This gluten-free sourdough pizza crust can be made thin or thick, it is vegan and freezer-friendly! You will need a gluten-free sourdough starter (you can use discard) to make this flavorful sourdough pizza crust. To make a pizza without a sourdough starter, check out my no-yeast cassava flour pizza crust!
Why You Will Love This Recipe
– Customizable. Make the crust thin or thick!
– Make-ahead. You can pre-mix the dough 1-2 days ahead or even freeze it!
– Flavor. The best gluten-free pizza crust I’ve had so far!
– Easy to handle. The dough can be easily rolled out or shaped by hand.
Sourdough Starter
Sourdough starter is wild yeast that people used to bake bread before the invention of commercial yeast. I also make gluten-free sourdough bread with my starter and love it! If you don’t have a sourdough starter yet, you can make one from gluten-free flour and water. It will take 1-2 weeks for the starter to become active and fit for gluten-free sourdough recipes! All you need to do is follow a few simple steps. It is easier than you think! If you would like to make pizza crust without sourdough, check out my no-yeast cassava flour pizza crust.
Ingredients
Water – use room temperature water to activate the sourdough starter well.
Salt – sea salt has a good nutritional profile.
Flour – you can also use a pre-made blend if you have to but the flavor won’t be the same.
Psyllium husk – make sure it is whole husks and not powder.
Substitutions
Brown rice flour – you can use oat flour, white rice flour, sorghum flour, buckwheat flour, or other types if you need to. Keep in mind that some flours absorb liquids better than others, so you might need to adjust the amount based on the texture.
Cornstarch – I am using cornstarch to make this pizza nightshade free (potato free) but you can use potato starch, tapioca starch, or arrowroot starch instead.
Psyllium husk – I do not recommend substituting psyllium husk. If you substitute psyllium husk, your crust will be less stable and more crumbly. Psyllium husk is by far the best binding agent for gluten-free sourdough pizza! Xanthan gum, guargum, or other options are just not good enough.
Equipment
– A digital scale – this is the one tool that will make your GF baking enjoyable! What could be better than a recipe that turns out perfectly every time?
– Baking tray – I use a cast iron skillet but a pizza stone or a simple baking sheet will work, too!
– Rolling pin (optional)
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1 – Mix the dough
First, add psyllium husk to the room-temperature water, whisk to combine, and set aside for 5 minutes. Psyllium husk will absorb the liquids and form into a gel.
After five minutes, add the sourdough starter (fed or unfed) to a mixing bowl and pour psyllium husk gel into it. Mix to combine.
Add all the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and mix with your hands.
Cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and leave the dough to ferment and rise for 3-6 hours at room temperature or longer in the refrigerator (anywhere from overnight up to 2 days).
Step 2 – Shape and par-bake
Preheat the oven to 400F/200C together with the baking tray you are using. I like to use my cast iron skillet to bake pizza crust! You can use a pizza stone or a simple baking sheet.
Then, transfer the dough onto a piece of parchment paper and divide it into two parts if making two medium-size pizzas or use the whole dough for a large pizza.
Pour a little bit of oil onto the dough to prevent sticking. Now, roll the dough out or shape it with your hands. For a thinner pizza roll the dough out thin, for a fluffier thicker crust roll the dough less.
Then, form the borders of the pizza and create a nice round shape.
Transfer the dough together with the parchment paper onto the baking tray (in my case, it is a cast-iron skillet) and bake the crust without toppings for 15 minutes (20 minutes for a crunchy crust). This step is called par-baking meaning you pre-bake the dough before the toppings go on it.
Step 3 – Add toppings and bake again
Then, add the toppings of choice and return to the oven for another 10 minutes. When ready, slice the pizza and enjoy! Top with fresh greens for extra flavor.
Favorite Pizza Sauces & Toppings
– Basic tomato pizza sauce with mushrooms, tomatoes, fresh basil, and cheddar.
– Olive oil & minced garlic base with olives, feta cheese, red onion, mushrooms, and arugula.
– Tomato pizza base with bolognese sauce.
Proofing Explained
In sourdough bread, there are two stages of bread fermentation – the bulk rise and proofing. With sourdough pizza crust, we only do one stage which includes both in one. Proofing is the fermentation & rising process of GF pizza dough before baking. For a more sour pizza you will need to proof your dough in the refrigerator for 12-16 hours, where for a less sour crust it will only need 3-6 hours in room temperature. You can even leave the dough in the refrigerator for up to 2 days if you need to make the recipe ahead or if you want to make a few pizzas at different times during the weekend.
