The Search for the Elusive Perfect Gluten-Free Chicago Thin Crust Pizza Recipe

Pizza on a gluten-free crust

My search for the perfect gluten-free, Chicago-style pizza crust has been exhausting!

I began with the thin-crust pizza my mother made using active dry yeast. Her pizza was delicious—even my dad enjoyed it, and he could be rather particular about food.

Although some of his favorites baffled me.

He loved pickled herring on crackers. Have you ever tried it? Let’s just call it an acquired taste—one that took me far too long to appreciate. He also loved liver-sausage sandwiches on rye bread. Thankfully, my mother never packed one in my school lunch. Ugh, the smell!

But Dad loved her pizza.

So did everyone else. We frequently had movie nights with pizza and popcorn, neighborhood children, and my cousins. The house was noisy, the food was plentiful, and those evenings were so much fun. Pizza wasn’t merely dinner; it was part of being together.

Converting Mom’s Pizza to a GF Pizza Crust

When I tried converting Mom’s recipe to gluten-free, however, the crust came out gummy and tough. It tasted nothing like the pizza I remembered.

My unbaked gluten-free pizza crust

As I grew older, I also became fond of Chicago deep-dish pizza—specifically, pizza from UNO’s. The crust was thick and crisp rather than doughy, with generous layers of sausage and cheese beneath a wonderfully tomato-rich sauce. Eventually, meeting at UNO’s or picking up a pizza from one of its Chicagoland locations became another family tradition.

After failing to reproduce Mom’s thin crust, I decided to try making deep dish.

Attempting a Gluten-Free Chicago Deep Dish Crust

I attempted it many times. Once, I confidently brought my gluten-free version to a friend’s house to bake while we gathered for dinner. Because deep-dish pizza takes so long to bake, bringing it unbaked seemed like a perfectly reasonable plan.

It was not.

The outside burned while the inside remained gooey. Oh, my gosh—it was a disaster! I’m still amazed that those friends love me.

Understandably, it took me a while to try pizza again.

My baked gluten-free pizza crust

Next came sourdough. After learning to make gluten-free white, multigrain, and rye-style sourdough boules, I finally felt confident enough to turn my starter into pizza crust. The result was very, very good. In fact, I usually make sourdough pizza once a week.

But it still didn’t taste like the Chicago pizza I remembered.

Another GF Pizza Dough Attempt: Back to Chicago Thin Crust

Recently, I returned to active dry yeast and thin crust. This time, I used a blend of two of my favorite gluten-free grains—sorghum and millet—with tapioca starch for flexibility and a lighter texture. The yeast provides the lift, while the flours and starch work together to create the flavor, crispness, and structure I had been chasing.

Finally, I have a same-day gluten-free pizza crust that reminded me of home.

Pizza on a gluten-free crust

The crust can be par-baked and frozen for an easy future dinner. The unbaked dough can also be frozen in a ball, then moved to the refrigerator a day or two before pizza night.

After all the gummy crusts, gooey centers, burned edges, and experiments that were good—but not quite Chicago—it is delightful to truly enjoy pizza again.

The recipe will be included in my upcoming ebook, Gluten Free: Now What? I can’t wait to help you put pizza night back on the table.