Thursday, October 4, 2007

One Dish "Bake and Rise" Pizza and Bob's Red Mill Brownies





Sometimes a girl just needs pizza.

I love pizza. A good doughy, buttery pizza crust is probably one "wheat" item that I will truly miss, especially at good restaurants. My husband and I are pizza connoisseurs. We ate pizza either at a restaurant or at home at least every other week before going GF!

Last week I saw an "Amy's Rice Crust GF pizza" in the freezer at a local grocery store that has started to carry a very SMALL selection of GF products. I rejoiced at the sight of that rice crust pizza and I had to buy it even though it was nearly $9.00! So I put it in the freezer for an "emergency dinner night" when I absolutely didn't want to cook.

Last weekend though, after discovering that I could indeed make a great gluten-free loaf of bread, I thought... well heck, why couldn't I just make a pizza crust?

As if it were fate, our local newspaper's weekly food column posted a yummy looking one-dish pizza recipe last week. Of course, the recipe called for wheat flour, so it would take some modification... but I thought it was worth a shot. I love easy, one dish dinners!



I've been baking a long time. Sometimes I am apt not to read directions ... because of course, I'm certainly smart enough to figure out how and when to add ingredients and bake! Right?... Well... as I learned with this pizza... it probably would have been good idea to skim over the directions BEFORE I pre-heated the oven. I always preheat, because let's face it, that's how baking is done most of the time... but this pizza needs a cold oven to let the yeast rise as it's baking. Next time, I'll try that! The pizza was still good, and the crust was crispy and Michael said I needed to make it every week (so it can't be that bad!)... but I'll definitely start with a cold oven next time!

I may also buy some fresh basil, oregano, and add freshly chopped garlic instead of Italian seasoning. That would make a superb pie... and I'm all about a superb pizza! Enjoy!




One Dish "Bake and Rise" Pizza

Batter Ingredients:
  • 1/2 cup tapioca flour - or - corn flour
  • 1/2 cup sorghum flour
  • 1/2 cup brown rice flour
  • 2 Tbsp. ground flax seeds
  • 2 tsp. sugar
  • 2 tsp. kosher salt
  • 2 envelopes "rapid rise" yeast (or 1 Tbsp. rapid rise yeast granules)
  • 3/4 cup very warm water
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Filling Ingredients:
  • 1/2 pound ground beef or ground turkey
  • 8 oz. canned or homemade pizza sauce

Toppings:
  • 12-16 pepperoni slices
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1/4 cup freshly shredded parmesan or asaiago cheese
  • 1/2 tsp. Italian Herbs - or - fresh oregano, basil, and minced garlic
Directions:

1. Mix warm water and yeast granules thoroughly in a small bowl. Set aside until frothy.

2. Mix remaining dry batter ingredients in a large bowl. Add olive and yeast mixture and combine thoroughly.

3. Pat mixture into a greased 8x8 baking dish or round oven-safe skillet. (I used my favorite cast iron skillet)

4. Top crust evenly with pizza sauce and meats. Add toppings as desired.

5. BAKE by placing in a COLD oven; set temperature to 350 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes, until cooked through.


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Bob's Red Mill Brownies

This is more of a product review than a recipe. I just followed the recipe on the box and added chocolate chips.

These were one of the first gluten-free desserts I made. I was still uneasy about using gluten-free flours at the time and I had actually made these once before for a gluten-free friend.

These brownies were moist and very chocolate-y. Bob's mix uses Ghirardelli cocoa as the base, so they had to be good! The consistency was very dense and rich. This mix is expensive and in the future, I will definitely try my hand at brownies with my own gluten-free mix of flours. But for a beginner, these brownies were a good choice. We enjoyed them and I think it helped Michael to realize that gluten-free doesn't mean taste free. He enjoyed them as well! They were excellent with a big scoop of GF vanilla ice-cream.

If you're new to gluten-free baking, or if you just enjoy using GF mixes, this Bob's Red Mill mix was a good option with yummy results!!







Check back tomorrow for a killer chicken dinner recipe!
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