PIZZA! GF Ratio Rally

Making pizza by ratio has definitely been a learning experience for me.  I've made over 8 pizzas in the last 3 weeks (which is a lot for a family of 3) and I have yet to find a "perfect" gluten free pizza recipe.  That being said, I do have a go to recipe that is yummy and easy and for now that's good enough!   This month's rally was hosted by Karen of Cooking Gluten Free.  Check out her blog for the complete list of links to the delicious gluten free pizza recipes created for this months rally.

Here are some things I learned:

Ruhlman's Ratio- For Pizza Ruhlman's ratio is 5:3 of flour and liquid.  I tried this and it was a dismal failure.  The dough was heavy and dense and looked compressed and underbaked.  It felt like a rock in my stomach.  Gluten free flours need more liquid.  I figured out the ratio for my go to crust, the one I posted here and have been using ever since.  The ratio for this is 6:3:1 flour:liquid:egg  This ratio is close to Ruhlman's  but the addition of an egg adds the right amount of moisture to create a nice firm crust that you can pick up with your hands without being heavy and dense.  For the flour I found that I like a crust with more starch than my usual flour blend so I went with 50% high protein flour (brown rice, millet, soy) and 50% starch (tapioca, potato, corn)

          

I knew I had a crust I liked before I started the challenge, but I wanted a go to crust that didn't use eggs.   I tried a few more flour:water ratios including:

10:7 (dense and heavy)

19:16 (excellent)

8:7 (also excellent but I cheated and used an egg as part of the liquid)

1:1 (batter too thin)

Like I said, I learned a lot...there's nothing like a good failure to get the noggin thinking!

Even though I tried several ratios, my main focus really was more on technique.  I cooked my pizza at a hotter temperature (450 degrees Fahrenheit), I let it rise for an hour before rolling it between 2 pieces of parchment paper, and I pre-baked it on the rack with a hot pizza stone on the oven rack beneath it before adding the toppings.  All of these things, together with the 19:16 ratio made for a great crust.

19:16 sounds like a strange ratio, but if you multiply it by 10 grams you'll end up with an easy 18 inch pizza crust. Here's the Recipe:

Pizza Crust by Ratio
makes one 18 inch crust (or two 8 inch crusts)

190 grams gluten free flour

• 95 grams high protein flour (I used equal parts of millet, sorghum and soy but play with this using flours you like or have on hand)
• 95 grams starch (I used 70 grams tapioca and 25 grams potato starch)

160 grams warm water
1 Tablespoon yeast
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/2  teaspoons xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix water with yeast and sugar and let proof for about 10 minutes or until nice and foamy.  Combine the remaining dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix well. Add the yeast mixture and olive oil slowly to the dry ingredients and mix on low until the mixture is well incorporated. Increase the speed to high and continue to mix for 4 minutes.  The dough will be sticky.  Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let rise for about an hour or until doubled.

After an hour preheat the oven to 450 Degrees Fahrenheit and put a pizza stone on the bottom rack of the oven.  Place dough on a piece of parchment paper.  Spray a second piece of parchment paper and place it on top of the dough.  Use a rolling pin and with light pressure roll the dough to about an 1/8 inch thick (thicker if your prefer, but you'll need to adjust the baking times).  Remove the top parchment and slide the bottom parchment with the crust onto the oven rack.  Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the crust just begins to brown.  Remove crust from the oven and top with your favorite toppings.  Return the pizza to the oven for 10 more minutes or until the cheese is melted and crust is brown on the edges.  Enjoy!

Pasta Rosa with Spinach - Gluten Free

Last night I was craving pasta with some kind of cheesey sauce. I also wanted something fast because we were hungry 30 minutes ago. Looking in my pantry I saw a jar of Classico brand Creamy Alfredo pasta sauce (I love that it says gluten free right on the jar). Not a bad start, but we're trying to eat more vegetables so I did a little experimenting and came up with this simple yet delicious rosa sauce with spinach that we are already planning to make again.

Pasta Rosa with Spinach
--serves 6-8
16 oz jar gluten free creamy Alfredo sauce (I used Classico brand)
14 oz can diced tomatoes
4 cups baby spinach, washed
16 oz gluten free pasta (I used Trader Joe's brown rice pasta fusilli)
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried basil

Prepare pasta as directed on package. While pasta is cooking, combine tomatoes and spinach in a sauce pan on medium heat with the lid on. Remove lid when spinach begins to wilt (about 3-4 minutes). Add jar of creamy Alfredo sauce, red pepper flakes and dried basil to you tomato spinach mixture. Stir well and cook until heated through. Place the heat on low until the pasta is ready. When the pasta is cooked to al dente, drain the water and place the pasta back into the pan. Add the Rosa Sauce and gently stir until the sauce is distributed evenly over the pasta. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if desired and serve immediately.

