Gluten Free Mini Pizza – A New Technique

If you’ve ever been in the predicament of inviting over a guest who has to stick to a gluten free diet, this gluten free mini pizza recipe is one to reach for. It will satisfy gluten and non-gluten eaters alike! Turn it into a fun interactive party idea by setting up a ‘pizza station’ with toppings so everyone can customize their own mini pizzas!

This is the best gluten free pizza I’ve made. No one would ever guess it’s gluten free; it’s that good!

Not only does gluten free mini pizza rival 'real' pizza with its light, airy, crunchy texture, but even gluten eaters will love it and won't feel cheated. It's delicious enough to serve the whole family! Gluten free pizza | mini pizza | gluten free pizza crust | gluten free pizza crust recipe | gluten free pizza dough | mini gluten free pizza | gluten free mini pizzas | mini gluten free pizza | mini pizzas | pizza recipe | pizza | gluten free

Grab the printable recipe at the very bottom of this post.

No Pizza for You!

When Hubs was diagnosed with Celiac disease almost a decade ago his world turned upside down when he was told he couldn’t eat gluten. All he could think about was no more malty beer, no more fluffy bread, no more delectable pizza – and all the other guilty pleasures that make indulging so enjoyable.

Although in the intervening years, the selection of prepared gluten-free foods in the supermarket has come a long way in quality and taste, gluten-free pizza has not caught up to it’s delectable glutinous counterpart in our opinion. To avoid sounding like a broken record (no pizza for you!) the best solution for a satisfying and tasty gluten-free pizza was to make it ourselves at home. Since converting to a gluten-free diet, I’ve dedicated myself to developing recipes for the best gluten-free versions of the foods we both love. Pizza was at the top of our list!

Not only does gluten free mini pizza rival 'real' pizza with its light, airy, crunchy texture, but even gluten eaters will love it and won't feel cheated. It's delicious enough to serve the whole family! Gluten free pizza | mini pizza | gluten free pizza crust | gluten free pizza crust recipe | gluten free pizza dough | mini gluten free pizza | gluten free mini pizzas | mini gluten free pizza | mini pizzas | pizza recipe | pizza | gluten free

Unless it’s Gluten Free!

Watch the Video!

Watch the video to see a new technique for making and forming the pizza dough! This recipe is Hubs tested and approved :).

Inspiration

I found the inspiration for this pizza crust from a recipe developed by Americas Test Kitchen. I adapted it by simplifying the recipe and changing it from regular-sized pizzas to individual ones (I found that the ready made GF flour shown below works great).

Not only does gluten free mini pizza rival 'real' pizza with its light, airy, crunchy texture, but even gluten eaters will love it and won't feel cheated. It's delicious enough to serve the whole family! Gluten free pizza | mini pizza | gluten free pizza crust | gluten free pizza crust recipe | gluten free pizza dough | mini gluten free pizza | gluten free mini pizzas | mini gluten free pizza | mini pizzas | pizza recipe | pizza | gluten free

Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour

The preparation of the crust is very different from its gluten counterpart (no kneading or rolling involved).

The Beauty of Individual Pizzas

My adapted recipe makes 6 individual servings of pizza which are pre-baked first before adding toppings and finishing off in the oven. So it’s ideal if you have kids that are picky eaters (or if you have meat eaters and vegans in the family): everyone can choose their own personalized toppings.

Another great thing about individual pizzas is the portability. For instance, kids with Celiac disease can take it with them so they can eat at pizza parties too. Just wrap the pizza in non-stick foil and send it with your child to the party. Have a parent open up the foil and pop it into an oven or toaster oven to heat through. Most parents won’t mind if you ask them in advance, but if the party happens to be off-site with no kitchen facilities, heat it at home and send it along in a bag with a hot pack to keep it warm.

Now onto the recipe (see the printable recipe for ingredients and quantities)!

