It has been awhile since I have had the time to share
something new. Time seems to be at a
premium now that all three children are in school, soccer season is in full
swing, and I am back to work. When we
have that precious time together for a weekend dinner, everyone gets excited
about making pizza on the grill, including my son with all of the food allergies. He affectionately calls pizza night “Mom-gelo’s”
after a local pizza parlor named Angelo’s.
Grilled pizza is made easy for those of us who do not have
food allergies. I visit my local
Italian grocery, Gagliano’s, and I pick up all of my favorite ingredients…even
the dough! Their pre-made pizza dough is
egg free. I also pick up some fresh mozzarella,
artichoke hearts, olives, sauce, and their fresh made sausage.
The pizza dough will need to have time to rise like any
yeast bread. Place your dough in an oiled
bowl and set in a warm spot for a few hours.
I slice and dice all of the ingredients that I want to put on the pizza,
and set it aside. Pre-heat your grill to
400-450 degrees. Take the risen dough
out of the bowl and either roll out with a rolling pin on a floured surface or
connect with your inner pizza tosser.
Place some coarse corn meal down when you are nearly finished to help
prevent the dough from sticking to everything.
Place the dough directly onto the grill and cook at a high
temperature for about 3 minutes or until it has a firm underside on the
dough. Remove the dough from the grill
and flip over onto a pizza stone or large cookie sheet. It is now time to assemble your pizza. Start with sauce, layer on the ingredients,
and top with cheese. Place pizza back
onto the grill and cook directly on the grill for 8-12 minutes. The heat can be turned down to around 350
degrees. You may need to spin your pizza
if you have hot spots on your grill. The
process of putting dough on and off and back onto the grill can cause moments
of stress and humor. I suggest having a
glass of wine handy.
The process for making gluten free, dairy-free, pizza uses the
same process, but with different ingredients.
Allergy Friendly Gluten Free Pizza Dough
Makes 4 personal pizzas
Sponge:
¼ cup of luke warm water
1 package of active dry yeast
¼ cup gluten free flour
In a small bowl, make the sponge by combining the above
ingredients. Allow it to sit for 20-30
minutes.
Dough:
½ cup luke warm water
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¾ cup gluten free flour mix (includes potato starch and/or
tapioca starch and xanthum gum) Link for GF flour mix
Additional flour for kneading and corn meal
Add the dough ingredients to the sponge and mix until a ball
forms. Knead the dough for 10-15
minutes, adding flour as needed. Place
in an oiled bowl and allow it to rest for 2 hours. GF dough does not rise well, but it should
rise a little. Divide the dough into 4
parts and form into a round ball. Freeze
unused dough for another pizza night.
Shape the dough, follow the directions as above for grilling
this GF pizza dough, and get ready to enjoy!
Top with your favorite ingredients and dairy free cheese.
