Pizza- Gluten Free

For the Base (makes 2): 250g flour mix (I use Schär’s “Mix it Rustico”) 1 tbsp psyllium husks (optional) 1 tbsp gluten free yeast 1 tbsp brown sugar (can be replaced with wite one as well) 1/2 tsp salt 1&1/2 cup water 1 tbsp olive oil Toppings: This is a playground and you can add whatever you want vegetables (bell-pepper, mushrooms, zucchini) 1 jar of pasta tomato sauce (can be replaced by sour cream) meats (bacon/salami/sausage) (optional) shredded cheese (I use mozzarella and a bit of parmesan)

Quick Guide:   For the base: Mix all dry ingredients in a larger bowl and make a well in the center. Add in the water and olive oil and stir them a bit to mix together Fold the mix together with your hand, until well combined (smooth play-dough like texture) – aprox 5 min Let it rise covered with a wet paper towel or wet clean kitchen towel for 45 min to 1 hrs at room temp (aprox 30-40ºC – can be in the oven) Remove the dough from bowl and form the base of the pizza on pizza baking pans. Put to bake on middle rack at 180ºC for 10 min. Cover with tomato sauce. Add the cheese then the toppings. Bake at 210ºC for another 10-15 min. For the toppings, I usually cook a bit the zucchini and mushrooms in the pan before putting them on the pizza, for better taste.

Detailed Guide
1.  Prepare the dough
Pick a medium size bowl and mix in all the dry ingredients together: flour, psyllium husk, yeast, salt and sugar and stir to combine well. Make a small well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Add in the water and then the olive oil in the center of that well.

Fold the dough. I usually work this by hand as I don’t have a special mixer for dough, and it only takes a couple of minutes. Start folding the ingredients together and mix them well – the result should be a similar to a smooth play-dough like texture.

3. Growth & Bake

Let it rest in the bowl for 45 min to 1 hour in a warm place (recommended is anywhere between 30-40ºC (86 – 104º F). Make sure to cover it with a wet towel to keep it moist.

These ingredients should be enough for 2 small pizzas. After resting, take the composition, and split it into 2. Spread it evenly on the pizza pans (I prepare the pans with a baking sheet to make it not stick and easy to slide on the plate). Bake the base in the oven at 180ºC (360º F) for 10 min.

4. Prepare your Toppings

Cut your vegetables in thin slices. Slightly roast the mushrooms in a pan over medium heat for 5 min. The same can be done with the zucchini slices, bell-peppers or other vegetables of your liking.

I do admit that I am cheating with the sauce, but let’s face it, I do not have time to make it from scratch every time, so you can choose any tomato based pasta sauce of your liking. This can also be replaced entirely with a couple of tablespoons of sour cream (yes, it does work). Spread 1-2 tbsp of sauce (or sour cream) on your pizza base. Cover the base with 80% of the cheese of your choice.

Arange the remaining toppings of vegetables and meats on top of the pizza. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. You can also choose to use the mozzarella as first layer of cheese and parmesan as the top layer. You can also make the pizza vegetarian by skipping the meats completely.

Bake the pizza in the oven at 210ºC (410º F) for another 10 to 15 min. This is now ready to be plated and served.