Gluten Free Pizza Dough

Install a paddle blade in the stand mixer. Add the first 7 ingredients to the bowl; Blend on low speed until combined. I weigh my ingredients for this recipe because baking is a science and you get more accurate results that way.

Slowly stream the warm water into the flour (the water shouldn’t be more than 100 degrees to activate the yeast). Set a timer for six minutes then increase the speed to medium speed. I set it at ‘6 for 6:00’ so it’s easy to remember (my mixer has a timer built in so it’s super convenient!).

After mixing for six minutes, the dough will be thick and sticky (more like a batter). Remove the blade and bowl from the mixer.

 Let Dough Rest

Resting the dough allows the water to hydrate the dry ingredients. Lay a piece of plastic wrap over the top. Let the yeast bubble and do its thing for about 11/2 hours.

Not only does gluten free mini pizza rival 'real' pizza with its light, airy, crunchy texture, but even gluten eaters will love it and won't feel cheated. It's delicious enough to serve the whole family! Gluten free pizza | mini pizza | gluten free pizza crust | gluten free pizza crust recipe | gluten free pizza dough | mini gluten free pizza | gluten free mini pizzas | mini gluten free pizza | mini pizzas | pizza recipe | pizza | gluten free

Prepare Mini Pizza Pans

Spray the bottom of mini pans with an oil mister. If you don’t have one, drizzle the oil onto the pans and spread it out using your fingers (the best tools in the kitchen). Oil will prevent the crust from sticking and promote browning on the bottom. I prefer grape seed oil because it has a high smoke point.

Portion Dough

After 1 1/2 hours, remove the plastic from the top of the bowl; save it because you’ll use it again later.

Use an oiled spatula to separate the dough into six equal portions and transfer it to the mini pizza pans.Not only does gluten free mini pizza rival 'real' pizza with its light, airy, crunchy texture, but even gluten eaters will love it and won't feel cheated. It's delicious enough to serve the whole family! Gluten free pizza | mini pizza | gluten free pizza crust | gluten free pizza crust recipe | gluten free pizza dough | mini gluten free pizza | gluten free mini pizzas | mini gluten free pizza | mini pizzas | pizza recipe | pizza | gluten free

Spread Dough

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Spray the middle of the piece of plastic you saved earlier with a light misting of oil.

Lay the plastic, oil side down, over the first portion of dough. Use your hands to flatten the dough and spread it out to the edges.

Not only does gluten free mini pizza rival 'real' pizza with its light, airy, crunchy texture, but even gluten eaters will love it and won't feel cheated. It's delicious enough to serve the whole family! Gluten free pizza | mini pizza | gluten free pizza crust | gluten free pizza crust recipe | gluten free pizza dough | mini gluten free pizza | gluten free mini pizzas | mini gluten free pizza | mini pizzas | pizza recipe | pizza | gluten free

It will be about 1/4″ thick or so. At the outer edge, raise the dough around the lip of the mini pizza pan so it’s thicker than the centre.

Not only does gluten free mini pizza rival 'real' pizza with its light, airy, crunchy texture, but even gluten eaters will love it and won't feel cheated. It's delicious enough to serve the whole family! Gluten free pizza | mini pizza | gluten free pizza crust | gluten free pizza crust recipe | gluten free pizza dough | mini gluten free pizza | gluten free mini pizzas | mini gluten free pizza | mini pizzas | pizza recipe | pizza | gluten free

Repeat Process for the Remaining Dough

Remove the plastic then repeat the process of re-oiling (if necessary) and spreading the dough for the remaining five mini pizzas. I find if you oil the plastic well, you won’t need to re-oil it again; mine lasted for all six pizzas.

Here’s how it looks in practice:

Not only does gluten free mini pizza rival 'real' pizza with its light, airy, crunchy texture, but even gluten eaters will love it and won't feel cheated. It's delicious enough to serve the whole family! Gluten free pizza | mini pizza | gluten free pizza crust | gluten free pizza crust recipe | gluten free pizza dough | mini gluten free pizza | gluten free mini pizzas | mini gluten free pizza | mini pizzas | pizza recipe | pizza | gluten free

Pre-bake Crusts

Place the pizza pans into the preheated 325 degree oven. Most ovens have hot spots so after 20 minutes, rotate the pans to get even browning.

