Gluten-Free and Vegan Pizza Crust
Dear Gluten-Free Fans, what are you craving? Sometimes I just want a pizza and beer! TGIF! And good news, now we can have our pie and eat it too! Plus, the gluten-free beers on the market keep getting better and better (yes, most regular beer is made from barley hops and contains gluten). I love this easy to make pizza crust for the crispness, the omega-3 fatty acids, and the normalcy of sharing a gluten-free pizza and beer with loved ones on a Friday night. N4AO- kids will happily eat it up but hold the beer. Vegan or Gluten Intolerant? Have it your way: Red (tomato), White (cheese) or Green (pesto). But, to all my gluten-free G/F, I gotcha your back. Raw? NVM. Finish the meal with a smile because gluten-free has never tasted so good! Enjoy the weekend…
Gluten-Free & Vegan PIZZA CRUST
Makes a 9 or 12 inch round pie (recipe can be doubled for 2 pies)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup gluten-free oat flour
1/4 cup organic cornmeal
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 packet dry quick rise yeast granules (2 ¼ teaspoons)
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon water (115ºF)
Baking spray or oil
Cornmeal (optional)
Directions:
1. Liberally spray 12 inch pizza pan (with a ridged bottom, not smooth) or bottom of spring form pan (with a ridged bottom, not smooth) with baking spray and lightly sprinkle corn meal over the entire pan (cornmeal is optional).
2. Mix all dry ingredients in large bowl of electric mixer. Pour warm water (115ºF) and mix until just blended. Scrape bowl and beaters and then beat at high speed for 2 minutes.
3. Spoon dough into center of prepared pan. Use a cake spatula to move dough from center to outer rim of pan using individual strokes; lightly dampen spatula with warm water as necessary (but not too much). Try to move dough so that it covers entire pan in an even thin layer. Cover with a light cloth and let rise in a warm place for 40 minutes. Pizza should be approximately double in height.
4. Place shelf in lower third of oven. Preheat oven to 425ºF while pizza is rising.
5. Bake pizza in pan on rack in lower third of preheated oven for 10-12 minutes (12-15 minutes for 9-inch pizza). Pizza should be light golden in color and cooked through. Remove from oven and cover with pizza topping of your choice (make sure topping is not too wet*). For pizza parlor type crust, leave pizza in pan for 5 minutes, then place pizza directly on rack for 5 minutes. Remove from oven, let sit three minutes, slice and serve.
For very crisp crust: Put on pizza topping and place pizza directly on rack in lower third of oven; bake about 8-10 minutes until topping is cooked and bottom is crispy.
