Ultra-thin, no-knead, easy to roll, and without any specialty flour mix. Are these the features you are looking for in a gluten-free pizza crust? If yes, let me tell you this recipe will deliver. I know it as I tested and tweaked this gluten-free pizza dough recipe for years.
When it comes to gluten-free baking, I am very picky about what to post as a final recipe. I test them like a hundred times before I dare to put it live as I feel that I can always tweak it further. However, there are a couple of recipes that I love and super happy about like this Flourless Grain-free Tortilla (made of soaked red lentils) or this Oil-free Gingerbread Pie Crust, or this Flaky Gluten-free Vegan Pie Crust (all-purpose). And now this Gluten-free Pizza Crust. It is my current No. 1. 🙂
Ingredients
You need only a handful of ingredients to make the perfect gluten-free pizza dough. Nothing special. Nothing out of the ordinary. No expensive gluten-free flour mix. No xantham gum either. Just a couple of pantry staples. If you have these in your kitchen, you can have a delicious gluten-free pizza in approximately 45 minutes.
- white rice flour
- buckwheat flour
- corn starch
- yeast
- water
- salt
All ingredients have a specific role to play to make the pizza crust perfect.
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Starch – If you check the information on the packaging of any pre-baked gluten-free pizza crust or gluten-free pizza flour mix, you will see that starch is usually the first one to be listed. It is because that is the main ingredient. Why do you need starch? Starches are activated on high heat, so they will “harden” your crust to the point of crispy. Starches act like a binding agent to avoid the crust to crumble or fall apart. Starches also make the dough easy to roll, as any moisture turn them quite gooey, rubbery, stretchy.
Rice flour – It is also a usual ingredient in box mixes and pre-baked pizza crusts. One reason is, it is cheap and easy to work with. It is very light and grainy, so your gluten-free pizza crust will not be so dense.
Buckwheat flour – This is not a usual ingredient in box mixes and pre-baked pizza crusts. But I like to add something really nutritious without compromising on texture or taste. The nutritional value of buckwheat is way higher than any other grain. You can read more about its health benefits here.
Exact measurements of all ingredients, including instructions and video tutorial are available in the recipe card at the bottom. Substitutions are also described further below.
How to make the best gluten-free pizza dough?
You see, I wanted to make a pizza crust that is not only gluten-free but super easy to make. I wanted it to be no-knead and easy to roll too. My primary goal was to make sure beginners will be able to make it without a hitch. I hate recipes when they say just substitute it with a gluten-free flour mix. That is a disaster waiting to be happening more than not.
Don’t worry. I give you pointers every step of the way. Do you have a bowl and a spoon? If yes, let’s get started.
- Add 1oz fresh yeast (28 g) in ½ cup lukewarm water (1,2 dl). Stir to get it dissolved. Place it on the kitchen counter. It is ready and activated if there is a thin white foam on the top. (See section “FAQs and Substitutions” on the different kinds of yeasts you can use here.)
- Measure ¾ cup of rice flour (106g), ½ cup of buckwheat flour (60g), 1 cup of corn starch (112g) with a cup or a scale. Try to measure it as precisely as you can as that will influence the result and your success. When ready, mix them thoroughly and add ½ tsp salt.
- Take a spoon. Add the activated yeast and an additional ¼ cup of lukewarm water (0,6 dl) to the bowl of flour and stir well. You may see lumps at the beginning, but keep going. Stir hard until everything is smooth. It will take a minute or so to reach the consistency shown in the below picture. The dough or rather a batter is perfect if it is like a slow-flowing paste. Draw a line with your spoon through it, it should flow back slowly. If you wait a couple of seconds, you will see a bit of bubble which means the yeast has started working. You can check it out on the video as well.
Proofing the dough in the oven
If you have your gluten-free pizza dough ready at a perfect consistency, the next step would be to let it rise aka let the yeast work its magic.
If my kitchen is not warm enough which is usually the case here is what I do. I place the dough covered with a kitchen towel in the oven and proof it there for approx. 30 minutes at 120-140 Fahrenheit (50-60 degrees Celsius). Anything higher than that (even with 1 degree) will kill the yeast. 🙂 The dough is ready to be rolled (see in the picture below or check out the video) if you see the following:
- The batter is very soft to the touch.
- If you draw a line with your spoon, you see a bubbly, fluffy texture beneath.
