Gluten-Free Pizza

 

I was always the dinner guest who said "I'll eat anything, don't worry about me." I prided myself on my inclusive palate, which I thought was de rigeur for a food lover and writer. So I was stunned when I came to the conclusion a few weeks ago that I have a wheat allergy.

I've had seasonal allergies, eczema, and a sensitive stomach all my life, but it was manageable until this summer, when I began to need an inhaler and ever stronger steroid creams to control the rashes that erupted unpredictably on my hands. I have several friends who are gluten-free, meaning they don't eat wheat and other similar grains that contain the protein called gluten. My friends claim relief from stomach and inflammation problems. I was always a bit skeptical. After all, isn't wheat the staff of life, the foundation of the Western diet? We think of wheat as such a mild, innocuous food. How could I be allergic? My ancestors ate it!

I've always believed that diet and health are inextricably linked, and I was so uncomfortable that something had to give. At the urging of my friends and my allergist, I gave the gluten-free diet a try. My rashes cleared up after two days. It was almost miraculous.

Food allergies can be mysterious. When we think of food allergies, we often think of people who have anaphylactic reactions to peanuts. It turns out there's a difference between a gluten sensitivity and a gluten allergy that I don't fully understand. I don't have a clear allergic reaction to wheat, and my blood tests came back negative, but my allergist says the tests are only 85% accurate. The true test is eliminating a food from your system, then seeing how the body reacts when you add it back in.  It took awhile to convince me. I went back on the wheat; the rashes returned. I stopped eating gluten; my skin cleared up. Finally, with regret, I decided to go gluten-free.

This changes everything. Eating out is more challenging. Most processed food: out. Cakes, cookies, pastries, semolina pasta, flour-thickened sauces and gravies, licorice, soy sauce, fried chicken - all verboten. Bread, alas! No more tangy peasant sourdough! No more chewy, crispy pizza crust! No more soft pretzels. No more beer!

I though it was going to be really hard. There are some things I miss profoundly, like good bread and pizza. I may even choose to eat certain foods occasionally, especially around the holidays (How can I live without matzo ball soup, bread stuffing, pumpkin pie, and Christmas cookies?!) But this diet has really helped me, and there are so many things I can still eat: Meat, dairy, vegetables and fruit, potatoes, beans, grains like rice, quinoa, buckwheat groats, and corn. I can still eat the whole, traditional foods I believe in.

Gluten-free packaged and processed foods are more and more available these days, but they're very expensive and often not very good. I've learned that I'd rather eat real ice cream or a piece of fruit than a fake cookie. But bread made with tapioca, rice, and potato flours can actually be pretty good. I can use Asian rice noodles in Italian pasta dishes. Traditional Spanish and Jewish pastries and cakes often use ground nut flours. My fear was that my allergy would be a huge limitation for the blog and would curb my enjoyment of food and my ability to share it with others. But I'm realizing that I can still eat many of the healthy and delicious dishes I've always eaten. For baking, sauces, and pastas, I'm going to have to get creative. I have a lot to learn!

It's very important to me that Girl with Spoon stay accessible to those who have unrestricted diets, and that the food stay "normal," simple, and healthful for everyone. I will be including variations for people who do have restrictions, and I'd love for readers to add their own suggestions and adjustments in the comments section.

Thank you for coming on this journey with me!

Carolyn

For Gluten-Free Pizza for 2-4 people, depending on appetite, you will need:

(recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour)

1 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill All Purpose GF Baking Flour. I used this flour for the recipe because it's the most widely available gluten-free flour blend. I've found it in health food stores, Whole Foods, and many regular grocery stores. It produces a nice, light and crispy texture, but it does have its drawbacks. It's made with fava and garbanzo flours, along with some tapioca and rice flours. Bean flours can be a little gritty, which isn't a problem in this recipe, but they do give the finished crust an unusual "sprouted" taste that is mild and not unpleasant, but may taste strange to some people. I recommend using pizza toppings that are strong in flavor (sausage, mushrooms, green peppers, feta, olives, tomatoes, anchovies, etc.) to balance out the flavor of the crust. I'll also experiment with other flour combinations and techniques, and will let you know as I improve on this recipe.

