Why This Recipe Works
To replicate the combination of starch and well-developed gluten that makes the best conventional pizza crusts chewy, crispy, and delicious, keto recipes turn to ingredients like ground chicken, cauliflower, nut flours, bacon, and cheese. We tried them too. But while we wanted the flavor of traditional pizza, it had to be easy to make. We discounted cauliflower crusts due to their moisture content; without extensive pretreatment, our crusts consistently came out soggy.
But using mozzarella for the crust worked really well. It developed an exterior crispness and stayed chewy within; Parmesan aided in browning and gave both crunch and flavor. Almond flour bound the cheeses together and created a dough-like texture. An egg gave us lift; another egg white lent additional structure and height without turning the interior custardy. A preheated baking sheet enhanced crispness too. Best of all we just stirred our ingredients together into a dough, shaping it into a round before baking. Make sure to shred your own mozzarella from a block; preceded mozzarella contains a starch divider, which impedes melting, which this recipe needs.
Directions:
- Adjust oven rack to lowest position, place inverted baking sheet on rack, and heat oven to 450 degrees. Using wooden spoon, stir all ingredients in bowl until fully combined.
- Using your hands, press dough between 2 large sheets of greased parchment paper into 11-inch round, about ¼ inch thick. Discard top piece of parchment and tidy edges of crust.
- Transfer crust, still on parchment, to pizza peel or second inverted baking sheet, then slide parchment with crust onto heated baking sheet. Bake crust until deep golden brown and edges are crisp, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer crust to wire rack and discard parchment.
PIZZA CRUST
Ingredients
- 8 ounces whole-milk mozzarella cheese shredded (2 cups)
- ⅔ cup 2⅔ ounces blanched, finely ground almond flour
- ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 large egg plus 1 large white
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to lowest position, place inverted baking sheet on rack, and heat oven to 450 degrees. Using wooden spoon, stir all ingredients in bowl until fully combined.
- Using your hands, press dough between 2 large sheets of greased parchment paper into 11-inch round, about ¼ inch thick. Discard top piece of parchment and tidy edges of crust.
- Transfer crust, still on parchment, to pizza peel or second inverted baking sheet, then slide parchment with crust onto heated baking sheet. Bake crust until deep golden brown and edges are crisp, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer crust to wire rack and discard parchment.