I am not a gluten-free guy. However, my wife has been attempting to banish gluten from her diet, which means that I've been experimenting with wheatless cooking.

We certainly don't want to give up pizza, so I went in search of a good recipe for gluten-free pizza crust and came across this one from the folks at King Arthur Flour. Since I'm a big fan of King Arthur Flour already, I figured this recipe would probably be a good one, and I was right. I fact, there was nothing "gluten-free tasting" about it. I wouldn't have known the crust was sans wheat had I not made it myself.

Note: You must use a stand mixer or electric hand mixer to make this dough; mixing by hand doesn't do a thorough enough job.

Here's how to do it. This makes one 12- to 14-inch pizza.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups King Arthur Gluten-Free Multi-purpose Flour
2 Tbs. buttermilk powder or nonfat dry milk powder
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. xanthan gum
1 1/2 tsp. instant yeast
1 Tbs. sugar or honey
3/4 to 1 cup warm water
2 Tbs. olive oil (for the dough)
2 Tbs. olive oil (for the pizza pan or parchment)

Method:

Place the dry ingredients (except the yeast and honey, if you're using it) into a large mixing bowl; the bowl of your stand mixer is perfect. Mix until thoroughly blended.

Place the honey (if you're using it), warm water, olive oil, yeast, and about 1/2 cup of the dry mixture into a small bowl. Stir to combine; a few lumps are OK. Set aside for 30 minutes or so, until the mixture is bubbly and smells yeasty.



Add this mixture to the dry ingredients, and beat on medium-high speed for 4 minutes. The mixture will be thick and sticky; if you've ever applied spackling compound to a wall, that's exactly what it'll look and feel like. Note: you must use a stand mixer or electric hand mixer to make this dough; mixing by hand doesn't do a thorough enough job.



Cover the bowl, and let the dough rest for 30 minutes or so.

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Drizzle 2 tablespoons olive oil onto the center of a baking sheet, large piece of parchment paper, or 12-inch round pizza pan. Scrape the dough from the bowl onto the puddle of oil.



Using your wet fingers, start at the center of the dough and work outward, pressing it into a 12- to 14-inch circle. (Or, something resembling a circle...)


Let the dough rest, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

Bake the crust for 8 to 10 minutes, just until it's set; the surface will look opaque, rather than shiny.


Remove from the oven and top with whatever you like.


Return to the oven to finish baking, about 10 to 15 minutes depending on the toppings you've chosen.

Remove from the oven, and serve warm.



Thanks, King Arthur Flour!!!

Photos by Ted Scheffler