Rolling an ultra-thin pizza crust
Once your gluten-free pizza dough has risen to the perfect consistency, you need to add ¼ cup of rice flour (35g). Don’t overwork it, just stir it in until it is mixed well. Why now you ask? I made the dough or rather call it batter this slow-flowing paste texture to ensure the yeast has room to work with. If you are working with any gluten-free yeast dough and it is too hard and solid, the yeast will not be able to raise it and the result will be dense and suffocating. This way, the yeast can work its magic and the pizza crust will be light and fluffy.
The final dough before rolling out should form a ball and come off the side of the bowl without leaving any trace. It is still soft and wet to the touch but not sticky. See what I am talking about in the below picture. Or check out the video!
- Divide the dough into two balls. Yeah, this recipe will give you TWO pizza bases.
- Sprinkle some rice flour on your rolling mat or parchment paper (even if non-stick). I use the one on which I plan to bake the pizza. It is not easy to transfer it once rolled out.
- Place one ball in the middle and cover it with a saran wrap/cling foil.
- Roll it out at most to a 30 cm (12-inch) diameter circle. It will be super thin!! Like Italian pizza crust thin. (See the picture below on how thin it can be.)
Baking to perfection
Preheat the oven to 390 Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius) and pre-bake it for AT MOST 3 MINUTES!!! Just until the top dries up a bit and you can spread the pizza sauce on it. See it in the below photo that the crust is no longer shiny but matte. White, drier spots start to appear, which is fine as the sauce will give back some moisture. Don’t pre-baked it until all the crust is white! If you do that, the outer part of the crust (not covered by sauce at the end) will be super dry and hard and will crack.
Spread your sauce (try or quick Vegan Marinara Sauce or our even quicker 5-minute No-Cook Vegan Pizza Sauce), add your favorite toppings and bake your perfect gluten-free pizza at a 390 Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius) temperature. I find that 15 minutes should be enough to melt the cheese and bake the toppings. It is beautiful, like any thin Italian pizza. Enjoy!
FAQs and Substitutions
Fresh yeast vs Active dry yeast
I like working with fresh yeast, but active dry yeast works as well. Here are some measurements you can choose from depending on what you have in your pantry. For the flour/starch amounts indicated in the recipe card to make 2 pizza crusts you need one of these:
- In the US, 1 block of fresh yeast (like this one*) is 2 oz (57g). Use ½ block = 1 oz = 28g. But in the EU, 1 block of fresh yeast is only 50g. Use ½ block = 25g. The 3 grams difference will not affect the result.
- Both in the US and in the EU, 1 packet of active dry yeast is ¼ oz (7g). The one I use says on the package that 7g active dry yeast is equivalent to 25g fresh yeast which is enough for 500g flour. I am sure they are talking about wheat flour here. In this recipe, we use 314 g gluten-free flour/starch mix, but that 7g feels completely enough.
You can mix the active dry yeast directly with the flours and add water after that. No need to activate it in water beforehand.
How to store it?
We recommend you store it in an airtight container as a ball after proofing and adding the additional rice flour. It will only last for 24 hours though. It means if you roll and bake one pizza for dinner, you need to roll and bake the other pizza for the dinner the next day. Alternatively, half the recipe if you only need one. If you leave it longer in the fridge, the yeast will overwork the dough and it will fall apart.
Can you freeze it?
I haven’t tried freezing it. Theoretically, it may work as I store my fresh yeast in the freezer without any problem. But I do think it moisten up during thawing, which means you may need to add more rice flour. And more rice flour may result in a crumbly crust. Let me know if you do try to freeze it!
Can you use any other starch?
I have only tested this recipe with tapioca starch besides corn starch. There was a consistency difference though. Namely the crust was more strechy and rubbery. The dough also needed less water, so hold off adding the extra ¼ cup of water and stir the batter like that. If you reach the same texture as pictured you are good to go.
Can you use any other flour?
Rice flour is kind of non-negotiable. If you have brown rice flour that is all right as well. It absorbs a bit more moisture but not a huge difference at the end. However, instead of buckwheat, I would only try oat flour or millet flour maybe. Any other flour (like almond flour or chickpea flour) will behave very differently. You can read about all GF flours in our Ultimate Gluten-free Flour Guide.
This Ultra-thin Gluten-free Pizza Crust recipe is suitable for gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free diet as well as vegan and vegetarian diet if you use vegan toppings. It can also WFPB-friendly (whole foods plant-based) if you use compliant toppings.
