Gluten Free Pan Pizza was originally posted on Feb 7, 2020 and has been updated with new pictures, a new updated video, and plenty of new tips and tricks.
This is hands down the BEST Pizza hut gluten free pan pizza copycat you will ever have! Just like the thick crust almost-fried-on-the-bottom pan pizza we used to get back in our days of delivery!!
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Ya'll are not gonna be-LIEVE how good this pizza is!!!! It seriously took me back to a time when I was able to order delivery pizzas from Pizza Hut. Back when everything was so much simpler, especially when I just.didn't.feel.like.cooking.dinner! Am I right?
I heard a while ago that certain Pizza Hut locations were coming out with their own gluten free pizza, but of course my area wasn't part of those. We do have some delivery gluten-free options here, but they all use Udi's gluten-free crust. If you're anything like me, you'd rather eat cardboard than Udi's.
As much as I love to cook and bake, there will always be times when I wish someone would make ME dinner! I hope someday the city I live in will have more gf options, but for now I have to cook all my own meals. At least if they taste like this pizza, I can handle it on my menu on the regular! Plus, there's no worry about cross contamination in my own kitchen.
what you'll need to make this pizza
- Gluten Free Focaccia Bread Dough -- this dough is the perfect base for a Pizza Hut gluten free pan style pizza, just like what we remember.
- Sauce -- you can use store bought, but it's so easy to make your own pizza sauce and it's worlds better than anything you'll find in a can or jar.
- Olive oil -- you can use vegetable oil or canola oil instead, but I really like the flavor that the olive oil imparts.
- Gluten-free toppings -- you can go crazy with whatever you normally like on your pizzas. Some ideas include cheese, pepperoni, mushrooms, Italian sausage (or regular pork sausage), grilled chicken, peppers, red onions, roma tomatoes, Jalapeno peppers, bacon, spinach, mediterranean black olives, banana peppers, etc, etc. You can even make this dairy-free and, therefore, vegan by using water and olive oil in the dough and vegan cheese on top.
How To Make Pan Pizza?
When I first made my gluten free focaccia bread and it came out beautifully, I had an immediate hunch that it would also work perfectly as the crust for a pan pizza. And that hunch was spot on!
It all begins with the dough. It's so easy to mix up in the morning and be ready to go for dinnertime, or even within 4 hours! Half of the dough will fill a 12-inch cast iron skillet. You can also use the whole recipe and fill two skillets. Or you can use a large baking sheet (17 by 11 inch) and make one large rectangular pizza. Another option is to make mini (personal) pan pizzas! These are great for when you want just enough to feed yourself. For that, you'll need a small 8-inch cast iron skillet (affiliate link) or an 8-inch round cake pan (affiliate link).
- Pour olive oil into a cast iron skillet (affiliate link) (or pan as above) and dump the dough right on top. Add a little more oil on top of the dough and, using your fingers, spread the dough to the edges of the pan. It's fine if there are holes in the dough as they'll fill in when the dough rises and bakes.
- Cover the skillet with a tight-fitting lid or plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for about 30 minutes. You won't be looking for the dough to double in size, just be slightly puffed.
- While the dough is rising, preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
- Carefully add the sauce so you don't deflate the dough (try my Pizza Hut copycat sauce recipe!). If you're using a baking sheet, just add the sauce without heating on the stove.
- Then add the cheese and any other toppings of your choice.
- Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
pan pizza FAQs
Certain participating Pizza Hut restaurants do have a gluten free pizza option made with Udi's gluten free crust. However, as of this date, they do not offer a gluten free pan style pizza.
As the name suggests, pan pizza is made in a pan, but that's not the only difference. Usually pan style pizza is thicker than a regular (New York or hand tossed) pizza and has an almost u0022friedu0022 bottom, making it crunchy on the bottom and soft and bouncy in the middle.
