Becky says: “My triple cheese doughballs are everything I thought gluten-free doughballs could never be. Packed with stringy mozzarella in the middle, they’re crisp on the outside, light and fluffy inside and they tear like real pizza dough. If you didn’t know better, you’d think someone accidentally served you gluten-filled doughballs by mistake!”

Makes 12

Takes 30 minutes + 1 hour proving

Ingredients

75ml warm water
10g caster sugar
5g active dried yeast (ensure gluten-free)
225g gluten-free plain (all-purpose) flour
¼ tsp xanthan gum
½ tsp salt
150g cup Greek yoghurt
20ml garlic-infused oil, plus extra for greasing and brushing
85g extra mature cheddar cheese, grated
150g mozzarella cheese, chopped into 1.5cm cubes

For the topping:

15g pecorino cheese, grated
salt

Method

In a jug, mix together your warm water, sugar and yeast. Allow to stand for 10 minutes until nice and frothy.

In a large mixing bowl, add your flour, xanthan gum, salt, yoghurt, oil and grated cheddar cheese, along with the frothy yeast mixture. Mix with a spatula until well combined and a dough forms.

Place your dough in a clean bowl with cling film over the top and leave to prove for 1 hour in a warm place, until slightly bigger and feeling a little spongy.

Lightly oil your work surface and turn your dough out onto it. Divide into 12 pieces, each weighing about 45g each piece of dough into a ball.

Take a ball, flatten it in the palm of your hand and insert a cube of mozzarella into the centre. Gently pull the dough over the mozzarella so it’s completely covered and roll it back into a ball. Repeat for all the pieces of dough.

At this point, you can prove the dough a second time (this results in slightly bigger, puffier doughballs) if you like. If doing this, place the doughballs in an ovenproof dish in a cluster, with a 2mm gap between each.

Cover with cling film and leave to prove in a warm place for 1 more hour.

If skipping the second prove, place your doughballs in an ovenproof dish in a cluster, ensuring that they’re all slightly touching each other. Preheat your oven to 200°C fan/220°C.

Brush the doughballs with a little extra oil and sprinkle with the pecorino and a little salt.

Cook in the oven for 20 minutes until golden on top. A little of the cheese might ooze out, but that’s OK! Serve up immediately for hot, stringy, cheesy doughball goodness.

From How to Make Anything Gluten Free by Becky Excell (£20, Quadrille), out now

How to make gluten-free crumpets, doughballs and arepas (that taste just like the real thing)