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If you’re a fan of gluten free pizza then you’ll know the holy grail is finding a gluten free stuffed crust pizza!
And fans of my best ever gluten free pizza recipe will hopefully be pleased to hear that my gluten free stuffed crust pizza is finally here!
It’s the same deliciously doughy gluten free pizza base but this time the crust is stuffed with oozing mozzarella.
I always wished a gluten free stuffed crust pizza would come to the market but I honestly just got fed up of waiting.
It’s one of those foods I always get major food envy over, so I thought I’d just get on and make my own version.
And oh my word, all those years of missing out now suddenly seem worth it.
Because this gluten free stuffed crust pizza is just perfect, and what’s more, it’s actually pretty easy to make.
With a little bit of patience and practise, I promise you it will absolutely be worth the effort.
Table of Contents
- My dream gluten free pizza
- Gluten free stuffed crust pizza base ingredients
- WHICH YEAST IS GLUTEN FREE?
- TESTING IF YOUR YEAST IS ACTIVE
- HOW MUCH SHOULD MY Pizza Dough RISE?
- How to make a gluten free stuffed crust pizza
- My gluten free stuffed crust pizza recipe
- NEED SOME MORE GLUTEN FREE BREAD INSPIRATION?
- Gluten Free Stuffed Crust Pizza Recipe
My dream gluten free pizza
I’ve always felt it’s a shame gluten free pizza offerings in the shops are so… boring!?
There’s only so many times I want to eat a thin, crispy, off-the-shelf pizza for dinner.
Just because I have coeliac disease it doesn’t mean my gluten free pizzas have to be boring.
And this is exactly the reason why i wanted to bring you this gluten free stuffed crust pizza.
There’s nothing like it out there in the shops and in fact, making it yourself makes it taste even better. Fact.
You don’t even have to stick to stuffing your crust with cheese!
Why not try a gluten free stuffed crust with extra tomato sauce, BBQ sauce or pesto?
There are so many options to customise this pizza to make it just how you want it.
Gluten free stuffed crust pizza base ingredients
There’s a full printable recipe card below, but for the shopping list you’ll need:
- 400ml milk (see notes for dairy free/vegan)
- 3 tsp sugar
- 14g dried yeast
- 500g FREEE gluten free white bread flour
- 2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 tbsp olive oil
I always use the FREEE gluten free white bread flour, but if you can’t find this you want a gluten free flour blend which includes rice, potato and tapioca flour.
The recipe will work with a plain gluten free flour blend or all purpose mix but it will be a thousand times better with the bread flour!
The xanthan gum is important as this helps to provide some of the stretchy texture you’d normally get from the gluten.
If you want to make this recipe dairy free or vegan, then you can replace the milk with water or a dairy free milk.
I do find you get a better result using milk – and the pizza tends to keep and reheat better.
But it does still achieve a delicious result with water, it’s pretty similar to my gluten free focaccia bread recipe.
WHICH YEAST IS GLUTEN FREE?
I am based in the UK and there are several yeast products here which are gluten free and readily available.
I always use either the Allinson’s Easy Bake Yeast or the Dove’s Farm Quick Yeast.
You can also use the Allinson’s Time Saver Yeast, though be aware that you may not need to prove the dough for as long if you use this.
All of these yeasts are gluten free in the UK.
The Dove’s Farm one is certified gluten free and found in the free from aisle.
The Allinson’s yeasts are free from gluten and can be found with the ‘regular’ baking goods.
TESTING IF YOUR YEAST IS ACTIVE
It’s very important with any bread recipe that you activate the yeast before using it.
To do this, all of my gluten free bread-based recipes start by mixing the yeast with warm milk (or some of them with water) and sugar.
I’d strongly recommend using a food thermometer like this one to ensure the water or milk is around 40’C – skin temperature.
Too hot and it will kill the yeast, which means your bake will not rise.
When left in a warm spot for 5-10 minutes, the yeast should form a frothy top a bit like the head on beer.
This means your yeast is active and you’re good to go!
If your yeast doesn’t froth up after 10 minutes, it’s likely it is dead and you’ll need to discard it and start again.
Sometimes yeast can go out of date so this could be a reason for it not frothing.
This is also why a food thermometer is so helpful – if the water is too hot or too cold your yeast won’t activate the way it should.
HOW MUCH SHOULD MY Pizza Dough RISE?
This gluten free pizza dough only needs one rise and it will take around 40 minutes-to-an-hour.
