I’ve never had a gluten-free pizza crust taste like this before, and it’s thanks to Caputo Gluten Free Flour. In this post, I’ll show you how I used Caputo Fioreglut gluten-free flour to make a chewy, crusty, and authentic Italian gluten-free pizza. This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosures.
I have a confession to make. I haven’t had a memorable, out-of-this-world gluten-free pizza in a long time.
The one time I remember having an amazing pizza was in Paris at Little Nonna, a 100% dedicated gluten-free Italian restaurant. The pizza there was memorable, and during our weekend in Paris, we returned to Little Nonna’s for gluten-free pizza twice.
Until then, I’ve had quality, fair-tasting, gluten-free pizza. But that changed when I found Caputo gluten-free flour. This stuff is life-changing. It’s the one flour blend that comes closest to the texture and taste of wheat flour.
Caputo is an authentic Italian flour brand, and while you cannot find this flour in stores in the U.S., you can easily find it on Amazon.
Caputo Gluten-Free Flour Ingredients
Before I get into how I made this delicious gluten-free pizza crust, I must tell you that Caputo’s Fioreglut gluten-free flour contains a controversial ingredient, wheat starch.
Before you write off this flour blend, you must know that wheat starch, when labeled “gluten-free,” is 100 percent gluten-free. The protein (gluten) is separated from the starch. The starch that remains is gluten-free. The protein is not.
I tested Caputo flour with my Nima Sensor to ensure it was gluten-free, and Nima returned a smile, which means it didn’t find any gluten.
While wheat starch is a confusing ingredient, it’s important to note that it is safe for people with celiac disease to consume.
However, people with a wheat allergy should avoid Caputo flour (remember, it contains wheat starch), and people with non-celiac gluten sensitivity (aka gluten intolerance) should approach Caputo flour with caution.
Most gluten sensitivities are actually wheat sensitivities. Therefore, people with gluten [wheat] sensitivity may react to various components of wheat, not just the gluten protein.
As a person with celiac disease, I thought I would never eat wheat starch. However, as I became more informed on the process, I decided I was overly restricting myself from an ingredient that might make my gluten-free life a little easier and tastier.
As pictured above, the ingredients in Caputo gluten-free flour include:
- Gluten-free wheat starch
- Dextrose
- Maize starch (cornstarch)
- Buckwheat flour
- Rice starch
- Psyllium seed fibre
- Thickener
- Guar gum
- Flavouring
The label says it meets all FDA requirements for gluten-free foods.
The flour holds together well, and it doesn’t break when handled. In fact, you can even stretch it a bit without breaking it. Gluten is the “glue” that allows the dough to stretch without breaking; without gluten, most baked goods break, crumble, or fall flat.
Bottom line: A product can be gluten-free and still contain gluten-free wheat starch. For more details on this topic, please read Wheat Free vs. Gluten Free – What’s the Difference?
Pizza Dough Recipe
If you’re feeling comfortable moving ahead with this flour (and you should feel comfortable, but I understand if you don’t), then you’re ready to make one of the best gluten-free pizzas of your life!
(If you’re not okay with gluten-free wheat starch, you can make my homemade gluten-free pizza crust recipe using Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten-free flour or buy any of these gluten-free frozen pizza brands.)
To make the crust, combine two cups of Caputo Gluten-Free Flour and 1/2 tbsp of salt in a large bowl. Whisk it together.
Of note, I noticed that when I weighed two cups of Caputo flour, it weighed about 250 grams. However, according to the Caputo bag, two cups should weigh 190 grams. When I weighed 190 grams of flour, it fell short of even two loosely packed cups of flour. Therefore, I recommend using two cups or 250 grams and ignoring what the bag says.
In a separate bowl, combine one teaspoon of dry active yeast with one cup of warm water. Mix it together and set it aside for 3-5 minutes to activate. Once the yeast bubbles and foams on top of the mixture, add one teaspoon of olive oil to the mixture and stir it together.
Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and mix on medium speed in your standing mixer for eight minutes. The flour will be soft and a bit sticky.
Add extra Caputo flour to a flat surface (a clean countertop or large Silpat mat), then place the dough on the surface. Mix the dough gently with your hands to incorporate more flour until it’s no longer sticking to your hands and feels like pizza dough.
If the dough is too sticky, add a little olive oil to your hands. It will help you form the dough into a ball without it sticking to your hands.
Add the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and allow it to rise for 2-3 hours in a warm place. If your house is warm or you use the proofing setting on your oven, you’ll need less time. If your house is cold, you may need to give the dough extra rise time.
When your dough doubles in size (as pictured above), flour a piece of parchment paper, then place the dough on the surface.
Use your hand to shape a pizza into a circle, leaving a lip around the circumference of the dough. I was able to stretch the dough to about 13″ in diameter.
Top the pizza with sauce (see recipe below), cheese, and other toppings (optional), then bake it on a hot pizza stone (or baking sheet) in a 550º F oven for 6-7 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and the crust is cooked through.
Watch the pizza carefully, as oven temperatures can vary. If you have a pizza oven, follow the pizza oven cooking instructions carefully.
Homemade Pizza Sauce
While you could use store-bought pizza sauce, or even jarred marinara sauce, I like to make my own pizza sauce from scratch.
I used the New York-style pizza sauce recipe from the No Gluten, No Problem Pizza cookbook, which is a fantastic resource for gluten-free pizza making.
The ingredients include:
- 1 28-ounce can of whole, peeled San Marzano tomatoes
- 1 6-ounce can of tomato paste
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
Add all the ingredients to your food processor and blend until smooth.
You will only need a cup of sauce for this recipe, so store the rest in a sealed container in your fridge and enjoy it for up to a week in other recipes, such as eggplant parmesan or turkey meatballs and spaghetti squash.
If you don’t want to make homemade pizza sauce, I recommend using jarred marinara sauce. My favorite brand is Mezzetta Spicy Marinara.
The Taste Test
The taste of this pizza crust is out of this world. It’s soft, chewy, and has the spot-on texture of the pizza you remember before you said goodbye to gluten.
This is hands-down the best gluten-free pizza I’ve ever made, and only a close second to the pizza I enjoyed in Paris.
Pace yourself, my friends… as you will want to eat the entire pie in one sitting. The texture alone will make you swoon. Just look at how thick and doughy the crust turned out!
I know this pizza would have tasted even better if I had baked it in a pizza oven, which maybe one day I’ll invest in. Use it if you have it.
Nervous About Wheat Starch?
I get it. Most people with celiac disease, especially in the U.S., are nervous about wheat starch. I promise you, this starch is gluten-free. As you saw above, I even tested it with my Nima Sensor, and it tested a-okay.
But if you’re not comfortable with it but still want to make one amazing pizza, check out the No Gluten, No Problem Pizza cookbook.
This cookbook features recipes for 75+ pizza styles, from New York style to Neapolitan and everything in between, and none use wheat starch. However, the authors note that wheat starch is a common ingredient used in gluten-free pizzas made in Italy.
Also, make my simple gluten-free pizza crust recipe, which uses Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Flour, which contains no wheat starch and is soft and doughy too.
I assure you, however, that wheat starch, when labeled gluten-free, is okay to eat. And I felt fine after eating it, and I’m very sensitive to trace amounts of gluten cross-contamination.
You, ultimately, have to make your own decision on what you feel comfortable eating. I hope this article gives you comfort and assurance in trying Caputo flour in your gluten-free pizza recipes. You won’t be sorry… even if doing so takes you outside your comfort zone.
