Homemade Gluten Free Pizza

Today we’re talkin’ Pizza! One of my all-time favorite foods, and I’m guessing one of yours too. Back in my heyday, I was even called a “pizza snob!” My friends would come to me and ask where the best pizza places were in town, and I had all the answers.

That was all well and good until I was diagnosed and had to go GF! Then everything changed. Since then, it has been my mission to find a delicious local GF pizza. One that even non-GF people would want to eat. My quest for finding even a relatively good GF pizza has been rather disappointing, to say the least, over the past 3 years. 

 

During my first demoralizing month of having to go GF (now five years ago),  I heard that Pizzeria UNO had a GF pizza. At that time, they were one of the few that offered GF anything, so imagine my excitement. Maybe my pizza days weren’t over after all! (Insert the “wrong answer” buzzer here!) Well, when my “pizza” came, I remember nearly coming to tears with disappointment. The crust was just about inedible. I could barely pick it up without it falling apart. What a letdown. But that didn’t stop me from trying others and continuing my mission to find the best!

Three years later, I can say that there are only two places that I would recommend. One is in this area, and the other one is on the state line of Nevada/California. In our area, there is Harvest and Hearth, located on Rte. 67 in Saratoga Springs. See my review of Harvest and Hearth athttp://glutenfreedomny.blogspot.com/p/harvest-hearth.html. The other is Straw Hat Pizza, located in Harvey’s Hotel on the Nevada/California state line. 

Straw Hat Pizza is my favorite  so far. Put it this way, it was so good that I ate one whole pizza all by myself in one sitting. Then I went back the next day, and did it again! It’s really too bad this place is so far away from home. It’s a little too far to travel on a Friday night to get a pizza, and I’m guessing they probably won’t deliver. But I did some calling and eventually spoke with Straw Hat’s manager, and found out that they order their crust from Venice Bakery in California. You can check out all of their GF products online athttp://www.venicebakery.com/info/Our-Products.html. I ordered their crusts online and had them shipped from California. They were still good, but not as good as getting it from Straw Hat Pizza itself, so I haven’t ordered them again. I figure I’ll just have to go back out there sometime and order another one. If you’re in the area, give them a try! 

After lots of searching, coming up with only a few pizza shop choices that were noteworthy, I moved onto trying to make my own crusts, using recipes from other GF experts I found online. 

I must say this pizza recipe that I'm sharing with you today really comes out great. You can make the crust however you like, thicker or thin depending how far you spread the dough. This crust really browns up nicely, and has great texture and taste. The crust doesn’t have the “chew” that a normal wheat flour crust would have, but it’s still really good. My husband, who is not GF, was really impressed with this pizza overall. Every time I make it for myself, he always asks for a bite. He gives it the thumbs up!

PIZZA DOUGH
Ingredients:

1 ½ cups of Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour

½ tsp. salt

1 packet Fleischmann’s Rapid Rise Yeast (1/4 ounce)

2 egg whites, room temperature

2 tbs. olive oil

½ tsp. apple cider vinegar

2/3 cup liquid creamer (soy or dairy), warmed , divided use

additional olive oil, optional

Directions:

Whisk together dry ingredients except yeast; set aside. In a the bowl of a stand mixer (preferred) or large mixing bowl, combine egg whites, olive oil, cider vinegar and 1/3 cup creamer (or water + milk powder alternative).

Turn to low setting and slowly add the dry ingredients to the egg white mixture. Gradually add in remaining creamer to get a firm but very sticky dough that can still be spread. Pour in the yeast and beat on high for an additional 3 minutes.  

Oil your hands liberally and spread!

Spoon the dough into the middle of a prepared pan (like a pizza crisper tray covered with aluminum foil, sprayed with non-stick cooking oil) and liberally oil your hands with olive oil to spread the dough gently into a 12-inch circle. Raise the outer edges so the sauce won’t spill out.

Cover with oiled waxed paper and let the crust rise 10-20 minutes in a warm spot like a warming drawer or oven preheated to 200º F and turned off.

Preheat the oven to 375° F (static). After the crust has risen, poke several holes in it with a fork to prevent large air bubbles forming, then bake for approximately 15 minutes. The cooking time will vary depending on your pan, but the crust should have risen nicely by this time, and just begun to slightly brown.

Lightly brush olive oil onto the crust edges. Spread with sauce and toppings (or if making foccacia, sprinkle fresh rosemary, sea salt or other toppings) and cook an additional 20 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly. If you add vegetable toppings, I find they taste best if you sauté them in olive oil before adding to the crust.

