Day 1: Simple Thin Crust Pizza

Happy New Year!! Congrats to all of my friends and family who will be welcoming new additions this year or getting married! Good luck, also, to all those who have resolved to be their best!


Well the reviews are in… “Delicious”, said my husband. “I want the flat hard cheesy stuff (shredded cheese)”, said Isaac (age 3.5).

Isaac wasn’t exactly a fan of the farmer’s cheese in this recipe (outlined below)… but he loved the crust and onions. We gave him some tomato sauce to dip it in. It may take some getting used to, but I think I could get him eating the farmer’s cheese pretty easily too. He going through that typical “I don’t like it” stage that I think most 3-4 year olds do. Apparently there is a skill that we acquire at a young age, to distinguish like and dislike without physically tasting food, that we lose as we age.

I chose to attempt this recipe because it was simple (for our little family celebration of New Year's Eve) and because I SO miss having a good thin-crust pizza after going gluten free 3 years ago!

I know I had mentioned that I would be posting with allergens were contained in each recipe, so for that reason I want to outline the abbreviations…

GF Gluten Free

NF Nut Free (includes both tree nut and peanut varieties)

EF Egg Free

SF Soy Free

C/DF  Casein/Dairy Free

CoF Corn Free

That being said… the recipe, which I thoroughly enjoyed, is posted below…

Thin Crust Pizza

with Farmer’s Cheese, Tomatoes and Honey-Caramelized Onions

(best served with a glass of a table white wine)

This recipe is GF, SF, CoF and NF... it can be made CF/DF with some creativity (or goat milk tolerance)

Crust:

1 ½ Cup Brown Rice Flour
¾ Cup Tapioca Starch
1 Cup Potato Starch (Starch, not flour!! As a side note, potato flour is MUCH heavier)
1 tsp Xanthan Gum
¼ tsp Salt

2 Eggs

1/3 Cup Olive Oil
1 tsp Cider Vinegar
2 ¼ tsp Active Dry Yeast (or 1 packet)
1 TBS Honey
¾ Cup Luke-Warm Water

Topping:

4 TBS Olive Oil (1/4 Cup- Divided)
2 TBS minced garlic (jarred minced or fresh pressed)
1 Small Onion
1 tsp Honey
1 TBS water
2 Vine-Ripened Tomatoes
8oz Local Farmer’s Cheese (I prefer soft goat cheese, but this time of year our local vendor only had the cow variety of soft farmer’s cheese- still building our barn; but eventually we’ll be making our own!)
Sprinkle of dried basil (I dry my own garden basil every summer, but a store bought shaker of basil would work)

To PREPARE:

Pre-Heat oven to 450

Combine all dough ingredients in the order listed above in a stand mixer (though I’m sure this can be done by hand if you thoroughly mix it). It will be sticky, but pull from the sides of the bowl.

Oil your pan lightly with olive oil (or spray oil). Press dough into a flat crust- you may want to cover your hand(s) with a piece of plastic kitchen wrap or a sandwich baggie, the dough sticks to hands. I used a medium/large cookie sheet for a pan, and lined it with parchment… but have used a pizza stone in the past.

Allow crust to rest for 5 minutes before baking. Brush lightly with olive oil.

Bake crust at 450 for 10 minutes, until just starting to golden.

While crust is baking, you can prepare your toppings…

Caramelized Onions: In a small frying pan I put 2TBS of the olive oil… On medium heat I sautéed 1 small (roughly chopped) onion for a couple of minutes- then add TBS of water and the 1 tsp of honey. Stir quickly until onions become limp and golden.

Chop 2 medium vine-ripe tomatoes

Mince your garlic (or pull the pre-chopped variety out of your fridge)

Once the crust comes out of the oven for the first time… brush lightly with remaining olive oil... top with the tomatoes, caramelized onions and garlic.

THEN, I put gobs of the soft farmer’s cheese on top. In the pictures shown I used a combo of plain cheese and a roasted spinach-garlic variety that our local farm makes. If you find a good flavored variety I highly recommend it, but this is a simple natural tasting pizza and the extra boost of flavor helps!

 I sprinkle the whole pizza with basil (to taste) and pop it back in the oven for 6-7 minutes, until crust and peaks of cheese start to turn golden.

Slice and enjoy!
Makes about 12 slices of pizza.

There are a few adaptations that can be made to this recipe, and you could always just use the thin-crust part of the recipe if you had something else in mind. I try to use as few flours as possible… because I know most people are not like me- with individual bins or nearly 20 alternative flours… (these are the three I used for this recipe- LOVE Ocean State job lot for cheap well-sealing Tupperware)

Let me know your thoughts!

Naturally,

Raych