Gluten-free Pizza!

Death of Breath (veggie) Topping

Salmon Topping

When most people go gluten-free they feel like they have to give up so many foods. One of those foods is pizza. Of course you could buy a frozen gluten-free pizza for approximately $10 or more! Most of these pizzas are actually taste pretty good, but they're often not very filling or healthy for us. Plus, there's nothing quite like making a pizza from scratch especially since you get to decide what goes on it.

Pizza is far more diverse a food then just the classic american style with cheese, pepperoni, or veggies. We have way more choices! Further, making a pizza is as complex as you want it to be. Assuming you make the crust yourself, you can just add some marinara sauce and cheese you bought at the store. Below, I'll describe a much more hands on process making the crust, marinara sauce, and toppings all from single ingredients. Feel free to substitute your own recipes for these components especially the toppings. I don't recommend, however, adding fake/vegan cheese as a topping because I found that several of these "cheeses" often ruin the recipe. Real cheese is fine if you're fortunate enough to be able to eat cheese or choose to eat cheese.

I've included 2 topping recipes: a veggie topping I call "Death of Breath" and a salmon topping. If you want to make the salmon pizza please look at the instructions for that topping first as it requires a several hour marinating period. Also, if you choose to let the dough rise, prepare for this ahead of time.

Pizza Crust:

Preheat the oven to 500 F or the highest temperature for you oven.

•  1 & 1/2 cups of gluten-free flour  + extra flour for kneading*
• 1/4 cup of flax mill
• 1 & 1/4 cup of gluten-free flour
• 2 Tbsp of sugar
• pinch of table salt
• 1 tsp of baking soda
• 1 tsb of baking powder
• 2 & 1/4 tsp of active dry yeast**
• 2 tsp of xanthan gum
• Optional spices***
• 1/4 tsp of garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp of paprika
• 1/4 tsp of italian seasonings (basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano)
• 1/4 tsp of tumeric

• 1/2 cup of water + up to 1/4 cup of extra water 
• 2 Tbsp of olive oil + extra olive oil

• Corn flour/crumbs

In a medium bowl combine and thoroughly mix together the flour and dry ingredients. After combining the dry ingredients add the water and olive oil. Start with 1/2 cup of water and then slowly add water until the dough is the right consistency: holds together well but not sticky. Usually I slowly add approximately 2 Tbsp of water, but the amount of water greatly depends on the humidity. If you add too much water the you can slowly add more flour until the consistency is correct. 

Knead the dough for approximately 1-2 minutes until the dough is well mixed and the moisture content is correct. If the dough is sticky add flour slowly as you knead.

After you're done kneading, roll the dough out on a flat surface. Sprinkle or rub flour onto the flat surface and rolling pin so that the dough does not stick. If your rolling pin is heavy enough, gently roll the pin over the dough without exerting downward force until you get the desired shape. Unlike pizza dough with gluten in it, gluten-free pizza dough rarely stretches easily. You will not be able to toss the dough into a disk. 

Lightly sprinkle a pizza stone or baking surface with corn flour or crumbs so that the pizza will not stick to the stone. Place the rolled out dough on a baking surface. Pinch or roll the edges over themselves too create a small crust. The crust does not have to be very large, just enough to hold the marinara sauce on the pizza.

An optional step is to gently rub the crust with a little bit of olive oil. If you have a brush meant for cooking you can dip the brush in olive oil and gently cover the crust. If not, you can place a little bit of olive oil on your hands and then rub the crust.

Bake for 8-12 minutes. Cooking times will vary depending on the temperature. Look for the crust to start to turn golden brown.

*I recommended mixing gluten-free flours. I have used garbanzo bean, brown rice, sorghum, and amaranth flours. I recommended trying sorghum and amaranth flours in equal portions since these flours are the most similar in texture, taste, smell, and weight to classic gluten-containing flours. I buy Bob's Red Mill flours and certified gluten-free flour from Nuts.com I add flax mill too many of my recipes because it adds a wonderful flavor. 

** Yeast is optional if you don't want to let the dough rise. I find yeast adds a subtle doughy flavor to the pizza. You are more than welcome to let the dough rise before baking it, but you should remove the baking soda and baking powder from the recipe. You can let dough rise overnight in the refrigerator or place dough in an oven at it's lowest temperature (around 150 F) for approximately 2 hours. You should always place a moist towel over the dough if you let it rise and check to make sure the towel is moist periodically throughout the rise time especially if you place the dough in the oven.  If your oven does not start at or below 150 F you can heat your oven to 200 F, turn off the oven, and place the dough in the oven for 2 hours. 

