Gluten Free Pizza Crust

 My daughter and I both are Celiac and need to eat Gluten Free. I have had great success with King Arthur gluten free recipes and decided to try their Gluten Free Pizza Crust. The flavor is excellent but we put too much topping and sauce on it so the crust wasn’t as crisp as I would have liked. Next time if I make it again I will know not to overload it.

 The main problem I found with it was spreading it in the pan. Messy, messy and we ended up with dough on us and the cabinet. It calls for you to wet your hands to spread it which we did, but Sue suggested oiling your hands instead and I really think that would be better. 

 If you need a GF pizza crust I can recommend this just know that is will be a mess.

I followed the recipe and used Instant Yeast, but mine raised in about half the time the recipe called for. Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t over raise.

Gluten Free Pizza Crust 

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups King Arthur Gluten-Free Multi-Purpose Flour 

2 tablespoons buttermilk powder or nonfat dry milk powder.

1 teaspoon baking powder.

3/4 teaspoon salt.

1 teaspoon xanthan gum.

1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast.

1 tablespoon sugar or honey (optional)

1 cup warm water

2 Tablespoons oil for dough

2 tablespoons oil for pan

 INSTRUCTIONS

Place the dry ingredients (except the yeast and sugar or honey), if you're using it) into a large mixing bowl; the bowl of your stand mixer is perfect. Mix until thoroughly blended.

 Place the sugar or honey (if you're using it), warm water, olive oil, yeast, and about 1/2 cup of the dry mixture into a small bowl. Stir to combine; a few lumps are OK. Set aside for 30 minutes or so, until the mixture is bubbly and smells yeasty.  

 Add this mixture to the dry ingredients, and beat on medium-high speed for 4 minutes. 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. Note: you must use a stand mixer or electric hand mixer to make this dough; mixing by hand doesn't do a thorough enough job.  

 Cover the bowl, and let the dough rest for 30 minutes or so. 

Preheat the oven to 425°F. 

 Drizzle 2 tablespoons olive oil onto the center of a baking sheet or 12" round pizza pan. 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. 

 Bake the crust for 8 to 10 minutes, just until it's set; the surface will look opaque, rather than shiny. Remove from the oven and top with whatever you like. Return to the oven to finish baking, about 10 to 15 minutes depending on the toppings you've chosen. Remove from the oven, and serve warm.

Yield: one 12" to 14" pizza.