When I tell someone about my celiac, pizza comes up quickly on their horrified list of "YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T HAVE _________ ? OR __________? (Because what's really awesome, people, is being reminded of shit I can't eat. Reaaally special.) OH MY GOD! OH MY GOOOODDDD! HOW DO YOU DO IT?"
Now, even before I became GF, I fancied myself a master of recipe substitutions and creating lightened up comfort food. The answer to their question is make it freaking work somehow. I like the foods I like. The key was how to make them healthy.
Beyond healthy now, they also must be gluten free, which presents new challenges. I had mastered GF mac and cheese within two weeks of getting diagnosed, no surprise. But I'm just getting around to pizza now, 6 months later. Even though its not anywhere near the top of my personal list of glutenous delicious things that I miss dearly, I hear it from most people I talk to about my allergy. And see all over the internet that celiacs are clamoring for GF pizza. Granted, its bread, sauce and cheese. It can't really be BAD, can it? But yes, from the reviews I've read of many, many recipes it apparently can.
Here are two options for having gluten free pizza at home. Below you will find one version with a frozen crust my mother found at a market in Jersey and one that I made from scratch at home in about 30 minutes. Both are tasty, I promise.
Contender 1: Glutino's gluten free pizza crusts, which come reasonably price for a pack of 4 which are ready after 20 minutes in the oven. I suggest baking for 10, adding your toppings and putting it back in for 5 - 10 more minutes.
Mine has ricotta, swiss and pancetta. Not bad for a lazy Saturday, right?
These turn out crispy on the bottom while still chewy the way good NY pizza should be. Not bad for something that required no defrost out of the freezer.
Now, we have a slightly more ambitious endeavor. But considering these two pizzas take up virtually the same amount of time, I'd say go for the gold and follow this recipe here. No pizza pan? No problem. I greased up a regular old rectangular baking sheet that had a lip and it worked perfectly. And its yeast free too!
super easy gluten free pizza crust
1 cup cornstarch
1 cup all purpose GF baking flour mix (I used Pamela's)
1 and 1/3 cups milk (I used 1%, so even skim should be fine)
1 teaspoon EVOO
4 eggs
1 large pinch of salt (maybe 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon?)
2 tablespoons seasonings (I used rosemary, red pepper flakes, basil and garlic powder since I was doing Italian toppings)
*Mix gently with a whisk until lumps are no more. Don't overmix!
*Pour batter into well greased pizza pan or baking sheet. (I chose the word batter here very carefully. This mixture is going to seem WAY too liquidy and wet to turn into pizza, but it does.)
*Bake at 425F for 10 - 12 minutes or until it is firmly set, resembling crust, and starting to brown slightly on the edges and underneath. (For a crispier crust, brush top with EVOO and add five additional minutes of baking time).
*Add toppings and bake for an additional 7 - 10 minutes or until everything is melty and the crust is golden brown on the edges and underneath. It will smell fabulous when it's done.
How good does this look?
Topped with tomato sauce, part skim ricotta, part skim mozzarella and basil.
And a close up, so you can see how awesome and full of air holes the crust is. Closest thing I've had to regular, crispy on the bottom, chewy in the middle New York pizza since I've been gluten free, for suuuuure.
Woohoo! Pizza may make it closer to the top of my list after all.
