Amaranth Flour Pizza Dough
Speed - 99%
Simplicity - 99%
Tastiness - 98%
99%
Delicious!
This amaranth pizza crust is so crisp and flavorful. While the Margherita topping is delicious too, the dough is too flavorful I'm definitely making a batch of crackers out of this recipe.
Ingredients
For the Amaranth Flour Pizza Dough
- 3/4 Cup Amaranth Flour
- 1/4 Cup Tapioca Flour
- 1 Tablespoons Ground Flax Seeds
- 1/4 Cup Water
- 1/4 Cup olive oil
- 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
For the Toppings
- 1/2 Cup Mozzarella Cheese
- 1/2 Cup Pizza Sauce
- 2 Pieces Roma Tomatoes sliced
- a handful Fresh Basil Leaves
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
- Stir the dough into a smooth ball.
- Press the dough onto a pizza pan.
- Bake the crust for 8 minutes at 350F.
- Top your pizza.
- Finish baking for 8-10 minutes at 350F.
Fond of thin-crust pizzas? Read on. This recipe using amaranth flour will give you one of the tastiest and crispiest crusts for your favorite pizza toppings. Not to mention, it's gluten-free and ready in a few minutes!
It actually took me a bit more prep time than you might need, because I had to grind my own flour from whole amaranth grains. Nonetheless, my humble coffee grinder delivered, just as it did with all the other grains I've tried.
I had a small grinder so I had to work in batches, sifting the flour as I went along.
I would have skipped right to this step had I found ready-ground amaranth. Just mix everything together – amaranth flour, tapioca flour, ground flax seeds, salt, olive oil, and water. It'll take about a minute or so to do this – I told you this pizza's getting done quick.
You'll end up with a dough that's a bit wet and sticky – no need to be alarmed, you're not doing things wrong. Flatten this dough onto a lightly oiled pan. I actually used a springform pan to get the edges neat.
As soon as you've pressed your dough into an even thin crust, prebake it to set for about 8-10 minutes at 350F.
The dough will come out fully set but still a bit soft after 10 minutes. Take it out of the oven, put your choice of toppings on, and return it to the oven to finish crisping for another 8 minutes.
I chose to keep this pizza light, so I went for a simple Margherita. The simplicity of flavors also allowed the quality of this crust to stand out.
The crust came out really crisp like a cracker! But, don't get me wrong, it ain't anywhere near to being crumbly.
Summer is here and it's time to start cooking outdoors. If you don't want to drop six grand on an outdoor pizza oven, then thing about getting a KettlePizza for your Weber grill. It basically makes your grill into a Neapolitan pizza oven, cooking at over 800ºF! It's really fun to use, makes great pizza, and gets you out of the kitchen for those lovely summer days.
Amaranth Flour
If you’re not familiar with it, the amaranth plant is a leafy green vegetable that has nutritionally rich seeds. In particular, the seeds are high in protein and they are often used in a similar way to grains. As a result, amaranth is often considered to be a pseudo grain.
The flour itself is easy to make and you do so simply by grinding the seeds and sifting the final product, like I did in the recipe above.
In terms of cooking, amaranth flour tends to have a subtle effect on texture when used in small amounts and is denser when used in large quantities. The overall flavor tends to be somewhat peppery and earthy, which works perfectly with many recipes. I thought that flavor was especially good for this pizza recipe
Amaranth is also attractive because it is easy to work with and use in recipes. Typically, amaranth is used in a proportion of 1 part amaranth to 3 parts other flour. However, as my recipe shows, that isn’t the only option. This means that you can play around with the proportions until you get a flavor and texture that works for you.
Alternatively, you can simply choose to rely on recipes, where others have already worked out the best ratios. And, as you can probably guess, there are many great recipes out there. For example, I love these Herb and Garlic Amaranth Crackers and they rely just on amaranth flour, rather than adding in a second type of flour.
That approach highlights just how versatile amaranth flour can be. With that in mind, it’s no surprise that the flour is popular among people who are avoiding gluten.
Amaranth And Diets
As I mentioned before, amaranth is considered a pseudo grain. This term refers to the similarities between amaranth and grains, despite the fact that amaranth is technically a seed. Quinoa is another example of a plant that falls into this category.
Pseudo grains are often treated like grains when it comes to cooking food and they tend to have a similar nutritional profile as well. Because of this, most diets treat pseudo grains in the same way as actual grains.
So, for example, most (but not all) followers of paleo exclude pseudo grains from their diet. The same is also true for anybody working on a grain-free diet. Likewise, immune-based diets like GAPS and AIP will frequently avoid pseudo grains as well.
Amaranth is also not allowed on a keto or a low carb diet. However, this isn’t specifically because it is similar to a grain – it is simply high in carbs.
The end result is that amaranth isn’t allowed on many types of diets. But, it isn’t always excluded. If nothing else, amaranth flour is still powerful for people who are just avoiding gluten. Likewise, the flour works well for anybody who simply likes alternatives to wheat flour.
Ingredients
For the Amaranth Flour Pizza Dough
- 3/4 Cup Amaranth Flour
- 1/4 Cup Tapioca Flour
- 1 Tablespoons Ground Flax Seeds
- 1/4 Cup Water
- 1/4 Cup olive oil
- 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
For the Toppings
- 1/2 Cup Mozzarella Cheese
- 1/2 Cup Pizza Sauce
- 2 Pieces Roma Tomatoes sliced
- a handful Fresh Basil Leaves
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
- Stir the dough into a smooth ball.
- Press the dough onto a pizza pan.
- Bake the crust for 8 minutes at 350F.
- Top your pizza.
- Finish baking for 8-10 minutes at 350F.
I made this tonight. It turned out pretty well. I substituted arrowroot for tapioca and chia seeds for flax. I also used vegetable stock instead of water. I recommend flipping it before you add the toppings for a crispier crust. It makes one personal size pizza.