I love pizza but I don't love the usual thick, heavy, gluten-loaded, white flour crust. It has taken me actually many years to fully perfect my pizza dough. I now feel as though my recipe has finally been perfected recently by some inspiration from a client and friend of mine, Vanessa, who requested a healthy, non-white flour but tasty pizza crust to satisfy her pizza cravings. This recipe is not truly gluten free as spelt flour is the main ingredient, though spelt has much less gluten and is much less refined than whole wheat flours. Most people with a mild sensitivity to gluten can digest spelt flour well and so it can be a great alternative.
~ Vegan & Gluten-Free ~
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups spelt flour (1/2 cup is for adding when kneading dough)
1/3 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup ground flaxseeds
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder or freshly minced garlic cloves
2 tsp fresh herbs, finely chopped (thyme, oregano, rosemary) or dried herbs
1 1/4 cup warm water
1 tbsp honey or maple syrup
1 tbsp traditional yeast
In a measuring cup measure warm water and add honey or maple syrup stirring until melted, then add yeast and briefly stir. Let it sit until foam forms about 1-2cm in height. In large mixing bowl add flours, ground flaxseeds, garlic powder and herbs. Mix until well combined.
Once water/yeast mixture is ready add to mixing bowl with flours and gently stir until dough is sticky. Add extra flour while kneading dough until dough become more smooth and less sticky (should not stick to your fingers). You may not use all of the 1/2 cup of flour or you may need a bit more. Do not over knead! Form dough into ball and drizzle about 2 tsp of olive oil over dough and sides of bowl. Move ball of dough around until fully coated with olive oil. Cover bowl with tea towel and let it sit in a warm place until more than doubled in size (may take about 45-60 minutes). Divide dough in half and place on oiled (with grape seed oil) pizza stone or baking tray. Press down while spreading evenly over baking tray. Bake at 385F for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and add your chosen sauce and toppings. Return to oven and bake for another 20-25 minutes until toppings look cooked. This baking time will depend on which toppings you have selected.
Oven 385F
Makes 2 medium - large thin pizza crusts
Prep & baking time
Prep time ~ 80 minutes (60 minutes of rising time for dough)
Baking time ~ 30-35 minutes
Total time ~ 2 hours
Sauce & Topping suggestions:
Arugula Pesto (See recipe on blog) as sauce with onions, mushrooms, arugula, yams & goat's feta (optional)
Tomato paste with minced garlic and herbs as sauce with onions, kale (finely chopped), zucchini, Brussels sprouts (finely sliced), pineapple, mushrooms, olives, & goat's feta (optional)
I love making pizza because I can be so creative with my topping combinations! Think unusual and you may be pleasantly surprised : )
Love the power of food:
Spelt flour
This wonderful grain in actually the ancient form of wheat. Spelt has not been genetically modified like modern wheat has. Because of this, spelt has retained its resilience against insects and therefore does not require the same pesticide treatment as wheat. The gluten content in spelt is much less and is much easier to digest compared to its wheat cousin as the the chemical bonds of the gluten molecule are more fragile. The nutritional content of spelt is also much higher than wheat. It is an excellent source of complex carbohydrates and fibre. More notably it contains complete protein as well as more protein per gram compared to wheat being 10g of protein for 2 oz of spelt flour compared to 2.74 g of protein for 2 oz of wheat flour. Spelt flour is an excellent alternative to wheat flour for baking breads, muffins, cookies etc.
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