No, there are several common household pans that will work great for making pan style pizza. A cast iron skillet, ¼ sheet pan, round cake pan, or any oven-safe skillet are plenty of options.
more gluten free pizza ideas
Make this pizza tonight for dinner! Your whole family will love it, even the gluten eaters 🙂
Pizza Hut Gluten Free Pan Pizza
Ingredients
- one recipe gluten free focaccia dough (recipe follows)
- ½ cup (60-120ml) olive oil
- copycat Pizza Hut pizza sauce (or your favorite recipe or brand)
- shredded mozzarella cheese or several slices (about ½ pound) white American cheese
- any other toppings of choice
Focaccia Dough
- 3¼ cups (455g) Kim's gluten free BREAD flour blend
- 1 tbsp plus 1 teaspoon (29 g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoon instant yeast
- 2½ cups (600ml) whole milk
- 4 tbsp (56g) butter, melted
Instructions
- NOTE: This entire dough recipe makes 2 12-inch pizzas, but if you only want one pizza, you can either halve the dough recipe or store the other half of the dough in the fridge until the next time.
- In a large bowl, weigh bread flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Whisk to combine. Using a stand mixer with the beater blade or a handheld mixer, turn on low and slowly pour in the milk and butter. Increase speed to medium and beat for 5 minutes.
- Cover the bowl and place in a warm, draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 2 hours. You can use it immediately after rising, or refrigerate the dough for up to 7 days.
- Divide most of the olive oil between the two 12-inch cast iron skillets, 2 ¼ sheet pans (9 by 13 inch), or any oven-safe skillets (or use half the amount for only one pizza). Divide the dough between each skillet and add the rest of the olive oil on top. Using your fingers, gently spread the dough out to the edges of the pans. It's okay if the dough is dimpled from your fingers.
- Cover with a tight-fitting lid or plastic wrap and allow to rise for about 30 minutes while preheating the oven to 400° F. The dough won't look much different, but will be slightly puffy when fully risen.
- Carefully add the sauce and cheese and any other optional toppings. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly. The baking time will depend on your skillet size and your oven, so begin checking at 20 minutes, but it may take as long as 35.
- Allow to cool slightly before cutting and serving.
MrsKatie says
This has quickly become our favorite pizza crust. My gluten lovers even try to sneak a piece from my gf daughters.
I don’t even let it rise for two hrs. And it freezes great in a blob and then leave it in the fridge or on the counter til it’s defrosted and it’s just as good.
Kim says
That's so awesome, Katie!!!
Tracy Bailey says
What is the best way to store the dough if you don’t use all of it
Kim says
I will often leave this dough in the fridge, well covered, for up to 5 days. It actually seems to get better with age (takes on more of a sourdough quality). But you can also freeze the dough. If you choose to freeze it, put it in an airtight container and freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and then proceed with the recipe as per usual.
Barbara says
This is the very best GF pizza I have ever made and eaten. Being one of our favorite foods I was so grateful you developed this recipe. I love and make many, many of your recipes with your flour mixture. Takes some time but well worth the effort. Thank you Kim
Kim says
Awe, I'm so glad you love it!!!!!
Lori Huhn says
Holy cow. This is amazing. My husband loved it. I liked it too and I'm not gf.
We will definitely make it again
Kim says
Awesome!!
Pyrosaphuron says
thank you so much for this recipe. it i ended up letting the dough raise for a lot longer and it turned out prefect. i was skeptical at first as this dough was whipped as apposed to solid. and i hate things like bred when there made the gluten free way. i can always tell buy the tast and consistency. but if i had not mad it myself i would have thought it was a lile being gluten free. my wife is so sensitive to gluten i cant even kiss her after eating anything with it in my food. my wifes bday request for a pizza hut pan pizza was granted. she worked at a pizza hut some time ago and said it was exactly the same. i will be trying more of ur recipe's shes really excited to have noodles. thank u so so so much.
Kim says
Awe, that's awesome! So glad you could fulfill her bday wish 🙂