Thin Buckwheat Pizza Crust (Gluten-Free, Yeast-Free, Vegan)
I am not sure how many of you have fond memories of pizza. From what we hear, pizza is sorely missed when going gluten and dairy-free. This yeast-free, gluten-free (and xanthan gum-free) crust recipe is a newer creation of mine. I do have another yeast-risen sorghum crust that I haven't shared yet. What I like about this recipe is that it only has a few ingredients and can be prepared in a snap!
I have made this recipe several times, sometimes making a quadruple batch for large gatherings. It turns out great each time. I have replaced the tapioca flour with arrowroot powder and it works too, though I needed to add a few extra tablespoons of water to the dough.
The predominant flour in this recipe is raw buckwheat flour. Raw buckwheat flour, made from grinding raw buckwheat groats, is quite delicious and very mild in flavor. It is not gritty at all and is light in color. The raw groats are soft and can easily be ground in a coffee grinder (one preferably not used for grinding coffee beans). I use the dry container of my Vitamix now but used to use a coffee grinder before the day of the Vitamix! Just make sure you keep grinding until a soft powdery flour is formed.
Buckwheat is super nutritious! Did you know that buckwheat is not a grain but rather a seed related to rhubarb and sorrel? The nutrients in buckwheat help to control blood sugar and lower harmful LDL cholesterol.
Thin Buckwheat Pizza Crust
Use this recipe to make your favorite pizza with all of your favorite toppings! Since the crust needs to be completely cooked before adding the toppings you'll need to make sure larger veggies, such as mushrooms, are cooked prior to adding them as a topping. I like to roast my veggies in the oven (tossed in olive oil and sea salt) to top the pizza. Pictured here is the crust topped with my Easy Homemade Pizza Sauce, fresh spinach leaves, Macadamia Nut Cheese, and fresh basil.
You'll need to make freshly ground buckwheat flour from raw buckwheat groats for this recipe. Bob's Red Mill sells gluten-free raw buckwheat groats. You can purchase them through their website in bulk or from amazon.com. To make raw buckwheat flour, place a few cups of raw buckwheat groats into your high-powered blender and blend until a fine flour forms. You can also do this in batches in a coffee grinder.
Dry Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Whisk together well.
- In a separate bowl combine the liquid ingredients. Pour the wet into the dry and whisk together well, until you see long dough strings formed. The dough will be thinner, more like cake batter. If it is too thick to whisk, add a tad more water.
- Oil a pizza stone generously with olive oil. Scoop out the dough (it will begin to thicken as it sits) and with oiled hands work the dough into a thin sheet covering the pan. I use a 12 x 15-inch stone baking sheet, though I think a larger pan would produce a thinner, crispier crust. You may need to add extra olive oil to the top of the dough or your hands to prevent sticking.
- Once it is shaped, bake the crust for about 15 to 20 minutes. I found that the timing can be very different depending on the oven and altitude. The crust is cooked when it is just slightly golden on top. You can pull some off the side to check for doneness, you'll know when it is cooked. If you like it crispier leave it in the oven a little longer.
- Top with pizza sauce and your favorite toppings. Return pizza to oven until desired doneness. I usually put it back in for another 10 minutes or so.
Use this recipe in our Meal Planner
About the Author
Ali Segersten
Alissa Segersten holds a Bachelor's of Science in Nutrition from Bastyr University and a Master’s of Science in Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine from the University of Western States. She is a Functional Nutritionist, the mother of five children, a whole foods cooking instructor, professional recipe developer, and cookbook author. She is passionate about helping others find a diet that will truly nourish them. Alissa is the author of two very popular gluten-free, whole foods cookbooks and guidebooks: The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook and Nourishing Meals. She is also the co-author of The Elimination Diet book. Alissa is the founder and owner of Nourishing Meals®.Nourishing Meals Newsletter
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Would not recommend. The flavour was fine but it was soggy, didn’t hold shape, the edges were hard as rocks, and it made the biggest mess. I followed the recipe to a-T, and just managed to trash 20$ worth of ingredients in the process.
Hi Michelle, what type of buckwheat flour did you use? The type used in this recipe needs to be made at home by grinding raw buckwheat groats into a flour. You can't use regular store-bought buckwheat flour as it is a totally different flour made from roasted groats. The two flours are not interchangeable.
How many will this serve?
This was delicious! I didn't have tapioca flour so I took a chance and used ground flaxseed. I added some more water and it took quite a bit longer to get crispy, but it turned out great! Really easy and great flavor! Thanks!
