Keto Deep Dish Pizza

Alright guys here's a fun one for you.

This keto deep dish pizza was pretty amazing to see coming out out of the oven and even beforehand..

It's quite epic and I'm pretty proud if it, if I do say so myself.

The dough is a beautiful texture. Probably the nicest dough I've ever worked with that's low carb! It's soft and stretchy and acts just like pizza dough.

This pizza is made mainly with almond flour, coconut flour, oat fiber, yeast and vital wheat gluten. If you are unfamiliar with vital wheat gluten or unsure if you should use it, you can visit this article I wrote to learn more..as I seem to get endless questions about it! Haha.

In short,vital wheat gluten is a protein found in wheat that is extracted. It's what gives bread its structure and forms the gluten strands. On it's own it's just a protein and is very low carb. It's acceptable on a keto diet if you DO NOT have any serious gluten allergy or are celiac. It makes for amazing low carb dough and a delicious chewy texture! It's personally one of my favourite ingredients to play around with.

As for this pizza crust in particular, I will say before you go and make this.. just be warned that the dough can under-bake easily if you use too many wet ingredients. This is why I have listed tons of tips and reductions in certain ingredients to help you bake the best possible version of this pizza! PLEASE READ THEM BEFORE MAKING THIS.

I also want to mention that if you'd like to make this easier on yourself, you can always make a few traditional style pizzas out of this dough and skip the deep dish idea all together. It really is versatile! You can see some cheesy garlic bread sticks here that I made out of the same dough.

Whichever bake you choose to bake this crust, I really hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients In Keto Deep Dish Pizza

•  As I mentioned above, Vital Wheat Gluten is necessary for this recipe and cannot be replaced. See this article if you’d like to learn more about it.
• Oat Fiber – This ingredient provides structure to the dough without adding carbs as it's almost 99% fibre.
• Xanthan gum – a great way to improve elasticity in gluten-free baked goods. It’s used alongside vital wheat gluten to provide the best possible “crust-like” texture. If you do not have this ingredient you can still go ahead with this recipe but I’d recommend it if you can get your hands on it.
• SUGAR – Yes there is a little bit of sugar in this recipe BUT IT IS NECESSARY for this bread to work. Do not leave it out. The yeast will consume it and it will not affect the nutrition of the final product.

Tools I Used To Create Keto Deep Dish Pizza

• Low Carb Substitution Guide – This is totally optional but if you like my recipes, I now have a $5 guide available with all of the substitutions I use to create every recipe on my site. You can use this to convert old traditional recipes and create new keto recipes! You can purchase it here and/or read more if you are interested. 🙂 I appreciate your support so much guys!
• Nutritional Food Scale – AKA my best friend. This little buddy has been with me for over 4 years and never fails. Perfect measurements and only needs the batteries replaced maybe once a year!
• Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer with a Dough Hook Attachment – One of my favourite kitchen gadgets! Comes in handy for any bread/crust recipes as well as cookie dough and other baked goods.

Can You Freeze Keto Deep Dish Pizza?

Yes, you can freeze either the dough after rising. Wrap the ball of dough in Saran Wrap and place it in a plastic ziplock to freeze. Thaw the dough on the counter before you go to use it next.

OR

You can freeze pieces of pizza after baking by letting it cool fully in the refrigerator, then cutting slices and wrapping them in Saran Wrap and placing them in a ziplock bag. Re-heat them in the oven on a baking sheet at 400*F-425*F until hot.

Tips For Making Keto Deep Dish Pizza

• I did have a slight issue with my dough being a bit undercooked inside because I used too much sauce so I’d recommend using Half of what I did or using a pesto sauce and using mozzarella with a lower moisture content. I'd also recommend increasing your cheese or meat toppings slightly to compensate. (ex. extra pepperoni, chicken or sausage, different types of cheese)
• You probably won't need all of the dough if you roll it thin enough, about 1/5-1/4 of the dough can be wrapped in Saran Wrap and placed in a ziplock/stored in the freezer for later use for something else, this was accounted for in the nutritional information.

• I'd also recommend cooking the pizza longer..maybe 45min-1 hour or more (I only baked mine for ~40min and I also have the world’s worst oven in terms of heating properly, lol).
• You can also cover the top crust with tin foil and continue to cook it to prevent the top crust from browning too much.
• I’d also suggest baking this on a pizza stone if you have one or lowering your oven rack to the very bottom as you want the most heat directed towards the bottom crust.
• If you get any gaps in your dough when placing it into the springform pan, just roll out another small piece of extra dough and fill it in. It will bake together without a problem! You just don't want any holes in the dough at the bottom of your pan especially.

