Gluten Free Pizza Dough
This is the BEST gluten free pizza dough recipe! It’s so easy to make, perfectly chewy, holds together well (even with lots of toppings) and requires no kneading. Plus, this crust can be frozen for easy dinners throughout the week.
My go-to gluten free pizza dough! This crust recipe requires no kneading, is totally freezer friendly and can be made into a thick or thin crust depending on what you like! It only requires about 15 minutes of prep time, plus an hour to let the dough rise and then you’re good to go.
Pizza was one of those foods I missed most when I was diagnosed with Celiac, and while I love a cauliflower crust every now and then, sometimes you just need something that more closely replicates the real deal. There’s so many gluten free pizza doughs in restaurants these days, but cross contamination is a real issue so I opt to just make it at home!
This crust is thick and chewy and will definitely become a regular in your meal rotation! While this recipe is not vegan friendly, you can try my vegan gluten free pizza crust instead which is just as delicious and made without egg! Try my gluten free risotto or gluten free focaccia bread next!
Notes before we get started
- You need instant yeast for this recipe, not just regular active dry yeast. Instant yeast does not require proofing before adding to the dough, you can just add it right in with the other ingredients so it saves some time.
- You cannot make this pizza dough without yeast. The yeast is super important in this dough and gives it a classic chewy and fluffy texture. Be sure to use active instant yeast which requires just a short proof time of 1 hour.
- There’s a lot of flours you can use in pizza dough, but I think gluten free all purpose flour works best. Almond flour has a grainy texture, so we will stick with a mix with a base of rice flour to get that soft and chewy texture.
How to make gluten free pizza dough
Microwave the water for about 30 seconds or until it reaches 110-115 degrees Fahrenheit. You don’t want it too hot or it will kill the yeast, but it needs to be warm enough to activate the yeast.
Mix in the sugar and one packet of yeast, stir together and let sit for 5 minutes. It should get quite foamy on top, which means the yeast is active and working!
Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add in the whisked egg, vinegar, olive oil and water/yeast mixture.
Mix together with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until a dough forms. It will likely be a bit sticky at this point.
Cover with plastic wrap then cover with a towel and let sit in a warm place for 1 hour to rise. I like to put it in the oven. After 1 hour, preheat the oven to 425 and let the dough sit in the fridge for 15 minutes. This will make it easier to roll out.
Add the dough to a floured piece of parchment paper and knead in 1-2 more tablespoons of flour until it forms into a smooth ball. Avoid adding too much flour, just enough until a ball dough forms and the dough isn’t as sticky.
Use a floured rolling pin and roll into a roughly 12 inch circle. I like to keep the crust fairly thick, you will be able to get a larger pizza or two smaller pizza if you prefer it thinner, just depends on your preference.
Generously brush the top of the crust with olive oil and bake for 12 minutes. Remove from the oven, add sauce and any desired toppings and bake an additional 8-12 minutes. Feel free to bake for longer if you like it crispier or shorter if you prefer it doughier.
Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes, then slice and enjoy! Try my marry me chicken pasta next!
Key ingredients
FLOUR. I used and recommend the Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Baking Flour. It will give a fluffy texture but still hold everything together really well thanks to the xanthan gum. If you use a different gluten free flour blend, make sure it has xanthan gum, but also understand it may yield a different result.
EGG. The egg is key in the crust for the best chewy texture. I would suggest my vegan gluten free crust instead!
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YEAST. Yeast is key for getting that fluffy texture! You need instant active yeast for this recipe.
WATER. We’ll activate the yeast with some sugar and warm water, which will also add moisture to the dough.
OIL. Olive oil not only adds a lot of fresh flavor to the dough, but ensures it’s nice and moist. I don’t recommend any subs here.
Working with yeast
I used to be very intimidated to work with yeast, but it truly is much easier than you may think! There are just a few key things to keep in mind. First, make sure you’re using instant yeast for this recipe. It is key to ensure we don’t need to let the dough rise twice.
Second, the temperature of the water can’t be too hot or it will kill the yeast. Around 110 degrees Fahrenheit is what we’re aiming for. I suggest checking with a meat thermometer to ensure it isn’t any higher than 115 Fahrenheit.
Finally, be sure to let the dough rise for the full hour. It should roughly double in size which means the yeast is active and the crust will be nice and chewy!
Why is the dough sticky?
This gluten free pizza dough is going to start out a bit sticky – this is normal. We want to have plenty of moisture in the dough while it is rising to ensure the yeast can remain active, so we’ll add extra flour to the dough just before it gets rolled out.
To help with some of the stickiness, we will refrigerate the dough for about 15 minutes after it rises. This will make it a bit easier to work with, especially once a bit of extra flour is added. You want to avoid adding too much flour because it will dry out the dough and yeast thrives in moisture!
Prep it in advance!
You can make this dough up to 24 hours in advance. Let it rise at room temperature for 1 hour, then cover tightly and transfer the dough ball to the fridge for up to 24 hours. Roll out as usual, par-bake, top with your favorite sauce and toppings and bake again!
How to freeze gluten free pizza dough
To freeze this gluten free pizza dough, follow all of the steps as usual, and after you par-bake the crust, let it cool then freeze for up to 1 month.
I suggest wrapping it tightly in plastic wrap to prevent any freezer burn. When you’re ready to eat, just add your toppings and bake at 425 for about 10-15 minutes.
