Pam’s Perfect Pizza Crust

This pizza crust has a crispy crust and a chewy texture. Even those who can eat gluten will enjoy it.

• 2 ¼ cups Brown Rice Flour
• 2 ¼ cups Potato Starch
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 tablespoon Baking Powder
  • optional: use if you want the crust to rise more
• 1 ½ teaspoons Xanthan Gum
• 2 cups Water at 120° F
• 1 tablespoon Sugar
• 2 packages Rapid Rise Yeast
• ½ cup Olive Oil
• Additional rice flour for rolling
  • Optional: olive oil and crushed garlic (approximately 1 tablespoon for each pizza) for topping crust

Add sugar and yeast to the warm water and stir. Set aside until it foams. Combine flours, salt, xanthan gum, and baking powder. Add yeast mixture and oil to dry ingredients and mix lightly with a wooden spoon until ingredients are well mixed (a mixer can be used if desired, but do not mix more than necessary to combine).

Sprinkle a tablespoon of brown rice flour on each pizza pan. Spoon dough into two (or three) pizza pans and sprinkle with a generous (enough to keep the dough from sticking to your hands and the pastry roller, about 2 tablespoons) amount of brown rice flour. Coat hands in brown rice flour and gently pat the dough until it is flat and round and about half the size of the pan, adding more flour as necessary to keep from sticking. Use a pastry roller (a useful implement with a small 6-inch roller on one side and a rounded 3-inch roller on the other, connected by a handle; available at most kitchen stores) coated with flour or other small roller to finish spreading dough into the pizza pan, sprinkling more flour on as needed to keep dough from sticking to roller. If you want more air in the crust, allow to rise in a warm place for 15-30 minutes.

Optional: Gently spread additional olive oil (if desired, add crushed garlic to the olive oil and let sit for 15 or more minutes before spreading on the pizza) over the top of the dough.

Add sauce, cheese, and your favorite pizza toppings. Bake in a preheated oven at 425◦ for 13 to 15 minutes.

To freeze: prepare crust, (if desired, add sauce and toppings; or just bake the crust by itself and add toppings later), roll to desired size on a baking sheet, and bake about 10 (more or less, depending on if you have put on toppings) minutes at 425, until it is set but not brown. Cool and freeze in an airtight container. I usually size the crust so that it fits in a gallon-size ziplock freezer bag for easy storage. When you want to use it, add toppings and bake 10-15 minutes at 425. No need to defrost.