Pizza By Ratio

Pizza with bell peppers (under cheese), artichoke hearts and caramelized onions

I guess I'm in a pizza kind of mood lately. I just realized my last post was a pizza post, making two pizza posts in September. You can't ever get enough pizza, right?

When I found out we were doing pizza crust for our Gluten-Free Ratio Rally this month, I was tempted to try and figure out the ratio for my go-to pizza crust. It's tried and true (and edited many times over!!), and I love it because it reminds me of family nights growing up. I decided against it, however, and pushed myself again. (But I did use some of the same flours.) If you're looking for a great-tasting, whole-grain gluten-free pizza crust to top however you wish, this pizza will deliver.

I love these rally challenges. They make me a better gluten-free cook/baker and prove nearly anything is possible in a gluten-free kitchen.

Logo designed by Anile Prakash

A big thank-you goes to Karen over at Cooking Gluten-Free!, our host for this month's rally challenge, for hosting us this month. Be sure to check out Karen's crust ratio recipe for garlic, artichoke, sun-dried tomato, pesto pizza (Oh. Yum.) and all the other delicious ratio pizza recipes from the participants this month. She has the links on her post, and there is something for every taste there.

If you're unfamiliar with the ratio rally, check out my rally page, where I have all my other rally posts which link to each monthly host, as well as Shauna's post on Gluten-Free Girl and The Chef, which was the very first rally post.

I decided to keep it simple this time around and let you choose your own toppings. I'll list some of my favorites to get you started, but this post is about the crust. It's filled with healthy whole-grain goodness and taste, and both daughters and my husband loved it. This crust has the right amount of crunch on the edges and bottom, and the right amount of soft, chewy bread for the rest. It doesn't fall apart when you pick it up, so you can eat the entire thing with your hands. It also still tastes great reheated in the oven or microwave.

I used Ruhlman's ratio for basic bread dough for this pizza crust: 5 parts flour: 3 parts water (plus yeast and salt), or 5 oz. flour: 3 oz. water. His basic recipe makes two crusts (20 oz. flour, 12 oz. water), but this particular recipe will make one pizza at least 12 inches across. I halved the recipe while I was experimenting with the ratio, so I wouldn't waste too many ingredients if things didn't turn out right, and thought it might be a good idea to keep it that way for those of you who aren't feeding a crowd. If you want more pizza crust, simply double, triple etc. to your heart's desire.

Projected prep time: 15 minutes; Rise time: 1 hour; Projected bake time: Total of 25-30 minutes
(Printable Recipe)

3 oz. (83 grams) tapioca starch (flour)
1 oz. (28 grams) potato starch (not potato flour)
*2 oz. (56 grams) sorghum flour (*see note below)
2 oz. (56 grams) amaranth flour
2 oz. (56 grams) teff flour
1 tsp. kosher salt
5 oz. very warm water (a tad less than 2/3 cup)
1/4 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. active dry yeast
1 oz. water (2 tbsp.)
1 tbsp. milled flax seed
1 tbsp. (1/2 oz.) extra virgin olive oil
Extra virgin olive oil, for brushing
Cornmeal (optional)
*OR replace the 2 oz. sorghum with 2 oz. (56 grams) millet flour (I preferred the crust with sorghum, husband liked the millet better. Both tasted great and not much difference.)
Toppings

Combine flours with salt.

In a small bowl, combine 2 tbsp. of water with the milled flax seed to create a slurry, then let it sit.

Mix sugar into warm water, then sprinkle yeast into water. (This isn't necessary, but I like to see that the yeast is doing its job before adding it to the flour.) Let sit for 10 minutes.

Pour olive oil into flour. Stir flax slurry (it should be much thicker at this point), pour into flour. Pour yeast and water into flour.

Mix with dough hook at low-medium speed until flours begin to combine, then scrape the bowl to make sure all the flours are incorporated (you may have to do this a few times - or you can start with the paddle, then scrape and switch to the dough hook.) If you don't have a stand mixer, you do all of this with a wooden spoon. Continue to mix ingredients until dough forms a ball. If you mix past this, it's okay - and may even be a little better, but the dough won't be a ball anymore. That window is very small, and I miss it many times when I'm not paying attention. It just makes it a little easier to get out of the bowl when it's still in a ball.

