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| Pork, tomato, chorizo, and CHEESE pizza |
Prior to the appearance of pizza take-away businesses in our
area, one of the things my parents let us cook was Chef Boyardee pizza mix.
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| My Chef Boy-Ar-Dee. Truth! |
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| Truth? Or better merchandising? |
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| EZ-Bake pizza oven (WANT) |
The result was consistently good tasting, and even better topped with
slices of hot dog. (Never any veggies, because we were just kids.)
My sister and I learned how to follow instructions, the
value of patience, and came away with a sense of accomplishment.
However, when the mix was too old from sitting on a store
shelf, the dough wouldn’t rise.
I was reminded of that today, because I was mixing up a
batch of pizza crust.
Ding-dong, the yeast was dead.
My leavening had been frozen for over ten years, but it doesn’t
last forever even under ideal conditions.
So, I started a “sponge” – flour, warm water, sugar - and
left it on the counter overnight. It was
full of gas bubbles the next day.
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| Upskirt shot of a perfect crust |
I used this fermented starter for the initial dough rise, pre-baked
the crust, and topped the first pie with béchamel, blue cheese, onions, mushrooms
– and all the meaty leftovers I found in the refrigerator.
It was good.
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| Gluten-free pizza |
Gluten Free Pizza Shells
Adapted from Bob’s
Red Mill Natural Foods
Makes 2 12-inch
shells
(There is no wheat,
soy, or preservatives in this recipe.)
Optional Sponge: *
1 cup Gluten-free Flour
(I used Cup4Cup brand)
1 tsp. White Sugar
½ cup Warm Water
In a bowl, mix all together
and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Leave on the counter 12 to 24 hours until
foamy. You are capturing wild yeast.
Refrigerate until
ready to use.
*Use 2 tsp. yeast as a substitute for sponge
Add to room-temperature sponge:
¾ cup Warm Water
1 Egg
1 TB Sunflower or
Olive Oil
1 tsp. White Sugar
2 tsp. Xanthan Gum
1 ½ Cups Gluten-free
Flour
½ tsp. Salt
Additional
items:
Waxed Paper
Cornmeal
Food Processor
Sheet Pan or Pizza
Stone
Directions:
Heat oven to 400f
Place dry ingredients
in a food processor.
On low, add sponge,
egg, oil, and water.
Beat 2 minutes on
medium power until batter is smooth.
Cover with plastic
wrap and set in a warm place for 1-3 hours until risen slightly. Gluten-free flour dough does not double in
size.
Press dough onto waxed
paper sprinkled with cornmeal. Oil your hands if sticky.
Place on baking
sheet or slide onto pizza stone.
Bake 10-12 minutes,
until done, but not browned.
Paper will peel off
when cooked.
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| As Good As Pizza Gets |
Make Pizza:
Preheat oven to
400f
Top with your
favorite pre-cooked toppings.
Bake 20-30 minutes,
until the bottom is browned and the top bubbly.
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| Cup4Cup Pizza |
Can't wait for that wood-fired pizza oven to be built!