Slow Cooker Gluten Free Lasagna

I found this recipe in the Fix it and Forget it Cook Book when we first got married and have adapted it to our taste (including gluten free) over the years. It's super easy once you get the ground beef browned and it tastes great!

Slow Cooker Gluten Free Lasagna

1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
28 oz jar of spaghetti sauce
15 ounce container of ricotta cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup water
8 gluten free lasagna noodles, uncooked (I use Tinkyada brown rice lasagna noodles)

Place the ground beef and chopped onion in a large skillet over medium heat. As the meat is browning, add the Italian seasoning and garlic powder. Continue cooking until meat is browned and onions are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Break noodles to fit slow cooker. Place half in the bottom of a greased slow cooker. Spread half of cooked ground beef over the noodles. Layer half of the spaghetti sauce, half of the water, half of the ricotta cheese and half of the mozzarella cheese over the beef. Repeat layers.

Cover and cook on LOW 4-5 hours.

Garden Fresh Tomato, Corn & Basil Risotto...Enjoy Year Round

I made this risotto in July based off a similar recipe at allrecipes.com. I was looking for a risotto to highlight all of the fragrant basil we had growing in our garden. I wanted to use our garden grown tomatoes too, but because of the mild summer we had in Chicago, our tomatoes didn't ripen until September and by then the basil was gone...maybe next year we can be a bit more in sync! Even using canned tomatoes and frozen corn, this risotto was delicious and tasted garden fresh (hence the name). I'll be making this again!

Garden Fresh Tomato, Corn & Basil Risotto

4 cups chicken stock
2 Tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup uncooked arborio rice
14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes (do not drain)
1 1/3 cup frozen corn kernels (I like the "baby corn")
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into this strips
salt and pepper to taste

Heat chicken stock in small saucepan and keep over low heat. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions to skillet and cook 3-4 minutes until translucent. Add the garlic and the rice to onions and cook for 1 minute or until garlic smells fragrant.

Begin to add the chicken stock to the rice mixture 1/2 cup at a time, stirring frequently. Wait until stock is almost completely absorbed before adding the next 1/2 cup. Continue adding stock and stirring risotto until all of the chicken stock has been added. This will take about 15- 20 minutes.

Add the frozen corn and can of diced tomatoes. Cook, stirring frequently, until the rice is tender but slightly chewy. Once the liquid has been incorporated, stir in the Parmesan cheese and basil. Salt and pepper the risotto to your taste preference and serve immediately.

Lasagne! Daring Bakers March Challenge

Home made gluten free pasta, oh my!  When I found out I'd be making pasta I was a little nervous.  Pasta is something I'd always wanted to try making, but since being diagnosed with Celiac Disease and going gluten free I kind of put the whole pasta making thing out of my mind.  Without this challenge I probably never would have tried gluten free pasta, and although it was a bit time consuming, it was kind of fun too.  It didn't hurt that I had a especially cute sous chef by my side!

The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.

Here's the recipe that I used.  I cut it in half and used a 9x9 inch pan.

Gluten Free Egg Pasta
1 cup corn flour
3/4 cup corn starch
1 cup tapioca flour
1 cup potato starch
3/4 cup sweet rice flour
1/2 Tablespoons Xanthan gum
1 teaspoon salt
6 extra large eggs
3/8 cup of water
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Sift all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients.
Whisk together 3 eggs, the water, and the oil. Pour into the middle of the dry ingredients. Mix with a sturdy wooden spoon, gradually drawing more of the flour mix into the wet ingredients. Add each egg as needed. The dough will be crumbly at the beginning but will gradually come together as you add the eggs. You will need to use your hands to squeeze and mix the dough.  The dough will be firm and stick together when ready. It will not have the elasticity of gluten dough therefore it will crack when kneaded and pushed. Form it into a smooth ball, oil it lightly, and cover securely with plastic wrap. Let it rest for an hour.

Put a sheet of plastic wrap on your work surface. This is very important as the dough will not hold together very well when lifted. Have flour ready for dusting (corn flour etc) and dust the surface lightly. Cut a piece of dough about the size of really large egg – it doesn’t matter the size but start small for the first one to gauge how much space you need. Keep the remaining dough covered so it does not dry.

Roll the dough into a ball and flatten into a disc with your hands. Put it on your work surface and flatten with your hands. Use a rolling pin and gently push the dough down and out ward from the centre. You may have to place one hand on the plastic wrap as you push the dough down and away. Gluten free dough does not stretch like wheat dough therefore it needs gentle flattening and pushing. If it breaks, pat it back together. If it is too dry, dab a little water with your finger.