Caputo Flour Gluten-Free Pizza Recipe
Equipment
- Standing mixer (for preparing the pizza dough)
- Food processor (for preparing the sauce)
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 2 cups Caputo Fioreglut gluten-free flour plus extra for dusting surfaces (see notes)
- 1/2 tbsp salt
- 1 tsp dry active yeast
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 tsp olive oil
For the Sauce
- 28 ounce can of San Marzano tomatoes
- 6 ounce can tomato paste
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
Toppings
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese approximate
Instructions
- Combine the Caputo gluten-free flour and salt in a large mixing bowl and set it aside.
- Mix the yeast and warm water in a small bowl, allowing the yeast to activate, about 3-5 minutes. Add olive oil to the yeast mixture and stir.
- Add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture and mix on low speed in your standing mixer for 30 seconds, then mix at medium-high speed for 8 minutes. The dough should be sticky but hold together well.
- Lightly flour a flat surface, add olive oil to your hands and place the dough on the floured surface. Gently knead the dough to incorporate more flour into the mixture and make it less sticky. Form the dough into a ball. You should be able to easily handle the dough without it breaking. It will even be slightly stretchy.
- Add the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and allow it about 2 hours to rise in a warm place (less time is needed if using the proofing setting on your oven or if your home is warm). The dough is ready when it has doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 550º F and add a pizza stone to your oven to heat up. (If you don't have a pizza stone, add a baking sheet to your oven.)
- Lightly flour a piece of parchment paper and stretch out the dough until it is in the shape of a pizza, using the palm of your hands and fingers to stretch and shape the dough gently. Make sure the dough doesn't stick to the surface. Add more flour as needed. I was able to stretch the dough to about 13" in diameter.
- Top the pizza with homemade sauce (or jarred sauce) and shredded cheese. If using a pizza stone, use a pizza peel to carefully slide the pizza onto the hot stone and bake for 6-7 minutes until the cheese is bubbly. If using a baking sheet, add the pizza and parchment paper to the baking sheet. Cooking time will vary. Watch the pizza closely and remove it from the oven when the cheese is bubbly and the pizza looks done.
Sauce
- Prepare the pizza sauce by combining all the sauce ingredients in your food processor and processing until smooth, about 45-60 seconds.
This flour is fabulous for autoimmune celiac and gluten sensitive people. The recipe is amazing. But it won’t work for anyone with a wheat allergy.
Use 1 tsp. I will look into this further.
We are trying this recipe tonight and can’t wait to taste it. The recipe calls for 1tsp olive oil or 8 grams and after measuring and weighing 3 times we could only get the 1tsp of oil to equal 5 grams. Then we looked it up online and everywhere we read said 1tsp of oil equals 5 grams so we were wondering should we use the 1tsp or 8 grams of oil? Thank you!
Just made exactly as recipe. Absolutely delicious. Best GF I have ever had.
This recipe was excellent! My whole family raved about it and we all felt fine afterwards. It inspired me to use this flour to make bagels. Just like the pizza, it didn’t taste gluten free and I forgot how good fresh bagels are!
I’m not sure but I imagine it would work. Just bring the dough to room temperate and do a final proof before baking.
Hi! Can this pizza dough be frozen?? Thank you, Roberta
Think I got really sick, but remembered I am also allergic to wheat. Bread was delicious but won’t risk it again.
This flour makes amazing tasting pizza however, you may still react to it. We tried it twice to be sure and my wife got very sick for days. Read reviews on Amazon too…it’s a shame. It’s great of it works for you.
I don’t know. You may want to reach out to Caputo directly.
I’d given up on commercial GF pizza crusts as the texture and taste were pretty awful. But I was able to purchase this flour in Seattle at Pacific Food Importers (PFI) which is where we buy our Caputo pizza flour. We made the dough according to the package instructions and refrigerated it overnight. It was a pain in the butt to form the crust, despite liberal dusting, oiled hands, etc…..but it baked beautifully in our 800+ degree woodfired oven, and the response from our gluten-avoidant friends was a resounding, “Wow! This is amazing!!” The texture and taste are impressive.
what is the flavoring used listed in the ingredients?