Hi! What is the purpose of the tapioca flour or arrowroot starch? What would happen if we only used buckwheat?
Thanks for the recipe!
I cut the recipe in half and made a thin crust pizza using higher heat and a little less cook time. Also I spread the dough on parchment so I could easily use my pizza stone for the family's "regular" pizza too. Slide one off, slide the other on! My buckwheat flour was darker than yours. You have to like buckwheat, which I do, but the kids didn't care for it. Anyway, thanks for the recipe!
I love this recipe! It's perfect for my current needs. I actually make it without oil (someone asked about that). I just leave the oil out and spread the dough out on parchment paper. It comes out fine. I just made some of the crust as a snack and sliced it up into strips. Next time I make it as a snack I'll leave the garlic out b/c my kid wants to eat it with jelly :)
We eat Dr. Mcdougall's diet that is plant based with no oil. Do you think this recipe would work without the oil? What would you use as a replacement? Katie
Wow! It looked like real pizza and the cheese melted and bubbled kind if like real cheese.
My non vegan wheat loving crowd in a new
Low inflammation diet loved it.
We will Also make the crust again - thicker with olives and such as a foccacia bread - with pine nuts on top. Really nice ...
This made the three weka ahead of allergen free for us vegetarians seem doable.
I pairs his with a spinach and arugala salad with sweet pea sprouts and celery and sesame seed soup that I added some rice protein powder to- itnkade it seem like cream
Of celery soup- it was good as well.
Thank you for this amazing recipe.
I made this while away from home, staying in a student house that is less than well stocked in the kitchen as far as equipment goes.
I managed to make the cheese in one of those "bullet" blenders. It was mostly smooth but left some big chunks of macademia nut. You could just fish them out, I left them in. Cheese is AMAZINGLY delicious.
For the crust, I cooked it on a cookie sheet with parchment paper - that is the secret to no sticking. I would also recommend using half the dough for one pan to get a good crispy crust!
Wonderful recipe!
Oh also, I made the tomato sauce using 9 - 10 small "dry grown" tomatoes (not watered so they are small and flavorful). Just blended it all up and then cooked it for about 20 minutes until sauce-like consistency. AMAZING!
This is a great crust but I don't have a pizza stone, can you recommend an alternative cooking process? I tried a cookiesheet with lots of olive oil but the crust stuck to it and I had to eat the pizza off the cookiesheet with a fork, good but not not the same.
Thank you (again)! Yesterday I tried your quinoa crackers. My 5yo loved them. Today, I saw this crust recipe. I am so excited to be able to let my son still have pizza.
I have to confess, I did mess up with this. I didn't find raw groats at the store, so I went ahead and got the buckwheat flour. The "crust" turned out very dark in color, but will make a very good flatbread! I know you have a flatbread recipe, but we need to avoid xanthan gum.
Anyway, thank you! You are a lifesaver to me right now, and you've changed my once sad boy because of his allergies to an excited boy who gets to have pizza and crackers after all.
Ali, I am not able to have buckwheat right now due to a food intolerance. Could I replace it in this recipe with another gluten-free grain? If so what would you recommend? I am looking for a gluten-free, yeast-free pizza dough recipe?
Thanks, Mary P.
P.S. Excited to try the nut cheese!
Just made this. Delicious! Kids loved it too. Now to test it on the super picky, not on a non-gluten diet husband...
this crust tunred out great! My kids didn't comment on the darker then normal crust color. Just thought it tasted good. You give good instrutions on how the dough should mix and spread out. I'm newer to GF baking & the texture of the batter/dough takes some getting use to.
Thanks
do you have a recipe for the macadamia nut cheese?
I made this pizza for my daughter's school pizza party that they were having. My daughter and I really enjoyed it except we both agreed that the tomato/pizza sauce was just a little bit too sweet for our taste buds. In fact, there was a lot of left overs and my daughter wanted me to scrape of both of the sauces and just eat the bread and veggies intstead. I think that that is what I will do next time I make this recipe. But it was very tasty and enjoyable! Thanks for sharing this!
I'm a vegan & wheat free, leaning towards a sugar free/processed grain free diet. I love your blog & recipes!!! This has become my favourite pizza crust recipe. It's so nice to eat a pizza with my hands - no knife and fork!! It's not crumbly like other GF pizza bases. And I'm someone who isn't a big fan of buckwheat but this crust is so yummy & healthy.
This is a terrific pizza crust and perhaps better than most flour/yeast crusts I have tried. Bravo! For the sauce I used only olive oil, crushed garlic and pepper. This recipe works great for traditional Italian style pizza. Thanks!