The gluten free dough will be thicker than wheat dough and you will barely be able to see your hand through the dough. Once it is flattened, cut into strips or squares that will fit your pan.  Set the dough aside on the plastic sheet. There is no need to dry the dough. But if you do dry the dough, it will not be able to hang because it will break. Stack the rolled out dough with plastic sheets in between.

Stack the sheets when dry and wrap securely. Store in the fridge until ready to use. Freezing will make the dough crumbly and difficult to work with – so freeze only as a last resort!  This dough does not need to be precooked before being assembled into the lasagne.

Gluten Free Béchamel - White Sauce

2 & 2/3 cup milk

4 tablespoons unsalted butter or Extra virgin olive oil

4 tablespoons corn starch

Salt and pepper to taste

Freshly grated nutmeg to taste

Mix the corn starch with ½ cup of cold milk. Heat the rest of the milk in a small sauce pan until steaming but do not boil. Add the milk/cornstarch mixture to the steaming milk. Stirring constantly, raise the heat and heat the mixture until thick. Once it is thick, remove it from the heat and add the butter, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Have the béchamel warm or at room temperature ready to assemble the lasagne. Whisk the sauce occasionally if it becomes stiff or thick.

Gluten Free Ragu Sauce

I used my spaghetti sauce recipe and added 1 pound ground sirloin

Before assembly, pour plain water into the pan, enough to form a thin film of water over the bottom. A 9 x 13 inch pan required almost ½ cup (125 mL) of water. Once the lasagna is assembled, pour a tablespoon of water into each corner of the dish. Cover the lasagna tightly with aluminum foil. Be careful not to touch the top of the lasagna with the foil. Bake as directed.

Spread a thin layer of béchamel over the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange a layer of about four overlapping sheets of pasta over the béchamel. Spread a thin layer of béchamel (about 3 or 4 spoonfuls) over the pasta, and then an equally thin layer of the ragu. Sprinkle with about 1&1/2 tablespoons of the béchamel and about 1/3 cup of Parmesan and mozzarella cheese. Repeat the layers until all ingredients are used, finishing with béchamel sauce and topping with a generous dusting of cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is melted but not brown.

PIZZA! PIZZA! October Daring Bakers Challenge

3 years ago this month I was diagnosed with celiac disease.  That means it's been 3 years since I've had a great slice of pizza...until now!  I'm excited to announce that I've found a pizza crust that I love.  So much in fact, that we've had pizza 3 times in the last two weeks.  Hurray for pizza!

I've based my recipe off the one used by Emeril in a recent episode of Emeril Green.  I played with the flour types a little and came up with the following:

Gluten Free Pizza Crust

(makes 2 18 inch pizza crusts)

1 1/2 cup warm water (120 degrees F)  

1 tablespoon sugar  

2 tablespoons active dry yeast  

2 cups gluten free flour blend 

1/2 cup soy flour  

1/2 cup corn flour  

1 cups millet flour  

2/3 cup instant non-fat dry milk powder  

3 teaspoons xantham gum  

1 teaspoon salt  

3 tablespoons olive oil  

2 eggs

Combine warm water, active dry yeast and sugar in a small bowl and let it sit 5-10 minutes until it's nice and foamy. If it doesn't foam, your yeast is bad and you'll need to start again with new yeast. Spray two large baking pans or pizza stones with vegetable oil and set aside. Combine the remaining dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix well. Add the yeast mixture, olive oil and eggs slowly to the dry ingredients and mix on low until the mixture is well incorporated. Increase the speed to high and continue to mix for 4 minutes.  The dough will be sticky.

Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and divide into two balls. With damp hands gently press each dough ball into a circle about 1/4 inch thick, leaving the edges a bit thicker to prevent sauce from dripping onto the pan. Heat oven to 100 degrees and place pizza crust in the oven to rise for 10-15 minutes until double.

Without removing the pizza crust, turn up oven heat to 400 degrees and cook the crust for 10 minutes (including the time it takes for oven to heat). Remove from the oven and top with pizza sauce and your favorite toppings. Place back into the oven and continue to cook until the crust is golden brown and crispy, 15 to 20 minutes longer. (Note: if the baking pan is not liberally greased, the dough will stick. If this happens, use a flat metal spatula to separate the dough from the baking pan.)

Enjoy and eat often!

Tomato Spaghetti Sauce

Our garden is bursting with tomatoes and we so love it! I spent the morning making freezer spaghetti sauce from a recipe found in the slow cooker cookbook Fix it and Forget it. My slow cooker was filled to overflowing, and I ended up with several bottles of spaghetti sauce to stock my freezer for the winter. As is, this recipe serves about 6. I usually triple or 4 times the recipe so that I have a lot to freeze.

