GF Deep Dish Pizza… Oh My

One of the challenges of gluten free eating is pizza. Those of us that love a deep crust… chewy on the inside and crisp on the outside are generally left wanting. The pizzas that I have tried, frozen and in restaurants are tasteless, flat, and more cracker like. Not what I had in mind.

The Pizza Crust that I see is not flat, not cracker like and not tasteless. I have served this to a room full of gluten eaters and all were happy. 

as you can see, this is a thick crust. Very thick, and chewy. It holds the toppings well.

There are a couple of things to know when working with gluten free dough. It will not look like a wheat pizza dough. it will be a sticky mess. After you mix it, leave it in the bowl, covered with plastic wrap, in a warm place to rise. It will take about 60 minutes to rise. At least. I leave mine for about 90 minutes if I have the time. The first 15-20 minutes is just the water absorbing into the rice flours.

It is not going to be a smooth ball that cleans the side of the bowl. You do not knead it. Just cover it and let it sit. You will see the air bubbles (like above) when it has risen, it will raise 1/4 to 1/2 it size. The higher it rises, the thicker the crust.

Spray a flat bottom pan with Pam and put about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the center of the pan. DO NOT USE A PIZZA  SCREEN. You will have a crazy mess if you do. After the first baking you can use one, but not now. After it has risen, you will scoop it out of the bowl onto a flat bottom pan. 

After it has risen, scoop it out onto a flat bottom pan. I do mean scoop. I spray the spoon with Pam. It is a sticky mess.

Spray the top of the dough with Pam and cover with plastic wrap. Using your hands, smooth out the dough to the edges of the pan.

Bake it at 375 for 10 minutes. This is the first baking. It is after this that you will add the toppings.

Top the dough how you like and then bake for about 12-15 additional minutes until the cheese is melted and browned. The crust should be browned and beautiful too. How long it cooks the second time is directly related to the toppings. A meat pizza will take longer than a pepperoni and cheese for example.

The secret to this dough is the psyllium husk. It holds the structure better than just xanthan gum. It has a small amount in it too to give it the elasticity that I want.

I sell the mix for $8. It makes 1 12 inch pizza. You can make a thinner crust if you want by dividing into two pans or using a larger pizza pan.