However, this can completely vary depending on the time of year and conditions of your kitchen!
For example, if you were to make this on a very hot, humid day, you may find the dough rises in half the time compared to making it in the middle of winter.
As a guide, here is what my pizza dough looked like before and after proving:
Before proving:
After proving:
If you don’t allow for the pizza dough to prove, it won’t rise properly in the oven.
This is what gives it this lovely doughy texture – trust me, it’s worth it.
How to make a gluten free stuffed crust pizza
Most of the method for this gluten free stuffed crust pizza recipe is the same as my classic gluten free pizza.
However, once you have let the dough rise and then press it out into a circular shape, it’s time to form the stuffed crust.
You want to do this before topping the pizza!
First up, I tend to make a small indentation with my thumb approx an inch from the edge of the pizza base, all the way around.
For this reason, you may want to roll out these bases to be a little larger than a normal gluten free pizza.
Add the cheese
Next you’ll need to fill the indentation with cheese. Don’t go crazy here – a little goes a long way!
I tend to use a harder block of mozzarella (this one is my fave) and cut it into sticks around 1cm thick.
I then lay these around the edge of the pizza – Cheesestrings also work SO well for this – just peel them in half long-ways first.
Once you’ve popped down the mozzarella, it should look like this:
Seal the crust
Finally, the trickiest bit of all, is to wrap the dough around the mozzarella and seal it to create the crust.
The dough can be quite fragile so you’ll need to be patient.
The easiest way to do this is to use a finger to wet around the inside of the mozzarella ring, then carefully fold the dough around.
You can then use wet fingers to work the dough, sticking it together where it joins back on itself.
Top the pizza
Wetting the dough will help it to stick and you can gently pinch the dough together if you get any breaks.
Dabbing a little gluten free flour onto the wet dough can also help to seal any cracks and keeping your fingers wet will stop the dough sticking to you.
Once you’ve sealed the dough all the way around, you can then top the pizza as you like and cook!
If you find it difficult to cover all the cheese, you may need to cut it back a bit.
You actually don’t need a lot of cheese in the crust for that gorgeous, melty effect!
My gluten free stuffed crust pizza recipe
Here it is, months and months of work and my best ever gluten free pizza recipe is here!
This makes two, decent sized (11-12 inch pizzas) or you can use it to make four smaller ones.
I would 100% recommend cooking it on a pizza mesh as it means the base gets lovely and crisp.
If you make this recipe and love it, please do let me know by tagging me on my Instagram or using #theglutenfreeblogger. I love seeing your creations!
And please do leave a review to let others know you loved it too! It would mean the world to me.
Gluten Free Stuffed Crust Pizza
This gluten free stuffed pizza recipe is honestly the best, cheese-filled pizza crust ever! This base recipe will make enough for 2 x 11-inch pizzas, or 4 x smaller pizzas. For best results, I recommend cooking on a pizza mesh.
Ingredients
For the base:
- 400ml milk (see notes for dairy free/vegan)
- 3 tsp sugar
- 14g dried yeast
- 500g FREEE gluten free white bread flour
- 2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 tbsp olive oil
For the tomato sauce:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp crushed garlic
- 250g passata
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- Salt and Pepper
- Large block of mozzarella cheese (see notes)
For the toppings:
- Mozzarella cheese
- Any other toppings of choice
- Extra olive oil for brushing the crust
Instructions
- Measure out the milk into a jug and heat in the microwave in 30 second intervals until it hits around 40'C - which should feel like skin temperature if you dip your finger in.
- Stir the sugar into the warm milk and until dissolved, then add the yeast and stir again. Cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm spot for 5-10 minutes for the yeast to activate. It should form a lovely froth on top when it's ready.
- Meanwhile add the gluten free flour, xanthan gum and salt to a large mixing bowl and stir well to combine thoroughly.
- When the yeast has formed a frothy top, pour the mixture into the flour mix. Use a wooden spoon to beat the mixture together - it should start to become quite sticky.
- Once the mixture becomes a bit claggy, add the olive oil. Continue to mix with the wooden spoon until it forms a smooth, slightly sticky dough which should come away from the side of the bowl.
- Cover the bowl with a piece of oiled clingfilm and then place in a warm spot for 40-60 minutes to prove. The dough should become puffy and double in size.
- Add the olive oil to a frying pan and place on a low heat. Add the basil, oregano and garlic to the oil and fry for 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the garlic softens.
