Kathy's Smokin'
Babbling Farker
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2011
- Location
- Guelph, Ontario, Canada
"Gluten Free Meat and Potatoes Pizza".
The meat just out of the freezer:
The grilled meat and ingredients for the tomato sauce (including bay leaves).
Now it gets interesting. I decided to move out of my comfort zone and simmer the tomato sauce in Dragona. The sauce reduced to a flavourful paste in about an hour and three quarters -- what would take four or five hours on the stove. I have no idea what temperature the sauce on the stove cooks at (other than "low") but I can't believe it's a lot higher than the 250'F my smoker was at. Whatever the reason it reduces faster, I like the result, the smoke gives the sauce a new dimension and altogether creates a tangy, robust, thick tomato sauce. Gluten free baked breads, etc., are notoriously crumbly and this well reduced sauce/paste will contribute very little moisture to crumble/sog the pizza crust -- this paste worked better than the bottled tomato sauce I used the first time. The picture below was taken when the sauce first went in to reduce.
Crust ingredients include potato starch flour and potato flour (two very different things), brown rice flour, some of the toppings and the finished sauce paste. I like to mix extra old white cheddar into the mozarella, about a 1:4 ratio, I like the extra tang and flavour cheddar adds and there's enough mozarella present to string when you bite and tear away. Forgot the mushrooms and peppers in this picture. I used a lot of mushrooms and sauteed them to evaporate their moisture but left the sweet green and red peppers raw to add a little crunch.
Now it gets more interesting. Gluten free dough is also notoriously difficult to work with -- it's sticky and can't be rolled out, it has to be shaped with a silicone spatula. Use parchment paper if you're not baking GF dough on silicone -- you'll be sorry if you don't. My second crust was easier to shape because the yeast had more time to rise and this made the dough more pliable and less moody. You want the dough to come out of the mixer the consistency of dry cake frosting. Don't use a dough hook in the mixer, use the batter paddle.
You can see how this potato base dough spreads like frosting in the picture below.
The crust goes into Dragona's fire to pre-bake and set. The most striking characteristic of this gluten free pizza crust is the way the potato starch flour/potato flour work together with the yeast to make such a thin, crispy, delicious crust. I've never eaten such a nice gluten free crust -- the ones that are made mostly from rice flour rise and become very doughy and chewy, this delightful crust is thin, crispy and has great mouthfeel. Who knew potatoes could do that?
Here's the meat and toppings on the partially baked crust.
Here's the pizza all dressed up with somewhere to go.
And here's the finished product.
Notice how thin and crispy the crust looks.
It's a tricky dough to work with (all gluten free dough is a pain) but it yields a really nice and satisfying crust, something gluten intolerant people rarely find and really appreciate.
Here's the recipe for the crust:
“Pat’s Thin Yeast Crust”
(From “Living Well Without Wheat: The Gluten-Free Gourmet” written by Bette Hagman -- it’a a very good GF baking book)
I changed her recipe up a bit to suit me better – I used instant yeast dry in the flour and let it raise the dough once mixing was complete. Pat is the original author of this recipe and Bette Hagman got it from Pat’s book “Gluten-Free Cooking”. ~/Kathy
Preheat oven to 425’F.
1 1/2 tsp instant dry yeast granules
1/3 cup potato starch flour (this ingredient is white)
1 tbsp potato flour (this ingredient is a light pink/brown like the colour of raw potato cut and left open to air)
1 tsp sugar 1 1/2 tsp oil
2/3 cup rice flour 1 tsp salt
about 1 cup warm water 105’ to 115’F
Put dry ingredients in mixing bowl (your own or from a stand-up mixer – use the batter attachment if going with an electric mixer). Add oil and give it a stir. Add warm water up to about 2/3 of the amount listed and then in small additions to get the right consistency. I found I need less water when the yeast is stirred in dry than when raising the yeast in warm water. You have the right consistency when the batter looks like a too dry cake frosting. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes before forming, it will rise and be easier to spread. I multiply this recipe by three to make two rectangular pizzas on a smaller sized cookie sheet.
Use parchement paper on the pan/under the dough or a silicone sheet/silpat. This dough will stick badly on just a greased cookie sheet, GF dough is notoriously stickly. Use a silicone spatula if you have it to spread the dough over the parchment paper. It’s fiddly work but it will work. Hold the sides of the paper while you push and pull the dough horizontally. Try to be patient with it Once it’s more or less spread out evenly and where you want it to be, pat it smooth and silky in a vertical motion with your spatula. Use a few drops of water on your spatula to smooth the dough where you need to.
Prebake the crust for 10 minutes, pull it out of the oven and dress it with your toppings. Back in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes and lift/check your crust to see when it’s perfectly done. Be aware of how wet your toppings are, GF breads crumble when exposed to moisture more quickly than wheat-based breads do. I sautee more wet toppings first (onion, pepper, mushrooms, etc.). This recipe makes a beautiful thin, delicious crust
The meat just out of the freezer:
The grilled meat and ingredients for the tomato sauce (including bay leaves).
