I have 2 easy cornmeal pizza crust recipes with no yeast needed. They are healthier, like flat air fryer cornbread, and the best substitute for crust with all purpose flour. More flavorful, crispy, thin or make deep dish with all the toppings like cheese and pepperoni with no rise time required!
Ready to make homemade pizza dough with corn flour or meal this week in about 15 minutes? Covered with pizza sauce, cheese and pepperoni it is a super easy meal or snack that is family friendly and delicious.
Don’t have time for dough to rise? NO problem! No need for that here. You can bake your pizza right after it has been rolled out on to your pizza stone. Use gluten free 1:1 flour blend folded into the ingredients or all purpose to help make it smooth.
A bowl and a little elbow grease is all you will need, skip the standing mixer no need for that this time. For the 2 recipes you just need to incorporate all the ingredients until you get a mixture that can be kneaded and not too sticky. Then roll it out and top with all the things. Like our Cornmeal Biscuits but thinner.
Can I use corn flour instead of flour for pizza dough?
Yes, some. We show you how to do just that here. It will add nutrition, fiber and flavor into the mix but will make it more dense. cornmeal will make it grittier than even that but isn’t ground as fine so it has the most nutrition of the two of them you can substitute into your mix.
Ingredient Notes
You will need some liquid to make the dough like water or broth would work to give it more flavor. I mean really anything will work so go with the flavor you prefer.
For some added fat to make it more moist and chewy I use some vegetable oil but canola would work.
Here we are using corn flour because it is finer than cornmeal and will create a smoother more pliable dough so you can roll it out, but still has more fiber than all purpose with a lot more flavor.
But you still will need to add some All purpose flour to add to dry ingredients to allow it be rolled out easier.
Baking powder is necessary for it to rise a bit but note that it will be rather flat and more dense than one made with just white flour.
I like to add some Brown sugar for sweetness, garlic powder for savory and/or a pinch salt for flavor
The main ingredient is super versatile. We use Cornmeal for Fish Fry too. Adds fiber, flavor and texture to an otherwise bland dough without a lot of ooomph.
No real need to prebake this, you can add sauce and toppings at room temperature and bake in a preheated oven at 350 for 12-15 minutes until crisped on outside rim and cheese is melted and golden brown. I haven’t tried this as Homemade Air Fryer Pizza yet but I imagine if you cut this in half to fit in the pan you could.
Cornbread Pizza Crust
If you want to use cornmeal vs. corn flour listed below in the recipe card it will be more gritty but possible. You would stary with 1 cup all-purpose flour + 1/2 cup cornmeal + 1 teaspoon baking powder + 1/2 teaspoon salt + 2 tablespoons olive oil + 1/2 cup warm water is what you would need for cornmeal pizza crust.
Method 1
Preheat your oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a pizza pan with non-stick spray. In a bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt until well combined. Add the olive oil to the dry ingredients and mix until it resembles coarse crumbs.
Gradually add the warm water to the mixture. Stir until a soft dough forms. Adjust the amount of water slightly depending on the consistency of the dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it for a few minutes until it becomes smooth and elastic.
Roll out this pizza dough recipe into a circle or rectangle, depending on your preference, to fit your baking sheet or pizza pan. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet or pizza pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, or until it begins to set and the edges are lightly golden. Remove the crust from the oven and add your favorite pizza toppings. Return the pizza to the oven and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes. We do the same two step process to make Muffin Tin Pizza too so the bottoms don’t get soggy.
Method 2
Below is using corn flour which is not as gritty as meal because it is ground finer but still has great nutrition vs. one that is only made with white flour.
Cornmeal Pizza Crust Recipe
Equipment
- 1 pizza pan
- 1 cutting board
- 1 Rolling Pin
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup water
- 1.5 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup corn flour
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Add vegetable oil and water together, in another bowl fold both flours together with sugar, salt and baking powder.
- Pour oil mixture into dry ingredients and stir just until ingredients are combined and form into a dough. Place on to a lightly floured surface and knead a few times, then roll out with rolling pin so it is the same thickness all the way across.
- Place on to a non stick pizza pan or into a pie pan. Add sauce and toppings and bake in a preheated oven at 350 for 12-15 minutes until crisped on outside rim and cheese is melted and golden brown.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What is a good substitute for pizza dough flour?
The easiest is to use refrigerated dough or frozen and defrosted rolls like we did with our Pizza Pull Apart Bread. For homemade you could use other different types of flour such as almond, coconut, gluten-free, whole wheat or bread varieties. All will have a slightly different texture and result though.
Another fun way to make this all American favorite is to use bread. We did this in the oven with our Grilled Cheese Pizza Toast that is our girls’ favorite snacks ever.
What to do with leftovers
If you make and bake one with this with all the toppings and don’t finish it you can Reheat Pizza in Toaster Oven quite nicely if you like. Better than in the microwave so it crisps up again on the top and edges.
FAQ
When it comes to baking, cornmeal and corn flour have different textures and will produce different results. Cornmeal is coarser and will provide a grittier texture, while flour is finer and will yield a smoother feel. If you substitute cornmeal for corn flour in baking, expect a different texture in the final product.
Not in the dough itself but yes they do sprinkle some on the paddle the round sits on so it doesn’t stick sand gives it a sandy texture. If you feel and taste a bit of a gritty feel when you pick up a piece in New York that is what it is!! The secret kitchen hack that we just let out. 😉
