This pizza recipe comes from a book written by one of my favorite bloggers. Here’s a link to the book page of the blog: http://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/gluten-free-cookbooks/. I’ll eventually write a review of the book after I’ve worked with more of the recipes.
This pizza recipe was pretty good. It all kind of comes down to what sauce you choose. If you’re picky about your Marinara sauces (As I am), and you like sauces that really highlight onion flavors, I’d recommend RAO’s sauces (pictured below). They’ve started selling them in Publix recently. At about $8 per jar, it’s not cheap, but RAO’s is delicious and certified gluten free! This recipe used up about 1/4th of the jar, so the price really evens out if you make 4 pizzas.
The dough in this recipe is considered a “quick” dough. It doesn’t require any yeast or sitting time, and is intended for cooks who haven’t planned ahead (as I never do!). There is an alternative recipe that does incorporate yeast and is probably therefore much more flavorful than this crust (I’ll let you know when I make it). This one does have a fairly bland flavor when made with a white rice/tapioca/potato starch flour blend (which is perhaps not an ideal flour blend for a pizza dough recipe, but it’s what I had). Having said that, the crust itself is flavorful, and most of my qualms with the center of the pizza result from an error in my own preparation process. I didn’t flatten the dough thinly enough before baking, so the center of the pizza turned out a bit bread-like. This didn’t really make eating the pizza unenjoyable, but each slice was VERY filling! Make sure you take special care to flatten the middle of the dough, and you should be perfectly happy with the end result. You’ll probably want to use a flour that is at least in part made up of a high-protein flour (like soybean flour or garbanzo bean flour). The recipe calls for “High Quality All Purpose Gluten-Free Flour,” so you can really do whatever you want as far as mixing goes (it might be a good idea to add some seasonings like garlic and pepper if you choose to use a generic flour like I did). Look into other recipe books for some guides on what mixes work best for pizza dough. (Here’s another good book that offers some insight: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/gluten-free-baking-with-the-culinary-institute-of-america-richard-j-coppedge-jr/1112788596).
Enjoy!
Ingredients
For Dough:
1.5 cups (210g) high-quality all purpose gluten-free flour
3/4 tsp Xanthan Gum
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp honey
6-8 tbsp warm water, plus more if necessary
For Pizza:
Dough (See Above!)
1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup chopped resh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano
8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced into 1/4-inch thick rounds
To Make Dough:
1. Whisk flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt in a large bowel.
2. Add the olive oil and honey, mix well (mix will be lumpy). Add 6 tablespoons of water and mix. Continue to add water to dough until you can form a ball with the dough. The dough should not be slick-wet to the touch, but should be tacky and moist. If you add too much water, balance with a little extra flour. Turn your oven on and heat to 425 degrees at this point.
3. Shape the dough into a ball, and wrap in plastic. Let sit for 15 minutes. Then, place the ball of dough between two lightly floured sheets of parchment paper. Using a rolling pin (or, if you’re resourceful, a water bottle!), roll the dough into a flat round shape. Peel off the top sheet of parchment paper and dispose of it. Place the bottom sheet (with the dough on top of it) onto a Pizza Dish or other flat bake-ware surface.
To Make Pizza:
4. Pour pre-made sauce over the flattened dough. Place the dough with sauce in the over for 5 minutes, and allow the dough to harden slightly. Take the dough out, and sprinkle the top with Parmesan, Basil Leaves, and Mozzarella. Mozzarella should be placed fairly closely together on the pizza to ensure that the sliced pieces melt together. Place back in the over for 10 more minutes or until the crust is just starting to brown. Allow to sit for a few minutes before serving.
BUCKWHEAT 