1 tablespoon sugar or honey

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon xanthan gum. This is an expensive ingredient available at health food stores and places like Whole Foods. It generally costs about $12 for half a pound, but it should last you awhile, and it's essential to many gluten-free baking recipes. It helps to volumize, bind, and texturize the flours and other ingredients in the absence of wheat gluten.

1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast 

3/4 cup warm water

1/4 cup warm milk. If you are dairy-free, you may use soy/almond/rice milk or 1 whole cup of warm water.

2 tablespoons olive oil (for dough)

2 tablespoons olive oil (for pan)

Pizza toppings: Tomato sauce, pesto, cheese, cooked or cured meat, vegetables, etc. 

Directions:

(Note: you will need a stand or electric hand mixer to mix this dough. Mixing by hand will not produce a good texture.

• 7 7/8 ounces King Arthur Gluten-Free Multi-Purpose Flour or 6 3/4 ounces brown rice flour blend*
• 3/4 ounce buttermilk powder or nonfat dry milk powder
• 1 tablespoon sugar or honey
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 8 ounces warm water
• 7/8 ounce olive oil (for dough)
• 7/8 ounce olive oil (for pan)
• *See recipe for this blend below.

Place the flour, baking powder, salt, and xantham gum into a large mixing bowl. Blend well. In a small bowl, add the warm water, 2 tablespoons olive oil, yeast, sugar or honey, and about 1/2 cup of the dry mixture. Stir to combine; a few lumps are OK. Set aside for 30 minutes, or until the mixture is bubbly and smells yeasty.  Add the yeast mixture to the dry ingredients. Stir with a spoon to incorporate. Using a stand or electric hand mixer, beat on medium-high speed for 4 minutes. The mixture will be sticky and viscous. Cover the bowl and let rest for about a half hour.  Preheat oven to 425°F. On a 13"x18"x1" baker's half sheet pan, cookie sheet, or similar pan, drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil into the center of the pan. Dip your hand in the olive oil, then use it to scrape the dough onto the pan, on top of the oil. Using your oiled fingers (dip in more olive oil if necessary), press the dough towards the edges of the pan, as far as it will go without punching holes in it.  It will cover about 2/3 of the pan and should be about 1/2 inch thick. Allow the dough to rest for about 15 minutes.  Pre-bake the untopped, rested dough for about 10 minutes. It will look matte, rather than shiny. Remove it from the oven and carefully loosen the crust from the pan with a metal spatula. Otherwise, you will have a hard time getting your finished pizza off the pan. (You can initially line the pan with a silicon pan liner or parchment paper to eliminate this step.)  Top with any combination of sauce, cheese, meat, and veggies. Return to the oven for about 15 minutes, until the crust is a pretty golden brown, the cheese is bubbly, and the toppings are caramelized.

Better-Than-Your-Grandma's Matzo Balls

I don't like to brag, but I have to say my matzo balls are pretty good. They're light, fluffy, tender pillows of chicken-y goodness. They're definitely better than anything you'll get in a restaurant, and they may even be better than your grandmother's (shhhh, don't tell her!)  They're a staple of Ashkenazic Jewish food and appear at holiday celebrations, but they're simple and nourishing enough to make anytime, even if you're not Jewish. And besides being delicious, they cure the common cold like nobody's business.

Matzo balls can be a little finicky. When I first started making them, sometimes they turned out well, and sometimes they were like hard rubber balls, and I couldn't figure out why. But over the years, I learned a few secrets that turn out foolproof matzo balls every time.

