With no yeast and no resting required, this pizza crust is ideal for an impromptu dinner, savory snack, or at-home date night!
What may come to mind when hearing of a pizza crust sans yeast and resting is the stereotypical two-ingredient dough recipe (equal parts flour and yogurt), but this is not that. While there’s nothing wrong with that recipe – it’s remarkably versatile, practically foolproof to make, and many people find it satisfactory – the consistency that dough yields for a pizza is too dense and doughy for my liking. That conclusion could be on account of two reasons: being sensitive to gluten, I used gluten-free flour so the lack of gluten formation could have played a role in the outcome and growing up in a suburb of Chicago, my pizza standards are exceptionally high!
Pizza, like French fries or steak, comes in many different forms. Some want it thin and floppy while others crave a thicker, bready base. This crust happens to be a happy medium – not too thick but not paper-thin, light and chewy, soft yet sturdy, filling but not heavy – it truly manages to do both!
Herbed Gluten-Free Personal Pizza Crust
Ingredients
- 1 C gluten-free flour
- 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. xanthan gum*
- ¾ tsp. sea salt
- ¼ tsp. sugar
- ½ tsp. oregano
- ¼ tsp. basil
- 7 TBSP water
- 2 ¼ tsp. oil: olive, walnut, almond
- Optional, for added flavor: garlic powder, onion powder, nutritional yeast
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and lightly spray or oil a baking sheet or pizza pan
- Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl
- Incorporate the water and oil until a slightly tacky, but not sticky dough forms – if needed, gradually add additional water to reach said consistency
- On a lightly floured surface or on the prepared baking pan, knead the flour for a couple of minutes then the divide the dough in half and form 2 circles
- Transfer the crust to the pan if it’s not already there and very lightly oil both sides before adding your favorite toppings*
- Bake for 12-16 minutes or until the edges and bottom of the crust are golden brown (highly recommend broiling for 1-3 minutes at the end to get the cheese browned and bubbly)
Notes
- *Gluten-free flour: it’s always best to measure flour in grams if possible and know that different GF flours may produce different consistencies – Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 Baking Flour is what was used in this recipe
- *Xanthan gum: this helps recipes with GF flour soften, stick together, and rise when baked so while you can do without it if you don’t have it as it’s not super common to have on hand, the dough is a bit harder to work with, but it doesn’t drastically impact the end result of the crust
- Some gluten-free flours already have a thickener (like xanthan or guar gum) in it
- Dairy-free milks usually contain gums which act as thickeners, so as an alternative to xanthan gum, some of the water in the recipe can be replaced with DF milk
- *5. Prior to piling the toppings on, the coat of oil contributes to the tenderness and mouth feel of the crust while also helping to prevent moisture in the toppings from seeping into the dough
- Some yeast-free recipes call for specific water temperatures, but the temperature – hot, cold, or room temperature – doesn’t make a notable difference in this recipe
Equally as easy as the 1:1 dough, this herbed gluten-free crust has a light, slightly crispy bite with a tender, chewy center. And the blend of herbs really step it up a notch, giving it a snazzy, artisan pizza feel. It’s not so light and flimsy that it feels like you’re eating pizza on an oversized chip or extra thick tortilla though. This toothsome crust is firm without being dense or tough which provides the optimal thickness and texture to support whatever flavorful topping combinations and renditions you can imagine – margherita, BBQ chicken, you name it!
If interested, the macronutrients are below. They are kept separate at the very end of each recipe blog so that this can remain a safe, positive space for all as not everyone wishes to see the nutritional information.
Macros per crust (without toppings): 62.3 C | 5.1 F | 4 P
Whole recipe: 124.6 C | 10.2 F | 8 P
The macros can vary greatly depending on the type and brand of flour used. The macros above are based off of Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Baking Flour. To determine the macros per crust with a different flour, add the macros for the entire recipe sans flour (below) to the macros of the flour used, then divide in half since this recipe makes two pizza crusts.
Macros without flour: 4.6 C | 10.2 F | 0 P
The macros for recipes are also available on MyFitnessPal. Simply search the name of the recipe followed by “ – SUNutrition” (so for this recipe, search “Herbed GF Personal Pizza Crust – SUNutrition”).
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