included) where I have placed pictures of my pizza outcome.
Looks great, Stephanie! Thanks for sharing the link to your blog here- PJH
June 2nd, 2010 at 4:51 pm
Can you mix in in the bread machine?
I’d think so, Mariana, with all of that agitation from the long knead. Give it a try, let us know how it goes – PJH
June 3rd, 2010 at 7:31 am
where do I find these flours and mixes? I live in Texas
Stores are just beginning to carry the products, and more are picking them up everyday. We don’t currently have a database of which stores in which states have the gluten free, but will offer that as soon as it’s complied and available. You can ALWAYS get the gluten free products directly from us. We’re happy to help. ~ MaryJane
June 4th, 2010 at 5:42 pm
Dear Sandra:
Found King Arthur GLUTEN FREE FLOURS in HEB, here in Beaumont, TX, yesterday. (I thanked the store manager!) Will try to make the pizza this weekend……
June 6th, 2010 at 10:29 pm
I’ve been doing a gluten free diet for my 4 yr old son for the last 4 days and was ready to order the mixes and flour this week when I happened upon them at my local HEB in Round Rock, TX!!!! I was so thrilled and bought 3 different ones. I can’t wait to make him pancakes in the morning (he’s very excited as well and wants blueberry ones). I love to bake, as does he, and am happy I still can with the gluten free line. I can’t wait to see what else you come up with. I am such a fan of King Arthur products. Thank you so much!
Glad we could help you keep baking, Melissa – hope your son is VERY happy with the results! PJH
June 8th, 2010 at 7:59 am
Where can we purchase this product?
We will be selling it in supermarkets and it’s in HEB stores now but if you don’t see it ask your store manager to carry it. Otherwise, you can order from us here Molly @ KAF
June 22nd, 2010 at 8:13 pm
Finally a thin, crispy gluten free crust! Thank you! Can this recipe be doubled/tripled for company?
Absolutely, Colleen – no reason why not. Enjoy – PJH
June 29th, 2010 at 8:17 pm
We just found out that our whole family has Celiac after are 12 mo started having severe issues. I have been an avid bakers since I got your bakers companion book for Christmas years ago (a subtly hint from my husband). It broke my heart that I wouldn’t be able to bake for my family anymore and that I was actually hurting them. I didn’t know where to turn until KA started advertising their GF products in the catelog. I could have cried. Of course, I thought, my resource for baking for years should have been the first place I turned to. I put in a huge order in today and know that I can again bake with satisfied taste testers as long as KA is in my corner. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. You have given me the chance to bake again and the ability to keep my family healthy.
Rene
June 29th, 2010 at 8:19 pm
P.S. Any chance of getting a GF recipe for Grahm crackers, or any cracker. Our celiac baby use to LOVE them.
I’ll ask the test kitchen to add that one to the list. Frank @ KAF.
July 1st, 2010 at 10:35 am
I can’t wait to try this crust. That’s what I’ve been missing. A local restaurant has GF pizza but there is nothing like making it yourself! For Rene, I found a GF graham cracker recipe at Living Without Magazine online that I like. However, don’t fuss with making them square. It’s faster and less frustrating to scoop them out into balls and squish them flat instead. Lots of opportunities to use KAF there
July 28th, 2010 at 11:20 pm
Is there a non-dairy replacement for the buttermilk powder, my son is sensitive to dairy as well and I need to avoid it. Thank you. Looking forward to trying this out with just veggies
You can just leave the milk/buttermilk powder out. It will still turn out fine. JMD@KAF
September 15th, 2010 at 7:11 pm
I just baked the pizza! Only for 10 minutes because I need to freeze it to take to my daughter. When frozen how long do we bake it with all the stuff on and at what temperature ? I asked the same question as Daphna and a nice lady at KAF told me I could use 2tbl. soy milk and take 2 tbl away from the water. I also added a teaspoon of onion powder and the kitchen smells wonderful. Will continue this story after my daughter has eaten her wonderful gluten and dairy free pizza. Thanks everybody!
Hi there,
I checked with the test kitchen and they had some great tips. Preheat the oven to 400°F, if you have a stone definitely use it. Place parchment under the crust or if you are using a pan, grease the pan well. It should take about 15-18 minutes to bake the frozen crust. All ovens vary though, so don’t worry if yours takes longer.
Hope this helps! ~ MaryJane
November 6th, 2010 at 6:05 pm
I just made pizza using your recipe, and it truly is very, very good. I only made one pizza, and am sad that my husband and I will have to order out so that our children can eat all of the gluten-free pizza- it’s that good! One question: I found the dough to be difficult to spread thinly in the pan (the stickiness wasn’t a problem as much as the quantity- there just wasn’t a lot of dough, and it was very soft), and was not able to raise the edge as in the picture on the recipe page. Any hints for getting a nice rolled edge? Thanks!