Secret #1: Always, always use fresh, unsalted matzo meal, especially if you live in a climate with any humidity whatsoever. If it's been sitting around for longer than a couple of months, buy a new box. Otherwise your matzo balls will be hard and tough and will taste stale. I don't recommend freezing matzo meal, because it will start to take on the flavors of other foods in your freezer. Do not buy matzo ball mix. It's expensive for the small quantity you get, and it's full of salt and preservatives. And it's honestly just as easy to buy matzo meal and make your own. I see no need to grind your own matzo meal from whole matzo crackers. If you're going to go to that trouble, you might as well make your own matzo from scratch!

Secret #2: Always, always use fresh, large eggs. Matzo balls rely on eggs for binding, leavening, and tenderness. As eggs sit in your refrigerator, their structure starts to break down, and they lose their ability to help the matzo balls rise as they cook. The size of the eggs is important because of proportions of wet to dry to fat ingredients. Most recipes of any kind, including the ones for matzo balls, call for large eggs.

Secret #3: Schmaltz. Schmaltz is Yiddish for chicken fat. Most recipes for matzo balls call for vegetable oil or melted margarine, but neither of these have good flavor. (My shiksa mother sometimes uses melted butter -gasp! - which has good flavor but isn't kosher when mixed with chicken broth, and I'm a bit of a purist when it comes to traditional foods.) I use chicken fat that I save when I make my own chicken stock. You can also save it when you roast a chicken. It keeps well in the fridge or freezer. It makes the matzo balls taste richer, like chicken, and therefore doesn't require the broth to do all the work to flavor the soup. It really makes a big difference.

Secret #4: The liquid debate. Some people swear that seltzer gives their matzo balls lightness, while others use water or broth. I frankly haven't found that seltzer makes as much of a difference as fresh eggs and fresh matzo meal. If I have it, I use seltzer over water, but it's not a deal breaker. If I want very chicken-y matzo balls, I'll use broth.

Secret #5: Use homemade broth or stock. I think it makes all the difference, and it's worth the effort. If you must use canned, use Swanson's Low Sodium.

Secret #6: This is more of a personal bias than a secret: Matzo ball soup should not have "stuff" in it - no noodles, no vegetables, no colors, no purees. Just matzo balls and chicken broth. Maybe some chopped parsley or cracked black pepper for a garnish, but that's it. If you make them well, they don't need any adornment.

Recipe adapted from Streit's Manhattan Matzo Balls, on the back of every box of Streit's Unsalted Matzo Meal.

For 1 pot of matzo ball soup, serving about 5-6 (about ten to twelve 1 1/2"matzo balls) you will need: 

Homemade chicken stock, about 1 1/2 cups per serving.
1 cup unsalted matzo meal, plus more for rolling. I like Streit's brand in the blue box. The texture is courser that Manischewitz's matzo meal, and I think the results are fluffier. I also think the recipe on Streit's box produces better matzo balls.
4 large eggs
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) room temperature chicken fat (or vegetable oil). If the chicken fat has been sitting in your fridge or freezer and is solid, put it in the microwave on defrost, starting at 20 seconds, until it comes to room temperature and liquefies. It should not be warm or hot, or it will scramble your eggs.
1/4 cup seltzer, water, or chicken stock
1 teaspoon salt 

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, beat eggs. Add water, chicken fat, and salt. Mix well. Add matzo meal and stir until combined. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Fill a large pot with a lid halfway with water and bring to a boil over high heat. (I use a large, wide-bottomed enameled cast iron dutch oven, but a stock pot is fine, too.) 

This part of the recipe comes from my Grandma Ida: Sprinkle a thin layer of dry matzo meal on a large dinner plate. Press your palms in the matzo meal so that some sticks, and then reach into the chilled matzo dough and form 1" balls by rolling the dough between your palms. If the balls start to stick to your hands, just coat your palms with more dry matzo meal. Drop the matzo balls into the boiling water. When all the balls are in the pot, reduce the heat to low and cover. Cook for about 30 minutes, or until done. If you choose to make larger matzo balls, they'll need to cook longer. ( I usually have a test matzo ball that I cut into after 30 minutes to check for doneness. It should be tender all the way through to the center.)

