Pizza Crust (NYC thin-style), Gluten-Free

From: Art of Gluten-Free Baking (http://artofglutenfreebaking.com)

Special Equipment Needed

-a stand mixer with a paddle attachment is very helpful, although a hand mixer with regular beaters is fine

-a round pizza baking pan or a cookie sheet or parchment paper

-a pizza stone, if you have one (helps pizza crust cook up crunchy)

-a pizza peel, or two metal spatulas

Ingredients for one 12 inch pizza

1 1/3 C (190 g) Jeanne's Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp xanthan gum in addition to what's in the flour mix

1 T of sugar

2 T fast acting or active dry yeast

3/4 C (180 ml) warm water (warm but not hot to the touch)

1 tsp olive oil

1 tsp cider vinegar

extra oil and tapioca flour if you don't use the parchment paper method

Mix all dry ingredients together in the bowl of a mixer. Add wet ingredients. Using the paddle attachment, beat on med-high for about 3 mins (until smooth). It should look like a smooth blob of dough.

From here, you can choose 1 of 2 preparation/baking methods. The one I recommend uses parchment paper and a pizza stone (see directions below). If you don't want to use the parchment paper/pizza stone method, oil and flour a pizza pan or cookie sheet. Shape your dough on this pan, let it rise, and bake it in the pan for the first baking. If you're using a pizza stone, for the second baking, take the pizza off of the pan and place it directly on the stone to bake. When it's time to remove, remove with a pizza peel or two metal spatulas used together.

Preferred Shaping, Rising, and Baking Method

Tear off a large piece of parchment paper that is 12.5 inches wide by about 16 inches long. Put your blob of dough on the parchment paper. It should have the shape of a round boulder. You can now either shape the dough or let it rise for a bit. If you let it rise for a bit, the end crust will be a bit lighter. The longest time I've let it rise in this stage is about an hour. But, any time up to (and even over an hour) is fine.

When you are ready to shape the dough, sprinkle about a tablespoon of tapioca flour (or more) onto the dough (to keep the dough from sticking to your fingers). Carefully and patiently push out the dough, keeping the thickness even thoroughout. It will feel soft and pillowy. Use more flour if necessary. Dough should be light and springy

Push dough out into a 12" circle (or a rectangle if using cookie sheet). Mound up the edges a bit to create a "wall" so the toppings don't ooze off.

Leave for about 20 minutes to let rise (or longer, you choose). You will see the crust getting fuller and looking more puffy.

As it's rising, preheat oven to 450 degrees F. If you're using a pizza stone (which I highly recommend), make sure the stone is in there.

Tip: I put the rising pizza crust near or in a pan on the top of the stove to take advantage of the warmth--it encourages rising.

When rising time is finished, grab the parchment paper on either side of the dough and carefully and slowly place it in the oven (on the pizza stone if you have one). If you don't have a pizza stone, place the dough and parchment paper onto a pizza pan or a cookie sheet.

Bake the dough for 15 minutes. Remove pizza shell from oven. Put your choice of sauce and toppings on pizza (we usually use marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, fresh basil, and mushrooms or turkey meatballs--but you do what you like). Lightly brush the edges with some olive oil so they will bake up brown and crispy.

If using the pizza stone, grasp the edges of the parchment paper and carefully transfer the topped pizza onto the stone in the oven. If using the pan method or if you don't have a pizza stone, just bake the pizza on the pan.

Bake for 6-10 minutes. Watch it carefully--especially if you're using fresh mozzarella! I've found that fresh mozzarella browns very quickly. When the pizza is done, f you're smart and you have a pizza peel, use it here. If you're like me and you think it's more fun to do balancing acts in the kitchen (heh), then finagle the topped pizza out of the oven with two metal spatulas.

Enjoy!