Transfer dough to a ceramic or glass bowl (not necessary, but I do this because I let it rise in my oven and my mixer bowl doesn't fit very well in there on the racks) and cover bowl with a damp clean cloth or dish towel. Move to a warm, draft-free spot and let it rise for an hour. (As I said above, I use my oven. I warm my oven to about 100 degrees about 10 minutes before I start the dough, then turn it off. By the time it's ready to rise, the oven is warm but not too warm. And as long as I don't need it for something else, it makes a great place to let the dough rise.)

After an hour, your dough should be about doubled in size. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. (Remove your dough first if you're using this spot to let it rise!)

Unless you're using a pizza stone (I don't use mine in any of these photos), rub a little olive oil onto the pan surface. If desired, sprinkle a tiny amount of cornmeal on top. (I usually do this.)

Roll or pat your dough out evenly onto the pan.

Brush with a light coating of olive oil, prick with a fork a few times. Bake for 10 minutes.

Top with desired sauce(s) and toppings (see some of my favorites below if you need ideas), then return to oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until cheese (if you're using it) is melted and beginning to bubble.

Artichoke & caramelized onion

Turkey pepperoni & fresh onion

 Let sit for 5-10 minutes before cutting.

You can see that the crust holds up, even hot out of the oven, to bending and being held by hand:

*Just a sampling of some of my favorite toppings, in no particular order:
Pizza sauce, ricotta cheese, garlic, mozzarella, feta, spinach, artichoke, white onions, red onions, caramelized Vidalia onions (in butter & Tony Chachere's), green bell pepper, red bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, turkey pepperoni, pineapple, chicken and apple sausage, turkey sweet Italian sausage, mushrooms, olives, fresh tomatoes

Some of my favorite topping combinations:
-Tomato pizza sauce, diced green bell peppers directly on top of sauce, mozzarella cheese, turkey pepperoni, pineapple, fresh red onion
-Ricotta mixed with fresh garlic, topped with mozzarella, then topped with sauteed zucchini sticks, salt and pepper OR fresh spinach instead of zucchini, directly on top of ricotta and then mozzarella on top of spinach
-Tomato pizza sauce, jalapeno slices, caramelized onions and sweet turkey Italian sausage with mozzarella
-Tomato pizza sauce, feta cheese crumbles, mozzarella cheese, chicken and apple sausage and caramelized onions (my brother got me onto that one)
-Tomato pizza sauce, red or green bell pepper, artichoke hearts and (or not) caramelized onions

Enjoy with the toppings of your choice!

Don't forget to head on over to Karen's host post to see her amazing pizza and all the other fantastic recipes brought to you by rally participants this month! Thanks again, Karen!

BBQ Shrimp Pizza

I loved Stubb's products before we went gluten-free, so I was thrilled when I picked up a bottle a few months ago out of curiosity (something I often do to see if anything has changed with products I like) and saw that the sauces and marinades are now certified gluten-free. Yay!

So I've been using the sauces and marinades again - and have a few super-easy recipes using them to share with you in the future.

When Stubb's BBQ recently challenged me to create a pizza using one of their sauces, I immediately had an idea of what I wanted to make. Going off the basic ingredients of another dish I like to make, but haven't shared with you yet, I created this pizza.

Is it good? Fantastic. In fact, I've made it twice in the past week. My husband says it takes pizza to a whole new dimension. The entire family loves it so much, they may only want this pizza from now on. I'm going to save it for special occasions, even though it's easy enough to make every day.

I was in a time pinch the other night when I made this - just before sunset (so at least I had a little light left for photos!), so I used Udi's frozen pizza crust rather than the homemade pizza crust I enjoy making. (I need to take new photos of that crust - it looks a little different now that I've changed the recipe so much!) It tasted great on the Udi's.

Projected prep time (pizza with crust ready only): 10 minutes; Projected bake time: 15-20 minutes
(Printable Recipe)

Stubb's Smokey Mesquite Bar-B-Q sauce
Extra virgin olive oil
Cooked or grilled shrimp, tails removed
Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
Diced pimentos
Kosher salt
Black pepper
Pizza crust

Preheat oven to 375 degrees (note this is for Udi's frozen crust since that's what is in these photos - if you are using another crust the temperature may vary, therefore affecting the bake time).