Note: You may par-bake the crust, freeze and bake for later use. If doing so, stop baking after the first 15 minute bake cycle, cool, then wrap in foil. Place crust in a zip-top freezer bag and freeze for later use. Remove from freezer when ready to use, and thaw at least slightly. Preheat oven to 400° F. Spread desired sauce and toppings and bake for 10 – 15 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling or the focaccia is lightly browned.

Yield: One 12-inch pizza.

This recipe is gluten-free, nut-free and vegetarian.
This recipe was adapted from Jules Shepard.

Eggplant Pizza Boats with Sausage, Peppers, Onions, and Mushrooms

I was on my way home from work, contemplating what I should make for dinner for my husband and I tonight, and for some reason, all I could think about was pizza. Pizza...pizza...pizza... Man, I sure do love pizza. However, I wanted to make something that was quick and easy, and something that was a bit healthier than regular pizza. There's no need for a carb overload right before bedtime. Plus, the thought of having to make my own pizza dough from scratch, and all that goes along with doing that made me not like the idea as much anymore...so, I thought to myself, Nah, I think I'll pass on regular pizza tonight. 

So, then I began thinking about all the vegetables that I love on pizza normally...like sausage, peppers, onions, and mushrooms! You have got to have mushrooms! Well, that is, unless you are my brother. My brother really dislikes those little fungi. I do have to give him credit though. He does, every so often, try one just to see if maybe, just maybe, his taste for them has changed. And, so far, the verdict for him is still the same. "Yuk! Yuk! YUK!" 
So, if you are anything like my brother when it comes to mushrooms, just ditch them, and add a different vegetable of your choice that you really like on pizza instead. Maybe olives, garlic, broccoli, etc.

Now came the point of my pizza-like journey where I had to figure out what I should use as the vehicle for these delicious pizza toppings? Then, I thought about a fairly recent dinner I had at my parents house. They had ordered (normal) pizza for themselves, and on the one that everyone liked the most had eggplant on it. So, I decided to give it a whirl and use eggplant to house all of my delicious pizza toppings! And, guess what? It worked out beautifully. Before I decided on the eggplant, I thought about using squash. I'm betting that it would work out well too, but the eggplant just seemed to be a little bit more of an appropriate Italian choice, don't you think?

After I decided on the eggplant, I then roasted it in the oven while sauteing all the vegetables and cooking the sausage. Then, after everything was done only a short time later, I assembled them, and put them back in the oven just until the cheese was all melted and bubbly. And there you have it, Eggplant Pizza Boats! Sounds good, doesn't it?

These pizza boats were not only super healthy and the perfect quick and easy dinner, but they were also delicious and packed with flavor. If that's what you are looking for, I strongly suggest giving these a try. My husband couldn't stop saying how good they were. So, as I've told you before, when he says something is good over and over, you know it is.

This recipe is written for two servings, so if you are making them for a family, just increase your measurements accordingly. Feel free to try your families favorite toppings in place of mine. I'm sure whatever floats your boat will work! (Get it? Floats your boat...yeah, yeah, I know, but I couldn't help myself with that one.)

I hope you enjoy these delicious boats of goodness as much as we did! Let me know what you think by using the comment area below!

Eggplant Pizza Boats with Sausage, Peppers, 
Onions, and Mushrooms
Ingredients:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
Cooking Spray
1 large eggplant, cut in half
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
5 oz. baby bella mushrooms, quartered
3 links Premio Hot & Spicy Italian Chicken Sausage, casings removed
1 cup of your favorite jarred gluten-free tomato sauce, or homemade
1/2 cup shredded Part-Skim Mozzarella cheese, divided
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan Cheese, freshly grated or in the can
2 teaspoons dried Italian Seasoning
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°. 

Take eggplant halves and place them on a rimmed cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil and sprayed with cooking spray, flesh side up. Sprinkle a dash of salt and pepper to the tops of each eggplant half, then drizzle each one with a little EVOO. Roast eggplant for about 30 minutes, or until tender. Remove from oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes. Turn oven down to 350° and keep on for the last step of the recipe.

Meanwhile, in a medium frying pan sprayed lightly with cooking spray, saute vegetables for about 5-8 minutes, or until soft. Remove from pan and put in a medium sized mixing bowl.

In the same frying pan that you just sauteed your vegetables in, cook the sausage thoroughly until no longer pink. Remove from pan and mix into the bowl with your sauteed vegetables.

Premio Chicken Sausage is a great Gluten-Free Choice!

