This article explores a keto-friendly thin-crust pizza recipe, perfect for those embracing a low-carb lifestyle. We'll delve into the recipe itself, discuss ingredient substitutions, and explore tips for achieving the perfect keto pizza crust.
Introduction to Keto Pizza
The keto diet, short for ketogenic, centers around consuming high fats, moderate protein, and very low carbohydrates. This forces the body into a state of ketosis, where it burns fat for fuel instead of glucose. While traditional pizza is high in carbs, this keto pizza recipe provides a satisfying alternative without derailing your dietary goals.
The Foundation: Crafting the Keto Pizza Crust
Many keto pizza recipes utilize a "Fathead" dough, which combines shredded cheese, cream cheese, almond flour, and egg. This base provides a surprisingly pizza-like texture while remaining low in carbs.
Recipe: Keto Thin Crust Pizza
This recipe offers a slightly modified version of the classic Fathead dough, aiming for a more chewy and flavorful crust.
Ingredients:
- Mozzarella cheese
- Cream cheese
- Egg
- Almond meal (finely ground, blanched)
- Oregano
- Basil
- Garlic salt
- Olive oil or coconut oil (for greasing)
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C).
- Microwave the mozzarella and cream cheese in a large bowl until soft and pliable, about 30 seconds.
- Add egg, almond meal, oregano, and basil and blend well into a dough ball. The more you knead the dough, the easier it will be to handle.
- Press into a circle or square shaped pizza on a parchment lined baking sheet sprayed with a thin coating of olive oil or coconut oil.
- Sprinkle garlic salt over the surface of the pizza crust.
- Pierce surface with a fork to prevent rising of the crust while baking.
- Bake crust in oven for 8-10 minutes. Pierce more holes with fork if bubbles form.
- Flip pizza crust over. Bake another 2-4 minutes.
- Add your desired toppings and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Tips For Baking
- Don't be afraid to experiment: Recipes are fluid and can be improved based on personal preference and ingredients on hand.
- Fork it: Pierce the surface with a fork to prevent rising of the crust while baking. Pierce more holes with fork if bubbles form.
- Spice it up: Add dried herbs for some solid Italian flavor components.
- Finely ground almond flour is key: Be sure to use finely ground, blanched almond flour in this recipe. Almond flour is not a cheap ingredient, so store it in the freezer for longer shelf life. Be sure to allow it to come to room temperature before using it in baking, as it will clump when it's cold.
Ingredient Considerations and Substitutions
While this recipe is fairly straightforward, some substitutions can be made with caution. It's important to remember that altering the core ingredients significantly may impact the final result.
Read also: Easy Low-Carb Cheese Crackers
- Almond Flour: You must use finely ground, blanched almond flour in this recipe. Almond flour is not a cheap ingredient, so store it in the freezer for longer shelf life. Be sure to allow it to come to room temperature before using it in baking, as it will clump when it's cold.
- Eggs: Since there is only one egg per pizza crust in this recipe, you can try replacing each egg with a “chia egg” (1 tablespoon ground white chia seeds + 1 tablespoon lukewarm water, mixed and allowed to gel). But keep in mind that if you are also making other substitutions, you're getting further and further away from the original recipe.
- Dairy-Free Options: Dairy-free cheese simply doesn't melt the same way as conventional cheese. But good news! I do have a different sort of cauliflower low carb pizza crust that I love and I think you will, too.
Things to Consider
- Avoid dogmatic restrictions: I think it's wise to try to avoid dogmatic restrictions.
- Tapioca Starch: Resist the strong urge to add tapioca starch, which is a staple of all gluten free baking (and even Paleo baking) since it provides so much structure and chew.
- Melting the Cheese: I've tried melting the cream cheese and shredded cheese in this recipe in the microwave, but I find that it's much harder to combine all the ingredients that way.
- Storage: You can't store the raw dough for later use since the melted cheese will solidify in the refrigerator, and the eggs in the raw dough will prevent you from warming it in the microwave to roll it out.
Beyond Pizza: Repurposing the Keto Crust
One of the great things about this keto pizza crust is its versatility. It can be repurposed into various other dishes, adding even more value to the recipe.
- Sandwich rounds
- Taco shells
- Bagel-flavored rounds
- Biscuits
Additional Keto Pizza Crust Recipe
Ingredients:
- Cream cheese
- Mozzarella
- Almond flour
- Coconut flour
- Baking powder
- Eggs
Instructions:
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Place a pizza stone or overturned rimmed baking sheet in the oven as it preheats.
- In a medium saucepan, place the cream cheese and melt over very low heat.
- Add the mozzarella in two parts, stirring gently until melted and smooth.
- Add about half of the almond flour, the coconut flour and the baking powder, and stir with a silicone spatula until the melted cheese has absorbed the flours. Add the remaining almond flour and stir to combine.
- As soon as the ingredients begin to brown in the pan, turn off the heat. Continue to stir and press the dough with the spatula until everything is well-incorporated.
- If the heat is still on, turn it off now. Add the eggs to the dough and mix and press again until the dough is uniform in color and texture.
- Turn out the dough onto a piece of parchment paper lightly floured with almond flour, and knead until smooth. Divide the dough in half, and set one half aside (cover to prevent it from drying out).
- Press and roll out the first half of the dough into a 12-inch round, sprinkling the dough lightly with more almond flour when it becomes sticky and rotating the dough frequently.
- Coax the edges inward toward the center to create an edge to the crust. Pierce all over with the tines of a fork to prevent the dough from puffing up too much in the oven.
- Place the first round, still on the parchment paper, on top of the pizza stone or overturned baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake for 6 to 8 minutes or until the dough no longer glistens.
- Remove the crust from the oven.
Read also: Keto Calorie Counting: A Detailed Guide
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