Diva In The Kitchen: Gluten Free Pizza
Computer problems. A sick chihuahua. Trouble sleeping. Trying to clean the house in preparation for Bunco this weekend. These are the things that are keeping me from doing all the blogging I want to do. There is just too much going on and I am feeling highly unmotivated to do anything but sleep (which I don't do during the day). But you know what isn't complicated? Making your own gluten-free pizza! This is not a sponsored post, by the way.
One thing I totally miss since going gluten-free back in October is pizza! We have found several gluten-free pizza options around town, but the problem is usually that they are way more expensive and not crispy enough for our liking. After my cousin tried her hand with Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Pizza Mix, I decided I would go ahead and try it too. It has become a great option for us when we are craving pizza! While it isn't super quick, it does make for a tasty dinner.
If you can't find the mix in any of your local stores, it is available on Amazon. At this point, I have made the pizzas a few times and feel that I have finally perfected it to mine and my husband's liking. I wanted to share what I did in addition to the directions on the package.
We typically make a vegetable pesto pizza and a BBQ chicken pizza. For the veggies, I cut up two green peppers, a pound of mushrooms, and a whole red onion. I tossed them in some avocado oil, seasoned them, and laid them out on a big cookie sheet. With the oven at 450, I roasted them for about half an hour.
Meanwhile, prepare the dough according to the package instructions. You have to combine the included yeast packet with warm water and let it sit for a few minutes before blending in the mix. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for 20 minutes. I sit my glass bowl on the oven so the warmth helps the dough even more.
For the last 10 minutes or so, place the two pans you will use for the pizza in the oven so they get really hot. (The amount of dough makes for two 12-inch pizzas or one larger crust.) When the dough has risen a bit, take the pans out and spray them with non-stick spray. I use the coconut oil spray from Trader Joe's. The dough is very sticky, so have a cup of water on hand for you to stick your fingers in. I half the dough, mash it together to get rid of air bubbles, and place it on the pan. With your wet fingertips, start pushing the dough out into a rough circle shape. The last time I made it, the dough got thicker during the cooking process, so you can make it thinner than you think you need to and it should be fine.
Place the pizza shapes into the oven and bake until the edges are just getting golden brown. This is roughly 10 minutes. Doing this step alone did not make the dough crispy enough for me. So I added the following step: After 10 minutes, take the trays out and flip the pizza crusts over. The bottom (now the top) will be a nice golden color and already getting crispy. The hot pan will start cooking the bottom side and, with time in the oven for melting cheese, it will be nice and crispy on the bottom.
Once you have flipped the crust, you can start adding your toppings. The BBQ sauce we used is by Woodstock in the Chipotle flavor. It is mildly sweet with a nice heat to it. It is really quite tasty! The flavor goes really well with all the toppings and provides a little something extra. Our other toppings for the BBQ pizza include cheddar cheese, chicken, the roasted peppers/onions/mushroom mix, and more cheese. We forgot to add bacon last time.
The pesto pizza has, you guessed it, pesto as the base. We use a cheese mix and then load on roasted veggies like the pepper/onion/mushroom mix, roasted zucchini, raw spinach, sun dried tomatos, artichoke hearts, and chunks of feta.
Once your pizza is dressed as you desire, pop those bad boys back in the oven until the cheese is melted and the crust is a nice golden brown. Enjoy!
Even your fuzziest of diners will want some!
Again, this isn't a sponsored post, but I'd be game for one!
One thing I totally miss since going gluten-free back in October is pizza! We have found several gluten-free pizza options around town, but the problem is usually that they are way more expensive and not crispy enough for our liking. After my cousin tried her hand with Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Pizza Mix, I decided I would go ahead and try it too. It has become a great option for us when we are craving pizza! While it isn't super quick, it does make for a tasty dinner.
If you can't find the mix in any of your local stores, it is available on Amazon. At this point, I have made the pizzas a few times and feel that I have finally perfected it to mine and my husband's liking. I wanted to share what I did in addition to the directions on the package.
We typically make a vegetable pesto pizza and a BBQ chicken pizza. For the veggies, I cut up two green peppers, a pound of mushrooms, and a whole red onion. I tossed them in some avocado oil, seasoned them, and laid them out on a big cookie sheet. With the oven at 450, I roasted them for about half an hour.
Meanwhile, prepare the dough according to the package instructions. You have to combine the included yeast packet with warm water and let it sit for a few minutes before blending in the mix. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for 20 minutes. I sit my glass bowl on the oven so the warmth helps the dough even more.
For the last 10 minutes or so, place the two pans you will use for the pizza in the oven so they get really hot. (The amount of dough makes for two 12-inch pizzas or one larger crust.) When the dough has risen a bit, take the pans out and spray them with non-stick spray. I use the coconut oil spray from Trader Joe's. The dough is very sticky, so have a cup of water on hand for you to stick your fingers in. I half the dough, mash it together to get rid of air bubbles, and place it on the pan. With your wet fingertips, start pushing the dough out into a rough circle shape. The last time I made it, the dough got thicker during the cooking process, so you can make it thinner than you think you need to and it should be fine.
Place the pizza shapes into the oven and bake until the edges are just getting golden brown. This is roughly 10 minutes. Doing this step alone did not make the dough crispy enough for me. So I added the following step: After 10 minutes, take the trays out and flip the pizza crusts over. The bottom (now the top) will be a nice golden color and already getting crispy. The hot pan will start cooking the bottom side and, with time in the oven for melting cheese, it will be nice and crispy on the bottom.
Once you have flipped the crust, you can start adding your toppings. The BBQ sauce we used is by Woodstock in the Chipotle flavor. It is mildly sweet with a nice heat to it. It is really quite tasty! The flavor goes really well with all the toppings and provides a little something extra. Our other toppings for the BBQ pizza include cheddar cheese, chicken, the roasted peppers/onions/mushroom mix, and more cheese. We forgot to add bacon last time.
Once your pizza is dressed as you desire, pop those bad boys back in the oven until the cheese is melted and the crust is a nice golden brown. Enjoy!
Even your fuzziest of diners will want some!
Again, this isn't a sponsored post, but I'd be game for one!