The difference between deep-dish and Chicago-style pizza is the assembly: Chicago-style places cheese and meat directly on the crust and then tops them with sauce, while traditional deep-dish typically has sauce added first. You can finish a Chicago-style pizza with a sprinkle of grated Parmesan or Romano over the sauce if you like.
This recipe is a gluten-free Chicago-style pizza with a chicken taco filling. The crust is light, tender and fluffy. Note: the photo shown was made with too much baking powder (1/2 teaspoon) which produced a biscuit-like crust; the ingredient list below has the corrected, reduced amount.
If you would like more step photos, leave a comment and additional images can be provided.
5
Yield: Makes one 11- to 12-inch pizza
A classic gluten-free Chicago-style pizza recipe with a taco-inspired filling. Use the suggested filling or choose your favorite toppings. The crust bakes up light and tender.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup water, heated to 110°F
- 1 tablespoon honey (or agave syrup or sugar)
- 2 teaspoons instant dry yeast
- 1/2 cup buttermilk (or 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar + enough milk to make 1/2 cup; use rice milk for dairy-free/vegan)
- 3/4 cup white rice flour
- 3/4 cup brown rice flour
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons potato starch (or tapioca starch) + more for dusting
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons cornstarch (or potato starch if using tapioca above)
- 2 teaspoons xanthan gum (or guar gum for a corn-free option)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder (Rumford or Featherweight)
- 1/4 cup extra virgin oil (or neutral-flavored oil)
- 1 large egg, at room temperature, beaten (skip for vegan or use a suitable egg substitute)
- 1 large egg white, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup small diced green bell pepper
- 1/2 cup small diced yellow onion
- 1 chicken breast, boiled and shredded (or 1/2 lb. cooked ground beef)
- 5 ounces full-fat mozzarella cheese, sliced
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1/4 cup taco seasoning
- 1 cup water
- 1 packet stevia or 1 teaspoon sugar
Instructions:
- If using milk and vinegar, mix and set aside for 15 minutes until it thickens. If it doesn’t reach a buttermilk consistency, use slightly less than 1/2 cup.
- Heat the water in a glass measuring cup to about 110°F.
- Add honey and yeast to the warm water, stir, and let rest for 5 minutes. If it doesn’t become foamy, start over with fresh yeast.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the white rice flour, brown rice flour, potato starch, cornstarch, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt.
- In another bowl, whisk buttermilk, oil, beaten egg, egg white and the yeast mixture. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients.
- Stir with a rubber spatula until smooth, then transfer the dough to the center of an 11- to 12-inch cast iron skillet. Let it rise about 45 minutes.
- With potato starch-dusted fingers, spread the dough evenly across the skillet and press it up the sides to form the crust.
- Preheat the oven to 475°F.
- Arrange the sliced mozzarella on the bottom of the dough.
- Sprinkle shredded cheddar over the mozzarella.
- Spoon the sautéed onion and bell pepper mixture over the cheeses.
- Distribute the shredded chicken (or cooked ground beef) on top of the vegetables.
- Spoon the prepared taco sauce over the chicken. To make the sauce, combine the taco seasoning, water and stevia or sugar and stir until blended.
- Optionally sprinkle with grated Parmesan or extra shredded cheddar.
- Bake on the center rack for about 12 minutes or until the crust is lightly golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes.
- Slice and serve immediately.