Easy gluten free pizza

Easy gluten free pizza

Whilst I have successfully made gluten free loaves in the breadmaker using Juvela gluten free mix, I’m a novice when it comes to general gluten free bread making. And that includes making gluten free pizza bases too. But as I have been asked on a couple of occasions for a gf pizza base recipe and I’ve also had this recipe on my to do list since launching my blog, I felt it was about time I sorted myself out and work on a pizza base recipe that I could happily share with you.  

I’ve tested out various gluten free pizza bases over the last couple of months. Testing them with different gluten free flours and mixes. I’ve also looked into what ingredients are good to have within the flour blend when making gluten free pizza bases. It seems the inclusion of tapioca starch is a bit of a winner.

When thinking about a pizza base recipe to share with you, I wanted to come up with a recipe that didn’t require any fancy ingredients and was really easy to follow. And I’m happy to say that I’ve managed to achieve this, with the help of two other gf pizza base recipes that were already out there: Juvela’s gluten free pizza base and Gluten free on a shoestring basic gluten free pizza dough.

This gluten free pizza base is such a great staple recipe. And whilst it may be more breadlike than a traditional pizza base, it tastes delicious and is so easy to pop together.  

I thought it was best to share a basic Margherita style pizza and then leave it up to you to add any other tasty toppings you fancy. Also, for quickness, you could use a ready-made *pizza sauce rather than the one I’ve suggested. However, my homemade tomato sauce recipe is a super one, and not only is it great on a pizza, it’s also fabulous to use as a base sauce in pasta dishes (see recipe notes).

Ingredients (makes a 12 inch pizza)

For the pizza base 
250g gluten free self-raising (I used ASDA Free From)
2 teaspoons dried yeast (I used Allinson yeast easy bake
1 level teaspoon salt (sea salt flakes if you have them, otherwise standard salt will do fine)
1 teaspoon sugar (caster or granulated – whatever is handy)
30g extra virgin olive oil (plus extra for brushing over the pizza crust before baking)
Approximatley 125-150ml tepid water (it should feel neither hot nor cold when you dip your finger in) 

For the pizza sauce
200g carton tomato passata (tinned chopped tomatoes would also be good)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil 
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed or grated
1 teaspoon sugar (again, caster or granulated will do just fine) 
Salt and cracked *pepper 

For the topping
1 large mozzarella ball (or grated mozzarella/cheddar)
Any additional toppings you fancy
Dried *oregano or *mixed herbs

To finish 
Olive oil to drizzle
Fresh basil leaves, washed (these are optional and personally I wouldn’t use if I was already using oregano or mixed herbs – but will leave that up to you)

Ingredients for gluten free pizza


Method

Add the gluten free flour, sugar and yeast to a large bowl and blend the ingredients together using a large fork or spoon.

Gluten free flour, sugar and yeast in a bowl

Add salt and stir in the olive oil.

Ingredients in a glass bowl for gluten free pizza base

Slowly add the tepid water until you achieve a sticky but not too wet dough.

Gluten free pizza dough

Mix well for a minute or so and then cover the bowl with cling film or a clean tea towel and sit the bowl in a warm place. I popped mine into the airing cupboard but a nice sunny windowsill or near a warm radiator will do just fine.

Gluten free pizza dough in a glass bowl covered with a piece of clingfilm

Leave the dough to prove for about an hour.

Proved gluten free pizza dough

Whilst the dough is proving you can crack on with making the tomato topping:

Gently heat the vegetable oil in a large pan or frying pan. Add the chopped onions and sweat off (cook without colour) for about 5 minutes before adding the garlic.

Chopped onions in a pan with grated garlic

Continue to cook out on a low heat for a couple more minutes and then add the tomato passata and sugar. Simmer for a further 5 minutes and season to taste.

Tomato sauce for gluten free pizza

Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool for about 10 minutes before carefully pouring the sauce into a food processes/mini chopper/ liquidizer and blending until smooth.

Tomato sauce for gluten free pizza

Check the sauce again for seasoning and then pour into a clean dish, cover and set to one side to cool.

Tomato sauce in a bowl for gluten free pizza

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6/180C Fan.

If like me you don’t yet own a pizza stone, prepare a large baking tray (the size I used was 10×14 inch) by slipping a sheet of greaseproof paper onto it. 

After the dough has proved and approximately doubled in size…

Proved gluten free pizza dough

…remove the clingfilm and scoop it out of the bowl onto a clean work surface that has been prepared with a good dusting of gluten free flour. Knead the dough for a minute or so until it becomes smooth.

Gluten free pizza base dough on a surface dusted with gluten free flour

Grab a rolling pin and flour it well and then roll out the dough into your desired shape. I went with an oval, purely because I didn’t have a big enough tray or pizza stone to fit to a 12 inch pizza base. I rolled the dough to approximately ¼ inch thickness, but you could go thinner if you like. 

Gluten free pizza base

Flour the rolling pin again and gently roll the dough around the pin and transfer the pizza onto the greaseproof line tray or pizza stone. Reshape if necessary. Brush around the edges of the pizza with olive oil (optional, but does give the crust a lovely crunchy finish).

Gluten free pizza dough brushed around the edges with olive oil

Spread the tomato sauce over the pizza base – you may not need to use the full batch. Add any additional toppings and dried herbs (if using) then dot the top of the pizza with torn pieces of mozzarella.

Gluten free pizza

Finish with a few good twists of black pepper and a fine scattering of sea salt. Pop into the oven and bake for about 25 minutes until you can see the crust has turned golden brown and the pizza is piping hot throughout.

Gluten free pizza

Once baked remove the pizza from the oven and finish with some fresh basil leaves (if using) and a drizzle of olive oil. Slice and enjoy!

Gluten free pizza finished with fresh basil and drizzled with olive oil


Recipe notes and suggestions:

Ideally use a flour blend that contains tapioca starch. The ASDA free from flour I used is a blend of rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, maize starch has a raising agent and also contains xanthan gum. 

Add ½ teaspoon of xanthan gum to the gluten free flour if the blend you are using doesn’t already have it added. 

Whilst I made the dough quite sticky, the recipe is quite robust and would still work well if the dough consistency was less tacky.

The pizza dough can be used to make various size pizzas. Just adjust the cooking time accordingly. 

Once baked (providing the toppings are suitable) the pizza base will freeze well .

You can use this basic pizza base recipe to make garlic bread. Simply roll out the dough to your desired size and shape and spread with garlic butter; softened butter that has been mixed with chopped garlic and a little chopped parsley. Bake at the same temperature as the pizza until golden brown and slightly risen. 

The tomato sauce recipe is so good that I’d encourage you make extra when you make it. The sauce when cooled and stored in an airtight container, will keep well in the fridge for 2-3 days and in a freezer for up to a month. As well as the sauce being handy for future pizza toppings it’s also perfect to heat and stir through cooked gluten free pasta. You can add things like, chilli, olives, capers, chicken or chorizo to the sauce to ramp things up a little. And crown your pasta dish with some freshly grated parmesan and cracked pepper to really seal the deal!


Thanks as always for taking time to check out this recipe. Do get in touch if you have any questions and please feel free to hang around on my site for as long as you want. You’re always a most welcome visitor.

For now
Liz x


*Double check this ingredient to ensure it has no gluten containing ingredients, ‘may contain’ or ‘not suitable warnings’. If in doubt leave it out.

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