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Can Dough Be Gluten Free?

by Zero Carb on Mar 02, 2023

Can Dough Be Gluten Free?

For those following a strict diet, especially those with celiac disease or diabetes, finding foods you can eat may feel like a chore. Not only do you have to check the nutrition labels, but you also have to scour through the ingredients list to make sure you don’t eat anything that your body will react poorly to. Plus, you’ll probably want to find something that tastes good, too. Luckily, gluten free products, such as gluten free pizza crust, have become more popular over the years.


Whether you’re new to a gluten free diet or have been doing it for a while but want to try something new, we’ve got you covered. We’ll tell you what you need to know about your gluten free pizza dough options and shopping for them. Let’s jump in.


What Is Gluten Free Crust Usually Made Of?

If you want a gluten free pizza crust, you have the following options:


• Grains: Many starches do not contain gluten, so finding a crust that uses flour made from one of them is one route you can choose. Such grains include:
• Amaranth
• Buckwheat
• Corn
• Rice
• Sorghum
• Teff

    • Oats may also be gluten free if certified as such. The certification is necessary because many oats are exposed to gluten through cross-contamination on farms.

    • Legumes: Any crust that is bean, lentil, pea, or peanut-based is likely gluten free. Many legume crusts use flour made from:
    • Chickpeas
    • Fava beans
    • Peas
      • Nuts: Most pizza crusts made from nuts use almond-based products because it helps produce a good texture and brown to it. Don’t use one of these crusts if you or someone in your household has an allergy to nuts.
      • Vegetables: Broccoli and cauliflower make up most vegetable-based pizza crusts, but zucchini and butternut squash can be used as well.
      • Chicken: ZeroCarb LYFE's gluten free pizza dough recipe contains only four ingredients: chicken, olive oil, salt, and spices. These crusts work well for thin crust pizzas.

        What Happens to Dough Without Gluten?

        Dough without gluten, if not prepared correctly, will break apart easily and come out flat. To understand why that is, you must first understand what gluten is and how it works. Gluten is found in grains, particularly:

        • Barley
        • Rye
        • Triticale (a hybrid of wheat and rye)
        • Wheat

          It forms when two of a grain's proteins, glutenin and gliadin, mix with water, as it does when making dough for pizza crusts, bread, baked goods, etc. The glutenin adds strength and the gliadin fluidity to create a substance–gluten–that acts as a glue in cooked and baked goods. It holds air bubbles and stretches throughout the dough.


          Most of the gluten free dough options listed above (grains, legumes, nuts, and vegetables) do not create the same stickiness that gluten does. They typically need a binding agent or filler, such as xanthan gum and tapioca starch, to get a similar stretchy gluten free pizza dough. If you want gluten free pizza dough with no xanthan gum or other filler, then ZeroCarb LYFE’s chicken crust  is your best option.


          How Can You Tell if Dough Is Gluten Free?

          When shopping for gluten free pizza crust, you can’t necessarily rely on products that have the gluten free labels, especially if you have celiac disease. The Food and Drug Administration allows up to 20 parts per million of gluten in gluten free products. If you need absolutely no gluten in your foods, then you'll have to check gluten free pizza dough ingredients instead.


          Some companies may list the scientific names for grains containing gluten, which can make them harder to identify. These scientific names are:

          • Triticum vulgare (wheat)
          • Hordeum vulgare (barley)
          • Secale cereale (rye)
          • Triticum spelta (a type of wheat)

            Other ingredients that contain gluten to watch out for include:

            • Bulgur (made from wheat)
            • Malt (made from barley)
            • Couscous (made from wheat)
            • Farina (made from wheat)
            • Seitan (made from wheat)

              If you want gluten free pizza crust without having to worry about checking ingredients, then buy it from ZeroCarb LYFE. It has no sugar, no carbs, no gluten, and 37 grams of protein.


              Buy Gluten Free Pizza Crusts From ZeroCarb LYFE

              Life has enough stress in it. Figuring out what you can eat shouldn’t add to it. That’s why ZeroCarb LYFE has made a pizza crust with four simple ingredients. Our creator was diagnosed with diabetes but didn’t want to give up his favorite food, pizza. Thus, his idea for a chicken pizza crust hatched. Now our pizza crusts and pizzas are available in over 300 restaurants and sold in grocery stores like Kroger and Costco.


              If you’re ready to try out a gluten free pizza crust loaded with protein, you can buy it here. And, if you need some gluten free pizza recipe ideas, check out some of ours.