Finally, a Low-Carb Pizza Crust Recipe That Won’t Fall Apart

When you’re on a low-carb diet, making a pizza crust that actually resembles the real thing is no easy task. Find a random low-carb cauliflower pizza crust recipe online, and you might end up with a crumbly creation that doesn’t taste remotely like bread.

© Provided by Shape
The Good Brigade/Getty Images

Buuut it doesn’t have to be that way. This low-carb pizza crust recipe from the cookbook Keto Bread by Faith Gorsky and Lara Clevenger (Buy It, $13, amazon.com) will change your opinion of low-carb pizzas forever.

What’s in it? First, this recipe uses almond flour rather than riced cauliflower. Almond flour is more finely ground than riced cauliflower, which makes it better at mimicking white flour and, thus, one of the best low-carb pizza base ingredients. Psyllium husk, a fiber made from the outer shell of a psyllium plant’s seeds, is another ingredient selected with the intention of making the crust more bread-like. It’s used in baking as a binding agent, according to MyRecipes.com, which further helps you avoid a crumbly crust. You’ll incorporate yeast as you would for traditional pizza dough, so it’ll even have a similar aroma to regular bread. That all adds up to the best low-carb crust you can make with minimal effort. (Related: Banza Just Released Frozen Chickpea-Crust Pizzas — But Are They Healthy?)

© The Good Brigade/Getty Images
If you’ve been let down by low-carb pizza crust recipes in the past, this is the method you should be trying.

The recipe was made with keto dieters in mind, so even if you follow a super low-carb diet, you can fit it into your lifestyle. One recipe’s worth makes a 12-inch pizza (think: a medium-sized pizza from your typical delivery place) and clocks in at 42 grams of carbs per serving. So if you split the pizza into eight slices, it’ll be about 5 carbs per slice. (Taking fiber into the equation, it’s about 3 net carbs per slice.) If you’re on the keto diet, you can top it with your favorite high-fat, low carb toppings. FWIW, the classic four cheese pizza would be ideal. (Related: Blaze Pizza Now Has a Keto Crust for Pizza Lovers On a Low-Carb Diet)

Once you’ve completed the low-carb pizza crust recipe, you can bake it immediately or freeze it for later. Your optimal baking time and temperature will depend on what toppings you choose but plan to roll out the dough and pre-bake it without toppings at 425° F for six to eight minutes. After adding toppings, bake for around six to eight additional minutes for a cheese pizza (until the cheese is melted) or 12 minutes for a pizza that’s loaded with more toppings.

Hungry yet? Here’s how to make the best low-carb pizza crust.

Low-Carb Pizza Crust

Makes: Dough for 1 (12-inch) pizza

Cook time: 6-8 minutes

Total time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon instant yeast
• 2 tablespoons warm water
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1 teaspoon psyllium husk powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2  cups shredded low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1 ounce full-fat cream cheese
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• Avocado oil, olive oil, or ghee, for your hands

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425° F. If you have a clay baking stone, place it in the center of the oven to preheat.
2. In a small bowl, add the yeast and warm water and stir to combine. Set aside until foamy, about 5-10 minutes.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, psyllium husk powder, and baking powder and set aside.
4. In a large microwave-safe bowl, add the mozzarella and cream cheese. Microwave for 60 seconds and then stir, and continue microwaving in 20-second increments until the cheese mixture is fully melted and combined when stirred.
5. Stir the foamy yeast mixture into the melted cheese until combined, and then stir in the beaten egg until combined. Stir in the almond flour mixture until it forms a dough.
6. Oil your hands and knead the dough in the bowl a couple of times until it comes together as a ball.
7. Roll the dough out between two pieces of parchment paper to a 12-inch circle. Poke the dough in several places with a fork.
8. Slide the dough circle onto the preheated clay baking stone and bake until it’s starting to turn golden brown in spots, about 6 minutes. If using a large cookie sheet instead of a clay baking stone, cook for about 8 minutes.
9. At this point, you can either let the pizza cool, wrap it well with plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for up to three days or freeze it for up to three months to bake again later. Or you can add your favorite toppings and make a pizza now!

Nutrition facts for entire dough recipe: 1,342 calories, 104 g fat, 42 g carbs, 16 g fiber, 8 g sugar, 74 g protein 

Excerpted from Keto Bread by Faith Gorsky and Lara Clevenger. Copyright 2019 by Simon & Schuster, Inc. Photography by James Stefiuk, Faith Gorsky, and Lara Clevenger. Used with permission of the publisher, Adams Media, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. All rights reserved.