Gluten-Free Pizza Dough with Caputo Fioreglut Flour

When Christiana found out she was gluten intolerant, the first thing she worried about was pizza. Her favourite is smoked salmon, capers, sour cream, green onion, lemon and fresh basil, and she wasn’t about to give it up.

We tried a lot of gluten-free flours, including the complicated blends with rice flour, tapioca and xanthan gum. The dough came out dry every time. Then we found Caputo Fioreglut.

The flour helped, but the method mattered just as much. A customer, Sébastien, wrote to us about his daughter, who has celiac disease and loves pizza:

“I can’t seem to get anything other than a fairly flat dough that doesn’t rise at all.”

This is the recipe we sent him, and the one we still use at home. And yes, it rises.

The recipe

Makes four 10-inch (25 cm) pizzas, with dough balls of about 235 g at 80% hydration. A same-day dough, ready in about 3 hours.

Ingredients

• 500 g Caputo Fioreglut gluten-free flour
• 400 g lukewarm water, about 20°C (68°F)
• 17 g salt
• 10 g active dry yeast
• 15 g extra virgin olive oil

1. Mix

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour and salt.
2. In a second bowl, stir the lukewarm water and yeast together, then add the olive oil.
3. Pour the liquid into the flour and knead for 10 minutes with the dough hook. No stand mixer? A food processor or your hands will do it, with a little elbow grease.

2. First rise

1. Flour the work surface and shape one big ball, with lightly oiled hands.
2. Place it in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap so the dough doesn’t dry out.
3. Let it rise for 2 hours at room temperature, ideally between 15 and 21°C (60 and 70°F).

3. Divide

1. Cut the dough into 4 with a dough scraper and shape into balls.
2. Place them in a proofing box and let them rise for 1 hour at room temperature, somewhere warm and humid.

4. Shape and top

1. Flour the work surface or peel. Press each ball out from the centre, to about 23 cm (9 in), keeping a small rim.
2. Top quickly, just like a regular pizza.

5. Bake

1. Pizza oven (Gozney, Ooni): stone at about 400°C (750°F), 2 to 3 minutes, turning every 20 to 30 seconds. Keep the flame a little lower, the edges of this dough brown fast.
2. Home oven: 260°C (500°F) or as hot as it goes, on a stone or steel preheated for 45 minutes. 7 to 10 minutes.

Enjoy. Share your pizza on Instagram and tag @lapizzashop.ca. We love seeing what you make.

FAQ

I’m cooking for someone with celiac disease. Any precautions?

Yes. Clean the counter, peel and stone well, and bake the gluten-free pizza before the others.

Can I make the dough ahead?

Yes, up to 1 or 2 days. Keep the dough balls in the fridge in your proofing box and take them out 2 to 4 hours before baking.

Can I freeze gluten-free pizza dough?

Yes, once the dough is shaped into balls. Wrap them well and they keep up to 6 months. Thaw them 24 hours in the fridge or 6 to 8 hours on the counter.

Why won’t my gluten-free dough rise?

Usually the yeast isn’t active anymore, or the dough is in a spot that’s too cold. Add a pinch of sugar to the water and yeast: it should foam within a few minutes. If it doesn’t, start again with fresh yeast.