A Gluten-Free Pizza To Write Home About

Plus: It's easy (and fast, too)

Jan 05, 2024

Happy New Year, Friends!

When working on the gluten-free pizza crust recipe for Pizza Night, I quickly learned how tricky it is to write a general recipe suitable to use with any number of gluten-free flours.

Like wheat flour, all gluten-free flours absorb water differently. But whereas the variance in water absorption of wheat flour is more predictable — i.e. whole grain flours tend to be thirstier than more refined flours — the variance in water absorption of gluten-free flours is impossible to predict. Using the same amount of water with one brand of gluten-free flour might yield a dough resembling a soupy mess and with another a stiff, stodgy mass.

And so for Pizza Night, I wrote a recipe for a specific brand of gluten-free flour that I love, which I can’t wait for you to have … in April.

In the meantime, I’ve written another recipe or actually King Arthur Baking did — I’m using the recipe nearly verbatim included on the back of the King Arthur Gluten-Free Pizza Flour bag: I use more salt, and rather than shape my rounds Neapolitan-style with a puffy outer rim, I roll them thinly and parbake them, which produces a pizza with a thin and crisp crust.

Friends, I think you’ll be so pleased by the texture, flavor, and overall likeness to the real thing of this gluten-free pizza. KA’s gluten-free pizza flour is widely available, the dough comes together in no time, and it rises quickly. The shaped dough rounds can be stored in the fridge for at least a week. (To be clear, this post is not sponsored!)

As always, let me know if you have any questions.

Tips

Use the right flour: As noted above, this recipe is specifically formulated to work with KAF’s Gluten-Free Pizza Flour. I find mine at Hannaford’s, and I’ve seen it at other supermarkets as well. This recipe will not work as written with other gluten-free flours.
Use a scale to measure: You will not be measuring accurately if you use measuring cups and spoons, and in turn, you will not be able to troubleshoot in a meaningful way should the recipe not work out for you.
Watch the video above: The texture of the dough upon being mixed will not feel familiar: it’s very wet, more like a thick batter. The dough in fact is 121% hydration — yes, you’re reading that correctly: there is more water by weight (284 grams) than flour (233 grams).

Here is the dough upon being mixed:

Here is the dough after it has risen:

Mushroom & Kale Pizza

For this pizza you’ll need: Tuscan kale, garlic, mushrooms, crème fraîche, and mozzarella:

You’ll keep the kale raw, and you’ll roast the mushrooms just until they begin to char at the edges.

Parbake the crust:

Then top with crème fraîche and garlic:

Continue layering over the kale, mozzarella, and mushrooms:

Transfer to the oven for 4 to 5 minutes:

Then cut and serve:

Gluten-Free Pizza with Mushrooms, Kale & Crème Fraîche

Yield = 1 pizza

Printable recipe can be found here. I will be adding this pizza crust recipe to my blog, too, and in that post, you’ll find the Margherita Pizza recipe. I’ll update this post with the link when I do. Stay tuned!

Crust recipe adapted from the recipe on the back of the King Arthur Flour Gluten-Free Pizza Flour bag.

Important Notes:

This recipe is specifically formulated to work with KAF gluten-free pizza flour. It likely will not work with other varieties of gluten-free flour without adjusting the quantity of water.
Note: KAF’s gluten-free flour uses gluten-free wheat starch, a common ingredient in gluten-free foods. You can read more about it on the National Celiac Association’s website, which says: “Wheat starch is simply a starch made from the processed endosperm of the wheat grain. Gluten-free wheat starch has had the gluten (a protein) washed out to a trace level, making it safe for people on a gluten-free diet.” That said, if you have a wheat allergy, you should avoid products containing wheat starch.
Please invest in a scale before attempting this recipe. You will not be measuring accurately if you use measuring cups and spoons, and in turn, you will not be able to troubleshoot in a meaningful way should the recipe not work out for you.
Salt: If you are using Morton Kosher salt or fine sea salt, use half as much by volume (or the same amount by weight).
Lukewarm water: To create lukewarm water, combine 1/4 cup (56 g) boiling water with 1 cup (228 g) room-temperature or cold tap water.

Equipment:

Peel
Baking Steel
Rolling pin
parchment paper

For the dough:

2 1/3 cups (233g) King Arthur Gluten-Free Pizza Flour, see notes above
1 tablespoon (13-15 g) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons (7-8 g) instant yeast
1.5 teaspoons (6 g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt, see notes above
1 1/4 cups (284 g) lukewarm water, see notes above
1 tablespoon (13 g) extra-virgin olive oil
rice flour or more gluten-free flour for dusting

For the pizza:

8 ounces wild mushrooms
extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
1 ounce stemmed Tuscan kale leaves, roughly chopped (about 2 cups)
gluten-free flour for dusting
2 to 3 tablespoons crème fraîche
1 small clove garlic, minced
flaky sea salt
3 ounces low-moisture whole milk mozzarella, pulled into small pieces

Make the Dough

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Add the water followed by the oil, and use a spatula to combine. Stir thoroughly — the mixture will feel more like a wet (but smooth) batter. As the dough rises, it will thicken.
Cover the bowl with a bowl cover or lid and place in a warm spot to rise for 2 to 3 hours or until roughly doubled in volume.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured (using rice flour or other gluten-free flour) work surface. Divide into two equal portions (roughly 271 grams each if you care to measure). Gently ball up each portion. At this point, you can transfer the portions to a container topped with an airtight lid and place in the fridge for up to 1 week. Otherwise, proceed with the recipe.

Make the Pizza

Place a Baking Steel in the top third of your oven and preheat your oven to its hottest setting — for me, this is 550ºF convection roast. If time permits, allow the Steel to preheat for 1 hour.
Tear the mushrooms or roughly chop them and place them on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Drizzle with 2 teaspoons of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Toss to combine, then transfer the sheet pan to the oven for about 7 minutes or until the mushrooms are just beginning to char at the edges. Remove and let cool. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt if necessary.
Place the kale in a bowl and drizzle with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and season with a pinch of salt. Toss to combine, massaging gently as you toss. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt if necessary.
On a lightly floured work surface (using rice flour or other gluten-free flour), gently roll out the dough into roughly an 11- or 12-inch round — as you approach 12 inches, the dough will begin to get fragile so handle it delicately.
Place a sheet of parchment paper onto a pizza peel. Pour 1 teaspoon of olive oil into the center and rub with your hand to spread. Transfer the dough to the prepared peel and, if the dough is not yet 12 inches in diameter, spread it with your hands until it gets there. Pinch the outer edge of the dough firmly with your fingers so that it's very thin.
Shimmy the dough, parchment paper and all, onto the preheated Steel and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the dough, parchment paper and all, and transfer to a cutting board or other work surface.
Spread the crème fraîche over the dough all the way to the edges. Scatter the garlic evenly over the top. Scatter the kale over the top followed by the cheese and then the mushrooms. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Season with a pinch of salt. Shimmy the topped parbaked round, parchment paper and all, back onto the Steel and cook for 4 - 5 minutes or until the pizza is cooked to your liking.
Transfer the pizza to a cutting board. Cut and serve.
Questions? Any topic you’d like covered? Let me know. See you next Friday 🍕🍕