Give the cauliflower crust and the fathead dough a rest tonight. Try A yeasty dough that can stand up to all of the pizza toppings your heart desires.
Looks Aren’t Everything.
But sometimes it’s nice to look good on the outside AND on the inside.
Take, for example, pizza. It’s cool and all to make a cauliflower crust pizza that’s 40% Parmesan (it’s true, we like it for the cheese), however when it’s flat as a French pancake, it leaves something to be desired. Like, oh I don’t know, a golden crusty crust-handle to hold onto.
The heart wants what the heart wants.
A Hand(le) to hold
So today we are bringing our friend yeast on board to help us get a rise outta this almond flour crust, complete with a crust-handle that will probably be nibbled and eventually tossed.
You don’t have to eat the handle, to want the handle.
Rolling In Dough
This definitely isn’t as quick as my heat n’ eat buttery flatbread recipe, but it’s got a crazy awesome texture. Yes, it still tastes like Almond Flour, but it doesn’t taste like cauliflower so it’s a trade-off.
Also, if you are in the mood for a thin, crispy crust, this recipe won’t work! Check out my Thin Crispy Keto Pizza Crust instead.
I love how crusty and authentic this dough bakes. And don’t even GET ME STARTED on the smell. Yeast makes your kitchen smell like a Parisian Bread Paradise, where everyone eats baguettes and drinks espresso and never has bad hair days.
As if I needed another reason to never leave my kitchen…
Why It Didn’t Rise
Ok, so let’s get down to brass tacks. If you try this recipe and it flops, here are some reasons it could have flopped on ya.
- Your eggs and/or water weren’t warm. If you put cold eggs or cold water in this mix I can guarantee you it won’t rise. Yeast is a diva that way. *Preheat your oven and while it’s warming, wrap your eggs in a towel and set them near the heat (like on the range top) to take the chill off.
- Your yeast has passed to the great pantry in the sky. Yeast is a real living organism and if it is old (or dead) it’s basically an expensive tablespoon of nothing. You can make sure the yeast is alive and well by adding it to water and if it bubbles, we’re in business.
- Baby, It’s Cold Inside. As you can tell, yeast hates extreme heat and cold. If you try to let your dough rise in a drafty part of your kitchen, you’ll be left eating flat dough that tastes like funky yeast. Cover it lightly with a towel and set it *near* your oven so it’s not too hot or cold.
Easy Yeast Pizza Dough! {Gluten Free & Low Carb}
Let’s get a rise out of this pizza! 🍕
PIN IT 📌
Usually, this is a job for hands, but for this particular dough
a hand job just won’t get it done.
A stand mixer (or electric hand mixer) does a better job of mixing
this dough than your arms.
Nothing against your arms, they just don’t work that great.
Remember when I said this was pretty easy? I wasn’t kidding!! You just keep adding stuff into the mixing machine until you run out of ingredients! Shape it into pizza (thinner crust, easier baking) and let it riiisseeee.
This is the BEST part of the pizza making process so get ready.
1. Cover the pan loosely with a towel
2. Place it somewhere warm and shielded from the sun
3. Grab a cocktail and watch tv until it’s done rising.
Finito
Put that puffy pizza crust in the oven and bake it until it’s golden!
Don’t ever skip the first bake. It’s gross and gooey in the center if you top the raw dough with sauce AND THEN try to bake it.
Now fill it with cheese and stuff and get it back into that hot oven.
Now is probably a good time for a second cocktail, too.
Molto Importante
And that’s all she wrote, folks!
Mostly because she’s had two drinks while slaving over this magnifico dinner…
Looking for More Keto Pizza Ideas? Try These!
French Bread Pizza
Parmesan Eggplant Pizzas
EXTRA Crisp Thin Crust Pizza! (Keto & Gluten-free)
Easy Yeast Pizza Dough! {Gluten Free & Low Carb}
Low carb and keto friendly pizza dough risen with the help of yeast!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups Almond Flour
- 1 1/4 tsp Xanthan Gum* check notes for details!
