Gluten-Free Thin Pizza Crust

This easy recipe comes from the cookbook, The Gluten-Free Baking Book by Donna Washburn and Heather Butt.  I first got it out of our local library and then received it as a gift at Christmas.  I have really been enjoying the book and this recipe is great!  I have made it twice in the last 4 days and I just know it is going to be part of our regular repertoire.  To be honest, homemade pizza has always been something we enjoyed (usually on a Friday night), so finding a gluten-free option is wonderful.

This recipe is easy and takes only about 5 minutes to prepare.  Unlike traditional pizza, there is no rising time, so you will be ready to make your pizza in no time.  While the pizza crust is baking, you can prepare the toppings you want.  Also, this can be made ahead of time too.

The following ingredient list is for one 8-inch round pizza.  I chose to double the recipe, making one large rectangular pizza.

Ingredients
1/4 cup brown rice flour
2 Tb. potato starch *
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
1 tsp. bread machine or instant yeast
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 cup water
1 Tb. vegetable oil
1 tsp. cider vinegar

* Recently, I have found potato starch at Extra Foods or Super Store in the baking aisle.  It is great to see the products that are being introduced in our neighbourhood grocery stores.

Method
In a bowl or plastic bag, combine brown rice flour, potato starch, sugar, xanthan gum, yeast, salt and oregano.  Mix well and set aside.

In a separate bowl, using a heavy-duty electric mixer with paddle attachment, combine water, oil and vinegar until well blended.  With the mixer on its lowest speed, slowly add the dry ingredients until combined.  Stop the machine and scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.  With the mixer on medium speed, beat for 1 minute or until smooth.

Gently transfer dough to prepared pan.  The authors suggest a lightly greased pan, while I used a parchment paper lined pan.  Using a moist rubber spatula, carefully spread to the edges.  This is the only part of the recipe that takes any time.  I tried to spread the dough as thin as possible.

Place in a cold oven and set oven temperature to 400 degrees F.  Bake for 12-17 minutes or until bottom is golden and crust is partially baked.  When I did this the second time it took between 17 and 20 minutes.

Use right away to make pizza with your favorite toppings, or wrap airtight (after cooling) and store in the freezer for up to one month.  Thaw in refrigerator overnight before using.

 I added pizza sauce, ham, mushrooms, pineapple, orange peppers, mozzarella and oregano.  If you are on a gluten-free diet, you will want to make sure your pizza sauce and ham are both gluten-free.

 Bake in a 400 degree F. oven for approximately 20-25 minutes

 It tasted as good as it looks!

And there were no leftovers at our house