- Pour in the passata and add the tomato puree then season with salt and pepper. Mix well with a wooden spoon until combined and then simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat until ready to use.
- Once the dough has proved, preheat the oven to 220'C / Fan 200'C / Gas Mark 8. A nice, hot oven is essential!
- Lay a piece of baking paper on the worktop, slightly larger than the pizza you'll be making, and dust it with a little gluten free flour. For a more precise pizza shape, you can draw around a dinner plate onto the paper to use as a guide - or just freestyle it!
- Dust your hands so that the dough doesn't stick to them and then gently push the pizza dough into a circle shape, around 1-2cm thick. For a stuffed crust pizza I tend to roll it about 1-2 inches larger than I want my finished pizza to be.
- Place a pizza mesh over the top of the pizza base, then carefully lift the baking paper and flip it over - the pizza mesh should be on the bottom, the the dough on top of that and the baking paper on top. Carefully peel off the baking paper so your base is sat on the mesh, ready to form the crust.
- Use your thumb to make an indentation around the whole pizza circumference, approx 1-inch in from the edge of the pizza.
- Cut strips of mozzarella around 1cm thick and lay them end-to-end in the indentation, until you have completed the circle.
- Wet the dough on the inside of the cheese, then fold the overhanging outside dough up and over the mozzarella. Wet your hands and use your thumb and fingers to gently pinch the dough together to seal it. The dough can be quite fragile so you'll need to be patient. Wetting the dough will help it to stick and you can gently pinch the dough together if you get any breaks. Dabbing a little gluten free flour onto the wet dough can also help to seal any cracks and keeping your fingers wet will stop the dough sticking to you.
- Spread the sauce onto the pizza base, leaving around half-an-inch around the edges. Cover with mozzarella cheese and your toppings of choice. Finish by brushing the exposed crusts with a little olive oil so they crisp up nicely.
- Carefully place the pizza in the oven and cook for 10-12 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the toppings are bubbling. Remove, slice up and serve hot.
While the dough is proving, make the tomato sauce
To construct the pizzas
Top the pizza:
Notes
- For a dairy free/vegan version, this recipe will work using a dairy free milk such as almond or soya, or alternatively use water in place of milk.
- You can use grated cheese or Cheddar cheese in the stuffed crust if you prefer. Cheese strings also work very well - cut them in half lengthways before using. The harder the mozzarella the better - I recommend this one if you can find it.
- Any leftovers (what is that!?) can be kept in the fridge and reheated. To reheat, the best method is to place the slices of pizza in a frying pan on a low heat, then cover with a lid until the toppings are bubbling.
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NEED SOME MORE GLUTEN FREE BREAD INSPIRATION?
Want to have a go at some of the other gluten free bread based recipes on the blog?
Give some of these other gluten free treats a try and see what you think!
There are plenty to choose from – here are a couple of easy baking ideas to get you going:
- Gluten free pizza recipe
- Brown seeded bread
- Vegan and gluten free focaccia
- Super soft gluten free bread rolls
- Yeast free soda bread
If you do make this recipe please let me know! I’d love to see your photos using #theglutenfreeblogger, share them in my Facebook group or tag me on Instagram.
And if you have any recipe suggestions, please let me know in the comments what you’d like to see next!
LIKE THIS GLUTEN FREE Stuffed Crust Pizza RECIPE?
Make sure you pin these recipe cards below for later!
Do head over and follow me on Pinterest too for more gluten free recipe inspiration.
Amaaaazzziiinnnggg!! Having recently been advised to go gluten free, and with a husband who is also gluten free, we really reaaalllyyy miss our pizza😢i tried several shop bought ones, and i attempted to make a few but they were all hard and crunchy – a far cry from that soft scrummy dominos or chicago town pizzas! I came across this recipe and truth be known was a bit skeptical! But i tried and OMW! we’ve had it 2 times now and i’m just about to make it for our tea tonight. You just cannot beat it! It’s everything a pizza should be! We love using BBQ sauce instead of tomato topping, and adding cheese and meats to make it the most scrumptious fake-away to enjoy by the fire on a cosy evening!
Yay! This comment makes me very happy, I’m so glad you liked it!!
This is an incredible recipe – it just works! Fluffy, soft and well-risen pizza dough that is robust and can handle toppings without going soggy? Most recipes *with* gluten can’t promise that. Thank you!