Comfort Food of the Cheese Laden Variety

If there’s one thing I still feel like I miss out on its Pizza. Often my friends and I visit each other’s houses lounge around , eat, watch movies and the like. While I’ve gotten used to watching people eating biscuits, cake and all things gluten-tastic sometimes it really feels like I’m the odd one out, and that I’m missing out. It was hard at first but it helped when I came to realise that a lot of my homemade food actually tastes better than the junk they’re eating.

Pizza is the big exception - even though I know I’d feel greasy and disgusting as well as incredibly ill afterwards I still stare longingly as other people happily much through big cheesy pizza. I especially miss going out to a good Italian restaurant.

So the search for a good gluten free pizza began. I’ve experimented with lots of different pizza bases, both homemade and commercial and this is the first one that I’d happily recommend. Thankfully it’s also the easiest and quickest I’ve made.

Gluten Free Pizza Base:

Serves four

Ingredients:

300g gluten free flour mix of choice*

25g dried milk

225ml warm (not hot!) water

15g dried active yeast

1 ½ tsp gluten free baking powder

3 tsp xanthan gum

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

1 large egg

Method:

1. Dissolve the sugar in about 150ml of the warm water in a measuring jug, then stir in the yeast. Put the jug in a warm place to allow the yeast to activate. The yeast should look frothy after about 5 minutes.

2. Mix the dry ingredients and sift into a large mixing bowl.

3. Whisk together the oil and egg and stir into the dry ingredients.

4. When the yeast is ready add the rest of the warm water then slowly add the liquid to the egg/flour mixture. Keep mixing until you achieve a smooth dough. The dough should be slightly sticky to the touch to ensure it doesn’t dry out while cooking.

5. Coat your hands in flour to handle the dough. Divide into four equal parts. On a piece on baking parchment on a baking tray either squish out the dough with the palm of your hand till its about 6-8” (depending on how thick you like your pizza) or roll out with a floured rolling pin. Repeat with the rest of the dough and cover with a clean tea towel or some kitchen roll. Put the dough in a warm place to rise for 15 minutes. (Alternatively you can make two big ones.)

6. Preheat your oven to gas mark 6/200C/400F ( I recommend using this time to make a pizza sauce and to chop up your toppings)

7. After the rising time bake the bases for 8 mins in the preheated oven. After baking either remove and top with pizza sauce or toppings of choice or allow to cool and freeze well wrapped for later use.

8. After adding the toppings put bake in the oven until the cheese is golden and bubbling, the bases should be crisp around the edges – around 15 mins.

9. ENJOY!

* I recommend Dove Farm Bread mix or their plain flour mix. Otherwise a blend of rice flour, tapioca flour, and potato starch is recommended.

Basic Pizza Sauce:

Ingredients:

1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

½ medium onion diced finely

2 cloves garlic –crushed

Handful fresh chopped basil or 2 tsp dried mixed herbs

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tsp salt

Splash of olive oil

Method:

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onions and fry until soft, then add the garlic and fry for a further minute.

2. Add the chopped tomatoes, puree, salt and herbs and heat until simmering

3. Heat gently for about 10-15 minutes then process in a food processor or with a hand blender until smooth.

4. Slather it on your pizza base and put on your toppings.

Variation: diced olives are a nice addition to make this pizza sauce more exciting.