Vegan Gluten-free Pizza Dough with Chickpea Flour

by Katie Mae, www.plantzst.com

Makes two 8-inch pizzas | Ready in 90 minutes | Stores 4 days in fridge

1 C brown rice and/or almond flour
1 C chickpea and/or fava bean flour
1/2 C potato flour or starch
1 T dried oregano
1 T dried marjoram
1/2 T garlic granules
1/4 oz active-dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1 1/4 C low-sodium vegetable broth
1 T flaxseed, ground

1. In a large bow, combine flours, herbs, garlic, and dry-active yeast. Stir well and set aside.
2. In a small saucepan, bring vegetable broth to a boil. While it heats, put ground flaxseed into a small bowl or cup. Once the broth is boiling, turn off the heat. Pour two T of the broth over the flax seeds and whisk immediately until a thick gel is formed.
3. Pour the rest of the broth into a small bowl or measuring cup – it should be about 1 cup. Then pour half of the broth into the dry ingredients. Add the flaxseed gel. Use a fork to mix the ingredients. Add more broth as needed. You may not need it all; I usually have 1/4 cup of broth left.
4. Do not overwork the dough. The dough will be slightly sticky when all ingredients are combined. With your hands, shape the dough into a ball and set it inside the bowl (see Chef’s Note below). Dip your fingers in the remaining broth and gently wet the outside of the ball(s).
5. Cover with a clean towel and let rise for 1 hour or longer if time permits.
6. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
7. Flour your pizza stone, or line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
8. Once the dough has had time to rise, lay a little bit of brown rice flour over a cutting board or flat surface. Place a ball of dough onto the floured surface. Use a floured rolling pin or your fingers, to flatten the dough into a crust 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Then go around the dough, gently tucking over the edges to form a slightly raised crust. Repeat with second dough ball if there is one.
9. Bake the crust(s), on the middle rack, without any topping for 5 minutes .
After 5 minutes, pull them out of the oven and top with a sauce of your choosing. (You may want to try my Quick & Easy Oil-free Pizza Sauce.)
10. Bake for another 5 minutes on the middle rack.
11. Then add your toppings. Bake once more, this time on the top rack, for 5 to 10 minutes, depending on how long your topping need to cook for.
12. Use a pizza slicer or sharp knife to slice each pizza. Serve immediately.

Chef’s Note:
As the dough sits, it will rise because the yeast is creating air pockets in the dough. This air in the dough makes for a lighter and less dense pizza crust. However, when the dough is kneaded and played with that air gets released.
Therefore, you want to handle the dough as little as possible. Before forming the dough into a ball, decide how many pizzas you’re going to make. Split the dough, and subsequently shape it, so that you have one dough ball for each pizza you plant to make.

Basic Pizza Tomato Sauce

by Barbara J Mathison, CHC

1 6-ounce can tomato paste, low-sodium
1 T oregano, dried
2 tsp basil, dried – crushed
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder (optional)
1 tsp No Salt Substitute
1/4 – 1/2 tsp sea salt (optional)
1 + tsp Italian Seasoning (optional)
2 T water

Place all ingredient in a bowl and with a fork or whisk blend together. Let set for at least an hour for flavors to blend. Spread evenly on pizza dough. Add rest of topping and bake per directions.

Addicting “Cheese” Sauce

by Niky Wallin   www.healthstylegirl.com
(my friend Niky made this “cheese” for Mac & Cheese, Veggie Dip, Pasta Sauce …. you try it and see if you love it as much as I do — so I put it on my pizza for tonight!!! Barbara)

1 large sweet potato (not yams), peeled & cubed
2 large carrots, chopped
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp coconut aminos (lowest in sodium of all aminos) or Tamari, Gluten-Free Low-Sodium
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
red pepper flakes to sprinkle on top (optional)

1. Put the sweet potatoes and carrots in a steamer. Steam until tender – about 10-20 minutes.
2. Place in a high-powered blender and add the remaining ingredients. Secure the lid and blend on “sauce” cycle or medium speed for about 30 seconds.

Note from Barbara:
Spread the Basic Pizza tomato sauce on the crust(s) with the back of a spoon. Be as generous as you like. Put the “Cheese” in a seal-able plastic bag and cut out one corner (not too big). I love the way this spreads on the pizzas without messing the pizza sauce and you can get creative with your design.
Then I load on the rest of the ingredients: in the above I using a left-over black bean burger I made the other day, broken up in small pieces; chopped red pepper; red onion, chopped; kalamata and green olives, sliced; portobello mushroom, chopped; not in the picture are the pineapple chunks and a nice handful of spinach on top just a few minutes before taking out of the oven.