Now that your eggplant has cooled off a bit, take a knife and score the eggplant where you want to scoop it out, leaving about 1/4" from the sides to make sure you have "walls" to support the toppings that will go in your boat. 

Scoop out the middle flesh of the eggplant with a spoon, and put the it onto your cutting board. Chop the eggplant coarsely that you just scooped out up, and add it to your sauteed vegetables and sausage mixture. 
Add tomato sauce (unheated), and mix everything together well.

Scoop the vegetable and sausage mixture evenly into your two eggplant boats. Pile it up high, and top with mozzarella and parmesan cheese, and your italian seasonings. 

Put back in the oven and bake for 5-8 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Serves: 2
This dish is gluten-free and nut-free. This can easily be made vegan/vegetarian by replacing the sausage with your favorite protein replacement, or adding additional vegetable toppings.

Pizza! Pizza! Pizzzzza!

Homemade Gluten Free Pizza never looked so good! And, it tastes good too!

This week on Gluten Free•dom NY, we’re talkin’ Pizza! One of my all-time favorite foods, and I’m guessing one of yours too. Back in my heyday, I was even called a “pizza snob!” My friends would come to me and ask where the best pizza places were in town, and I had all the answers.

That was all well and good until I was diagnosed and had to go GF! Then everything changed. Since then, it has been my mission to find a delicious local GF pizza. One that even non-GF people would want to eat. My quest for finding even a relatively good GF pizza has been rather disappointing, to say the least, over the past 3 years. 

 

During my first demoralizing month of having to go GF,  I heard that Pizzeria UNO had a GF pizza. At that time, they were one of the few that offered GF anything, so imagine my excitement. Maybe my pizza days weren’t over after all! (Insert the “wrong answer” buzzer here!) Well, when my “pizza” came, I remember nearly coming to tears with disappointment. The crust was just about inedible. I could barely pick it up without it falling apart. What a letdown. But that  didn’t stop me from trying others and continuing my mission to find the best!

Three years later, I can say that there are only two places that I would recommend. One is in this area, and the other one is on the state line of Nevada/California. In our area, there is Harvest and Hearth, located on Rte. 67 in Saratoga Springs. See my review of Harvest and Hearth at http://glutenfreedomny.blogspot.com/p/harvest-hearth.html. The other is Straw Hat Pizza, located in Harvey’s Hotel on the Nevada/California state line. 

Straw Hat Pizza is my favorite  so far. Put it this way, it was so good that I ate one whole pizza all by myself in one sitting. Then I went back the next day, and did it again! It’s really too bad this place is so far away from home. It’s a little too far to travel on a Friday night to get a pizza, and I’m guessing they probably won’t deliver. But I did some calling and eventually spoke with Straw Hat’s manager, and found out that they order their crust from Venice Bakery in California. You can check out all of their GF products online at http://www.venicebakery.com/info/Our-Products.html. I ordered their crusts online and had them shipped from California. They were still good, but not as good as getting it from Straw Hat Pizza itself, so I haven’t ordered them again. I figure I’ll just have to go back out there sometime and order another one.  If you’re in the area,  give them a try!

After lots of searching, coming up with only a few pizza shop choices that were noteworthy, I moved onto trying to make my own crusts, using recipes from other GF experts I found online. My favorite pizza crust recipe so far is from Jules Shepard, who makes Jules Gluten Free™ All Purpose Flour (this week’s featured product). Go to http://glutenfreedomny.blogspot.com/p/jules-gluten-free-all-purpose-flour.html for my full review on Jules Gluten Free™ All Purpose Flour.

 I must say this pizza comes out great. You can make the crust however you like, thicker or thin depending how far you spread the dough. This crust really browns up nicely, and has great texture and taste. The crust doesn’t have the “chew” that a normal wheat flour crust would have, but it’s still really good. My husband, who is not GF, was really impressed with this pizza overall. Every time I make it for myself, he always asks for a bite. He gives it the thumbs up!

So, you don’t have Jules Gluten Free™ Flour? Try your favorite GF all-purpose flour in place of hers in the recipe. It may be slightly different, but [using Jules™ has produced the best results for me so far. Like my mom always says, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!").


Click here for Jules™ Pizza Dough Recipe and start making delicious pizza tonight! 
(Although almost all of my recipes are family recipes, or truly adapted and changed by myself, this pizza dough recipe I use just as it was written. So, due to that reason and for copyright purposes, I have linked you directly to Jules'™ blog to get her pizza dough recipe instead of posting it directly on my site. Hey, you got to give credit, when credit is due!)