Expert Tips
– Weigh your ingredients. I myself was hesitant to use grams in place of cups, but once I learned how to, I started preferring a digital scale to cups! It is so much easier and time-saving. I still use cups for liquids, oats, sugar, and some other things but GF flour has to be weighed for recipes to turn out well!
– For a better rise use a mature sourdough starter (the one that was fed and is now risen to its full capacity).
– If you don’t want to wait for the pizza dough to ferment you can use it in 5-10 minutes after mixing the ingredients. Keep in mind that the crust won’t be sour and it won’t have as much rise.
– You can use a pre-made gluten-free flour blend instead of the flours listed in the recipe, just keep in mind that the dough might behave differently and have a different flavor. Use 240g of GF flour for the recipe. I have a great homemade gluten-free flour blend you can try.
– Keep a bottle with filtered room-temperature water on the kitchen counter to use in sourdough recipes. I know how inconvenient it can be to not have room-temperature water when you need it!
FAQ
Yes, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and freeze it for up to 3 months. You can freeze the dough before or after fermentation, although it is better to freeze it after. If you freeze your dough before fermentation, you will not get as much rise after thawing as bacteria will be weak.
Yes! Split the dough into as many parts as you need to make small-sized individual pizzas.
You can make my no-yeast cassava flour pizza instead as this recipe is specifically designed to work with a GF sourdough starter.
You need to par-bake the crust in order for it to bake all the way through. If you bake the dough with toppings it will be wet and gummy on the bottom.
Did you like this gluten-free sourdough pizza crust recipe? Please, leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below! And if you REALLY liked this recipe, consider supporting it by buying me a coffee! 🙂 Thank you and have a great day!
Gluten Free Sourdough Pizza Dough
Equipment
- 1 whisk
- baking tray cast iron skillet or stone are best
- kitchen towels
- Rolling Pin (optional)
Ingredients
- 15 g (2½ tbsp) psyllium husk not powder
- 300 g (1â…“ cups) water room-temperature
- 150 g (1 cup + 2 tbsp) gluten-free sourdough starter fed is better but discard is good, too
- 170 g (1â…“ cups) brown rice flour oat, sorghum, and other flours can be used, too
- 70 g (½ cup) cornstarch potato, tapioca, arrowroot starches work, too
- 12 g (1¾ tsp) salt
- oil for rolling the dough to prevent sticking
Instructions
- First, add psyllium husk to the room-temperature water, whisk to combine, and set aside for 5 minutes. Psyllium husk will absorb the liquids and form into a gel.
- After five minutes, add the sourdough starter (fed or unfed) to a mixing bowl and pour psyllium husk gel into it. Mix to combine.
- Add all the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and mix with your hands.
- Cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and leave the dough to ferment and rise for 3-6 hours at room temperature or longer in the refrigerator (anywhere from overnight up to 2 days).
- Preheat the oven to 400F/200C together with the baking tray you are using. I like to use my cast iron skillet to bake pizza crust! You can use a pizza stone or a simple baking sheet.
- Then, transfer the dough onto a piece of parchment paper and divide it into two parts if making two medium-size pizzas or use the whole dough for a large pizza.
- Pour a little bit of oil onto the dough to prevent sticking. Now, roll the dough out or shape it with your hands. For a thinner pizza roll the dough out thin, for a fluffier thicker crust roll the dough less.
- Then, form the borders of the pizza and create a nice round shape.
- Transfer the dough together with the parchment paper onto the baking tray (in my case, it is a cast-iron skillet) and bake the crust without toppings for 15 minutes (20 minutes for a crunchy crust). This step is called par-baking meaning you pre-bake the dough before the toppings go on it.
- Then, add the toppings of choice and return to the oven for another 10 minutes. When ready, slice the pizza and enjoy! Top with fresh greens for extra flavor.
This pizza was so easy to make and it turned out great! Thank you for sharing your recipe.
The best (GF) pizza crusts I’ve ever made! An extra un-topped crust made good flatbread too. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Thank you so much for your feedback! For flatbreads, you can check out a specifically designed GF sourdough flatbread recipe! https://www.natashashome.com/gluten-free-sourdough-flatbread/