Name: Gluten Free Garlic Pizza Bread
Prep time: 50 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 1 h 2 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: Bread
Ingredients: 1.5 tsp caster sugar; 8g dried active yeast (gluten free); 160ml warm water; 170g gluten free plain flour - plus a little extra for dusting (I usually use the FREEE by Doves Farm flour); 50g tapioca starch (sometimes called tapioca flour); 1 tsp fine salt; 1.5 tbsp olive oil; 40g salted butter; 10ml olive oil; 2 cloves garlic; 10g fresh parsley (or 2 tsp dried parsley); Salt and pepper

Gluten Free Garlic Pizza Bread

My goodness, this gluten free garlic pizza bread is blooming lovely! I have used my beloved gluten free pizza dough recipe for the base, topped with butter garlic and parsley for a truely awesome bake.

Have it as part of your pizza night, or it’s also wondeful with pasta, lasagne, soups, stews and other dippy dishes like shakshuka.

Dave and I had this one for lunch at the start of the week with some tomato soup, and we both gobbled it down in record time. In fact just looking at these photos is making me want it again!

This gluten free garlic pizza bread is pliable and fluffy, with lovely crispy edges. It’s a yeasted bread, which really makes the difference to texture, achieving a much lighter consistency that you get from standard yoghurt-flour breads.

However, if you want a no yeast alternative, try my gluten free flatbread recipe. You can roll it out thin and follow the recipe below for the garlic butter topping.

However, this pizza bread is AWESOME and so worth the extra steps. It’s still fairly low effort and only needs 40 mins to prove, so make the dough and then set it aside while you complete your morning’s work.

Then after 12 minutes in the oven you’ll be eating seriously delicious gluten free garlic pizza bread.

My Pizza Bread Dough is Sticky, is That Right?

Yes! The best gluten free doughs are quite wet, because gluten free flours take up more moisture than wheat flour.

You’ll find this wetter dough yields a lovely fluffy base, and simply flouring your hands should make it easy to shape on your baking mat.

Measure Ingredients Carefully

Accuracy is key for gluten free bread and pizza base recipes. Please try to ensure your measurements are as exact as possible, as an extra 10ml water or 10g flour will change the final consistency.

The base will still work, it just will either be harder to handle (if you end up with a very sticky dough with too much water), or not be as nice and pliable (if you use too much flour).

Can I Make a Dairy Free Version of the Garlic Pizza Bread?

Yes you can. The dough itself is naturally dairy free. All you’ll need to do is alter the garlic butter topping. Switch the butter either for dairy free spread or for olive oil. It will be delicious!

Tapioca Starch is Magic

Tapioca starch is my magic ingredient for this gluten free garlic pizza bread. It gives wonderful pliability and some stretch.

You can buy tapioca starch in lots of shops (it is sometimes sold as tapioca flour), or even buy online via Amazon and similar retailers.

You’ll notice that, unusually for gluten free recipes, I have not included any xanthan gum in this recipe. I discovered that tapioca starch eliminates the needs for it, as the tapioca helps with the binding.

I don’t mind using xanthan in small quantities, but didn’t want to use a massive amount for this pizza base (I’ve seen some recipes using it by the tablespoon) so was happy that tapioca cancels it out.

Gluten Free Garlic Pizza Bread Recipe

You’ll find a full method below plus lots of pictures to help you as you work through the recipe. However, feel free to email me any questions or comments you might have – laura@mygfguide.com. Or DM me on social media @myglutenfreeguide. Ooh, also send photos of your creations please!

Enjoy! Laura xxx

Serves 2-3 (as a side)

Gluten Free Garlic Pizza Bread

Prep Time: 50 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 2 minutes

Ingredients

For the bread dough:

1.5 tsp caster sugar
8g dried active yeast (gluten free)
160ml warm water
170g gluten free plain flour - plus a little extra for dusting (I usually use the FREEE by Doves Farm flour)
50g tapioca starch (sometimes called tapioca flour)
1 tsp fine salt
1.5 tbsp olive oil

For the garlic topping:

40g salted butter
10ml olive oil
2 cloves garlic
10g fresh parsley (or 2 tsp dried parsley)
Salt and pepper

Instructions

Combine the warm water, caster sugar and dried active yeast together in a measuring jug, give everything a good stir and then leave the yeast to activate for 10-15 minutes (no stirring during this time). When a thick layer of foam has formed on top of the liquid (see image below), the yeast has been activated and you can move onto the next stage.
Add the tapioca starch, plain gluten free flour and salt to a large mixing bowl. Stir really well to fully combine the flours. Now add the olive oil to the dry ingredients and stir through.
Next pour the contents of the jug (foam and liquid) into the bowl with the flour and mix everything with a spatula or wooden spoon until you have a thick mixture. The consistency should be a cross between a dough and a thick paste (see images below) - it will not resemble classic pizza dough, as gluten free dough needs to be wetter, but have faith and don't worry if it seems like a sticky mess! Ideally, it will come away from the sides of the bowl slightly when you stir it, but if not do not stress, it'll still make great pizza bread.
Place a clean tea towel or cloth over the top of the bowl and set aside to allow it to rise. This will take 30-40 minutes, depending on how warm the room is, so pop it in a nice warm place if you want to get a quick rise. I often start heating the oven up about 10 mins before the end of rising time, as this helps the process along (and you need a nice hot oven for making pizza bread).
Heat your oven to 220C (fan) and place a large oven tray on the middle shelf to allow it to get nice and hot.
When your dough has doubled in size, it's ready to use. Take a silicone baking mat or large piece of non-stick baking paper and place on your worktop. Flour the mat/baking paper well with extra gluten free flour and keep a little excess flour to the side.
Tip the dough bowl upside down so that the dough falls onto the mat - use your hands to scoop any excess from the bowl and add to the dough on the mat.
Sprinkle gluten free flour over the top of the dough and flour your hands well, then use your hands and fingers to push the dough into a pizza bread shape (circular, oval or rectangular all work well). You can make it as thick or thin as you like - the tapioca will help it hold together well once baked. I tend to make mine about half a cm thick. TIP: if your dough is really sticky, wet your hands before you handle it as this will stop it from sticking to your skin and create less mess.
Leave the base to rest for 5 mins, to allow it to rise a little, during which time you can make the garlic butter topping.
Melt the butter in the microwave for 30 seconds, until liquid. Add the oil, garlic (minced or finely grated), and a little salt and pepper to the butter. Stir until well combined. Chop the parsley finely and add to the butter, stirring it through.
Take a silicone pastry brush and brush the garlic butter all over the pizza bread, including the edges.
Now take the hot oven tray out of the oven, and keeping the pizza bread on the silicone mat/baking paper, carefully slide the mat and pizza bread onto the tray and pop it in the oven to bake. Cook for 12 mins until it is puffed and slightly golden, then serve and enjoy that yummy yummy gluten free pizza bread!