pizza, take 1

Today, I am tackling gluten-free pizza!

Since our beloved Fat Cat Pizzeria closed (RIP!), we have not been able to enjoy a Sean-friendly pizza.  Lately, Sean has been longing for one, moaning over our loss, almost every day, and so last week I bought the necessary supplies. We had already vetted pizza sauce and cheeses, and all pizza-loving-veggies are good for Sean, but there was a hang-up on the most necessary component: pepperoni.  With its ambiguous "spices" in the ingredient list, we were unsure of its safety.  Sean emailed Hormel this week, and mid-morning at work a few days ago, I got this text from him: "Original pepperoni is a go :)"

This is also the inaugural use of the fancy pizza stone Sean bought a few years ago but hadn't used yet.   After an hour or so of internet searching, I have concluded that this stone has the potential to be used successfully with the wet, gooey, sticky stuff that is gluten-free dough.  Really, I can't be sure until I try, so... here we go!

Cooking Soundtrack: Shuffle. Play. Listen. Matt Haimovitz & Christopher O'Reilly

I'm using this pizza dough recipe from Jules Shepherd.  (She has a fabulous website for all sorts of gluten-free inspiration, by the way.) Said recipe involves slathering oil on your hands in order to spread the dough on the pizza pan; still, your hands will be covered in dough. And this flour is too expensive to just wash down the drain, so I enjoy licking my hands like a five-year-old!

prep work while the dough rises in the oven

The dough needs to cook a bit after it rises, before adding toppings. As usual, I add a LOT, and I'm a little worried the middle won't cook.   But when the timer goes off, I pull it out...

oooh! pretty!

...and call Sean from his post-work computer game, and....

oh, no!  it's stuck!!

Next time, I'll use parchment paper underneath the crust! Sean, expertly wielding the metal spatula, saves the day and carves slices for us, and we sit down to our gourmet meal.

white wine? red wine? Mexican coke? Italian dressing?  ;)

Eating Soundtrack: Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga: String Quartets Prima Vista Quartet

he likes it!

And I do, too!