***Spices are optional, but species in the crust are what make a pizza exceptional. You're can add or change what spices you add to the dough. I recommend only adding a small amount. A subtle flavor is important. 

Homemade Marinara Sauce

• 5-6 medium roma tomatoes*
• 2 Tbsp of red wine or red wine vinegar**
• 2 Tbsp of olive oil
• 1/8 tsp of table salt or sea salt
• pinch of cocoa powder and pinch of cinnamon***
• herbs and spices to liking
• Recommended seasonings
• Fresh garlic or garlic powder
• Fresh onion or garlic powder
• Italian seasonings 
• Parsley
• Paprika
• Curry and chilli powder to add some heat
• turmeric
• black pepper
• tarragon

Use the seasonings you like to create a unique flavor. Start with a small amount at first, then cook for a 10 minutes so that the ingredients have time  work, and then have a taste or smell. Add more of seasonings until you get the taste you like. Don't add salt to add flavor. Add more salt if you like your marinara sauce saltier. 

Combine tomatoes, wine, olive oil, salt, cocoa, cinnamon, herbs and spices into medium pan. Heat on on low stirring occasionally. 

Once your tomatoes become very soft. Turn off the heat and let it cool down for 5 minutes. Place the mixture in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth and creamy. This is your last chance to check for flavor. If the flavor is off add more seasonings or salt and cook on the lowest setting for a few minutes and test the flavor again. Repeat until you get the right flavor. 

If the sauce is too liquidy, leave uncovered and reduce on low heat. 

*Different tomatoes taste different. Try out a few varieties until you find one you like. Alternatively, you can buy pure tomato paste or sauce. If you want to use tomato paste mix 1 can of tomato paste with the same volume of water.

**I don't drink too much wine and I often don't go through a lot of wine when I cook. Wine turns into vinegar over time once you've opened a bottle. Wine vinegar works perfectly fine for cooking since the vinegar gets cooked out just like the alcohol.  

***Adding cocoa powder and cinnamon may seem odd, but small amounts of these 2 ingredients are really great at bringing out flavor. Just add a pinch of each. They can easily overpower your marinara sauce if you add too much. 

Toppings

1) Death of Breath (veggie)

• 1/4 Red Onion
• 2 - 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 Tbsp of olive oil
• 1 cup baby spinach leaves
• 1 -2 medium avocados 

This recipe is quite simple. Cut up the red onion and garlic into long thin slices. In a frying pan, add olive oil, onions, and garlic. Cook on low-medium heat until onions and garlic turn golden brown.

Completely cover the BAKED pizza crust with spinach leaves. You can cut the stems off if you want. 

Completely cover the spinach leaves with marinara sauce.

Evenly distribute the caramelized onions and garlic on the marinara sauce. 

Slice the avocado(s) and evenly place the avocado slices onto the pizza.

Bake for an additional 8-12 minutes until salmon the avocado starts to turn golden brown. 

2) Marinated Salmon

• 6-8 oz salmon
• Marinade
• 1 cup baby spinach leaves 

Marinate the salmon in your favorites seasonings. Be sure to use fresh salmon or freshly frozen salmon. If you don't use fresh salmon it will have a fishy taste. If you buy frozen salmon like I do you can start the marinade from frozen but don't marinate for too long or a fishy flavor will develop. Place the salmon with the marinade in the refrigerator for 6-8 hour. Play with the marination time to get the best flavor. If you can cut the salmon up into small pieces before you marinade, this allows the flavor to seep into the salmon faster and more effectively reducing the chance of the salmon developing a fishy flavor.

My favorite marinade is sesame oil, honey, and gluten-free soy sauce (i.e. tamari). I add some water too so the marinade covers all the salmon. Another favorite is honey, paprika, sea salt, garlic, rice vinegar, and mustard powder. The marinade is best if the flavor is subtle. 

If you didn't already do so, cut the salmon into small thin slices. 

Completely cover the BAKED pizza crust with spinach leaves. You can cut the stems off if you want. 

Completely cover the spinach leaves with marinara sauce.

Evenly distribute the small slices of salmon over the pizza. If you do this right, the salmon will produce a whitish oil that covers the gaps between the salmon creating the illusion of a cheese covered pizza.

Bake for an additional 8-12 minutes until salmon is done cooking.