Pizza, Glorious Pizza

Pizza was always a Kramer specialty. I was born in Chicago, and so we'd make really good deep-dish mouthwatering pizza. It was what I made to impress people: pizza and cheesecake. So, it was a bit of a sore-spot in my early marriage when John didn't care for my pizza. Little did I know it was because the wheat-based crust was attacking his body. Well, I was more than pleased when Brent moved in with us and adored my pizza. Yes, I would make it just for him. Is that an awful confession that I was baking for my brother-in-law because he appreciated it more than my husband? Well, now that I finally found a great recipe, John craves my pizza. It is now bringing me gluten-free fame. The above images are from last night's pizza, so it doesn't look as appetizing as when it's hot and gooey from the oven, but I'm so image oriented that I needed to add something. That is one thing truly-lacking from gluten-free cookbooks: full-color, mouthwatering images. So, I hope to amend that on my own blog.

I found the crust recipe online actually:

Amazing Pizza Crust (Gluten-Free)
This recipe comes to us from Carol Fenster's cookbook: Special Diet Solutions.

1T gluten-free dry yeast

2/3 cup brown rice flour or bean flour

1/2 cup tapioca flour

2 tablespoons dry milk powder or nondairy milk powder or sweet rice flour

2 teaspoons xanthan gum

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin powder

1 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning (I use the McCormick grinder, it's great!)

2/3 cup warm water (105 deg F)

1/2 teaspoon sugar or 1/4 teaspoon honey (I use more like 2T sugar)

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 teaspoon cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In medium mixer bowl using regular beaters (not dough hooks), blend the yeast, flours, dry milk powder, xanthan gum, salt, gelatin powder and Italian herb seasoning on low speed. Add warm water, sugar (or honey), olive oil, and vinegar. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. (If the mixer bounces around the bowl, the dough is too stiff. Add water if necessary, one tablespoon at a time, until dough does not resist beaters.) The dough will resemble soft bread dough. (You may also mix in bread machine on dough setting. ) Put mixture into 12-inch pizza pan or on baking sheet (for thin, crispy crust), 11x7-inch pan (for deep dish version) that has been coated with cooking spray. Liberally sprinkle rice flour onto dough, then press dough into pan, continuing to sprinkle dough with flour to prevent sticking to your hands. Make edges slightly higher to contain toppings.

Last night I used one of Mom's tricks in sprinkling the Pam-coated pan with cornmeal which made it easier to spread the dough out on the pan without it sticking. This is no mean task. I use Bette Hagman's trick of putting my hand in a plastic bag while spreading out the dough. I then sprinkle the dough with Parmesan and Romano cheeses for a good rich flavor.

Bake the pizza crust for 5-10 minutes. Remove from oven. Spread pizza crust with sauce and toppings. Bake for another 15-25 minutes or until top is nicely browned. Just keep checking so that the crust doesn't burn

This is really good! Boboli's prepared sauce is gluten-free and I really love the flavor. Since it takes so long to put everything together, I don't bother with my own sauce, though I may work on that again in the future and add it. Last night's pizza had roasted red peppers, Turkey pepperoni, and sautéed sweet onions and baby bella mushrooms. It was great!