Better Gluten-Free Pan Pizza

 

This gluten-free pan pizza is one of the best pizzas we've had since my daughter was diagnosed with Celiac disease. It's light, crispy, and holds together well. In order to achieve the light, airy crust, it requires a parbake in the oven before you add the toppings.

• Dough
• 36g psyllium husks
• 360g warm water
• In a medium bowl, combine psyllium husks and water. Stir until a thick paste or gel is formed. Set aside.
• 240g tapioca starch
• 240g millet flour
• 80g sorghum flour
• 16g salt
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine tapica starch, millet flour, sorghum flour, and salt. Stir to combine.
• 14g instant yeast
• 30g sugar
• 320g warm water
• Add yeast, sugar, and water to bowl with flours, and mix briefly to combine.
• reserved psyllium gel mixture
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 teaspoons apple cider vingear
• Add reserved psyllium gel, olive oil, and apple cider vinegar. Using either a paddle or a dough hook attachment on the mixer, knead the dough until it's smooth and starts coming away from bowl, about 5-10 minutes.
• Rising
• cooking spray
• Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until volume has doubled, about 1 hour.
• Divide dough into four equal pieces. If time permits, cover with a tea towel and let rise an additional 30 minutes, but you can optionally skip this step if needed.
• Tomato Sauce
• 28 oz crushed tomatoes
• 10 fresh basil leaves, or 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• In a food processor, blend tomatoes, basil, oregano, sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper. Transfer to a non-reactive bowl and set aside.
• Assembly
• Preheat oven to 475°F.
• cooking spray
• Grease four 9-inch cake pans. Optionally line with parchment paper to it easier to transfer the pizzas later.
• millet flour
• Generously dust a clean work surface. Take a one of the rounds of dough, and using your hands, shape into a disc with a slight edge for the crust. When about the size of the cake pan, transfer to a prepared pan and finish shaping in the pan so that it comes to the edge. If the dough tears, just repair it as best as you can. If it rips completely, knead the round back into a ball and start over. Repeat with remaining dough.
• olive oil
• The gluten free flours used do not brown as easily as other flours, so using a pastry brush, brush the edges of the dough to help the crust brown. This also helps prevent the dough from sticking to the edges of the pan.
• ~1 cup of reserved tomato sauce
• Using a laddle or spoon, spread tomato sauce evenly over the dough up to the oiled edges.
• Baking
• Bake at 475°F until dough has risen and crust is started to brown, about 15 minutes.
• 3 cups mozzarella cheese (or other of choice)
• additional toppings (to taste)
• Remove pizzas from oven momentarily. Top with cheese and any additional toppings.
• Return to oven and bake at 475°F until cheese has melted and is starting to brown, about 5-6 additional minutes.
• Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 5 minutes. Transfer to a pizza peel or cutting board and cut into 6 slices. Let cool another 5 minutes before serving.