Tomato Spaghetti Sauce

1 cup chopped onions

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 pounds fresh tomatoes peeled and chopped

6 oz can tomato sauce

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons better than bouillon beef base

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 large bay leaf

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons cold water

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker except for the cornstarch and water. Cover and cook on low 10 hours or high 5 hours. Remove bay leaf. Combine cornstarch and water. Stir into sauce. Cover and cook on high until thick and bubbly (about 25 minutes).

This sauce freezes well. Thaw and reheat over stove or in microwave. Add browned hamburger, veggies, frozen meatballs (Aidell's sun-dried tomato meatballs are gluten free but always check package before buying.) or anything you like and serve over pasta.

Fresh Tomato Risotto

This is one of our favorite ways to use the tomatoes from our garden.  It's a recipe taken from the cookbook Cucina Rustica and is naturally gluten free.  While risotto is a relatively easy dish to make, it is time intensive.  This usually takes me an hour to make start to finish.  The original recipe calls for wine, but since we don't drink alcohol I use additional broth instead. I hope your family enjoys it as much as ours!

Fresh Tomato Risotto

• 6 cups chicken brothtablespoons butter, divided
• 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups uncooked Arborio rice
• 8 medium tomatoes - peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
• salt and ground black pepper to taste

1. Heat the chicken broth in a medium size pot or saucepan until it's very hot. Turn off the heat but keep a lid over the broth so that it stays hot.
2. Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter with the olive oil in a heave 2 quart saucepan. Add the onion and cook over low heat until it is tender.  Add the garlic and when it starts to smell fragrant (about 1 minute) add the tomatoes.  Cook over medium heat until the tomatoes break down and form a sauce.  Add the rice, turn the heat to low, and cook slowly until all the tomato sauce is absorbed.
3. Begin to add the hot chicken broth one ladleful (about 1/2 cup) at a time, stirring frequently. Wait until each addition is almost completely absorbed before adding the next ladleful. Once you've added about half of the broth, add salt and pepper to taste.  Continue cooking risotto adding one ladleful of chicken stock at a time letting the liquid absorb before adding more. Cook, stirring frequently, until the rice is tender but still slightly chewy.
4.  Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, the Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, and the basil. Stir vigorously until all the butter and cheese are absorbed.  Serve immediately.

Pasta Fresca

This is my spin on the Pasta Fresca dish served at Noodles and Company.  Not only is it delicious, but it's a great way to use some of the zucchini and cherry tomatoes we have growing in our garden.

Pasta Fresca

(serves 4)

8oz GF pasta (I like Trader Joe's organic brown rice pasta)

1 medium zucchini cut into bite size pieces

1 cup cherry tomatoes cut in half

1 cup baby spinach

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup diced onion

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup water

1/2 teaspoon better than bouillon chicken base

1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Get your pasta water going first so that you can get everything else prepared and cooked while the pasta is boiling.  Cook pasta as directed on package.  Steam zucchini for 5-7 minutes (while the pasta is cooking so they finish together.  You could boil you zucchini with your pasta if you'd like, but sometimes it gets a bit mushy for my taste.)

In a saute pan on medium heat, heat oil and add minced garlic.  Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.  You don't want the garlic to burn.  Add onion, balsamic vinegar, water, and bouillon. Reduce heat and simmer until onions are soft, about 7 minutes.  Add red pepper flakes.  Season with salt and pepper if desired.  

When pasta is cooked, drain water.  Add pasta, zucchini, tomatoes and spinach to the balsamic vinegar mixture and combine. (Spinach will wilt from the heat). Serve with parmesan cheese.

Upside Down Pizza

I was watching quick fix meals on the food channel and saw a fun recipe for an upside down pizza. It looked like it could be easily made gluten free so that's what I've got in the oven for dinner tonight. Now if you've ever had gluten free pizza, you know it's nothing like glutinous pizza. I've tried several different recipes, looking for something to satisfy my hunger for a good slice of pizza...I think we found a winner! 1 lb pork or turkey italian style sausage

1 cup onion, diced

1 cup green peppers, diced

2 cup pizza or pasta sauce

16 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup gluten free flour blend ( I use a rice, potato and tapioca flour mixture)

1/2 teaspoon guar gum (or xanthum)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup Parmesan, grated

optional ingredients:

pineapple, mushrooms, olives, tomatoes, pepperoni, canadian bacon or any other topping you like on your pizza!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Heat sausage in large skillet over medium heat and cook for 3 minutes, or until browned and cooked through, breaking up the meat as it cooks with a wooden spoon. Add onion and green peppers and cook 2 minutes, until soft. Add pasta or pizza sauce and bring to a simmer, about 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and transfer sauce to the bottom of a 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Top with any optional pizza toppings at this time. Top with mozzarella cheese. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and oil until blended. Whisk in flour, guar gum and salt until well blended. Pour mixture over sauce in pan. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

The verdicts in...We love it! This just might be our go to pizza from now on!