Bake for another 20 minutes for a total of about 40 minutes – or until the crust is golden brown underneath and just starting to brown on top. Don’t overcook because they will be heated again with the toppings. Remove the pans from the oven and let the pizza crusts cool down.

Not only does gluten free mini pizza rival 'real' pizza with its light, airy, crunchy texture, but even gluten eaters will love it and won't feel cheated. It's delicious enough to serve the whole family! Gluten free pizza | mini pizza | gluten free pizza crust | gluten free pizza crust recipe | gluten free pizza dough | mini gluten free pizza | gluten free mini pizzas | mini gluten free pizza | mini pizzas | pizza recipe | pizza | gluten free

Toppings

Some suggestions:

  • Shredded Mozzarella cheese (you can also use cheddar, Colby, Edam, Emmental, Gruyere, and provolone on their own or as a mix)
  • Your choice of herbs or spices
  • Your choice of meat and/or veggies

Have fun experimenting and use whatever tickles your fancy! For a classic cheese and pepperoni pizza, I used a garlic & herb cheddar/mozzarella cheese combo, gluten-free pepperoni (Pillars has a great one!), pasata tomato sauce and mama mia herb spice mix.

Layer sauce, toppings and cheese.

Not only does gluten free mini pizza rival 'real' pizza with its light, airy, crunchy texture, but even gluten eaters will love it and won't feel cheated. It's delicious enough to serve the whole family! Gluten free pizza | mini pizza | gluten free pizza crust | gluten free pizza crust recipe | gluten free pizza dough | mini gluten free pizza | gluten free mini pizzas | mini gluten free pizza | mini pizzas | pizza recipe | pizza | gluten free

Bake

If you plan on using the crusts same-day, they can sit out for up to four hours. If making more than one, line a sheet tray with foil and add whatever toppings you desire on the crust, then bake in a hot 450 degree oven for 7 – 10 minutes. You can also cook these as individuals in a toaster oven.

Not only does gluten free mini pizza rival 'real' pizza with its light, airy, crunchy texture, but even gluten eaters will love it and won't feel cheated. It's delicious enough to serve the whole family! Gluten free pizza | mini pizza | gluten free pizza crust | gluten free pizza crust recipe | gluten free pizza dough | mini gluten free pizza | gluten free mini pizzas | mini gluten free pizza | mini pizzas | pizza recipe | pizza | gluten free

Store the Rest / Freeze

While the pizza is cooling, at this point, if you don’t plan on using the rest right away you can wrap the crusts for storage. Add pieces of waxed paper in between each crust, wrap the whole thing in plastic wrap and then foil. The waxed paper makes it easy to pull the crusts apart after freezing. You can freeze the crusts for up to six months, but they probably won’t last that long!

Reheating

As a snack or quick lunch, it’s fast and convenient to grab a crust from the freezer. I haven’t tried to reheat one straight from frozen, but you probably could (if you do, let me know how it worked). I usually microwave the crust first for 10 – 15 seconds on high then top it and pop it into the toaster oven – no need to heat up the entire oven.

Enjoy Your Personalized Mini GF Pizza

I hope you’ll give these a try; they have a crunchy bottom and a light airy centre.

Not only does gluten free mini pizza rival 'real' pizza with its light, airy, crunchy texture, but even gluten eaters will love it and won't feel cheated. It's delicious enough to serve the whole family! Gluten free pizza | mini pizza | gluten free pizza crust | gluten free pizza crust recipe | gluten free pizza dough | mini gluten free pizza | gluten free mini pizzas | mini gluten free pizza | mini pizzas | pizza recipe | pizza | gluten free

By the way, at the time Hubs was diagnosed with Celiac disease, doctors also found he had osteoporosis (an unfortunate development when Celiac disease isn’t caught right away). A year after switching over to a gluten-free diet, and maintaining a no-gluten zone in our kitchen, his osteoporosis actually reversed to a noticeable extent! It was incredible and unexpected.

