first came the crust

This is the story of how I learned to make gluten-free pizza crust.

Last fall I had the good fortune to meet gluten-free consultant JoAnne Bennett Mirsky and culinary nutritionist Marni Wasserman at a gluten-free cooking class that they taught together. I diced, I sliced and then I ate like a queen.
Every bite I took was healthy, nutritious and absolutely delicious. It was so good that a couple of months later I brought Rob to Marni’s Amazing Asian cooking class. It lived up to its name.

If you haven’t taken one of Marni’s Fully Nourished cooking classes, I highly recommend it. All of her classes are vegetarian and wheat free, and most are gluten and dairy free. Marni is a wealth of knowledge and clearly loves what she does. Right off the top, she makes her students feel like guests. Some of the recipes I keep coming back to are from her classes and website. I hope to share one of them with you soon!

Marni collaborated with JoAnne Bennett Mirsky on the Gourmet and Gluten Free class. JoAnne and I hit it off right away. She didn’t mind answering my host of gluten-related questions and she had a lot of great tips up her sleeve that she was excited to share. I decided then and there that I wanted to spend more time cooking with her and picking her brain about all things GF.

After we figured out the menu for our afternoon in the kitchen, JoAnne sent me a grocery list and offered to pick up any gluten-free products I couldn’t find. And then we got cooking. From pizza crust and lasagna to fried rice and maple-glazed salmon to chocolate pudding…we made it all happen in my tiny kitchen. My family was well fed for the entire week! And I learned so much from JoAnne—about how to better organize my kitchen, where to find certain products, and why making my own gluten-free pizza crust is worth the time and effort.

Taste for yourself…

Gluten-Free Pizza Crust

3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup potato starch
1 tsp granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp xantham gum
1 1/2 tsp bread machine or instant yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano leaves
3/4 cup water
1 tsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 to 3 tbsp sweet rice flour

Preheat oven to 400°F and use one 12-inch pizza pan, generously greased.

In a large bowl or plastic bag, combine first 7 ingredients. Mix well and set aside.

In a separate bowl, using a heavy-duty electric mixer with the paddle attachment, combine water, vinegar and oil until well blended.

With the mixer on the lowest speed, slowly add the dry ingredients until combined. With a rubber spatula, scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. With the mixer on medium speed, beat for 4 minutes.

With a wet rubber spatula, remove the very sticky dough to the prepared pan, spreading it out as much as possible. Generously sprinkle with sweet rice flour. With floured fingers, gently pat out the dough to fill the pan evenly. Continue to sprinkle with sweet rice flour as required. Form a rim at the edge of the pan.

Allow to rise in a warm, draft-free place for 15 minutes.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until firm.

Spread with your choice of gluten-free toppings (see “pesto pizza“).

Return to oven and bake for approximately 10 minutes.