As a young girl growing up near Chicago, pizza was a staple in my diet. When my husband and I converted to the “clean” lifestyle, we thought for sure we would have to give up one of our favorite traditions. Well, after numerous attempts, and many cardboard-like culinary catastrophes, my husband has perfected the gluten free pizza dough crust.

Ingredients:
• 1 cup – brown rice flour
• 1 cup – white rice flour
• 1 cup – tapioca flour
• 1/2 tsp – xantham gum
• 1 tsp – baking powder
• 1 tsp – baking soda
• 1 tsp – salt
• 1 Tbsp – active dry yeast
• 1-1/4 cups – luke warm water
• 2 Tbsp – agave nectar (or substitute 1 Tbsp sugar)
• 1 Tbsp – olive oil

Directions:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 475 degrees.
1. Dilute the agave nectar in warm water and then stir in the yeast. Let stand 10 minutes. You should notice a frothy layer begin to form on the mix.
2. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine completely.
3. Add yeast mix and olive oil to the dry ingredients and combine with a rubber spatula.
4. Set the dough mix aside and let stand for 1 hour to rise.
5. Use additional brown rice flour to handle and roll out the dough onto a metal, non-stick pizza sheet. (We prefer the Williams Sonoma Gold Touch Pizza Pan with ceramic coating)
6. Place in the oven for 12 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Remove the pan from the oven and slide the dough onto a pizza peel or flat cookie sheet. You will need to use this to place the pizza back into the oven after topping.

You are now ready to top with your favorites sauce, cheese, toppings, etc. Place the topped pizza back into the oven for an additional 12 minutes to cook toppings and crisp the dough. Enjoy!

Tip:
For best results, use a pizza stone to finish the crust. I typically put the stone in the oven during step 1 and let it preheat with the oven. You can then slide your pan directly onto the stone (step 6) to bake. After removing the pan and topping the pizza, return the pizza to the oven directly onto the pizza stone to finish the dough and cook the toppings.