Montina Flour Pizza Dough
Speed - 96%
Simplicity - 100%
Tastiness - 97%
98%
Yummy!
The pizza dough actually came out to be an excellent crust. Really crisp on the edges and much like soft bread in the middle.
Actually being a flour milled from Indian rice grass, known popularly by its brand name, Montina is another gluten-free alternative which could be easily worked into healthy baking.
Because it felt similar to brown rice flour, I thought I could get it to rise with the help of just some yeast.
To make the dough a bit more dense, I decided to blend in some potato flour. I added some xanthan gum too to give the dough a bit of stretch, something that’s normally impossible to achieve in the absence of gluten.
Once the yeast mixture’s all frothy, it’s ready to go into the dry ingredients. Stir everything together until the dough comes together.
The dough came together a bit on the wet side but really smooth. Looking good so far.
Having put in some yeast, I left the dough to rise in a lightly oiled bowl for half an hour. It did rise but not as much as you’d expect from dough made with more common gluten-rich flours.
The dough still felt wet and impossible to knead or stretch by hand. I decided to set it in between sheets of parchment paper and flattened it with a rolling pin.
Still wet, this crust definitely needs a pre-bake before adding any toppings.
Baking for 5 minutes at 425F allowed the wet crust to fully set. It now looks like a regular pizza crust… a good one to be honest.
I’m keeping this pizza simple with a light blend of mushrooms and ricotta. Deep, yet clean-tasting.
This pizza crust came out really looking yummy out of the oven.
And yes, it did taste good as it looked.
Montina Flour
Montina flour is one of the more obscure types of gluten-free flour and it made from milled Indian rice grass. This rice grass isn’t related to rice directly, although rice and Indian rice grass do both come from the grass family.
In most cases, the flour is used as one component of a gluten-free flour blend. This is the best way to achieve good results, as too much montina flour can lead to a somewhat ‘green’ flavor in the finished food. But, when used in the right quantities, montina flour does lend a whole wheat type of flavor to your cooking.
Because montina flour is fairly uncommon, there aren’t all that many recipes that take advantage of it. However, you can use it as a substitute for millet flour and incorporate it in your cooking that way.
You can also find montina flour as part of an all-purpose flour mix, typically with rice and tapioca flour as well. That particular blend produces a similar result to wheat flour. For that matter, montina flour is easier to find in a blend than it is on its own. To find the flour itself, you may need to check at multiple specialty stores or search online.
Montina Flour Nutrition And Dietary Implications
Nutritionally, montina flour is interesting. It is relatively high in protein compared to most other types of flour and it is also a type of ancient grain. Many people argue that ancient grains are inherently healthier, so this is another reason to look into the flour.
As for diets, montina flour is tricky. There is a considerable amount of debate about whether or not wild rice can be considered a grain or not – and that classification influences which diet types can include montina flour (and also millet).
To err on the side of caution, many people avoiding grains would also avoid montina flour. This includes the paleo diet, along with autoimmune approaches. There isn’t much information about whether or not montina flour can be used on a keto diet. But, millet is typically avoided for keto, so the same is probably true for montina flour.
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 1 12" Pizza | 1.5 hours |
| Cook Time | Passive Time |
| 20 minutes | 1 hour |
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Definitely among my top picks for gluten-free pizza doughs. This crust can actually pass as something made from gluten-rich flours.
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- 3/4 Cup Montina Flour
- 1/2 Cup Potato Flour
- 1 Teaspoon Xanthan Gum
- 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
- 3/4 Cup Warm Water
- 2 Teaspoons Active Dry Yeast
- 2 Teaspoons Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 Cup Sliced Button Mushrooms
- 1 Cup Ricotta Cheese
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
- Stir the yeast, sugar, and water in a bowl. Leave for 10 minutes.
- Combine the montina flour, potato flour, xanthan gum, and salt in a bowl.
- Stir in the oil and active yeast mixture.
- Leave in a lightly oiled bowl for 30 minutes.
- Set the dough in between sheets of parchment paper and flatten out with a rolling pin.
- Pre-bake the crust for 5-7 minutes at 425F.
- Top your pizza.
- Finish baking for another 15-20 minutes.
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