Official blog of Glutenfreeda.com: June 2009

Over the years, Glutenfreeda has spent many hours in the kitchen trying to perfect gluten-free pizza. Part of the difficulty with pizza is that everyone has their own idea of what perfect pizza is. Some like thin, crisp crusts and some like thick crusts. But the one thing that all pizza lovers have in common is that they want a pizza crust that doesn’t taste gluten-free!

Making Pizza dough:

Through hours of experimentation we have developed a pizza crust recipe that tastes like the real thing. It has a wonderful "non-gluten" free taste and comes out with a crust that is neither thin or thick…but rather right in the middle. Here is our basic pizza crust recipe:

Pizza crust:

Ingredients:

3/4 cup warm water (105-115°F)
1 Tablespoon sugar
2-1/4 teaspoons dry active yeast
2 cups gf flour*
1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1-1/2 Tablespoons olive oil
Extra olive oil for forming dough

Directions:

In a small bowl combine warm water, sugar and yeast. Stir and proof for about 5 minutes or until foamy.

Mix gf flour and salt in work-bowl of a heavy-duty mixer fitted with a paddle.

Add 1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil to proofed yeast. Pour yeast mixture into flour mixture and mix on medium speed for 6-7 minutes. The dough should be soft enough that it somewhat adheres to the sides of the bowl. If the dough appears to be too stiff, add more warm water, about 2 tablespoons at a time until it softens up.

Turn dough out onto a greased pizza pan. Drizzle dough with olive oil and rub your hands with a little olive oil. Press dough into an even layered circle, creating a little lip around outer edges. If it starts to stick to your hands rub your hands with a little more olive oil.

Cover pizza crust with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake pizza crust for 7 minutes. Remove from oven (keep oven on). Top with your favorite sauce and toppings. Bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese (if using) has melted and is lightly browned in spots.

*We used The Gluten Free Pantry's Country French Bread flour mix for the gf flour in this recipe. To purchase this product please click here.

If you would rather create your own flour mix we have tested the following gf flour combination with great results:

Pizza gluten-free flour mix:

1-1/2 cups brown rice flour
1-1/2 cups white rice flour
2/3 cup potato starch
1/3 cup corn starch
2 teaspoons xanthan gum

The Toppings:

After your crust has baked for the original 7 minutes, it is now time to get creative. Sure you can opt for the American favorites such as Hawaiian or Pepperoni, however some of the best pizzas are those that are topped with great foods that compliment each other or perhaps even contrast each other (for example, sweet & spicy, or salty & sweet). My favorite thing to do with pizza is raid the fridge for leftovers. One of the best pizza’s I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying was made from leftover filet mignon, ricotta cheese, basil and fresh tomatoes. You can also look outside of the "pizza box" and experiment with different sauces…you don’t always have to use a red pizza sauce. You can use a white sauce, pesto, or you can eliminate the sauce altogether as we did with our Mesclun Pizza and have the highlight of your pizza be the toppings!

It’s OK to take off the Domino’s hat and discover some new and exciting flavors that could turn a safe standby meal into a gourmet meal you’ll treasure.

To get your creative juices flowing, here are some wonderful pizza recipes developed by Glutenfreeda: