Pizza! Pizza!

I've been experimenting with pizza lately. It's very important to our family. Thursday has been pizza night for... I don't even know how long and I vowed it would continue. I have been using Picazzo's, but it's kind of annoying to drive all the way down there, and it costs $5.50 a pop. I tried Bob's Red Mill mix but it. was. nasty. Even Declan refused to eat it. So I tried making my own... not bad!!! The flavor needs a little work but the texture was awesome! I'll keep you posted on the flavor thing (I have some ideas) but here's the recipe I used. Pretty easy (if you have a stand mixer). It's a french bread recipe, and the bread is not too bad, either. You just mold it into a pizza shape on an oiled nonstick pizza pan, cook for 15 minutes and then add toppings, cook for 5 minutes more, broil for a minute if you like.

Gluten Free French Bread (Pizza Dough)

Ingredients

1 cup brown rice flour (I like Bob's Red Mill)

1 cup sorghum flour

3/4 cup tapioca flour

1/4 cup corn starch

1/4 cup flax meal

3 teaspoons xanthan gum

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water

2 teaspoons yeast

2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

3 egg whites, beaten slightly

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

melted butter, for brushing (optional)

Directions

1.In the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer, place flours, xanthan gum, salt and flax meal. Whisk to blend.

2.In a small bowl dissolve the sugar in the water, and add yeast.

3.Wait until the mixture foams slightly, then blend into the dry ingredients.

4.Add the butter, egg whites, and vinegar.Beat on high for 3 minutes.

5.To form loaves, spoon dough onto greased and cornmeal-dusted cookie sheets in two long French-loaf shapes or spoon into special French-bread pans.

6.Slash diagonally every few inches.If desired, brush with melted butter.

7.Cover the dough and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 20 to 25 minutes.

8.Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes.

9.Remove from pan to cool.

If you're not in the mood to cook, the Barro's on Mill and Baseline has a decent GF pizza, too. You can check your local Barro's to see if they have GF.

Pizza

I plan on trying out a few pizza dough recipes in the future, but for the time being, I am making it through pizza nights care of Picazzo's. They sell gluten-free pizza dough for $5 a ball. It is waaay better than any store-boughts I've tried (curse you, Bob's Red Mill!) I like to split one in half, shape them into two pizzas and freeze them individually on parchment paper. Then they are ready to go when we order Red Devil's at my mom's. I can throw together a pizza for Dec in 20 minutes, about how long it takes for my dad to pick up the glutinous stuff for the rest of us. They don't give you any instructions when you pick it up, but gleaned from other recipes, here's my process:

1. Use a nonstick pizza pan. Period. This stuff will stick like no other. Or you can experiment with non-stick sprays or parchment paper or what-have-you.

2. Using wet hands, gently press out the dough onto the pizza pan. It's the consistency of batter, not dough. You don't need to set it out to rise or pre-bake it.

3. Gently spread sauce and arrange toppings.

4. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.

You're done! If working from a frozen crust, just place in the oven for two to three minutes, then add sauce and toppings and bake for 15 minutes.

Sneaky Health Tip: I mix flax meal into the sauce. Nobody suspects a thing...

***UPDATE***

I always make plain cheese pizzas, but last week I was inspired to add mushrooms and bacon. Turns out that, like other GF crusts, you must prebake for 10 minutes if you're going to add toppings!