- 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 packet Dry Active Yeast (1 tbsp approx)
- 1/4 cup Warm Water *for yeast
- 2 Egg Whites, room temperature
- 1 whole Egg, room temperature
Instructions
- Begin by proofing the yeast: Add yeast to 1/4 cup water and stir gently. While it begins to activate, mix your dry ingredients!
- Combine Almond Flour, Xanthan Gum, Baking Powder, Salt in a large bowl and whisk to distribute the ingredients evenly.
- In a stand mixer or using a hand mixer, beat the warm egg, egg whites, and vinegar just until frothy.
- Slowly add half of the flour mixture and continue to mix.
- Add the yeast mixture to the bowl, then the rest of the flour mixture and continue to mix.
- Place the dough onto a pizza pan lined with parchment and cover it with cling wrap, gently pressing into a flat round. You can roll up the edges for a high crust if you'd like.
- Tent the dough with a clean cloth towel and allow to rise in a warm spot for 10-15 minutes.
- Bake at 375° for 10-15 minutes or until the crust is golden. If the sides are browning before the center, cover the edges with a bit of foil to prevent burning OR reduce the temperature to 325°/350° and bake an extra 5 minutes.
- Add pizza toppings and return to a HOT oven (375) for 10-15 minutes.
Notes
Texture Update!: This dough will be fairly wet to work with (which is why plastic wrap helps!) but if it still feels too wet, you can add up to 1/4 cup of Almond Flour! You can also reduce the oven temp and bake it longer for a drier crust!
*Xanthan Gum: A few commenters have said that the mouthfeel was a little off if you chew too long, which is due to the xanthan gum! If you are sensitive to the texture, use 1 tsp instead of the 1 1/4 to reduce this!
SERVING Size: If you roll your crust thin you can actually get 8 slices, but for photo purposes, I calculated for how many slices I demonstrated in the pictures!
Nutrition Information
Yield 6 Serving Size 1 sliceAmount Per Serving Calories 180Total Fat 15gCarbohydrates 7gNet Carbohydrates 4gFiber 3gProtein 8g
Do you leave the plastic wrap on while resting before the first bake and loosely cover with a towel? Or remove it and cover with a towel, please?
I always remove it and cover it with a towel! Sorry for the late reply!!!
I can’t wait to try this tonight! Thank you!
I hope you liked it! 🙂
Wow!!! This is amazing!! I’ve tried other crusts and nothing came close to this. The bread smell is amazing and my pizza finally looks like a normal pizza. Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed it Anise!
Can this recipe be made ahead of time?
I would not make it ahead. It is definitely best fresh!
Hello, this recipe looks great! I don’t have xanthum gum – can I omit this? Or can I substitute with ground flax meal? Thanks!
The xanthan gum is really necessary to hold the dough together. I haven’t tested it with other gums or starches but omitting it may cause the dough to fall apart.
I made this tonight. After the 1st bake, the crust was perfect! But after I loaded it & baked it became soggy. What happened? What can I do to prevent it in the future?
Hi Pam! It could be from the sauce. I tend to go light on the sauce with an almond flour crust because it can absorb a lot of the liquid and become soggy. I haven’t found a fix for this yet other than going light on the sauce or using a bit of low moisture mozzarella under the sauce to create a barrier. Hope this helps!
What about brushing or spraying the crust with olive oil before laying down the sauce? I wonder if that would help in preventing the crust from absorbing as much…
I have never tried an oil barrier but I’ve wondered about it myself. I have done an olive oil base on non-gluten free flatbread pizza and it didn’t seem to make a big difference. It is worth a shot!
I’ve been low carb for two years and I’ve made a lot of pizza crusts. Yours is by far the best! My husband and I love it. Thanks for a great recipe!
I made it.
It was delicious.
This is the 4th Keto pizza crust I have tried, and it is the ONLY one that tasted and “felt” anything akin to a regular crust.
Bravo.
Didn’t change anything – just followed the recipe.
Well done – it has been laminated and placed in my recipe box – THANK YOU
Wow, that’s high praise! Thanks so much Jimmy!!
The recipe sounds great but I have an egg allergy so I’m wondering if you can substitute flaxseed egg.
I would be afraid the flax egg wouldn’t hold things together like a typical egg would so I can’t say for sure! There is a gf flatbread recipe on my site that you could use as a pizza crust and I think that might work better with an egg substitute. Please let me know if you try!
Hi,
I can’t wait to try your pizza crust recipe. I have celiac so I know a great pizza crust can be tricky to make. Now my husband has to go low carb.
Can I pre bake this crust, freeze, defrost, add toppings and bake on pizza stone. What adjustments should I make if I use 2 cups almond flour?
Thank you so much for your time.
Freezing the baked dough should be fine! I would follow the recipe as is and if you want to double, do a full 2x for all of the ingredients.
X-gum doesnt go well with me, any alternatives (flax seed, chia seed or gelatin perhaps)?
Thanks,
Cc
As a person with celiac, I’ve tried a lot of GF pizza crusts. As a person trying to lose weight, I’m doing keto. My husband usually just goes along and eats what I make, but doesn’t need to restrict his diet in any way. I tried this crust, and when I still had it in the mixer, I thought this wasn’t going to work. It was a pasty mess. I pressed it out into a 10 inch circle to rise. Set the oven to 350 because I read the not about getting drier in a slower oven. Set the timer and ordered a pizza from the shop down the road for my husband, telling him I thought this would be awful. Told him to pull the crust out when the timer went off then went to pick up his pizza. I came back to a nicely baked crust, topped it with garlic scape pesto, drained crushed tomatoes, mozz, dried salami & pickled hot peppers. Guess what…I could pick up my slice and it was great flavor. My husband’s pizza was a gloppy mess. I’m pretty happpy!
Oh gosh Linda, I am so glad to hear it turned out well for you!!! And you are absolutely right when you say it is kind of a sloppy mess haha! I had tested it so many times and every time I made the dough drier, it didn’t rise much and was stiff as a board, the the wet dough is messier but in the end it works!! Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and share your experience.
This is the worst recipe ever!!!
I’m so sorry you didn’t like it! Was it too doughy in the center for you?? Or bad texture??
Just shows that everyone is different. This is my absolute favourite…I never use any other recipe. 🙂
That means so much, Janet! Thank you ❤
Just wondering, how do you think this crust would do in a pizza oven?
Hey Blaine, I really couldn’t say. I hate to admitt it but I’ve never used a pizza oven! My thoughts off the cuff: it would likely work but may burn before the interior of the crust finishes cooking.
I only say that because I know pizza ovens get much hotter and hold a more even temperature than a tradish oven. Please let me know if you do try it. I’d love to know!
I find the taste of apple cider vinegar very strong, any suggestions for this?
I dint find it to be noticeable in this recipe, but you could always use lemon juice instead!
Made this twice. Perfect both times. Used a hand mixer with no issues. Reminds me of a water crust I made back in my high carb days. Yum!
Yay! So glad you loved it Chris!
1/6th of the pizza is one serving which is 4 net carbs. Be sure to fill up on chicken wings or something and have the tiny slice as a side.
True! It’s definitely a treat and depending on how many net carbs you eat a day (I eat about 28 personally) you’ll want to adjust your earlier meals accordingly 🙂
Can I do the first bake and then store in the fridge to use later in the week?
Yes…but it may get a little moisture accumulation due to the natural oily nature of almond flour! I might quickly toast it in the oven (after refrigerating) for a few minutes before adding toppings for the final bake! Good luck!
Hi, Would the same apply if I make it a few hours in advance or can I just leave the dough out and bake it as normal later? Thank you.
Hey Janet! I would say you could let the dough rise in the refrigerator before you bake it the first time. The cold of the fridge will slow the rise time but it will still rise. Then you could bake it a few hours later. Hope this helps!!!
Would this still work for making calzones since it needs to have a 2 bake cycle? If it’s thin enough for a calzone, will it be fine without that first bake?
I am actually working on a dough that could be used for calzones, so it should be ready really soon!
For this dough, it’s VERY wet and I don’t know that you’d be able to fold it and mold it the way you are hoping. I think it would bake, but it may fall apart before you got it to the oven!
If you try, please let me know!!
