This gluten-free dough has a light texture when baked, and an exceptionally mellow flavor. The secret is baking and freezing the crusts ahead of time. Then when you want pizza, you can take out a frozen crust, cover it with freshly assembled toppings and re-bake it for a few minutes. You’ll get deliciously crisp gluten-free pizza crust. (This solution also ensures that you can have pizza whenever the mood strikes.)
Ingredients
- 1 cup (4 1/2 ounces) white rice flour
- 1 cup (3 3/4 ounces) tapioca starch
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1/2 cup milk (cow’s or non-dairy)
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar or cider vinegar
Directions
Heat the oven to 425°F. Place a large baking sheet (upside down if it has a rim) in the oven to heat. Draw two 8-inch circles on two separate sheets of baking parchment, and set out a 14-inch decorating bag fitted with a plain 1/4-inch tip. (A food-safe plastic bag with one corner snipped off will also work.)
Combine the rice flour, tapioca starch, salt, baking powder and xanthan gum in a large bowl. In a 2-cup glass measure, combine the milk, water, egg, olive oil and vinegar, and whisk to mix. Pour the liquid ingredients over the flour mixture and stir briskly with a plastic spatula for about 30 seconds, until the dough is smooth and just holds its shape. (Energetic stirring activates the xanthan gum, which thickens the batter.)
Support the pastry bag in a tall container, folding the tip end under. Fold the edges of the bag back on itself to make a cuff. Add the dough, unfold the cuff, and twist the bag closed. (This way, the dough won’t emerge unexpectedly at the top end.) Pipe open spirals onto the baking parchment, inside the circles, using about 2/3 of the dough, and smooth out to 1/4-inch thick. Pipe smooth rims around the crusts with the remaining dough. Slide the parchments with the crusts onto the hot baking sheet, and bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until firm and light gold. Let cool on a rack, wrap airtight and freeze. When you are ready to make pizza, add toppings to the frozen crust and re-bake.