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Gluten Free Pizza Dough
by: claire cary
Ingredients
- 1 packet instant yeast
- ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 2 ½ cups gluten free all purpose baking flour* with xanthan gum
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vinegar white or apple cider
Instructions
- Microwave the water for about 30 seconds or until it reaches 110-115 degrees Fahrenheit. You don’t want it too hot or it will kill the yeast, but it needs to be warm enough to activate the yeast.
- Mix in the sugar and one packet of yeast, stir together and let sit for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add in the whisked egg, vinegar, olive oil and water/yeast mixture.
- Mix together with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until a dough forms. It will likely be a bit sticky at this point.
- Cover with plastic wrap then cover with a towel and let sit in a warm place for 1 hour to rise. I like to put it in the oven.
- After 1 hour, preheat the oven to 425 and let the dough sit in the fridge for 15 minutes. This will make it easier to roll out.
- Add the dough to a floured piece of parchment paper and knead in 1-2 more tablespoons of flour until it forms into a smooth ball. Avoid adding too much flour, just enough until a ball dough forms and the dough isn’t as sticky.
- Use a floured rolling pin and roll into a roughly 12 inch circle. I like to keep the crust fairly thick, you will be able to get a larger pizza or two smaller pizza if you prefer it thinner, just depends on your preference.
- Generously brush the top of the crust with olive oil and bake for 12 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, add sauce and any desired toppings and bake an additional 8-12 minutes. Feel free to bake for longer if you like it crispier or shorter if you prefer it doughier.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes, then slice and enjoy!
Notes
Comments
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What are the steps to freeze? Just freeze after it rises?
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Either freeze after it rises or after you bake it before you add the sauce/toppings.
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Holy cow this is DELICiOUS!!! Thank you for your recipe!
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Thank you Sarah! So happy you enjoyed it.
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The best pizza crust I have made so far!
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Just made my day! Thanks, Jude!
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Hello! I’m preparing to make this recipe tonight and wondered if anyone has tried to use a bread maker to make this dough? I usually use the bread maker on “dough” setting to make my non-gf crust and wondered if gf flour would respond the same. Thoughts?
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Hmm, I don’t have too much experience with a bread maker. I have use the dough hook on a stand mixer and that works, but can’t say how a bread maker will work!
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I was very skeptical but had the ingredients. After the refrigeration- the dough was mush and near impossible to roll. I flattened it between parchment sheets and went with it. It was still runny. BUT it turned out AMAZING. Some kind of magic and perfectly fluffy crust. We’ll def make again!
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Amazing! Not sure why it was so runny, definitely shouldn’t be that way, but SO happy it turned out well!
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This recipe turned out great! I made one, then the next day I made it again and made 2 thinner crusts. Delicious!
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Perfect! So happy you enjoyed this recipe 🙂
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I made this pizza last night and it was delish!! This is my new favorite gf pizza crust. I used egg whites instead of a whole egg. This crust will be on repeat for us. Thank you, thank you, thank you for an enjoyable pizza 🍕
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Thank you, Kim! So happy you enjoyed it.
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I made this and it was crumbly when I mixed it and after baking it…should it have Xanthan gum as one of the ingredients?
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What flour did you use? It should have xanthan gum in the mix.
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I used gf King Arthur and added 1 tsp xanthan gum…was that too much? Is that not a good brand to use? You said the results would be moist after mixing but it was very dry like the proportions of dry ingredients to wet was off.
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I would recommend just sticking with the Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Baking Flour since that is what the recipe is tested with. All brands are different, so the King Arthur may just absorb more of the wet ingredients than the Bob’s.
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Do you par-bake the crust on the parchment paper? I tried removing it to the pan and it wanted to fall apart.
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Yes, I use parchment!
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Can I make this pizza dough with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour?
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Yes, that is what I used!
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Can I let the dough sit longer then an hour, more like 2 or 3 hours?
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Yes, but after 1 hour, put it in the fridge. If it rises for too long at room temperature, the texture won’t be great.
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Unlike almost everyone commenting I actually made this. I used Pillsbury AP GF flour and it was outstanding! The crust was chewy and easy to handle and baked perfectly, you couldnt even tell it was GF. I doubled the recipe and made one thin crust and one thick.
Every other GF crust I have made was dry and lacking. This was a winner, thank you.
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Amazing, so glad you found a recipe you love!
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Hi. I also used Pillsbury GF all purpose flour. My mix was really crumbly so I added a little extra water. Haven’t baked it yet so I’m not sure how it will turn out. Did you find your dough to be a little dry as well?
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I have a question. I am new to gluten free cooking / baking. What brand of flour are you using? And where do you buy yours? Thank you!
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Most major grocery stores carry gluten free flours. The one I used depends on the recipe and I usually link out to the specific one used in that recipe. For this crust, I used the Bob’s red mill gluten free 1:1 baking flour.
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question… can I make this dough in a large quantity to freeze?
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Doubling a recipe that involves yeast can be a bit tricky, especially a GF recipe. I haven’t tried it myself, but I think it would be ok. Definitely freezer friendly!
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I followed your recipe; however, I did not put the dough in the oven after I made it. I sat it on my kitchen table with saran wrap and a towel over it for one hour. This was my first time making gluten free crust. It came out delicious. I will be definitely be making it again and again.
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Perfect! Thank you, Dianne!
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This pizza dough recipe was easy to make and the texture was perfect! It was my first time making a GF pizza dough using GF 1-1 flour and first time proofing dough. You can’t go wrong with all the details in this recipe. I plan on making this dough ahead of time in the future.
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Thank you Mary Lou! So happy you enjoyed it.
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