Pizza Crust - Wheat/Grain Free

This evening I decided to test out a modified pizza crust at the request of one of my readers.  She asked me if I had ever used almond flour to make a pizza crust before and I told her I had not.  I've made a cauliflower pizza crust that was good but really tedious and not very practical for me to make on a work night as well as a Flax/Herb/Parmesan pizza crust that I created.  My favorite is the one with flax and its the one I make all the time; it's quick and easy and my favorite so far.  I told my follower that I would test one out this weekend using almond flour...so here goes my first test!  I essentially used my Flax/Herb/Parmesan crust that I bumped up the herbs and seasonings for on the dough I made my calzones with last week.  

So tonight, I am using that basic calzone dough I made last week but substituting 1/2 almond flour for 1/2 of the flax in the recipe.  That means it uses 1/4 cup almond flour and 1/4 cup flax instead of all flax.  Since almond flour tends to burn easier, I also lowered the baking temperature to 375 degrees F.  For the record, it came out awesome!  For those of you that may be wondering, this was a crust you could pick up and eat with your hands easily which is exactly what I did.  I only needed my fork to pick up the toppings that fell off onto my plate.  The dough was a little more sticky than the plain flax dough and not as springy when I was spreading it out on the pan -- if yours is too moist, add another tablespoon or so of grated cheese to dry it up a bit.  Well, now I have a dilemma -- I like this crust as much, if not a little more than the plain flax I usually make -- but that isn't such a bad problem to have now, is it?  :-)  I snapped a few photos below for you to see as well as my recipe. This one is for you, Nora!!!  Enjoy!  

Voila!

BOOM!

Almond/Flax/Parmesan Herb Pizza Crust
Makes 1 10-inch round pizza

INGREDIENTS:

Dry Ingredients

1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup golden flax seed meal (organic golden flax has a milder taste than brown)

2/3 teaspoon baking powder (aluminum free)

1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder 
Dash cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste (decrease salt if using saltier cheeses and toppings)

Few grinds of freshly ground black pepper

4 - 5 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, finely grated

Wet Ingredients

1 egg (or 1/4 cup egg substitute such as Egg Beaters)

1 tablespoon olive oil (a little more, if desired)

1 to 2 tablespoons water  (start by adding 1 tablespoon)

 

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Mix dry ingredients together; add wet ingredients and mix well.

Let the dough sit for about 5 minutes to thicken. Spread dough on a lightly oiled large round pizza pan or on a cookie sheet with greased parchment paper (I used Reynolds non-stick foil, lightly brushed with olive oil and pressed the dough out with a rubber spatula so it wouldn't stick).  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through (check it after 15 minutes and take out if it looks and feels done).  Add sauce, cheese, pre-cooked toppings and place back into the oven for 5-10 minutes to melt the cheese.  If desired, run under the broiler for a few minutes to lightly brown the toppings and make the cheese bubbly (be careful not to burn it).

Here is the crust fresh out of the oven