Now it gets interesting. I decided to move out of my comfort zone and simmer the tomato sauce in Dragona. The sauce reduced to a flavourful paste in about an hour and three quarters -- what would take four or five hours on the stove. I have no idea what temperature the sauce on the stove cooks at (other than "low") but I can't believe it's a lot higher than the 250'F my smoker was at. Whatever the reason it reduces faster, I like the result, the smoke gives the sauce a new dimension and altogether creates a tangy, robust, thick tomato sauce. Gluten free baked breads, etc., are notoriously crumbly and this well reduced sauce/paste will contribute very little moisture to crumble/sog the pizza crust -- this paste worked better than the bottled tomato sauce I used the first time. The picture below was taken when the sauce first went in to reduce.
Crust ingredients include potato starch flour and potato flour (two very different things), brown rice flour, some of the toppings and the finished sauce paste. I like to mix extra old white cheddar into the mozarella, about a 1:4 ratio, I like the extra tang and flavour cheddar adds and there's enough mozarella present to string when you bite and tear away. Forgot the mushrooms and peppers in this picture. I used a lot of mushrooms and sauteed them to evaporate their moisture but left the sweet green and red peppers raw to add a little crunch.
Now it gets more interesting. Gluten free dough is also notoriously difficult to work with -- it's sticky and can't be rolled out, it has to be shaped with a silicone spatula. Use parchment paper if you're not baking GF dough on silicone -- you'll be sorry if you don't. My second crust was easier to shape because the yeast had more time to rise and this made the dough more pliable and less moody. You want the dough to come out of the mixer the consistency of dry cake frosting. Don't use a dough hook in the mixer, use the batter paddle.
You can see how this potato base dough spreads like frosting in the picture below.
The crust goes into Dragona's fire to pre-bake and set. The most striking characteristic of this gluten free pizza crust is the way the potato starch flour/potato flour work together with the yeast to make such a thin, crispy, delicious crust. I've never eaten such a nice gluten free crust -- the ones that are made mostly from rice flour rise and become very doughy and chewy, this delightful crust is thin, crispy and has great mouthfeel. Who knew potatoes could do that?
Here's the meat and toppings on the partially baked crust.
Here's the pizza all dressed up with somewhere to go.
And here's the finished product.
Notice how thin and crispy the crust looks.
It's a tricky dough to work with (all gluten free dough is a pain) but it yields a really nice and satisfying crust, something gluten intolerant people rarely find and really appreciate.
Here's the recipe for the crust:
“Pat’s Thin Yeast Crust”
(From “Living Well Without Wheat: The Gluten-Free Gourmet” written by Bette Hagman -- it’a a very good GF baking book)
I changed her recipe up a bit to suit me better – I used instant yeast dry in the flour and let it raise the dough once mixing was complete. Pat is the original author of this recipe and Bette Hagman got it from Pat’s book “Gluten-Free Cooking”. ~/Kathy
Preheat oven to 425’F.
1 1/2 tsp instant dry yeast granules
1/3 cup potato starch flour (this ingredient is white)
1 tbsp potato flour (this ingredient is a light pink/brown like the colour of raw potato cut and left open to air)
1 tsp sugar 1 1/2 tsp oil
2/3 cup rice flour 1 tsp salt
about 1 cup warm water 105’ to 115’F
Put dry ingredients in mixing bowl (your own or from a stand-up mixer – use the batter attachment if going with an electric mixer). Add oil and give it a stir. Add warm water up to about 2/3 of the amount listed and then in small additions to get the right consistency. I found I need less water when the yeast is stirred in dry than when raising the yeast in warm water. You have the right consistency when the batter looks like a too dry cake frosting. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes before forming, it will rise and be easier to spread. I multiply this recipe by three to make two rectangular pizzas on a smaller sized cookie sheet.
Use parchement paper on the pan/under the dough or a silicone sheet/silpat. This dough will stick badly on just a greased cookie sheet, GF dough is notoriously stickly. Use a silicone spatula if you have it to spread the dough over the parchment paper. It’s fiddly work but it will work. Hold the sides of the paper while you push and pull the dough horizontally. Try to be patient with it Once it’s more or less spread out evenly and where you want it to be, pat it smooth and silky in a vertical motion with your spatula. Use a few drops of water on your spatula to smooth the dough where you need to.
Prebake the crust for 10 minutes, pull it out of the oven and dress it with your toppings. Back in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes and lift/check your crust to see when it’s perfectly done. Be aware of how wet your toppings are, GF breads crumble when exposed to moisture more quickly than wheat-based breads do. I sautee more wet toppings first (onion, pepper, mushrooms, etc.). This recipe makes a beautiful thin, delicious crust
Last edited:
