Saturday, March 15, 2014

Softer than a pillow, lighter than air — pizza


In honor of pi day and a nagging pizza craving, I finally got around to making an oat-flour-based gluten-free crust I've been ogling since veganmofo.


The crust was pretty easy to make, though it did involve some (optional) rising time since it was a yeast crust. I got the recipe here. The original was topped with tempeh tikka masala, but I just made a regular old pizza with tomato sauce and a quick cashew cheese sauce. And topped it with lots of sliced onion and aleppo pepper. I also added crushed rosemary to the dough.


The crust (focaccia) was just as Richa described it — soft, thick, light and with no resemblance to gluten-free baked goods. But, it was almost too soft and light for me. I kept wishing I had just eaten it plain, as bread, instead of using it for pizza. I was craving something heavier and chewier — more like the toothsome gluten-y crusts I used to make. Sigh. Richa's recipes are great, and this is not meant to slight her lovely crust at all, but I was needing a different texture the day I made the pizza. Next time I'm craving something soft and pillow-y, though, this is the recipe to which I will turn.


The extra-soft texture may have involved user-error because as I studied the step-by-step photos on Richa's blog, her dough looked much softer than mine, so I added a bit of extra water so mine would look more like hers. I'm going to try the recipe again, aiming for a stiffer dough, to see if I get a firmer result. The pie was definitely a beauty, though, and I can assure you I ate every bite. You should try it. A big thank you to Richa for all her inspiring recipes!

Have you ever been disappointed by a cooking result because, even though it was beautiful and tasty, it didn't match what you were craving?

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