The matzo balls can be made ahead and refrigerated until you're ready to add them to the soup. About 30 minutes before serving, or while the matzo balls are cooking, bring your stock to a boil in a large sauce or soup pan. If the matzo balls are cold, add them to the cold broth and bring to a boil together. If they are hot, you can add them to the stock once it's boiling. Then reduce the heat to medium and simmer the matzo balls in the broth for at least 15 minutes, to allow some of the flavor in the broth to permeate the matzo balls. Garnish with a sprig of fresh herbs and some cracked black pepper.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

My roommate Randi comes from a town just north of New York City where, legend has it, there is a shop in a mall that sells the best chocolate chip cookie cakes in the world. On her birthday this year, I did my best to recreate it. For nutritional and flavor reasons I wanted to use real butter, which tends toward a crisp, brittle crumb, rather than shortening, which creates a softer and more tender texture. But because this cake is so much bigger than a regular cookie, I wanted a texture that would hold a slice and not crumble apart. So I ended up using the blog Smittenkitchen.com's exceptionally easy blondie recipe, pressed into a thin layer in a 10" cake pan. It was exactly the dense, chewy crumb and buttery, cookie flavor I was looking for.

For one 10" cookie cake, serving about 6, you will need:

Smitten Kitchen's Blondie Recipe

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

8" or 10" round cake pan

Butter, for greasing

Wax paper or parchment

1 large dinner plate

Cooling rack

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare the dough as directed on Smitten Kitchen. Grease bottom and sides of cake pan with butter. Tear off a square of wax paper or parchment that is larger than the pan, set the pan on top of the paper, and trace out the circumference of the pan with a pencil. Cut out your circle of paper and place in the bottom of the pan on top of the butter. Push out any wrinkles or bubbles, and butter the top of the paper. This should prevent any sticking.

Scoop the batter on top of the wax paper and, using a spoon or spatula, carefully and evenly spread it all the way to the edges of the pan. Place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the middle is set and the edges are lightly browned.

Remove from the oven and immediately run a knife around the edge to loosen. Place a large dinner plate, bottom-side up, over the top of the pan. Holding the cake pan against the plate with pot holders, flip the pan over, so the cake falls onto the plate. It's a sticky batter, so you may have to gently bang the pan a couple of times to release the cake. Your cake will now be bottom-side up. Peel off the wax paper and place your cooling rack against the bottom of the cake. Holding the plate and cooling rack together, with the cake sandwiched in the middle, flip the whole contraption over again. Now your cake will be right side up. Allow to cool for about 20 minutes before decorating.

Icing:

I learned a few tips while attempting to ice the cake. For the writing, I mixed a 1lb box of confectioners sugar with a few of tablespoons of water until the consistency was smooth and runny but held its shape when drizzled with a spoon. (For just a few words, you won't need the entire box of sugar. Start with 1 cup and add liquid one teaspoon at a time until you get the desired consistency.) Using a very fine, plain pastry tip fitted into the corner of a Ziploc bag, I spooned the sugar mixture into the bag, practiced first on a piece of wax paper, and then wrote on the cake. This worked fine, but I would recommend milk instead of water for better flavor.

Next, I tried to do a scalloped decoration around the edge of the cake with a large pastry star tip fitted into a Ziploc bag, but the icing that was the perfect texture for writing was too runny to hold the shape squeezed out by the star tip. When I tried to thicken the mixture with more confectioners sugar, it was so heavy that it ruptured the thin plastic Ziploc. I realized that for this type of decoration, I really needed a real pastry bag that is strong enough to contain the stiff icing. I ended up just using my hands to roll the icing into balls that I used as candle holders. Frankly, it tasted like cornstarch and sugar and water, not very delectable. I'd recommend using a tastier buttercream frosting thickened with lots of confectioners sugar, so that it holds its shape and dries quickly.