Like a lot of people, pizza was one of the first things I had to cut out of my diet when I started to go grain free, and eat a (primarily) ketogenic diet. Loaded with carbs, heavy in lectins from the wheat flour, it was a killer on my gut and my waistline.
Until now! I’ve tried the commercial brands of “cauliflower crust” pizza’s. While some are good, they tend to miss the mark for me in being like a “traditional” pizza crust. And, for anyone who might have a food intolerance (E.g. grains, fructans, etc.), you have to be very careful to check the ingredients first as they may contain brown rice, onion and/or garlic.
This pizza crust is a home run for me! I’ve made it at parties when there has been an assortment of traditional offerings, and this is the first one to go! Without further ado, lets get into how to make this….
Pizza Crust:
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 15 – 20 minutes
Yields: 1 Large Pizza Crust or 2 Personal Size Pizza Crusts
Ingredients:
2 Cups Almond Flour
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
3 Tbsp Flax Seed Meal
1/2 tsp Himalayan Salt
1 Tbsp Dry Italian Seasoning
(Make your own: Sage, Oregano, Thyme, Basil, Rosemary, Marjoram)
3 Cups or 12 oz Shredded Mozzarella
6 Tbsp or 3 oz Cream Cheese
3 Eggs (2 for the dough, 1 for the wash)
OPTIONAL:
1 Tbsp Hemp Hearts
1 tsp Onion Powder & Garlic Powder (Leave out for Low FODMAP diet)
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 450* F
In a mixer or food processor, add the dry ingredients of almond flour, baking powder, flax seed meal, Italian seasoning, salt, and any other optional ingredients you choose (E.g. hemp hearts, onion powder, garlic powder). Mix until thoroughly blended together.
In a microwavable bowl, place the cream cheese and mozzarella cheese in the microwave for 1-1/2 minutes on high power. Mix together as thoroughly as possible, place in microwave for 30-60 seconds longer if not mixed together well enough, and mix once more.
Combine the warm cheese and dry ingredients together. While mixing, crack open and add 2 eggs. If dough becomes too hard to mix, place in microwave and heat for 30 seconds to soften back up. Mix until all ingredients have combined evenly together.
On a large baking sheet, lay out 2 pieces of parchment paper. Place most of the dough on the paper, leaving a small amount to the side to use for the crust. Place the second sheet of parchment paper on top and begin to flatten. The size and the thickness is completely dependent on your choosing!
Beat one egg to use as a wash. One egg will be enough to cover both sides of the dough. Once you have your desired size, brush the egg wash on. Place the parchment paper on top and flip the dough over. Time to make the crust!
For this pie, I made a stuffed crust using 2 String Cheese cut into quarters. Using the remaining dough, roll out in to long sections that will that will cover all the edges of your pie. For stuffed crust, flatten between the parchment papers and place over the cheese, then press the edges together. For regular crust, placed the rolled dough along the edge and press into the edges. Using the rest of the egg wash, brush over the remaining areas of the dough. (The egg wash is very important, as the dough can burn easy without it.)
Bake the dough for 5 minutes in the oven at 450 degrees. Remove and add your ingredients! Place back onto the middle rack of the oven for another 10-15 minutes to bake thoroughly.
Once baked, turn the broiler on for 2 -3 minutes to brown the cheese on top. Let cool, for 5 minutes prior to cutting. Final step….ENJOY!
