Adventures In Alternative Pizza
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On July 20th, I was privileged to see a movie entitled Rebel With A Clause. This is naturally the film version of the book of the same name, which I reviewed recently. The author—and star of the movie—Ellen Jovin was going to be present at the viewing, answering questions at the Grammar Table and autographing her book. I have a hardback copy of her book, of course, perfect for autographing. But having recently packed up my whole household to move and being slow to unpack in the new place, I hadn’t gotten around to unpacking a single one of my books. Which occupy about thirty boxes. How to find the one book I needed to take to the autographing session?
Well, when I packed up everything, I numbered the boxes and kept a Master List of what was in each box, with varying levels of specificity. It’s possible that I came in for some mockery of my anal-retentive super organized habits as they pertain to my Master List. However, all the mockers can push off, because after referring to the Master List, I opened one single box, looking for one single book. And I found it! It’s now happily autographed and gloating over all my other books which are 1) still packed, and 2) not autographed. Anthropomorphizing? Maybe just a smidge.
All of this is a long way of telling you that when I recently decided to look for a specific cookbook, I consulted the Master List, narrowed my search down to two boxes, and found it in the very first box I checked. Master List for the win! The book in question is entitled The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook and it’s just chock-full of lovely recipes. I’ve tried several but the one I want to tell you about today is the pizza crust.
Now, I am not gluten-intolerant. I love gluten. If I could order double-gluten in my starches, I would. But this pizza crust is just delicious. I feel obliged to point out this this crust does not behave nor taste like a regular pizza crust. It’s much more crumbly and the flavor profile is completely different. Nevertheless, I think it’s delightful. It’s also MUCH more healthy than your average pizza crust, and much more filling.
The recipe makes a single 10” crust, which is rolled out and then baked until it’s done. Then one adds desired toppings (but not too much of anything…the crust is delicate, so be gentle!) and pops the whole thing back in the oven just long enough to melt the cheese. Then it needs to be eaten immediately. When I made this for the blog, I invited my mother over and made her hold the camera for me, and then we ate it together after it was done. My mom says it’s okay but not awesome. I completely disagree…it’s definitely awesome!
I’m going to write out the ingredient list and directions without attaching an actual recipe. On the one hand, this sort of crust is widely searchable on the internet-webs, so I don’t feel guilty telling you about it. On the other hand, publishing an actual recipe still feels like taking money away from the author, so I’m not going to do that.
The method: in a bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour (the very finely ground stuff, not almond meal); 1/2 tsp sea salt or kosher salt; and 1/4 tsp baking soda. In another small bowl, whisk together 1 large egg and 1 Tbsp of your baking oil of choice. The book calls for grapeseed oil, which is what I used because it’s delicious. But a nice olive oil or avocado oil would also be lovely. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together with a spoon until you can’t anymore, then get your hand in there and keep mixing until it comes together. Because I hate trying to pry dried dough out from under my fingernails, I put on a latex glove for that part. You’ll know it’s ready when you can press it into the bottom of the bowl and it’s no longer really crumbly.
Roll it out between two pieces of parchment paper until it’s a 10” circle. This will yield you a crust which is about 1/8” thick. If there are any raggedy edges or little cracks, do your best to smooth them out. Remove the top piece of parchment paper, put the crust and the other piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet, and bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes. You will know it’s done when the top looks and feels dry and the edges are lightly golden.
Add whatever toppings you like. I chose to add a little tomato sauce, some mozzarella and sharp cheddar cheese, and a few olives and mushrooms. It took another couple minutes in the oven for the cheese to melt, and then I cut it into six pieces, which my mother and I had for lunch.
It’s difficult to describe the flavor, but I’ll try. It’s got a satisfying sort of starchy mouth-feel to it but underneath that is the delicious flavor of toasted almonds. It’s fantastic. And almonds are quite nutritious. The pizza crust has 24 grams of fiber and 48 grams of protein. No wonder it’s so filling! One 10” pizza can feed 2 or 3 people. I can eat a LOT in a single sitting, but even I can’t eat a whole almond flour pizza…it’s just too much.
I hope you’ll give this a try. And I also hope that you’ll have a look at the really excellent book I got the recipe from. There are lots more recipes in there that are worth checking out, whether you buy it off Amazon or check it out from your local library.
One final note: almond flour does go rancid, even faster than whole almonds. So put whatever you’re not going to use immediately into the freezer, where it will be nice and fresh the next time you’re ready to use it.
