A very easy, delicious, gluten and dairy free yoghurt pizza dough recipe.

Featuring: basic no-cook tomato purée based pizza sauce {recipe here}

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After my yoghurt pizza dough recipe {here} had such good feedback, I was asked by some of you if I think a dairy free version would work. Since I don’t have a lot of experience baking with dairy free yoghurt or dairy free ingredients in general – but I’m always up for a challenge 🙂 – I decided to make different versions to see what works best.

One very basic, just like my original recipe, made without yeast and with a self-raising flour blend so there’s no need to faff around with extra ingredients like baking powder and xanthan gum. It’s basically as easy as it can possibly get!

And then other variations using different resting times for the dough as well as some or all of these extra ingredients: yeast, a stronger bread flour (as it’s often recommended for pizza) and added coconut cream to help make the yoghurt thicker.

Here are my conclusions:

1. Go for a self-raising or normal flour blend. It turns out that the self-raising flour had much better results than the bread flour after all! Much airier and fluffier, whereas the one made with bread flour was nice, but denser.

2. Use only yoghurt. At first I was concerned that the dairy free yoghurt may be too thin/runny so I added some coconut cream in an attempt to thicken it up, but in the end it works just fine like that on its own. All it needs is extra flour to make up for it.

3. Let the dough rest. If possible I really recommend letting the dough rest before cooking. About one hour at room temperature or overnight in the fridge. This yielded by far the best texture, in fact I couldn’t really see a difference between it and my dairy containing version! It may seem like an inconvenience, but the dough itself is incredibly quick to make so you can prepare it in advance the night before and let it rest in the fridge overnight. So when meal time comes the next day, it’s ready to use. Note: for the best result, let refrigerated dough reach room temperature before popping it in the oven.

4. Add yeast. This one isn’t necessary, especially if you choose to cook it right away without resting the dough first. But if you do rest it and can have yeast, add 1 to 2 teaspoons of dry active yeast for an even fluffier texture.

So the answer is: yes! Yoghurt pizza dough is absolutely doable dairy free. In fact, it’s just as good as my ‘normal’ version!

Look at that light, airy, soft texture. 😀

Disclaimer: no, the cheese in the pictures is not dairy free. To be honest my fridge has never even seen dairy free cheese in its life… but this post is about the dough and not the toppings so please ignore that. lol

Gluten & dairy free yoghurt pizza dough recipe:

Preparation time: 5-10 mins

Resting time (optional): at least 1 hour (at room temperature) or overnight (in the fridge)

Cooking time: 10-15 mins (for the dough alone) + 8-10 mins (with toppings added)

Cooking temperature: 200C (392F)

Yields: 1 large or 2 small pizzas

Ingredients

170g (about 1 + 1/8 cup) self-raising gluten free flour blend (I used Doves Farm)
150g (a bit over 1/2 cup) plain dairy free yoghurt (I used Koko)
1 Tbsp olive oil
Pinch of salt
Optional: 1.5 tsp dry active yeast (I used Allinson)

Note: If using a plain flour blend without xanthan gum and self-raising agents, add 2 tsp of baking powder and 1 to 2 tsp of xanthan gum (if possible).

How to make dairy free yoghurt pizza dough:

Directions

Add all ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir with a spoon until everything is as combined as possible. Then with your hands, knead the dough until smooth. If necessary, wet your hands slightly to prevent sticking.
Optional: cover the bowl with cling film and let the dough rest for about 1 hour at room temperature or overnight in the fridge.
Pre-heat the oven to 200C (392F) and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
Spread the dough and smooth the edges with your fingers, the back of a spoon or a knife.
Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the surface gets slightly crispy.
Take it out of the oven and add the sauce and toppings.
Bake for another 8-10 minutes, until the cheese starts turning golden brown.