Saved by a Gluten-Free Pizza (Premium)

GF Mama  My family has a concerning history of allergies, from grandparents to the youngest generation. My two boys react differently, and sometimes seriously, to cats, dogs, certain foods, and pollen.

Wanting to learn more about food sensitivities, I had my seven-year-old child tested with an IgG food panel. Of the 190 common foods, herbs, and spices, the majority fell into the insignificant or low categories, with a couple in “moderate” and a few in the “high” range.

As a vegetarian, I was relieved that most of our protein sources and many of his favorite foods were in the clear. But I was filled with dread when I saw wheat and gluten were among the most sensitive foods–they were at the top of the scale!

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This child didn’t like venturing too far from his usual meals, and I knew giving up gluten: sandwiches, pasta, pizza, baked goods, etc., would be a big transition for him, and I wanted to make it as smooth as possible.

We tapered down on wheat products for a week, allowing “regular” bread and pasta in school lunches while eating gluten-free (GF) for breakfast, snacks, and dinner. Then, we were all in. I was relieved to find some easy substitutes for pasta, and we had more rice and quinoa than usual. My kids didn’t mind, and even my husband ate gluten-free by default. But the real game-changer came on our “Friday Pizza Night.” I thought, if we’re going to be in this for the foreseeable future, I need at least a decent pizza that the family can enjoy.

Enter Bob’s Red Mill “Gluten Free All Purpose Pizza Crust” recipe that I found on the company’s website. I love to bake, but gluten-free baking is still very new to me. What I learned is that first, I needed to erase everything I knew about making pizza dough. Next, I didn’t have to worry about starting this a day in advance to let it proof in the refrigerator for hours and hours. And last, there was no need to dig around for my rolling pin. This was simple, it was quick, and it was DELICIOUS.

This recipe uses Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour. It contains garbanzo bean (chickpea) flour, which has some protein that helps with the structure of the dough. We went the eggless route, an option in the recipe, and followed the rest as written. I used some vigorous whisking by hand since I didn’t have a hand-held mixer. I was shocked watching this “batter” coming together and wondered how it could become an actual pizza crust.

This is unlike any other pizza dough I’ve handled. No kneading, proofing, punching down, stretching, rolling, etc. I sprayed my baking sheet with canola oil and scooped the batter into the center; then, keeping my hands wet (crucial step), I worked to get the batter spread out evenly to the edges of the 12-inch round pizza sheet.

Having read other GF pizza dough recipes online, I decided to parbake the crust in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Then, I took it out briefly, added pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese (readers looking for a dairy-free option could try Miyoko’s Liquid Mozzarella), and popped it back in without the tray for another 10 minutes so the crust would get crispy, but the cheese wouldn’t have time to burn. The result was a well-baked, chewy crust that held the toppings well and could have handled more. Most importantly, the kids loved it.

Still in our early days of making gluten-free adjustments at home, this truly was a sigh of relief for me. I never felt so comforted by a successful recipe and will definitely be putting this in our rotation of wheat-free meals.

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