Gluten-Free Pizza Dough Recipe (Neapolitan Style)

My kids have been gluten-free for years now, and for a long time pizza night was rough. We’d order out and they’d get a sad, cardboard-tasting crust while everyone else got the real thing.

Then we found two restaurants (one in Oregon, one in Utah) making a gluten-free crust so good it had me double-checking whether they’d actually sent the right pizza. After a few phone calls (okay, some borderline begging), we got their secret: both used the same imported Italian gluten-free flour.

We took that lead and ran with it, testing hydration levels, fermentation times, and flour brands until we landed on the version you see here. It worked so well that it’s the exact gluten-free dough recipe in our cookbook, Fire + Wine Backyard Pizza. This isn’t a simplified web version, it’s the real recipe, tested the same way as every other dough in that book.

Equipment

If you plan to make a lot of pizza (or bake in general), then you need a good digital scale.

While you can mix in a good blender we recommend this done by hand in a large bowl. For the fermentation you can use the bowl and transfer to a baking sheet or dough proofing container.

Check out our complete guide on essential pizza tools.

Ingredients

While the recipe list is small each plays an important role in the ease of making the pizza and the texture when it’s cooking.

• Gluten-Free Flour – We use Caputo Fioreglut, and strongly recommend it for this dough. You can find it online or in your better grocery stores (call ahead to confirm). This flour is the key to gluten-free pizza success! We have also tested this recipe with Bob’s Red Mill Cup for Cup. See recipe notes for our recommendation if that is all you have.
• Water – Use water between 90 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Warm water is important to create heat and activate the yeast.
• Fresh Active Yeast – We prefer active dry yeast for this recipe. Fresh yeast is important. If your yeast is old or inactive, your dough won’t rise properly. If you’re using instant or fast-acting yeast instead, use less than the amount listed in the recipe (half the packet).
• Kosher Salt – Don’t use table salt as it’s too salty. We use kosher salt specifically, and Diamond Crystal is our preferred brand.
• Baking Powder – Helps with the rise while the pizza is cooking and supplements the yeast.
• Xanthan Gum – Xanthan gum helps provide structure and stretch in this particular recipe. If you are substituting a different gluten-free flour, check its ingredients first because some gluten-free flour blends already contain xanthan gum or another binder.

A note on yeast – One of the biggest reasons people don’t see a rise is using yeast that is expired (or dead). Be sure you use fresh active yeast.

The Best Gluten-Free Flour for Making Pizza

For this recipe, we strongly recommend Caputo Fioreglut Gluten-Free Flour.

It’s specifically formulated to perform well in applications like pizza and yeast breads, and we’ve found that it gives us the closest texture to traditional pizza dough.

We’ve tested this recipe with several gluten-free flours. The two that have worked best for us are:

• Caputo Fioreglut: Our #1 recommendation. This is the flour this recipe was developed around. It gives the dough the best combination of structure, stretch, and texture. It is also the reason we use a higher hydration level.
• Bob Red Mill Gluten-Free Baking Flour: This is our second choice if you can’t find or don’t want to use Caputo. Because the flour absorbs water differently, we recommend keeping the hydration closer to 75% rather than using the full 80% hydration in the Caputo version.
• What About Other Gluten-Free Flours? You can make pizza with many gluten-free flour blends, but this recipe is not designed to be a universal 1:1 formula for every gluten-free flour. Gluten-free flours vary significantly in their starches, binders, grind, and water absorption. Changing the flour can change the dough dramatically.
• For the most consistent results, use the flour specified in the recipe. But seriously, go with the Caputo and taste for yourself the difference.
• Avoid flours that are heavy in almond flour as they tend to just crumble.

Why This Recipe Uses 80% Hydration

Hydration is the ratio of water to flour. The reason this is important is to make sure your dough is not too dry or too wet for the type of pizza you want. The same applies to gluten free pizza dough.

For example, 80% hydration means 400 grams of water for every 500 grams of flour.

That sounds like a lot of water, and it is. But gluten-free flour behaves differently from traditional wheat flour, and we’ve found that this wetter dough gives us the best finished texture.

We find an 80% hydration level is perfect for gluten-free flour to keep the dough wet but not too sticky you can’t work with it. The warm water also helps to get the yeast activated to add those precious air bubbles into your dough through the fermentation process.

Fermentation

Not all gluten-free recipes have a fermentation process. This one does.

The fermentation or rise process is very important and happens in two stages. The first is to let the entire dough ball rise to get those important air pockets.

The second is to divide the dough into three dough balls and let that occur a second time over a few hours. For a full rundown, you can see our Neapolitan Pizza Dough recipe. The process is similar, and we’ve discovered necessary for the truly soft dough experience.

That fermentation helps to give the dough it’s bouncy feel and, when cooked, the right texture when eating.

Kneading: Technically there is no gluten being converted so kneading isn’t as important as it would be with traditional flour. The goal is to simply form the dough into uniform balls for the first and second fermentation.

How to Make Gluten-Free Pizza Dough

1. Weigh Ingredients: Start by weighing out all your ingredients.
2. Activate Yeast: In a large bowl with warm water, add the salt and the yeast. Stir to combine and let sit for 5 minutes.
3. Mix Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, combine the flour, xanthan gum (if using), and baking powder.
4. Combine the Dough: After five minutes slowly add the flour mixture to the water and mix with your hands to combine. It will be slightly sticky. Continue to combine with your hands until the dough is formed into a rough ball.
5. First Rest: 30 Minutes: Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl or container and cover with a towel. Allow to rest for 30 minutes to allow the yeast to activate.
6. First Fermentation (2 Hours): After the initial 30-minute rest, remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a floured cutting board. Press the dough again with the palms of your hands to knead it and form it back into a smooth dough ball. Place it back in the bowl or a lightly oiled container. Cover tightly, and then let it rise for 2 hours.
7. Divide Into Dough Balls: After the first fermentation, remove the dough from the container and weigh it. Divide the total weight by three and portion the dough into three equal pieces. For example, if your finished dough weighs approximately 900 grams, each dough ball will be around 300 grams. Form each portion into a smooth ball.
8. Second Fermentation (2-4 hours): Place the dough balls on a sheet pan or in a dough-proofing container. Lightly flour the top of the balls and cover with plastic wrap (or lid). Let sit for at least 2 hours and up to 4 hours for the second fermentation. We typically aim for 3 hours.

Important Tip: You need to keep the dough covered while it’s fermenting! If you don’t then the outer portion of the dough will develop a hard crust that is unpleasant to form and creates texture issues.