Brush a small amount of extra virgin olive oil all over crust.

Spread a few tablespoons of Stubb's sauce over the crust.

Spread a good layer of cheese over the crust.

Arrange cooked or grilled shrimp on top of the cheese. (If you're using frozen, make sure they are thawed.)

Baste individual shrimp with sauce.

Sprinkle kosher salt and a dash of black pepper over pizza.

Sprinkle a small amount of cheese over shrimp, and top with diced pimentos.

Bake about 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is completely melted and beginning to bubble.

Enjoy!

White Zucchini Pizza

If you're in need of a quick but delicious dinner, this is for you. Originally, before we were GF, I made a pizza very similar to this using Rachel Ray's 365: No Repeats cookbook recipe. Since going GF, however, I've changed it up some to be a little faster to make (for me, anyway), and of course, without the gluten.

Projected prep time: 15-20 minutes; Projected bake time: 20-25 minutes
2 O'Doughs flax pizza crusts
2 zucchini, washed and cut into sticks a few inches long
15 oz. ricotta
5-6 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
Shredded mozzarella or Colby-Jack cheese
Grapeseed oil
Sea salt
Black pepper

Sautee zucchini in some grapeseed oil until tender. Season with sea salt and black pepper to taste halfway through the cooking, then taste again at the end.

While the zucchini is cooking, prebake your pizza crusts for 5 minutes. (And if you haven't discovered O'Doughs yet, you're missing out. They make the best hamburger buns, and I'm so pleased with the versatility and taste of these crusts!)

And mix your ricotta and pressed garlic together really well.

Spread onto heated crusts ...

Return to oven for about 5 minutes.

Now a note on the shredded cheese. I have always used mozzarella in this recipe. When I made this the other night, to my dismay, I was out of mozzarella (which I've now restocked in both shredded and fresh form!) but had plenty of Colby-Jack. Groaning, I looked at the clock. It was too late to go to the store and have supper on the table at a decent time. Mumbling to my husband that I'd have to use Colby-Jack and it wouldn't taste as good, I reluctantly sprinkled (you need to generously sprinkle your shredded cheese) the orange and white mixture over the ricotta/garlic.

Return to oven for about 5-10 minutes, until it's all melted well.

Top with the zucchinin and bake one more time, 5-10 minutes until it's all heated really well.

And the Colby-Jack cheese on top? I'm glad I was out of mozzarella. It was fabulous. But you choose the cheese you prefer.

Serve with salad

Delish!

Mama Me-a Pizza, Pizza!

Please note: I have adapted this recipe several times, as you can see each time below. I have finally settled on the whole grain blend, with or without the quinoa depending on if I have it on hand. I don't use xanthan gum in this anymore.)
I love pizza. I think so many pizzas taste good, but I also think that everyone's cravings for the "perfect" pizza are different based on what they are used to and grew up with. The recipe I share with you here is the taste I love. When I was growing up, my mom made homemade pizza every Saturday night for our family night. She used the classic, all-purpose, can't-live-without-it Joy of Cooking recipe for pizza crust, making her own alterations along the way based on what she felt like making that night or what she had on hand. (Note that this is the classic 1975 printing of Joy of Cooking, which is the one I also use.)

This taste from that recipe is what I think of when I think of the perfect pizza. Crunchy on the bottom and edges, chewy elsewhere. Since we've been gluten-free, I've tried the recipe with various flour blends from different cookbooks and my own experimental flour blends. I thought I finally may have come to a close-enough blend with my own flour blend of sorghum flour, brown rice flour and tapioca starch (oh and I think garfava flour was in it, too), but it wasn't quite there. For our family pizza night (which usually ends up being Friday night in our house) I often settled on a pizza crust mix (Chebe is the best, in my opinion). Until last night.

I was skimming through my latest issue of Delight Gluten Free magazine (that magazine and Living Without magazine are great resources) and found an article by Vanessa Maltin where she lists her special flour blend recipe. She stated that it worked well for nearly every recipe, including pizza, so I thought I'd give it a try. I was a little skeptical because I've tried other flour blends that promised to be great for everything, even pizza, and they weren't what I was wanting. I haven't tried this blend for anything but the pizza last night, but I'll say this is it for the pizza. It's as close to the taste and texture I remember as I think I'm going to get with gluten-free flours. My husband and daughters thought it was delicious, as did I.

