I feel like, if I can accomplish this for myself and mankind, then this will be right up there with the invention of the wheel, man on the moon, and all the rest.
I didn't intend go "grain free", I'm not one for latching on to the latest health craze, but when I cut out the grains when healing myself from what "seemed" to be a prostate ailment (that I brought on myself I think), I felt so much better, I had to go by my own mantra of "listen to you body"
The problem? You know the problem. If I bite into the pizza, an my taste buds say "eeh, this is OK, I can probably force myself to eat it", then that is a waste of my time. This has to be real pizza!!!! You know what I talkin' 'bout.
Pizza…That thing us Americans love, coming out piping hot, steam rising, scent of fresh organic tomato sauce, basil, and whatever else tickles the fancy, you know how you can feel that first bite in your spine.
It's almost like I hear Winston Churchill's voice telling me about this mission, "You deserve victory……..This will be our finest hour" (Uh..you have to know who Winston Churchill is and heard a clip of him saying that on the history channel to find that funny…..)
Anyhooz, I digress, but how many other opportunities will a history buff like me have to put Churchill in my blog?
Besides, one of my "Stupid to everyone but me" life's goals is to have an outdoor brick pizza oven.
If I can't make a legitimate, grain free pizza, then that outdoor pizza oven is gonna be like having a grand piano in your crib….the piano that looks impressive, but you don't know how to play it, a piece of house decor with no purpose but impressing guests.
Each guy has his method to impress women, mine is to have that large wooden pizza paddle, pulling piping hot pizza out of the pizza oven right in front of the woman, sprinkling basil on top……..don't hate me, give me credit for admitting it 🙂
Humphrey Bogart once made a pretty crude joke in an old movie when speaking of an engine that wouldn't start, and to get it going, it needed to be fed some gasoline, he said, "An engine is like a woman, you don't feed her, she won't do nothing!!!"
You may not know about "Pizza Stones" but they are a flat, ceramic stone that allows you to make pizza in your oven or grill (until that ultimate outdoor oven is built 🙂 )
You can find them on Amazon, they really fit the bill !!!
Here is the first recipe I'm gonna try, I'll keep you posted with all my experimentation in the "Pizza Lab", I'm sure at the end of all this, the "Pizza Gods" will bless me with the right recipe to save the world from the "Gluten Aliens"
Grain Free Pizza Dough
2 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
2 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (plus more as needed)
1 pasture raised egg
4 ounces (1 cup) almond meal
4 1/4 ounces (1 cup) arrowroot flour
1/2 teaspoon Pink Himalayan Salt
Instructions
In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the active dry yeast and warm water. Allow the yeast to proof for 3-5 minutes, or until it's bubbly. Add the extra virgin olive oil and egg. Using the paddle attachment, mix on medium speed for 30 seconds.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond meal, arrowroot and salt. Add this dry mixture to the stand mixer and mix on low until the ingredients are starting to combine and then turn the speed up to medium-high. Mix for one minute. The dough will be thinner and stickier than typical pizza dough.
Grease a medium bowl with olive oil. Using a spatula, scrape out the dough and move it to the oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with a towel and place it in the microwave (or oven, somewhere it can sit undisturbed). Boil some water and pour it into a bowl.
Carefully place the bowl into the microwave to create a warm, steamy environment. Allow the dough to rise for 90-100 minutes. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F and place a pizza stone in the oven. Once the oven is at temperature, grease a large sheet of parchment paper with olive oil.
Press the dough into a thin round circle that's approximately 10-11 inches in diameter (note: do not do this step in advance or the next step might not work). Using oven mitts, remove the pizza stone from the oven.
Swiftly flip the parchment paper over so that the dough transfers onto the pizza stone. Place the stone back in the oven and bake the crust for 6 minutes, or until it's slightly browning on the edges and firm on top. Add whatever pizza toppings you like to the crust and broil until the ingredients are properly cooked.
recipe from the SavorySimple website
The Kalamazoo Outdoor Pizza Oven Demo (more motivation the win this fight!!! 🙂 )
UPDATE 9/21/2014 – Someone sent me some info on Pamela's Bread Mix (sold on Amazon), and that looks VERY promising to me, I like the ingredient profile of the bread mix, which is basically, Sorghum Flour, Tapioca Flour, Sweet Rice Flour, Brown Rice Flour, Organic Natural Evaporated Cane Sugar, Chicory Root, White Rice Flour, Millet Flour, Honey and Molasses; Rice Bran, Sea Salt, Xanthan Gum, Yeast Packet. (not so crazy about the cane sugar, but I take in almost zero sugar, so I can concede the point). But it might be something that could work as a pizza dough. I'll be experimenting with it…………
~stay healthy~
click here or the photo below to see all my articles in "The Healthy Chef's Cookbook"
6 Responses
I love the look of this recipe, especially as I can do most of it sitting down. Unfortunately this is something that I have to do now as I can only stand for a few minutes at a time. Always looking for recipes that I can manage to do. Thank you
Thanks for taking the time to comment, be sure to let us know how yours turns out!!!
Hi Doug,
Your last update is almost a year old. Did you try Pamela's Bread Mix? If so, how did it turn out? Any new breakthroughs? I've been using a frozen cornmeal pizza dough from Trader Joe's, but I'm supposed to be cutting out corn, so an alterative that's quick & easy would be great.
Bobbi
Hi Bobbi,
Never got much traction with playing around with Pamela’s Bread mix or any of the others. another one of those thing I can’t really focus on until I get the hell out of Corporate America, and I can have my days to myself.
One of these days…….sigh……………………
Okay, I get the picture. Whe you are set up in the BVI's with your high-end outdoor kitchen (including a wood-fired pizza oven) and organic garden produce, I am looking forward to eating the best pizza on the planet, courtesy of you-know-who! Keep the good thoughts.
Bobbi
Bobbi,
Of course, you know I’m gonna take care of you 🙂
Doug W.