My crust turned out quite dark due to the type of buckwheat flour I was using. The crust was almost black, but not burnt. It tasted great in spite of the color. It had a nutty flavor and the crust was slightly cakey, and reminded me of Pizza Hut.
I am already gluten free and run www.glutenfreemaui.com and my girlfriend is now on the elimination diet to figure out what it is that is upsetting her stomach.
Valen - wonderful - glad it worked out! :)
Johanna - I do have two other yeast-free, gluten-free pizza crust recipes that don't contain buckwheat. One is a cornmeal crust and another is a thin crispy crust with a variety of flours. You may want to check my blog list at the bottom left of this blog. There are many other gluten-free bloggers who may have what you are looking for. I would check Affairs of Living first. All of her recipes are yeast-free/gluten-free. :)
Ali, thank you for posting a pizza recipe!! Hands down, pizza is the thing I crave for which I can't find a satisfying substitute. I appreciate it!
I'm wondering if you know of a yeast-free option that does not contain buckwheat? While I appreciate its nutritional value, the taste bothers me (same with quinoa). Plus, my coffee grinder will not grind the groats finely enough, so my crust (and the cinnamon rolls you posted, which I also really appreciate) will not come out with that smooth, desired texture.
My pizzas turned out great thanks!
Valen - I wish I had gotten to this sooner. I would use arrowroot in place of the tapioca. In fact, I have tested it this way and it works great. Can you eat arrowroot? I hope your version with the almond flour turned out ok. Almond flour doesn't absorb moisture like tapioca or arrowroot so I am not sure how it would bake properly.
Its in the oven right now. I used almond flour instead of the tapioca. I realized that you don't use a cookie sheet, but a pizza stone sheet. I have a pizza stone, but the pizza would never come off of it if I poured it on there. So I put it on parchment onto a cookie sheet and that was a bad idea. The water in the recipe soaked my paper, never seen anything like it. We will see how it turns out.
Can I replace the tapioca with something? I can't have it. Maybe almond flour? Coconut flour?
Thanks Jennifer, glad you enjoyed it! :)
I make a lot too and then save it. I made a guess with 2 cups of groats and came out with about 3 cups of flour.
The pizza turned out great! It was very easy to prepare and I didn't feel as if I used every pan/utensil in the kitchen to make it. Hurray for fewer dishes!
Jennifer - Hmm, not sure how many cups of groats = 2 1/4 cups flour. I usually grind a bit at a time then store the remaining in a jar. If you do figure it out let me know. Happy Cooking! :)
Ali, do you happen to know how many cups of buckwheat groats it takes to make 2 1/4 cups of flour, or is it a variable thing?
Thanks, hope you all enjoy! And no, buckwheat is in no way related to wheat. It is a seed that is related to rhubarb.
Happy New Year! -Ali :)
So buckwheat, isn't wheat?
Pardon my ignorance. My husband is wheat free and I have not used buckwheat for him.
I'm so happy to see buckwheat in this recipe. I love buckwheat and can't wait to try out this recipe. I'm always on the hunt for a good pizza crust. There are a zillion recipes out there but I want the most delicious AND healthiest version.
It looks like it would make a great foccacia-style bread, too, with olive oil, sun dried tomatoes, onions, basil and pine nuts....
Thank You! Can't wait to give it a go in the kitchen!
Kate
This sounds fantastic! Love the nut cheese topping too! XOXO
Thank you Ali, for a yeast free pizza crust! Any that I find in the store always have baker's yeast (not to mention eggs and dairy), which is on my list of allergies. Can't wait to try this!
Fabulous! We're definitely going to have to try this. =)
That looks great!
Yeah! I am so excited to have a healthy crust recipe to try with the family!!! I don't have the buckwheat groats or the grinder but do have regular buckwheat flour. Do you think this will work okay?
This sounds wonderful! I love making pizza crusts from scratch, this one (and your upcoming one =D) sound absolutely delicious!
Fantastic Ali! Thank you! I'd like to second that request for the macadamia nut cheese. I make a cashew millet cheese (from www.aboverubies.com) that I thin out a little and spread on pizza, but since macadamia nuts are much higher in fat I bet they would make a much cheesier topping! =)
Keep those recipes and cooking lessons coming! They're great!
Barbara
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Yes, I have missed pizza! This sounds amazingly simple and ultimately nutritous! Now I'm curious about the sorghum flour recipe with yeast.
This looks tasty...any additional info on the macadamia nut cheese?