**PLEASE READ TIPS BEFORE MAKING THIS RECIPE**

Keto Deep Dish Pizza

Serves: 8 large slices

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast (I used quick-rise yeast)
• 1 tbsp white sugar
• 1 1/4 cup Vital Wheat Gluten, 154g
• 1 cup almond flour, 112g
• 1/2 cup oat fibre, 96g
• 1/4 cup coconut flour, 30g
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp of each rosemary, thyme, garlic powder and onion powder
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 7 tbsp olive oil, 105ml
• 1 tbsp sour cream, room temperature
• 2 1/4 cup warm water
• 2 cups fresh mozzarella, shredded, 10oz
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp parmesan, grated, ~70g
• 1 3/4 cup low carb pasta or pizza sauce, 14oz, I use this one and add 1/4 cup olive oil to thin it out slightly. **I would recommend halving this, so 7oz sauce and 2 tbsp olive oil**
• 30 pillars pepperoni slices, OR any other meats and vegetables you prefer
• Parmesan and more mozzarella + sauce for topping, optional
• additional olive oil to brush the crust with

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together all of your dry ingredients up to and including pepper. 
2. Next, add your sour cream, olive oil and water. (I like to add my water a bit at a time but 2 1/4 cups should be a perfect amount, this dough absorbs a lot more liquid than you'd think!)
3. Mix the dough using a spoon and then begin to work it together with your hands.
4. To knead the dough, you can either knead it by hand on a clean flat surface for ~10min OR knead it with a dough hook in a stand mixer for ~7-8min. 
5. Next form your dough into a ball shape and place it in a greased bowl. Cover it with Saran Wrap or tin foil and let it sit somewhere warm for 1-2 hours OR until doubled in size. (I like to put mine in a previously heated microwave or oven that's warm but not hot OR let it sit near my gas fireplace). 
6. While you are waiting for your dough to rise, this is a great time to shred your mozzarella and prepare your sauce by combining your low carb jarred pasta sauce with 2 tbsp olive oil and any additional spices you may like. 
7. Once the dough has doubled in size, separate it into 2 pieces. One piece being about 2/3 of the dough and the other being 1/3 of the dough. *NOTE: You probably won't need all of the dough if you roll it thin enough, about 1/5-1/4 of the dough can be wrapped in Saran Wrap and placed in a ziplock/stored in the freezer for later use for something else, this was accounted for in the nutritional information!
8. Lightly oil a 9 or 10-inch springform pan. (You can also do an 8 inch pan, just be sure to bake it long enough and use slightly less fillings)
9. Roll the larger piece of dough between two pieces of parchment paper into a large circle big enough to cover the bottom and sides of a 10-inch springform pan. Press this piece of dough into the pan as shown in the photo and make sure to fix any gaps or holes as best as you can (especially on the bottom of the pan).
10. Next, roll out your other piece of dough into a circle large enough to cover the top of your pizza once all the fillings are added.
11. For the fillings, first layer your mozzarella and parmesan inside the pan, then your sauce and toppings and finally place your last piece of dough on top of everything.
12. Cut off most of the excess dough, you only need enough to go up and just slightly over the sides of the pan. Pinch together the top piece of dough with the dough around the sides of the pan. Use the excess of the larger piece of dough to fold over the top piece of dough and again pinch it together to form a crust.
13. Finally, brush the top of the pizza with olive oil and poke a few holes in the top with a fork, then if you choose to do so, layer a very small extra amount of sauce on top (too much will make it soggy) and a bit of extra cheese.

14. Bake the pizza at 425* F for ~45-1 hour or until crust hard to the touch and the center is almost set. You can cover the pizza with tin foil part-way through baking if you notice the top browning too much. Let it cool for 10min before undoing the springform outer circle and slicing. Store covered in at the fridge and re-heat in the oven or microwave. Enjoy your Keto Deep Dish Pizza!

Nutrition for 1/8th of pizza with all toppings listed + 1/2 the sauce as recommended: 442 calories | 34.3g fat | 5.5 NET carbs  | 24g protein | 10.8g fibre

Nutrition for 1/8th of pizza crust with no toppings: 250 calories | 19.2g fat | 2.9g NET carbs | 13g protein | 10.4g fibre

Note that these nutrition facts account for ~1/5-1/4 of excess dough being left over. If you use the full amount of dough, the carbs will be 7g NET carbs per slice and calories closer to 520 per slice. 

Disclaimer: This post contains some affiliate links