Gluten Free Pizza Ideas

Living gluten-free doesn’t have to mean giving up the pleasures of delicious pizza. This Italian comfort food is traditionally baked with a wheat crust, which makes it a no-no for gluten-free diets. Today, chefs and amateur gourmets play with a host of exciting ingredients, creating artisan pizzas that are completely safe for gluten-free diets. Creative crusts featuring gluten-free grains, such as quinoa, are being used to craft designer pizzas that get rave reviews. Adding a variety of wonderful toppings, including luscious mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes, and other farm-fresh vegetables can be a perfect way to add style and pizzazz to gluten free pizzas.

If you’re looking for fabulous gluten free pizza ideas, we’ve got some excellent tips and tricks you’ll love. Getting started is as easy as stocking up on some basic ingredients, such as gluten-free flour, eggs, yeast, and toppings. You may also want to purchase a pizza stone to get a true gourmet result.
For a basic gluten free crust, you’ll need the following ingredients: one tbsp. of flaxseed (ground), 500 grams of flour mix (must be gluten free), 1-1/2 tsps. of salt (kosher is great for this recipe), 4 tsps. of dry yeast (active), a quarter-cup of good olive oil, and half a cup of warm water. Once you’ve got your ingredients organized and measured out, put all of the dry items (flour and salt) in a glass bowl and mix to combine. Then, pour your yeast into another bowl, along with the olive oil and a ¼ cup of the warm water.

In another shallow bowl, add your ground flaxseed and 2 tablespoons of boiling water – mix until a paste forms and then set aside. Once the flaxseed paste is cool enough to work with, add it into your dry ingredients, and then pour the yeast mixture on top; combine to make a dough, adding a little water if the combination seems too dry. Your dough will need to rest for about an hour before you can make your gluten-free pizza. Coat the rolled-out dough with oil and bake the pizza crust at 400 to 500 degrees – then, remove it from the oven, throw on some appealing toppings, and put it back in to bake until the toppings are heated through and the cheese is melted.

Another tasty option is a quinoa-based pizza crust – this grain is a little bit bitter, and some people don’t appreciate its taste. However, when you use quinoa to bake a thin-crust pizza adorned with tomato sauce, sweet onions, basil, and creamy cheeses, the other ingredients will balance the natural bitterness of quinoa. Some other toppings that will work well with a quinoa crust include Parma ham and pineapple (this will make a gourmet Hawaiian pizza!).

To make a basic quinoa crust, you’ll need: half a cup of quinoa flour, half a cup of rice flour, half a cup of tapioca flour, ½ cup of millet flour, 2 tablespoons of baking powder, one teaspoon of kosher salt, a cup of almond milk, and one quarter of a cup of high-quality olive oil. This yeast-free recipe is so easy to put together – just mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, adding about 2/3 of the almond milk to moisten (add more milk if you think the dough is not pliable enough). Bake your crust in a very hot oven (435 to 450 degrees) for about 7 to 10 minutes.

The width of your gluten-free pizza crust can be adjusted according to your preferences – some people prefer the chewier texture of a thicker crust – others like crunchier thin-crust pizza. Experiment with pizza crust widths by rolling our dough and trying different styles. Adjust your cooking times for very thin pizza crusts – keep an eye on things and make sure your crust is golden brown.

If you don’t want to make a crust from scratch, you may be able to find some excellent, gluten-free pizza shells you can use to make easy, fast meals. Bavaria Mills is one American company that specializes in gluten-free products, such as hamburger buns and pizza crusts. Depending on where you live, you may be able to find these products, or similar foodstuffs from other manufacturers. To make your pizza totally gluten-free, be careful to use gluten-free toppings – remember that some seasoning mixes and processed foods may contain hidden gluten. Safe choices are vegetables, tomato sauces you create in a blender, and pure (not processed) cheeses.

Once you’ve begun baking gluten-free pizzas, you’ll find they are a delicious choice that pleases the entire family. You can even make mini-pizzas to use for quick lunches or hors d'œuvres. Keeping leftovers in the fridge can also make it easy to enjoy a quick slice of cold pizza whenever the mood strikes. Gluten free pizza is an economical, healthy option for gluten free diets.

By: Melinda Knight

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Melinda Knight- Wife & mother of a family allergic to gluten, and former Catering Director at three of the largest hotels on the Las Vegas strip, where she planned menus and parties for thousands including the occasional 3,000 person wedding. She now plans meals for her gluten free family and shares her recipes and ideas for living a gluten free life at her blog