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Gluten Free Pizza Dough Recipe

October 11, 2009 By 4 Comments

Real Pizza Crust, but gluten free. If you have struggled with this seeming contradiction in terms, looking for something to satisfy that craving for a crispy on the outside, fluffy-but-with-a-chewy-pull on the inside crust, I feel your pain. Or did until yesterday. After trying countless recipes, and inventing as many on my own, I finally invented a pizza crust I love.

gluten free pizza crust

gluten free pizza crust

Oh, and I like this one better than any homemade pizza crust I tried back in my wheat eating days. This was what I was aiming for all along and I am so excited about it that I’m going to post this right now – no pictures yet -  ’cause we ate it up before I could get any. I’m sure I’ll be making it again in a few days.

Fair warning, I did not develop this recipe for simplicity of ingredients, nor for maximum healthiness. I was going for satisfying a craving, no more, no less. While the recipe does have a lot of ingredients, you may find it goes together pretty easily in one bowl.

Whether the 3 kinds of starch and two kinds of gum, etc. are strictly necessary, I am not sure. I may experiment more later with simplification, but earlier, simpler versions were not this good – I hate to mess with success!

This would also make a stellar french bread recipe. Gotta try that. Let me know if anyone out there tries it.

Gluten Free Pizza Crust Dough
Preheat oven to 425º

  • 1 1/2 Cups White Rice Four
  • 1/2 Cup Sorghum Flour
  • 1/2 Cup Tapioca Flour
  • 1/2 Cup Potato Starch
  • 1/2 Cup Cornstarch
  • 1/4 Cup Sweet White Rice Four
  • 1 Tbsp Potato Flour
  • 2 tsp Xanthan Gum
  • 1/2 tsp Guar Gum
  • 1 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1 TBSP (scant) Dry Yeast
  • 2 Egg Whites, beaten until frothy
  • 2 TBSP Olive Oil
  • 2 TBSP Soy Milk, unsweetened and unflavored
  • 2 TBSP Agave Nectar
  • 2 tsp. Plain Rice Vinegar
  • 1 3/4 Cups Warm Water

Mix all the dry ingredients in stand mixer bowl with a whip (by hand is fine) until well mixed. Place bowl on mixer with paddle attachment and add all the wet ingredients. Mix on low until blended together then beat on high for 2 minutes.

Prep two large flat cookie sheets by covering with parchment paper and spraying the paper with oil spray. Scrape 1/2 the dough into the center of each sheet. Oil your hands really well with plenty of olive oil and use your hands to pat and smooth the dough into a circle leaving the edges higher than the center. The olive oil both keeps your hands from sticking, and coats the dough to keep it from drying out. You can make the crust thicker or thinner depending on your preferences. Both come out well.

Carefully prick the pizza crusts all over with a fork. Preheat oven (425º) while you let the crusts rise for about 1/2 hour or until it it is looking puffy (rising time is dependent on many factors including temperature in the kitchen and of the dough, so it may take longer).

The pre-baked pizza crust - ready for toppings.

The pre-baked pizza crust - ready for toppings.

Prebake the pizza crusts on the cookie sheets for 10-12 minutes until the dough is cooked but not yet started to brown. Remove from oven. Top with desired sauce and toppings. Replace in oven – one pizza at a time -  this time sliding off of the cookie sheet/parchment and directly onto the rack (for crisp crusts). You can also bake on the parchment for a softer crust. Continue baking until crust is golden brown and crispy and toppings are hot – 14 – 18 minutes.

Yum!

Notes: you can cool and freeze the pre-baked pizza crust blanks for later pizza cravings.

Adding oregano, a hint of fresh rosemary and/or some dry crumbled sweet basil to the dough would give a lovely flavor boost. I’m also thinking of sprinkling in some parmesan next time.

If you are using toppings with a lot of moisture, like veggies, you may find that precooking them by roasting or sauteeing will keep your crust from getting soggy. I saute my mushrooms to help remove excess water and concentrate flavor.

My favorite veggie pizza – carmelized onions, sauteed mushrooms, olives, and feta cheese on a pesto sauce base. An irresistable combo of sweet, salty and earthy!

Update… I just made this recipe again but I doubled it (everything but the yeast) I used brown rice flour instead of white. I also used mostly Guar Gum as I ran out of Xanthan Gum. It was wonderful! There was enough dough for 4 pizza crusts, 2 to eat and 2 prebaked blanks to wrap and freeze. My Mom, who is a wheat-eater thought it was the best pizza she had had in years!

Let me know how this recipe works for you!

Filed Under: GF Yeast Breads, Gluten Free Recipes

Wheat Free Dog Cookies

September 12, 2009 By 6 Comments

Many people are turning to wheat free or gluten free as a way of life and not only for themselves, but for their pets too. There is research that indicates that gluten may not be any easier for your dog to digest than it is for you, and may in fact be harmful. Many dogs have allergies to wheat.

People shaped dog cookies!

People shaped dog cookies!

Wheat or gluten free specialty pet food is available and dog biscuits are out there also, but they can be pretty expensive. These are easy – even fun – to make, and cost a whole lot less than the GF doggie treats available at your specialty pet store!

In addition, these are vegetarian. Vegetarian? <you say> why in the heck would you give dogs vegetarian dog treats? Well, I do not want to enter the great debate on the best way to feed your pets, so I will just say that many loving and caring people do feed their happy and apparently healthy dogs vegetarian diets. In addition, I have a good dog friend who has protein allergies and can’t eat most types of meat contained in commercial dog treats. That’s why I developed this recipe. ‘Nuff said.