I guess the moral of the story is if you are newly diagnosed Celiac, don’t be tempted to cheat once you start your gluten-free lifestyle. It IS possible regain your health AND still enjoy your guilty pleasures as long as they’re modified to be gluten-free (and eaten in moderation of course)!

Get your cook on at Birdz of a Feather and subscribe! You can also follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.

Pinning is welcome and appreciated:

Not only does gluten free mini pizza rival 'real' pizza with its light, airy, crunchy texture, but even gluten eaters will love it and won't feel cheated. It's delicious enough to serve the whole family! Gluten free pizza | mini pizza | gluten free pizza crust | gluten free pizza crust recipe | gluten free pizza dough | mini gluten free pizza | gluten free mini pizzas | mini gluten free pizza | mini pizzas | pizza recipe | pizza | gluten free

Our new recipe category, The Unknown Chef, can be found here.

Gluten Free Mini Pizzas

Not only does this recipe rival 'real' pizza (the crust has a light, airy, crunchy texture), but even gluten eaters will love this pizza and won't feel cheated. This recipe is delicious enough to serve to the whole family!
Servings 6 mini pizzas

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour the total of first two ingredients should weigh 16 ounces
  • 1/4 cup Skim milk powder
  • 1 ½ tablespoons Bob's Red Mill powdered gluten-free psyllium husk* * With the exception of Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour you can substitute any other gluten-free brands in this recipe (although I can't guarantee the recipe will taste the same).
  • 2 ½ ounces Bob's Red Mill gluten-free almond flour* (roughly equal to 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon if you don't have a scale), you can finely grind almonds if you don't have flour
  • 2 ½ teaspoons Bob's Red Mill gluten-free baking powder*
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon gluten-free instant or rapid-rise yeast

Liquid Ingredients

  • 2 ½ cups warm water 100 degrees
  • ¼ cup oil I use grape seed oil

Equipment

  • Stand mixer
  • 6 Mini pizza pans ** ** You can substitute two 12" pizza pans
  • Vegetable/grape seed oil to oil pans/spatula
  • Oil mister filled with vegetable or grape seed oil optional
  • Rubber spatula
  • Plastic wrap
  • Electronic food scale
  • Kitchen timer

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 325.
  • Measure out dry ingredients as indicated. Combine in mixer bowl and mix on low.
  • Slowly add 2 1/2 cups warm water and 1/4 cup oil. Mix 6 minutes on medium speed. Remove paddle, scrape sides of bowl. Cover with plastic for 1 1/2 hours.
  • Mist spatula and mini pizza pans with oil. Portion dough evenly amongst pans.
  • Mist a piece of plastic wrap, place face down onto dough and spread dough evenly to edge of pan. Repeat with all pans. You can reused the same piece of plastic
  • Bake 40 minutes at 325 (after first 20 minutes, rotate pans). Remove from oven to cool. Bottom should be brown.
  • Add toppings or freeze shells for later use.

Toppings

  • If you plan on using crusts the same day, they can sit out for up to four hours. If making more than one, line a sheet tray with foil and add whatever topping you desire on the crust. Add your choice of toppings (i.e. tomato sauce, herbs/spices, meat/veggies, cheese etc.). Bake 450 for 7 - 10 minutes until bubbly.

Notes

Carefully read labels to make sure you are getting a gluten-free product: many brands make both gluten-free as well as regular products too.

4 thoughts on “Gluten Free Mini Pizza – A New Technique

    • It’s a domino effect; right after I saw your comment, we ate pizza – lol. That plastic wrap trick is what makes gluten free pizza so good. You really have to think outside the box when it comes to the dough!

  1. I can’t eat psylium husk. What can I substitute? Thank you.

Leave a Reply