Here's the flour blend, as printed in Delight Gluten Free, Fall 2010 issue. You'll want to double this, as you'll need four cups for the pizza: (*See edited note right below for corn-free and new preference.)
2 c. brown rice flour
3/4 c. cornstarch
2 tbsp. tapioca flour
1 tsp. xanthan gum
Combine ingredients & store in airtight container.

**Note (Edit on 1/30/2011) In order to try and make this recipe accommodate friends who can't have corn, I substituted tapioca flour (starch) for the cornstarch and potato starch for the tapioca in the above blend. I still did use the xanthan gum, but you could use guar gum. I may experiment with another flour blend at some point that may eliminate using the gum, but I really like the taste this blend provides because as I state above, it's very much like what I'm used to. I actually think I like the tapioca/potato blend better than the cornstarch/tapioca, though, so that's what I'll be sticking with unless at some point I find something better. If you are needing to eliminate corn from your diet, you can also do away with sprinkling cornmeal on the pans.

(And one more edit, 2/6/11) In an attempt to use more whole grains, I completely changed the above blend recipe and used 1 c. brown rice flour, 1 c. sorghum flour, 1/2 c. teff flour, 1/2 c. amaranth flour, 1/2 c. quinoa flour, 1/2 c. white rice flour, 1 1/2 c. tapioca starch, 4 tbsp. potato starch (to double for enough to use for pizza), and just 1 tsp. xanthan gum. The verdict: The family loved it. I personally preferred the taste of the brown rice/tapioca/potato blend over this more whole grain blend, but liked the texture of this one better. My husband and daughters, however, liked both taste and texture of this one more than any other. It looks like this may be the one I use. I may play around more and try to omit the gum completely at some point. (Edit: I did. You don't need the gum. It works great without it, and the yeast rises more!)

Here's the adapted pizza recipe, which makes two crusts (I like to make one pan, one deep dish):
Projected prep time: 10 min.; Rise time: 1 hour; Bake time: ~30 minutes
4 c. flour blend
1 pkg. yeast in 1 1/3 c. water with a little sugar ~100 degrees
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. sea salt
Gluten-free cornmeal (I like Lamb's)
Sauce (I either make my own or use Ragu homemade style if I'm short on time)
Toppings

Dissolve about 1/4 tsp. sugar in water around 100 degrees, add yeast, stir and let sit for about 7 or 8 minutes.  Mix flour and salt together in large mixing bowl, then make well in center of flour. Add olive oil and water, mix well with dough hook or knead with hands until all is mixed and can form a ball. If it seems too dry, add just a little more oil and then warm water a little at a time until it's able to form a ball. You don't want it too dry or it will be really hard on the edges. If you get the right amount of moisture, it will be perfect. If you want a more bread-type crust, add more water. The dough won't be as pliable - you'll have to spoon it and wet your hands or roller to smooth it on the pan, but it's good that way, too. The ideal is a point between the two.

Cover with damp cloth and place in warm spot to rise for about one hour. It won't increase a lot in size like it would with wheat flour. Grease pans with a little oil and then sprinkle with a little cornmeal. I like to use my cast iron skillet for one to make a deep dish and then my pizza stone or metal pizza pan for the other. Break dough into two parts, patting down into pans, pinching up edge. Keep in mind that this crust, when made gluten-free, will actually shrink a little so make sure you give plenty of room for the edges. Prick with fork in a few places.

In preheated 400 degree oven, place pans to bake crust for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and brush olive oil over entire crust, including edges. Add sauce over crust, then toppings. I like to put diced bell peppers on top of the sauce before I add the rest of the toppings.

Add cheese (I use mozzarella -- use Daiya if you are doing dairy-free) and top with the rest of your preferred ingredients. I like to use Hormel turkey pepperoni, crushed pineapple (squeeze the juice out as much as possible), fresh mushrooms and sometimes slices of red onion and/or black olives. I also love artichoke, fresh tomato, zucchini ... the list could go on.

Return to oven to bake for 20-25 more minutes, or until cheese is bubbling and toppings are cooked.

Let cool for a few minutes before slicing.