Wheat free, Vegetarian Dog Treats

  • 1 medium yam, sweet potato or 3 medium carrots (note carrots take longer)
  • 1/2 Cup Peanut Butter
  • 1/2 Cup cooking liquid from yam
  • 1 Cup Rice flour (brown or white)
  • 1 Cup Oat flour (use gluten free oats for gluten free dog treats)
    (note: you can make oat flour by blending rolled oats in a blender or food processor.)
  • 2 tsp. aluminum free baking powder

Cut yam, sweet potato or carrots into 1/2 inch pieces. Simmer in a small pan, in enough water to cover, until soft. Reserve cooking liquid and set aside. In large bowl, mash the yam. Add 1/2 C liquid back to the yam with the peanut butter. Mix the Baking powder together with the flour. Add to the Yam mixture mixing thoroughly.

It should all come together in a dough, pliable but not sticky. If too sticky to roll out, add more flour, if too dry, add more liquid – just a bit at a time – and work together with your hands until it is the right texture to roll out. A good texture is like slightly dry cookie dough.

Roll out on a lightly flour dusted surface. about 1/4 inch thick. Cut into small shapes with a cookie cutter, (bone and people shapes are fun). Place on cookie sheets. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes +/- or until medium golden brown. (The larger the cookie the longer the time.) Cookies will crisp up as they cool. Makes about 4 dozen small dog treats.

Notes: Small cookies are good because it is easier to make sure they are cooked through. Since the dog treats have no preservatives,  it is important to make sure the cookies are crisp and dry so as to not get moldy later. If it will take some time for your dog(s) to eat all these up it is a good idea to freeze any that will not be eaten within a reasonably short time.

On making the treats with meat broth. You can make these non-vegetarian by using meat broth as the cooking and moistening liquid. However, most commercial brands of broth, or stock, have onion, or onion powder in them, which may be toxic to dogs. They also are usually high in sodium. If you choose to use meat broth, it is probably best that you use home-made broth that does not contain onion or added salt.

Filed Under: Pet Recipes, Wheat Free Recipes

Gluten Free Gougeres (Profiteroles)

June 30, 2009 By 12 Comments

People just LOVE these. I bring these savory french cheese puffs over to my dear friend’s house often when we have our small pot luck luncheons together. The last time, she greeted me at the door with a hug and the exclamation, “You smell wonderful!” About to demur that I was not wearing any perfume, she added, “You smell like Gougeres!”

Perfume indeed.

Gluten Free Gougeres

Gluten Free Gougeres

This unbelievably good little treat is just one of a whole family of delicious items using Choux Paste, a technique of mixing butter, eggs, water and flour that has been around almost 500 years and is used in many parts the world. The end result depends on the treatment. It can be sweet or savory, filled or unfilled, topped or plain.

A few familiar guises of Choux Paste as sweet treats are eclairs, croquembouche or cream puffs. Fried instead of baked – crullers. Add some fruit and you have beignets. I’ve seen profiteroles recipes in both savory and sweet versions. Filled with cream and topped with chocolate, or filled with herbed marscapone and sun dried tomatoes and served as h’ordeuvres. Call them what you will, these flexible and yummy treats rock.

Oh yeah. Once you master this recipe (and it’s really easy) a whole world of puffy, crispy, rich and delicious goodness is at your fingertips. And you’ll look like a professional pastry chef when you whip these babies out for your guests. You don’t have to tell them they only took you a few minutes to make, It’ll be our secret.

The Gougeres are wonderful with the Traditional Gruyere cheese, but go ahead and use different kinds of cheese to match what you are serving. Try a good swiss cheese or fresh grated Parmesan. Opt for sharp Cheddar and you have robust cheese puffs ready to pair up with a spectacular soup for supper. Gougeres make a very special light and airy bread to serve with almost any meal, and are just about the world’s best easy appetizer.

And nobody will know, or care, that these are gluten free.

I cannot take any real credit for the recipe for these little lovelies. I found the original recipe in a Betty Crocker’s International Cookbook (now out of print, but you can still get it on Amazon.com). Dear old Betty. Many years ago, her unfussy and ingredient practical versions of classic international dishes led me into a whole new world! The recipe in question was for a Gruyere Cheese ring (gougeres) – a beautiful presentation of a french classic. Over the years, I made a few alterations, including simplifying the presentation slightly and de-glutenizing it but it is, in its essentials, unchanged.

Gluten Free Gougeres

(Pronounced Goo-gehr)
Preheat oven to 400º

  • 1/2 cup of butter
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 cup white rice flour
  • 4 eggs lightly beaten
  • 1 cup grated cheese (Gruyere for classic Gougeres, but regular Swiss, Parmesan and Cheddar are all wonderful)

Cook the milk and butter together in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring, until the butter melts and the mixture comes to a boil.

Stir in the rice flour all at once and beat/stir with a sturdy wooden spoon until the mixture comes together in a dough – 1 minute or so. Remove from heat.

Gougere showing the hollow center

Gougere showing the hollow center

Pour in the eggs and continue to beat until the mixture combines completely and becomes smooth. You may also transfer the hot dough to a food processor, and the eggs and pulse until smooth and thick.

Stir in 2/3 to 3/4 of the cheese

Drop by rounded soup-spoon full onto a greased cookie sheet leaving space for them to expand. If you prefer, you may also pipe them onto the sheet using a pastry bag.

Sprinkle the remaining cheese on the tops.

Bake about 25 minutes or until they are puffed and golden brown. Makes 16 Gougeres.

Gougeres can collapse as they cool. If it is important that all the centers are hollow – like if you want to fill them, turn the oven off about 8 minutes early leaving the gougeres in to finish cooking at a lower heat. After you take them out, poke small holes in them to let the steam escape. You can also try letting them cool slowly in the turned off oven with the door propped open.

Filed Under: GF Quick Breads and Muffins, Gluten Free Recipes Tagged With:
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