A friend of mine who has a recent Celiac diagnonsis (and a very pretty blog, and awesome etsy shop Cubits, for all your heirloom seed needs) asked me for this recipe on Facebook the other day. It is such a staple around here, and so relatively quick and easy (not as easy as pulling a pizza out of the freezer and slamming it in the oven, but you know) that I thought I should share it here on the blog. I used the pizza crust recipe from Cooking for Isaiah by Silvana Nardone (an excellent book, I highly recommend it if you are going wheat free and dairy free, especially with kids) as my starting place, but have modified it a bit both in ingredients and method, enough so that I feel like it is different enough to post it here.
Also, I should note that this is a very thin pizza crust, bordering on crispy around the edges because that's how we like it 'round here. Perhaps if you roll it out less thinly than I do, you could have a doughier crust, if that's what you're into.
First of all, you are going to need some of Silvana's Flour Mix, the recipe for which can be found here. I really like this blend, though to be fair I have not tried too many others. This is one of the first few that I tried on our Gluten free journey and it works well, so I haven't really investigated that many alternatives. But maybe you have a flour mix that works well for you. If so, you could probably use that.
Gluten Free, Dairy Free Pizza Crust
2 cups Gluten Free Flour Mix
1 1/2 tsps active yeast
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp kosher salt (regular salt will work too)
1 tsp dried oregano
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
2 tbsps olive oil, plus more for brushing on the crusts.
Parchment paper for rolling out the dough.
First thing you are going to do is start the yeast. In a small glass overproof bowl, mix together the half cup of warm water, the yeast and the sugar. Depending on how warm your kitchen is, or what kind of a rush you are in (frankly, I'm always in a rush, and my kitchen is not so warm) you can either just let it proof on the counter, or as I do (rush, rush) you preheat your over to 100 degrees, and then put it in there to proof. You know its ready when it has gotten all frothy and stuff.
Meanwhile, mix together your flour, salt and oregano in a large bowl. Add the lightly beaten egg whites, and the olive oil, give it a little mix and then add your yeast/water/sugar mixture. Mix with a wooden spoon until it all sticks together. If it seems to sticky at this point, you can add more flour until it seems to be the right texture to you.
Turn your oven up to 450 degrees.
Divide the dough into two portions and turn one of them out onto a square of parchment paper. Sprinkle it with a bit of flour and lay another square of parchment paper over it, and roll it out into a circle. I like to roll it really thin. Like, less than a quarter inch, for sure. Probably more than an eighth of an inch though. Hard to say exactly how thick, but basically just thick enough not to tear when I pull off the top layer of parchement paper.
Then, peel off the top layer of paper. Pour a little dollop of olive oil on top and spread it around with your fingers. Then lift the whole thing, bottom paper and all onto a cookie sheet, pizza pan, or pizza stone. Repeat with the other half of the dough. Now you have two crusts. (You can also divide the dough into four and make personal sized mini-pizza's which really appeals to the kids.)
Put the two crusts into your preheated oven. Make sure the racks are not in the bottom position. Let them bake for about 8 minutes. Pull 'em out and using a large metal spatula type thing, slide it between the crust and the parchment paper and then flip it over. So they are still on the paper, but now they have been turned. Return them to the oven to cook the other side for another 8 minutes. (Unless you don't want them to crispy, in which case put the toppings on before you cook the second side)
So now you've cooked both sides. At this point, you could leave them to cool and then wrap them up and put them in the freezer for later. Or you can go ahead, put your toppings and sauce on them, and then put them back in the over for another 6 minutes or so. We usually pre-cook most of our toppings (bacon, mushrooms, zucchini, asparagus, whatever) in a pan, so really, it just needs a quick heating, and not so much a cooking. But if your toppings need more of a cooking, go back and put them on before you cook the second side of the crusts, and then they will get more of the time they need.
So there you are! You can have pizza! I make this once or twice a week, as the Little Dude loves it. I'd love to hear your feedback if you get a chance to make these. Enjoy.