Just a little history. I've been on the paleo primal diet for over a year, maybe eating that way about 75% of the time. In doing so I've greatly reduced some long standing health issues. The rest of the time I eat gluten free and a great pizza is one of those things that is still impossible for me to pass up. After seeing my success, I was able to talk my husband into trying it all. He too has gone through some dramatic improvements in health, and has finally come to the conclusion that cheating is not an option. The pizza cheat was the most difficult thing for him though, and I knew I'd have to come up with some better bread, pizza and chocolate chip cookies in order to keep him on the wagon. I've managed to get the cookies down. Still buying the bread. Thankfully we started shopping at a store that sold a gluten free frozen pizza crust, and that has been working. However, I still felt I needed to come up with my own homemade crust. I think I finally hit on the right one. Last Friday night, on our traditional family pizza night, I was crowned queen of pizza for this crust adapted from the King Arthur flour recipe.
1 1/2 cups King Arthur Gluten Free Flour
2 tablespoons buttermilk powder
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons olive oil
no stick spray or olive oil to oil the pan
1) Place the dry ingredients (except the yeast) into a large mixing bowl.
2) Place the warm water, olive oil,
yeast in a bowl, stirring to combine. Let yeast proof.
3) Add this mixture to the dry
ingredients, and beat on medium-high speed for 4 minutes. The mixture will be
thick and sticky. (I actually beat mine by hand and it turned out fine)
4) Cover the bowl, and let the dough
rest for 30 minutes or so-if you are in a hurry to feed the hungry Hubs 20 minutes works.
5) Preheat the oven to 425°F.
6) Drizzle 2 tablespoons olive oil
onto the center of a baking sheet or round pizza pan. Scrape the dough from the
bowl onto the puddle of oil. No
stick spray works if you are looking to cut some of the fat, but hey it’s a pizza…
7) Using your wet fingers, start at
the center of the dough and work outwards, pressing it into shape. You may get
some holes, so just patch ‘em up and keep going.
8) Let the dough rest, uncovered,
for 15 minutes give or take-I was in a hurry so we didn’t wait that long
9) Bake the crust for 8 to 10 minutes,
until it's set; the surface will look opaque, rather than shiny. I’d say
ours was closer to the 8 minutes.
10) Remove from the oven and top
with whatever you like. ¾ pound of mozzarella, lots of pepperoni and some
mushrooms works well. Bacon and spinach with a little cheddar added to the mozzarella is really good too. Return to the oven
to finish baking, about 10 to 15 minutes depending on the toppings you've
chosen.
Yield: one pizza 12"-14"