Mmmmmmm, that crust looks fantastic!
Can’t wait to try it. 🙂
Hello. Can regular white vinegar be used instead of acv?
White vinegar has a bit of a harsh flavor so I can’t say for certain a slight vinegar taste wouldn’t come through, but you could try in a pinch! It also might be less noticeable after all of the pizza toppings.
What do you do with the leftover egg yolk ,don’t like throwing them out can you but all of the eggs into the dough
The dough would be too wet and the texture would be different so I wouldn’t toss them in. Instead, I like to save the extra yolk and did them to my omelette (extra yolks make it sooo good!) or save them and whip up a batch of custard or Keto ice cream!!!
Brenda, you could make a lovely keto pastry cream with the yolks. You can make an almond flour crust, baker it, then fill it with the pastry cream and put fresh berries or zucchini “apples” ( simmer them in lemon juice and add cinnamon, nutmeg and allulose) on top to make a keto fresh fruit tart!
Hi! I tried this for the first time tonight after finding it this weekend. (I had another recipe but I can’t remember where it came from and lost the printout it was on so I had to find another.) Are your macros for a whole pizza or just the crust part of the pizza? (Happy note, while I’d planned on this for dinner, tomorrow lunch and dinner, there’s none left bc the kids liked it!)
Hi Linda! So glad the whole fam enjoyed it!! The macros are just for the crust so you’ll want to add in any toppings to your final count!
This was so AMAZING! Can we say delicious! I doubled the recipe, added 2Tlbs of garlic powder and oregano, an 3 Tablspn of parmesan cheese and 1/8 cup of rice flour. yummy-! I followed the directions to a tee and it turned out so great! I thought it would be grainy but nope! So delicious, we topped it with tomatoe paste on both & salami and cheese in 1 and sausage, onion, mushrooms and olives: black green and kalamata ♡ I cooked the crust for 10 min alone then 10min loaded at 350° – perfection! Thank you so very much for this recipe!
Someone tell me what I did wrong! I was so excited about this and I’m so sad. I haven’t baked it yet but it’s so wet. I can’t do anything with the dough… I followed the directions exactly (which I rarely do because I like to mess around in the kitchen). Am I supposed to be able to pick up and work with this dough? I don’t see how it’s going to bake right?!
Hey! So it’s going to be a wet crust, but if it’s too wet to work with add a little almond flour until you can press it into a pizza shape!!!
Hi there, just stumbled on your site and I’ll be back for sure! Question about this recipe, could you substitute Lupin flour for almond flour? Or do you know any recipes/have any experi6 with Lupin flour? Thanks!
Hey Daniel, thanks for stumbling on over! I don’t have a lot of experience with lupin flour so I can’t say with certainty that it would work. I will try to do some testing in the new year and see what I can come up with!!!
Thanks for the response! I will do the same and if I have any decent, tasty results…i’ll post it! Happy to have stumbled on to your page. Have a great day!! 🙂
Daniel the general rule of thumb with Lupin flour is to substitute one quarter of the almond flour for Lupin flour. The difference in texture, taste etc when one uses the Lupin flour is amazing. I tried it for another recipe and began substituting it all the time!
Was there a specific time to bake the pizza a second time, or was it just kinda wing it?
I would bake it until your toppings are hot and melted! Just depends on what toppings you choose!! ❤️
Have been trying out different low carb doughs that aren’t fathead. (I can never get it mixed right), so was excited to come across yours. Is the dough in the picture rolled out to the size of a personal pan pizza? If so, could the recipe be doubled to fill the 12″ pie pan? I know you said you could press it thinner, but I like thicker crust better. Thanks!
Hey Glenda! I feel you on the fathead dough. I actually don’t digest it well so I prefer a lighter version!
This pizza is bigger than a personal but smaller than a 12” if that makes sense. I would give it a try with the measurements as is, but you could certainly double it!!
Hello Gorgeous, (and clearly you are)
I’m an old dude who, due to arthritis has started using a bread machine. Can you suggest a recipe/method for pizza dough recipe using my machine for the kneading process? Gluten isn’t a problem, but I’m limiting carbs.
