Homemade Gluten Free Pizza, Really a Misnomer

In solidarity to me, Russ did not have any Pizza the whole month in Maine. Not that I was asking him not to. He was free to order pizza anytime he wanted. I even had a Gluten free Pizza at the Samoset, but he had Chicken Parm.

We got home from Maine and Russ unpacked the car and found the bag of Bob Red Mill gluten free Pizza Crust Mix I had purchased at Ocean State. “Please can you make pizza tonight?” I asked him if he really wanted my gluten free stuff. I was happy to make him a real pizza. He stayed with me and said, “no, let’s try the gluten free.”

So I made it tonight. The package was easy to follow. It had a packet of yeast in it. Unlike real Dough it did not need to be kneaded since gluten is what gives dough elasticity. It also did not need to rest as long as dough since we didn’t need gluten to be produced.

After a 45 minute rise I attempted to make crusts. With no elasticity you don’t stretch the dough. You just kind of spoon it into the shape of a pizza. They you Par bake it because it would never cook through with toppings on it. I did the first bake. Seemed OK.

I topped them, one a white pizza with caramelized onions and fig jam (added after cooking) the other red sauce with mushrooms. I used lots of different cheese on both. Then did the second bake which was 18 minutes, a long time in Pizza speak.

They looked good, but the crust was a little thick. They did not fall apart as a lot of gluten free stuff does. The taste was acceptable, but not really like pizza. I need to make them thinner and still make a real crust for Russ. He was a good sport, but why should we both suffer.