Pizza! Pizza!

I'm a Brooklyn girl, born and raised. If there's one thing Brooklynites know about, it's pizza. There were no fewer than 20 pizza joints within a three-mile radius of my high school. I was more than a little bummed out at the prospect of depriving my kids of such a tasty treat. After all, cheese + tomato sauce + bread=heaven (add some yummy toppings and we're talking ecstasy).

My favorite gfcf reference book, "Special Diets for Special Kids," has a recipe for a pizza (see below) which I make regularly for the kids. You can buy a gluten free pizza crust mix if you don't feel like making the crust from scratch. The Gluten Free Pantry makes a nice one. Make sure that when you buy the cheese for this that you check the ingredients carefully. Many alternative cheese products contain casein, so be careful.

Pizza

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups Rice flour
1/4 oz. GF quick rise yeast
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Xantham gum
1 1/4 cup Warm water
1 Tbs. Honey
3 Tbs. Olive oil
1 cup Pasta sauce
mozzarella style soy cheese
Cornmeal ( if tolerated)
Your favorite pizza toppings

Combine flour, yeast, salt and xantham gum in a large bowl. Stir in 1 cup of the water, olive oil and honey. Work the dough with your hands (it will be soft and crumbly). Add just enough of the remaining 1/4 cup of water to hold mixture together.

Knead the dough in a bowl for five minutes. Cover, and let the dough rest for ten minutes.

Lightly grease a 12" pizza pan and sprinkle with a small handful of cornmeal. Flatten dough into a round disk and press dough into pan.

Top the pizza with sauce and your favorite toppings, then bake in a 425 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until the crust is golden and the cheese is melted.

I know I promised a photo of this pizza today, but I am still recovering from Halloween, so I'll try to photograph and post it tomorrow, when my hands are steadier(once the sugar buzz has subsided).