I recently was in a discussion where gluten-free pizza came up. I occasionally make my own, which is infinitely better than the cardboard-like crusts that are sold as gluten-free in the specialty diet food section of the supermarket. Someone requested the recipe, so I though I would post it for all who might be interested. Of course, to do that I had to make it and take a photo, as you see.
In the photo you see the pizza, the parchment on which it was baked, and the cast iron pan it was baked n.
The crust tends to be moister than a crust made from wheat flour dough and needs to cook a bit longer on the bottom while protecting the top from drying out. No doubt there are a lot of ways this recipe can be made into pizza. This is how I do it.
Homemade Gluten-Free Pizza
Crust:
- 1-5/8 cup white rice flour
- 3/8 cup sweet rice flour
- 5/8 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 3/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
- water
Assembly:
- pizza sauce
- cooked chicken meat, cut in pieces
- sliced pepperoni
- 8 ounces whole milk mozzarella cheese, brick type, grated or sliced
- fresh grated parmesan, romano, and/or asiago, if desired
- crushed red pepper, freshly ground black pepper, and dried oregano
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Line a cast iron pizza pan or two 10" fajita pans with parchment paper.
Mix together the crust ingredients except for the water. Add water a tablespoon at a time, stirring, until the dough becomes a paste you can press into the pan. Press it down into a round shape.
Spread pizza sauce thinly on the crust out to the edges. Put over a medium-low flame on the stove. Cover with a lid if you have one the size of the pizza, otherwise use foil. When the pan is hot and the crust begins to heat, reduce the heat and continue cooking until the crust is cooked (browning on the bottom optional). A large pan won't heat evenly, so it will have to go into the oven until cooked.
Grind pepper and sprinkle the crust with crushed pepper and oregano to season. Distribute the cut chicken and pepperoni over the crust. Spread grated cheese or place pieces of sliced cheese to cover. Put the pizza into the oven and bake until the cheese is melted. Remove from oven.
If you want to pick up the pizza to eat it, you have to make sure it is browned on the bottom. At this point I would put smaller cast iron pans back on the burner for a few more minutes of heat. It's an art form. You get better as you do it more often.
Slip the pizza off the pan(s) onto a cooling rack for about 10 minutes before serving.
Makes one 14" pizza or two smaller ones.