Successful Trial #1
After countless attempts (that I did not record) at creating a pizza crust with superior texture and flavor, I finally succeeded! If I've learned anything from my previous experiments, it's that gluten free pizza crust should be rolled out as thin as possible. The thinner crust creates a crunchier and the less "gluten free" aftertaste.
I've noticed that any time I've made a pie crust that was too thick, the texture of the crust was too soft and chewy. Furthermore, a dough that is more wet has a longer shelf life and creates a more palatable texture. This is why guidelines for a good crust are the thinner and the wetter the better!
In order to get my crust as thin as possible, I used a rectangular sheet pan. This was the ideal vessel for me to use since I was able to simply use my fingers to spread out the wet dough to cover the entire sheet without having to roll a round shape with a rolling pin as I had done in previous trials.
The pizza crust was so delicious! I served it to David's family for dinner and everyone had seconds. I made two pizzas- a white pizza with spinach, feta, fresh mozzarella, and pesto and a red pizza with spinach, mozzarella, and fresh tomatoes.
I've noticed that any time I've made a pie crust that was too thick, the texture of the crust was too soft and chewy. Furthermore, a dough that is more wet has a longer shelf life and creates a more palatable texture. This is why guidelines for a good crust are the thinner and the wetter the better!
In order to get my crust as thin as possible, I used a rectangular sheet pan. This was the ideal vessel for me to use since I was able to simply use my fingers to spread out the wet dough to cover the entire sheet without having to roll a round shape with a rolling pin as I had done in previous trials.
The pizza crust was so delicious! I served it to David's family for dinner and everyone had seconds. I made two pizzas- a white pizza with spinach, feta, fresh mozzarella, and pesto and a red pizza with spinach, mozzarella, and fresh tomatoes.
Successful Trial #2- Sicilian style!
I made a thick pizza crust accidentally, but it was a delicious accident. This is the first time that I made a pizza dough that was so wet that it was impossible to roll out into a neat circular or rectangular shape. Since it was so battery, I had to use my fingers to spread the dough into sort of a messy rectangular shape. Had I been able to use a small round pan, I could have molded the batter to the shape of the pan. But all I had was a large sheet pan, so I had to improvise on the shape.
Because of the amount of moisture in this dough, the yeast activated more quickly and therefore gave me significantly more rise on my crust. The crust was so light and fluffy, and had ZERO gluten free aftertaste! Until now, I'd thought that only a very thinly rolled out dough could avoid the aftertaste, but I learned that with the addition of a lot of liquid, the gluten free aftertaste is undetectable.
I par baked the crust at 500 degrees and then added my pizza sauce and cheese until the cheese was just starting to brown.
Because of the amount of moisture in this dough, the yeast activated more quickly and therefore gave me significantly more rise on my crust. The crust was so light and fluffy, and had ZERO gluten free aftertaste! Until now, I'd thought that only a very thinly rolled out dough could avoid the aftertaste, but I learned that with the addition of a lot of liquid, the gluten free aftertaste is undetectable.
I par baked the crust at 500 degrees and then added my pizza sauce and cheese until the cheese was just starting to brown.
Conclusions
With less moisture, the thinner the crust, the less detectable the gluten free flours and the better the flavour/texture of the crust. With more moisture, it is more difficult to pin the dough into a nice and neat shape, but the gluten free aftertaste is undetectable in a thicker crust. It is important to make sure that the pizza toppings are fresh and delicious.
