I get a plethora of books in the mail, as I’ve mentioned before, but the most anticipated this year is my friend at Primal Palate’s new cookbook Make It Paleo II. There are recipes ranging from Paleo dumplings to this magnificent pizza you see. I already made an adaptation to their dumplings using the dough for Paleo gyoza, also known as potstickers so they have clearly put in a lot of work for versatility in it’s content.
I have a new found expectation and respect for pizza since I went to Italy during my 2 month Europe trip, so I had high hopes for this pizza and it did deliver. Considering that this crust is grain free, dairy free, nightshade free, and nut free, I’m pretty impressed. To me this crust almost a foccacia like texture which is chewy and light.
I had to ask for my moms help in understanding how to knead dough properly that way I got the best possible outcome. As Hayley explained it in their cookbook, it’s what gives the pizza dough its proper texture. Lucky for me my mom won the Betty Crocker Homemaker of the Year award in high school so she told me how to do it just right.
I have an addiction to mozzarella, and I’m not ashamed. My only preference is that it must be fresh mozzarella. I’m not a huge fan of harder mozzarella, the shreddable kinds. Whether it be for a pizza or a simple tomato and mozzarella salad, the best choice for mozzarella is fresh. Extra points to those who make their own. Although if you are dairy intolerant you can eliminate the cheese in this recipe, it will still be delicious.
- 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled
- ⅓ cup walnuts or sunflower seeds for nut free
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2½ cups tapioca starch, divided
- ⅓ cup coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1½ teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs, beaten
- ¼ cup filtered water
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- *Optional* 8 oz fresh mozzarella (also known as buffalo mozzarella) *see notes
- 3 slices prosciutto, torn apart
- ¼ cup baby arugula
- Assemble the pesto by first grinding the garlic and walnuts or sunflower seeds in a food processor until smooth. Then add the basil, salt, and blend until you get a smooth paste. If your food processor has a spout opening slowly drizzle in the olive oil as you blend it until it's completely incorporated. If it doesn't have a spout then just add all the olive oil and blend it until smooth, scraping down the sides to make sure all the olive oil is in the pesto. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, place 2 cups of the tapioca starch, coconut flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Stir the dry ingredients with a spoon until combined.
- Create a small hole in the center of the flour mixture and pour the eggs into the hole. Pour in the water and slowly blend the eggs and water in to the flour. Add the melted coconut oil and blend again until the mixture starts to come together and resemble a dough.
- Add the remaining ½ cup of tapioca starch and, using your hands, knead the starch into the dough. This will create the real dough texture you are looking for. Form the dough into a ball and place it on the parchment lined baking sheet. Carefully form the dough into a pizza shaped curst by pressing outward in a circle with your hands. Massage a bit of the coconut oil onto your hands will keep a nice smooth surface on the dough. Keep working until you have the shape you want; it should be about ⅜ inch thick, with slightly thicker edges.
- Bake the crust for 20 minutes, until it is cooked through. Remove from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees fahrenheit.
- Cover the curst with a thin layer of the pesto (store the rest in the fridge in a mason jar or a container with a tight fitting lid), mozzarella, and prosciutto, in that order. Place into the 450 degree oven for 10 minutes, or 15 minutes if using mozzarella. Once it's done cooking top it with the baby arugula and serve.
This looked so good this morning that I decided lunch today would be pizza. I could not make fresh pesto but I figured that I would do the crust and just wing the toppings.
I followed the crust recipe to a T except I only ended up using about 2 and a quarter cups of tapioca starch instead of 2.5. Then I started to try and spread it out. I had a hard time using my hands and coating with the coconut oil actually made it worse. So I dusted the crust with more tapioca flour and used my rolling pin. That did a pretty good job but maybe I should have tried to get it just a tad bit thinner and will try that next time.
But the crust was awesome. A bit on the cracker-y side which is what I like best. Even my DH who normally loves the thick chewy bready crust liked it. So it is a keeper in my book. I just have to work fine tuning it for our personal liking. We have leftovers so now I can see how well the crust keeps and reheats. Thanks for an awesome recipe as always
This looks so amazing! And it solves my daughter’s gluten-free issue and my son’s nut allergy. Can’t wait to try it and your photos are gorgeous!
Cheese is not paleo… What do you suggest as a substitute?
As I mentioned in the recipe it’s optional, you don’t have to add the cheese.
I grew up in Italy so I am a little spoiled when it comes to pizza. Of course I understand you cannot really replicate it, but it’s the one thing I have trouble accepting subpar substitutes for. I have tried several versions of Paleo crust and felt so let down – to get the crust consistency right, the eggs end up being overcooked and the crust tastes eggy.
But I am not giving up! This looks so good, I am definitely going to try it.
Can arrowroot starch be substituted for tapioca
This crust is awesome! I’ve made several times with different toppings and even the non-paleos enjoyed it! I make the full recipe but only make personal-sized pizzas and keep the extra dough in the fridge. It’s just as good even two days later (the dough is even easier to work with cold). Thank you, thank you, thank you!
This pizza dough is excellent!!!