The Top 5 Gluten-Free Neapolitan Pizzas in New York City

Sometimes it’s a necessity. Other times, it’s a trend. Either way, gluten-free pizza options are a popular request in New York City restaurants – Italian pizzerie included!

In just a few years’ time, gluten-free pizza has gone from “meh” to a must-have on just about any menu. Originally very different from the original Neapolitan pizza dough, now it’s just as good as the standard! In pizzerie everywhere, Italian pizzaioli (pizza chefs) decided to embrace the high demand for gluten-free options and experimented with the dough until finding the best way to make their gluten-free pizza as close to the original as possible.

The secret is all in the flour and technique. The basic ingredients are the same – just adapted with gluten-free flour. The difficult part comes when you have to stretch the dough because it breaks all too easily without the gluten – the ingredient responsible for making the dough elastic once kneaded. So what exactly does it take to make a gluten-free pizza that can satisfy even the pickiest palate?

To find out, we toured several Italian pizzerias in New York City, and they shared their take on the world of gluten-free pizza with us. The one thing both pizzas have in common is the use of Italian flour, an absolute necessity according to the pros.

“We use a plant-based flour with all-natural ingredients,” explains Ribalta’s Pasquale Cozzolino. “The dough is prepared in a separate kneading machine and then left to rise for about two hours. It doesn’t need to rise any longer than that, because there is no gluten present. Once ready, we keep it separate from the regular dough. When it comes to stretching the dough, we must be very gentle. We can’t slap it to shape it. Also, we don’t use a separate oven and we warn our customers about this. But once the temperature reaches 800°F, the gluten is destroyed – so there is no cross-contamination between the two.”

“For our gluten-free pizza, we use plant-based flour and we can’t use a (yeast) starter because it contains gluten – so we use brewer’s yeast instead. The flour is difficult to knead because gluten is what makes the dough rise. Once the dough is ready, we let it rise for at least 12 hours,” says Giorgia Caporuscio, owner of the Don Antonio pizzeria in Hell’s Kitchen – and one of the few female pizzaiole under 30 in the United States. Giorgia says that she uses a separate work station and a separate oven for her gluten-free pizzas. The oven is electric, and the pizza cooks for a couple of minutes at a temperature of 800°F. Gluten-free pizzas represent 50-60% of the business at Don Antonio, so the menu has a wide variety of items to choose from. Not just pizza – they also serve gluten-free calzones, fritti (fried appetizers) and beer.

Agostino Cangiano, the pizzaiolo at PizzArte in Midtown, lets the dough rise for a total of 58 hours: “To prepare our gluten-free pizza, we use the poolish technique. We mix water, flour, and brewer’s yeast together. This makes the first dough, which we let ferment for 48 hours. Once ready, we mix the dough once more with more flour, water, and salt. The final dough needs to rise for another 10 hours. This technique increases the dough’s elasticity.” And even if PizzArte doesn’t use a separate oven, they do use a different kneading machine, a separate work station, and separate utensils when making both doughs.

“We have been making gluten-free pizza for over ten years,” explains Kesté’s Roberto Caporuscio. “We have a separate work station and a separate wood-fired oven. The dough rises from 10-20 hours and it takes a couple of minutes to cook – slightly longer than the standard pizza. In recent years, our gluten-free pizza sales have spiked and now represent around 35-40% of our business.” Caporuscio says that their gluten-free menu also offers fritti – as well as lasagna and some desserts. Soon, they also plan to launch a rectangular gluten-free pizza (made in the Roman style with its characteristic crunchy texture).

A long fermentation process is also among the techniques used at Sottocasa, a pizzeria with two locations in Harlem and Brooklyn. “We try to make our gluten-free pizza as light and easily digestible as possible,” says owner Luca Arrigoni. “We accomplished that mission by using less brewer’s yeast. For instance, we use only a quarter of the quantity recommended. In this way, we also avoid any residue left in the dough.” Luca says that a day doesn’t go by without gluten-free pizza orders. “The trend just keeps growing,” he added.