Call it a crust if you want. It behaves more like a flatbread, and once you know that going in, the recipe makes a lot more sense. No yeast means the rise has to come from somewhere else, so it comes from baking powder. No gluten means the dough needs help holding its shape, so that’s xanthan gum’s job. This version leans on a standard 1:1 gluten-free flour blend, the kind that’s probably already in your pantry, and it skips the extra gum a lot of older recipes tell you to throw in on top of it. Don’t. The blend already has some.

Active Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 6 slices (one 12-inch crust)

Ingredients

• 2 cups (about 260g) gluten-free 1:1 baking flour blend (choose one that already lists xanthan gum in the ingredients, such as Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur Measure for Measure)
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for brushing
• 3/4 cup warm water, more as needed
• Pizza sauce, shredded cheese, and toppings of your choice

Instructions

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C). If using a pizza stone, place it in now so it heats up along with everything else.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg, olive oil, and water.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until a shaggy dough forms. If it feels dry, add water a tablespoon at a time. If it feels sticky, add flour the same way.
5. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes, not longer. Baking powder starts reacting the moment it hits liquid, so a long rest before baking lets some of that lift escape before the crust ever sees heat.
6. On a sheet of parchment paper, press or roll the dough into a 12-inch round, about 1/4 inch thick.

Cooking

1. Brush the surface and edges with olive oil.
2. Bake the crust alone for 8 minutes to set the base before adding anything on top.
3. Remove it from the oven and add the sauce, cheese, and toppings.
4. Return to the oven and bake for another 8 to 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the edges are golden.

Serving

1. Let the pizza sit for 3 minutes before slicing. This keeps the toppings from sliding off.
2. Cut into 6 slices and serve warm.

Nutritional Value Per One Serving

Figures are for the crust only, before sauce, cheese, or toppings, and will shift depending on the exact flour brand used.

Nutrition Facts, one serving

• Calories: 200
• Total Fat: 5g
• Saturated Fat: 1g
• Cholesterol: 31mg
• Sodium: 645mg
• Total Carbohydrates: 33g
• Dietary Fiber: 1g
• Sugars: less than 1g
• Protein: 2g

Tips and Variations

• Using a custom flour blend with no gum in it? Add 3/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum per cup of flour. If you’re using Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur instead, don’t add any. That’s the whole tip. People skip it constantly and end up with a gummy crust, wondering what went wrong.
• Almond flour swap: replace up to half the flour and you get a softer, richer crust, closer to a savory cookie than a flatbread. It also burns faster around the edges, since now egg and fat are doing the structural work instead of gum. Check it after 6 minutes, not 8.
• Parbaking is a judgment call, not a rule. Skip it if you like a softer center. Push it to 10 minutes if your toppings are heavy and wet.
• One thing that actually helps the flavor: a half teaspoon of apple cider vinegar stirred into the wet ingredients. It won’t fake real fermentation. Nothing does. But it cuts the flatness a little.

Conclusion

Don’t expect this to taste like it spent hours becoming something. It didn’t have hours. What you get is a gluten-free pizza on the table in half an hour, built from a flour blend that was already meant for baking powder instead of yeast. Good trade on a Tuesday. Just don’t compare it to a slow-fermented crust and wonder why it lost.

Browse our gluten free recipes for simple, satisfying meals without the gluten.