More light dinner recipes
You can browse through our Vegan and Gluten-free Dinner Recipes or our Quick Vegan Meals collection or check out
- Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese
- Copycat Chipotle Veggie Bowl or Burrito
- Vegan Portobello Fajitas with Sheet Pan Fajita Veggies
- Sweet Potato Sushi Rolls
- Quick Quinoa Sweet Potato Chili
Ultra-thin Gluten-free Pizza Crust
Ingredients
- 1 cup White rice flour or brown rice flour
- ½ cup Buckwheat flour or oat flour
- 1 cup Corn starch or tapioca starch
- 1 oz Fresh yeast see Notes for active dry yeast amount
- ¾ cup Lukewarm water
- ½ tsp Salt
Instructions
Making the pizza dough
- Add fresh yeast in ½ cup (1,2 dl) lukewarm water. Stir to get it dissolved. Place it on the kitchen counter. It is ready and activated if there is a thin white foam on the top.
- Measure ¾ cup of rice flour (106g), ½ cup of buckwheat flour (60g), 1 cup of corn starch (112g), and ½ tsp salt. Add them to a bowl and mix them thoroughly.
- Add the activated yeast and an additional ¼ cup of lukewarm water (0,6 dl) to the bowl of flour and stir well with a spoon or spatula. You may see lumps at the beginning, but keep going. Stir hard until everything is smooth. The dough or rather a batter is perfect if it is like a slow-flowing paste. You draw a line with your spoon through it, it should flow back slowly.
Proofing the dough in the oven
- I place the dough covered with a kitchen towel in the oven and proof it there for approx. 30 minutes at 120-140 Fahrenheit (50-60 degrees Celsius). Anything higher than that (even with 1 degree) will kill the yeast. ? The dough is ready to be rolled if the batter is very soft to the touch. And if you draw a line with your spoon, you see a bubbly, fluffy texture beneath.
Rolling an ultra-thin pizza crust
- Once your gluten-free pizza dough has risen to the perfect consistency, you need to add ¼ cup of rice flour (35g). Don’t overwork it, just stir it in until it is mixed well. It is ready if it forms a ball and comes off the side of the bowl without leaving any trace. It is still soft and wet to the touch but not sticky.
- Divide the dough into two balls.
- Sprinkle some rice flour on your rolling mat or parchment paper (even if non-stick). I use the one on which I plan to bake the pizza. It is not easy to transfer it once rolled out.
- Place one ball in the middle and cover it with a saran wrap/cling foil.
- Roll it out at most to a 30 cm (12-inch) diameter circle. It will be super thin!! Like Italian pizza crust thin.
Pre-baking and baking
- Preheat the oven to 390 Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius) and pre-bake it for AT MOST 3 MINUTES!!! Just until the top dries up a bit and you can spread the pizza sauce on it. The crust is no longer shiny but matte.
- Spread your sauce (No-Cook Pizza Sauce or Marinara Sauce), add your favorite toppings and bake your perfect gluten-free pizza at a 390 Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius) temperature. I find that 15 minutes should be enough to melt the cheese and bake the toppings. It is beautiful, like any thin Italian pizza. Enjoy!
Notes
Fresh yeast vs active dry yeast
For the flour/starch amounts indicated in the recipe card to make 2 pizza crusts you need one of these:- In the US, 1 block of fresh yeast (like this one*) is 2 oz (57g). Use ½ block = 1 oz = 28g. But in the EU, 1 block of fresh yeast is 50g. Use ½ block = 25g. This 3g difference will not affect the result.
- Both in the US and in the EU, 1 packet of active dry yeast is ¼ oz (7g). The one I use says on the package that 7g active dry yeast is equivalent to 25g fresh yeast which is enough for 500g flour. I am sure they are talking about wheat flour here. In this recipe, we use 314 g gluten-free flour/starch mix, but that 7g feels completely enough.
Melané Fahner Botha
I am unable to see the video! Is there a reason I can’t watch in the Netherlands?
Melané Fahner Botha
Found it on YouTube and loved the music??. Now I am off to make pizza!!! Because I load mine with veggies I will precook them and let you know! Thanks for all your work!
Alkaios
Terrible recipe. I followed it too the letter and the dough was totally unusable.
My Pure Plants
Hi Alkaios, we are sorry to hear that. With this recipe measurement is the key. Even a small difference in the amount of flour can turn the dough unusable. Have you used cup or scale?