Has anyone been to cambrooke website?. There’s many recipes, some are 100% wheat starch based but some includes fresh flour of any vegan source, (wheat, potato, or etc). I don’t fully understand how some breads, buns, pizza crusts, and ETC could be 100% wheat starch based, It’s not possible for food/vegan starch to act as flour.
Yes!
Could I make the dough a day ahead and store it in the fridge?
Just like wheat starch, wheat based sub ingredients of glucose syrup and dextrose are processed to remove gluten. Violet crumble candy bar has wheat based glucose syrup and the wording about wheat being processed to follow the GF code. I somehow found an online thing about haribo manufacturers that they’re commonly offended about gluten presence and those wheat base sub ingredients are safe. (There’s some exemptions that ZING Sour Streamers, ZING Sour Spaghetti, and Sour Bites has wheat flour and that main ingredient counts as a no GF dice when included.) Don’t know why haribo would do a few items with wheat flour. Impossible for the endosperm to be process to remove gluten and used as a main bread ingredient, and the secondary ingredient of wheat starch would make a bread unchewy if attempted to be used as a fresh flour. If wheat syrups are distilled, can malt extract/syrups be distilled? Don’t know why manufacturers would ferment, germinate, or hydrolyzed barley, “but not distill it”. Such processes are no way to follow the GF rule. Some UK manufacturer brands does GF labeled items with gluten free malted barley, I wonder if they practice distillation of barley base sub ingredients to label it as a GF ingredient. I mean why permit those sub ingredients in GF foods if not distilled (as the Whole UK country)?
If you’re concerned about the pizza being too doughy in a home oven try reducing the flour to water ratio down to about 68-70%. So for every 100g of flour instead of 80g of water, reduce it to 68-70g. Everything else would still be the same.
I’m not sure. Maybe make a thinner crust? I found thicker crust to be more doughy too. I like the chewier dough though. 😊
I love this recipe but every time I use Caputo (any recipe variation) my crust comes out gummy and transparent on top, while the toppings and bottom of the crust is ok. I made sure my stone was preheated and I didn’t put too much sauce. Any suggestions? The taste is perfect.
Honestly not sure but it’s definitely worth a try if you’re used to cooking pizza dough that way.
Can you make this in a pan Instead of a stone in a regular kitchen oven?
It depends how thick it’s rolled out. I’d say it’s a good 10 inch pizza.
What size pizza does this make?
No, celiac is not a wheat allergy. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, barley. It’s not an allergen.
it says its sage for celiacs and but if you have a wheat allergy then its not for you. Well thats exactly what celiac disease is, its an allergy to wheat, barley and rye????????
Definitely can double. And divide into four smaller pizzas.
could you double the recipe for two pies and mix in standing mixer and cut the dough into 4 pieces separately and let rise? wondering if you have to mix it for the same time or longer if so and if dough is harder to handle. happy to do four batches separately just wondering thanks.
Yes that should work. Let it defrost in your fridge and then let it rise at room temp.
This dough is incredible thank you! If you were going to store it do you freeze it before letting it rise? So you would freeze it in ball and when remove it from freezer let it defrost and then rise before using? that would take more than 1-2 hours. just confirming, thanks.
Freeze it individually wrapped and then defrost, let it rest at room temperature for 1-2 hours after defrosting before topping and baking. enjoy.
Great pizza crust! Will be hard to have another one! Best way to store extra dough and for how long? Thank you!!
It’s 1/2 Tbsp. Thank you for catching it.
thanks for recipe and a new flour brand to try, please clarify the amount of salt in the recipe, the beginning of your post says 1/2 tsp and the posted recipe says 1/2 Tb …which would be correct
I found this flour in December and gave it a try. It is amazing! Even my husband who can eat anything he wants loved it. I had to make sure I kept my pizza separate from his cause he wanted to eat mine too. We made it in the Uni Koda pizza and it was fired touched to perfection. I’m recommending this to all my gluten free foodie friends. Thanks for writing a post about it. Now I can send a link for them to follow.