Making your own low-carb pizza base

1/ Low Carb "Sloppy Joe"

        This one's a surprise. I wasn't even going to make it when I read about using cauliflower in the base but... I'm glad I did. The mixture of riced cauliflower and grated 'hard' mozzarella cheese needs a knife and fork (it's a bit messy in your hands, but possible) and it is in the words of my daughter 'scrumptiously tasty'.

...or 2/ Higher Carb, Gluten-free "Crispy Pete"

        To be able to hold it more easily in your hands, you need to add a replacement for the wheat flour. Commercial options for gluten-free pizzas use tapioca, rice, potato or cornflour and in so doing, are very carb-rich which quickly spikes your insulin. That being said, the recipe from the How Can It Be Gluten Free Cookbook is by far the best and I have served it without saying it's gluten-free with much success.
        Mix in some garbanzo bean flour (chickpea flour - also known as Gram flour) almond flour or ground golden flaxseeds to add both substance and taste. When using ground flax seeds, remember to drink lots of liquids - they tend to soak up the H2O. 

SLOPPY JOE - Cauliflower pizza

        The secret of making a great low-carb pizza base that holds together well is in reducing the liquid in the cauliflower and letting the egg and molten cheese provide the "glue" when it's cooking.

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2/ CRISPY PETE

Time for Crispy Pete to make his credentials known. He's a whole lot of carbs heavier but he's home-made healthy, 100% gluten-free and the closest you can get to durum wheat pizza dough - without the wheat!
        Psyllium husk - the secret ingredient that makes the difference
Crispy Pete's secret ingredient is 'psyllium husk' which strengthens the proteins in gluten-free flour so that it can better trap steam and gas during baking... making it more bread like. You can easily find it in healthfood stores or on-line; it's cheap and well worth the purchase. Psyllium husk is a shrub-like herb most commonly found in India and you only need small quantities to create the right pizza dough texture. In larger quantities, it is often used as laxative and is also renowned for it's high fibre content.

        Instructions for a crispy pizza base

1. Combine all dry ingredients
2. Using a stand mixer or hand mixing, gradually add the oil and the water, mixing steadily for 5 minutes - don't worry that the mixture looks more like pancake batter than bread dough
3. Let stand for 2 hours (it will rise & go 'bubbly')
4. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper that you have sprayed with olive oil
5. Use one third of the wet dough for the first pizza, putting it in the middle of the baking tray and gradually spreading the dough with an oiled spoon to be about 15 cm in diameter
6. Spray top of dough with oil and cover with plastic wrap/cling film and using hands and a rolling pin, ease out to a circle of around 30 cm
7. Repeat with the second third of the dough and set the final balance of the mixture aside for your third pizza or to make some dough balls
8. With your oven at 160 C, cook for around 45 minutes, rotating the baking sheets if the pizzas brown at corners
9. Transfer to a wire rack and cool... they should be crisp and easy to put your favourite toppings on! Use within 4 hours or wrap in cling film & freeze

Easy cauliflower pizza recipe - 90 second video 

1/ The 'Sloppy Joe' ingredients

 - 400g cauliflower, grated & squeezed down to 250g
 - 200g grated 'hard' mozzarella
 - 50g almond flour

 - 1 egg
​ - 1 tsp dried oregano
 - 1tsp minced garlic
 - 1 tablespoon olive oil
 - Salt & pepper to taste

1. Pulse the cauliflower in a food processor until it looks like snow and resembles the texture of breadcrumbs or fine couscous.  
2. In a microwave safe bowl, cook the mixture on high for 4-5 minutes.  Let the mixture cool before placing it in some cheesecloth and literally twisting the top to squeeze out the water (Keep this liquid for adding to a soup).
3. Wait a few minutes for the cauliflower mixture to relax before giving it a final squeeze. You will have reduced the weight by one third.
4. Mix together the cauliflower and all the other ingredients very evenly to form two dough balls.
5. Cover a baking tray with baking paper and after spraying a light layer of olive oil, place your dough ball in the middle and form it into a 25 cm circle, about ½ cm thick.
6. Bake in the oven (pre-heated to 250 °C) for 11-15 minutes until the surface begins to turn golden brown.
7. Remove from oven, and at this stage, you can let the pizza crust cool, cover it in cling film and freeze it for up to a month.
8. Alternatively, march ahead using the flip side to add your toppings, before placing it back in the oven (still on baking paper) for 5-7 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. I use my slow-cooked tomato sauce as a spreadable base, which has been portioned and frozen.

2/ Crispy Pete's ingredients

This is enough for 3 crispy pizza bases:
 - 500 gm of your favourite gluten-free flour blend 
 - 125 gm almond flour
 - 25 gm psyllium husk (order on-line if you don't find it locally)
 - 15 gm baking powder
 - 5 gm dry yeast
 - 650 ml water (luke-warm)
 - 75 ml olive oil (+ oil to spray the baking trays)
 - 10 gm salt (2 teaspoons)

        'Crispy Pete' is adapted from "The How Can it be Gluten-free Cookbook" published by America's Test Kitchen.
        A word of warning: measures are not metric in this book.

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