Adding a bit of oil to your fingers really helps you be able to move the dough around, and it does take a bit of time. Put your iPod on your favorite song and just work away at it for a few minutes. Have fun! ~ MaryJane
February 13th, 2011 at 6:39 pm
Can this be rolled out between 2 oiled sheets of parchment? I don’t care what shape it ends up being. I would make 2 smaller pizzas.
Also, could the initial baking, to crisp the bottom, be done on a cast iron griddle? Gluten pizzas can be baked that way, but I was thinking of that initial step while the oven was heating. If the griddle was hot and oiled, the crust should firm up quickly.
I just made what should have been a yummy pizza, but it was a storebought GF crust, and it was terrible. The toppings were good, but the crust was like cardboard. I HAVE TO GET KAF flour asap!
Thanks
Yes, you could try rolling out between greased pieces of parchment; but it’s VERY sticky, so not sure it would come off. You could also try the griddle; again, not sure you could get it on and off, as the crust is so very sticky… Maybe try tolling on parchment; hopefully peeling off the top piece of parchment, and flopping it onto the (well-oiled) griddle. Maybe once it firms on the griddle, the other piece of parchment could be pulled off. Not sure about all this, but give it a try – PJH
February 13th, 2011 at 6:54 pm
I forgot to ask one other question. Are the sugar and buttermilk powder just a taste preference or necessary? Usually, traditional pizza is just flour, salt, water and maybe some olive oil. Just trying to figure this all out – will it work without the sweetener and milk?
Thanks
Yes, I believe you could leave out the sugar and milk – they’re there for texture and flavor, but I’m thinking the crust would work without them. Give it a try – PJH
March 13th, 2011 at 2:19 pm
This recipe was insanely delicious!!!! Kudos to the folks at King Arthur!!! I could not get my hands on the GF flour, but tried the Brown rice mix recipe. My family raved about the crust. Most definitely a keeper.
May 1st, 2011 at 3:27 pm
FINALLY! We have been trying out gf pizzas for a few years now and this is one of the best. Thank you so much! When we used to make regular pizzas though, we would add the sugar or honey straight to the water and yeast, does this affect your recipe much?
Nope, shouldn’t affect it at all, Ben. The yeast doesn’t really need a sweetener right away; it can get going on its own just fine. But do it either way – as I said, it really doesn’t matter… PJH
August 22nd, 2011 at 9:07 pm
Not good at all. Every person in my house made the same comment without hearing what the person before said. When I ask each one in the family what it tasted like they all said communion bread. This crust has a spongy texture and a bad aftertaste. I am a baker, so I do know how to prepare baked goods. So far I have not been impressed with the gluten free products I have tried from King Arthur.Sorry to leave a negative comment.
We are sorry to hear of your dissatisfaction with the products. Please contact our Customer Service at 1-800-827-6836, so we can make this right! ~Jessica
October 22nd, 2011 at 5:22 pm
Whisk together 6 cups (32 ounces) King Arthur stabilized brown rice flour; 2 cups (10 3/4 ounces) potato starch; and 1 cup (4 ounces) tapioca starch or tapioca flour. Store airtight at room temperature
These measurements are off Or am I not reading it correctly. I am trying to half and I can’t decide to use ounces that you have or the correct amounts. Thanks Anne
Anne, sorry, what has you confused? The ounces are equivalent to the volumes; use either one. If you’re confused about weights, it’s true, 1 cup of stabilized brown rice flour doesn’t weight the same as 1 cup tapioca starch; dry ingredient weights are often different from one another. If you’re still confused, please call our bakers’ hotline: 802-649-3717; they’ll help you. PJH
November 4th, 2011 at 11:30 pm
Hi! We are pretty new to the GF world, and are trying to find foods that help us eat some things that we used to enjoy, like pizza.
We have a lot of dietary restrictions (gluten, dairy, soy, eggs). Is there anything that we could replace the milk product in this recipe with that would be ok? Thanks in advance, hoping to try this tomorrow! 
Just leave the milk powder out – it should still be fine. Enjoy your pizza! PJH
January 19th, 2012 at 8:36 am
I made this crust yesterday and noticed that while the crust was setting in the oven, it started to puff in certain areas. Is this normal? Should the crust be docked?
Yeast crust will sometimes puff while baking solo without the toppings- either air is trapped underneath the crust or in the crust. If you prefer it flatter, poke the air pockets as they appear (as you might for a pastry crust baked without filling that may puff instead of lie flat). Happy GF Baking! Irene @ KAF
January 22nd, 2012 at 7:46 pm
Thanks so much! This recipe is amazing. The author clearly has mad skills.
James, the recipe’s author is actually Sue Gray, our “Gluten-Free Goddess” – I will absolutely pass your kind comment along to her.
PJH
January 27th, 2012 at 12:10 am
Thank you. So one more question:
I roll out the dough on a cutting board and then using a ring mold, make a perfect 9″ circle. However, how do I transfer the dough to the baking sheet without destroying it??
James, roll on parchment; that’s your best solution. If you don’t have parchment roll on greased waxed paper or foil, and flip the crust onto the baking sheet, peeling off the paper or foil. Good luck – PJH