Thanking you for your help,
Tom
Hi Tom! As far as using a bread machine for this specific recipe, I think the dough might be too delicate to handle the kneeding mechanism.
I do know that there are some bread recipes out there that can be done in a bread machine and are low carb while calling for vital wheat gluten as an ingredient (makes it sturdier) but I have a gluten allergy so I’m afraid I’m not much help there!!!
If it’s any consolation, this recipe comes together fairly easy with just a stand mixer. Good Luck!
Hi Liz,
Wow, fast response. Thank you for your encouragement. I wish much continued success for you.
Tom
You’re too kind! Thanks Tom!
This is not a pizza crust. This more like a biscuit that you could put butter and jelly on and would be great. Too soft for pizza. But still looking for that perfect crispy thin pizza crust.
#1 thing to remember when eating Keto is you can NEVER exactly replicate ANYTHING! Just try lots of recipes & hang onto ones you like best. Enjoy the health benefits of Keto & move on to the next recipe!
Five stars. I’ve tried the Fathead pizza crust and while it was tasty it was too heavy for me with all the cheese in the crust. So last night I tried this one. It is Very good. The texture with the xanthan gum made it much more “bread” like and it spread well into a thin crust.
I did add some garlic and italian spice as well as a bit of the “dry” parmesan (ie. The Kraft stuff). The whole thing was great. So thanks for the recipe, I’ll be hanging onto it.
Melanie, I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it! I agree, fathead crust is just a little too heavy for my digestive system. Thanks so much!
Ok, I tried this. Very good. I added two things. One, I added a tsp. Sugar to the yeast bloom. Then I also added a tsp each of garlic powder and onion powder. Parm cheese would also be good to add to the crust.
I’m so glad you liked it Steve!
First of all, thanks for the added tips! I love adding garlic and onion to everything. Secondly, good to know you added a little sugar. I will get a rise without it, but the yeast metabolizes it so it doesn’t hurt to use it.
Thanks for the comment!
I’ve tried this recipe several times and by jolly it’s close to the real thing! Hubby and I really enjoy it and making it adds fun in the kitchen! I make the dough and bake it he adds the sauce and toppings. So much fun! Thanks for giving us pizza back as we knew it!
So glad you enjoyed it Tasha!
I added Allotose that acts like sugar and has no glycemic effect made from plants. Expensive but used sparsely works beautifully.
matt says yeast should be used with cold water I say warm water, can you call me to discuss please!
Warm water, never cold!
Sorry I don’t see where to incorporate the eggs whites into the dough?
Hey Heather! The whole egg and egg whites are beaten together in the stand mixer for the “wet” ingredient step! So basically beat together the wet ingredients, then add the dry into the mixer. Hope this helps! 🙂
And I see now in the recipe it says “egg” and not “eggs”! I fixed it. Thanks for pointing it out!!!
I’m actually not a huge fan of pizza, but I’m thinking these will be great made into sandwich rounds. It’s been a while since we’ve enjoyed the smell of yeast dough in our kitchen.
Yes! Just a note: if you turn this into small sandwich rounds, I’d recommend adding about 1/4 cup extra almond flour! The dough stays pretty moist so it can go through the double baking process, so a little extra flour might give you a better sandwich bread. Good luck!!!
What do you mean double baking process for the rounds?
The double baking is for the pizza recipe (bake the crust, then add toppings and bake again). Since the crust gets baked twice, I made the recipe a little “wet” but if you turn this into buns, I recommend adding extra almond flour since it will only bake once! Does that make sense? Happy baking!
This recipe has me intrigued. How can the yeast rise with no kind of sugar to feed it?
I wondered that, too! I have always used a bit of sugar to proof yeast but I read this interesting article and decided to give it a try without the sugar. It did well! **I used active dry yeast**
I think a tsp of sugar may help it activate more and really wouldn’t contribute to carbs because it’s being “digested” by the yeast in case you are nervous to leave it out!
Here is the article, too. https://food52.com/blog/5036-demystifying-yeast
I used erythritol to proof mine
I love pizza! And I love the looks of this crust! Amazing!
You know I love everything pizza! This looks amazing!