Pizza

Oh pizza. Without you my life would be empty. And it was. For nearly a decade I almost never had pizza on account of my allergy to gluten. As I explain in my book the allergy to gluten is very specific to certain types of grains, and if you’ve spent any time on this site you know how grateful I am for heirloom grains like spelt, einkorn, and kamut, which bring wonderful bready goodness into my life. Pizza is NOT hard to make at home, especially considering how much comfort it can bring into your life, and pizza made from the kinds of ingredients I advocate becomes a health-promoting therapy food, but remains every bit as indulgent and coma-inducing as pizza should be, with none of the stomachaches or other health problems that come with commonly available pizza. Red sauce provides a concentrated source of potassium, pesto and dandelion pizza improves the expression of digestion enzymes, and white pizza with chicken provides lots of protein and promotes niacin and NAD synthesis in the body, and pizza is healthier than, say, pasta because the grains are somewhat predigested by the yeast and bacteria from the rising process, making them easier to digest along with added vitamins and enzymes. You can buy your own sauce instead of making it from scratch, just make sure they follow the guidelines I recommend to avoid those foods and ingredients which are allergenic and toxic to the human body, which are common in such pre-made products. If you want to make pizza the proper way you can buy a pizza stone and a proper pizza peel (the paddle), preheat the stone in the oven and use the peel to transfer the pizza in and out. I live in a sardine can of an apartment and don’t have room for these things, so I just use a cookie tray and parchment. Using a stone will make your crust a bit more crispy, but if you don’t have one it’s not a big deal. You will want to absolutely invest in a pizza cutter, though, which makes serving up pizza much easier than using a knife. The picture above is my dandelion greens pesto and goat cheese pizza below.

PIZZA DOUGH

3 cups spelt, einkorn, or kamut flour
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tsp dry active yeast

Mix ingredients until dough comes together, then allow to sit, covered, for several hours (the longer it ferments the better tasting the crust). If the dough doubles in size, punch down to remove the air. When ready to make the pizza, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, then lightly oil the paper and cookie sheet with more olive or coconut oil and turn the dough onto the sheet. Oil your hands then use them to stretch the dough all the way to the edges, but allow the dough time to rest between stretches otherwise it will just bounce back to the center. The oil will also help keep it from drying out. Preheat oven to 450˚F (230˚C). Right before putting the pizza in the oven, top with sauce, cheese, and other toppings (suggestions below). Homemade pizza cooks best on the very lowest rack in the oven (so the top doesn’t cook faster than the bottom). If you have a pizza stone it can hold more heat so the pizza cooks more evenly, cook for about 25-30 minutes until the crust starts to brown (don’t brown the cheese). If you don’t have a pizza stone cook for about 25 minutes then remove from the oven and put on the stove top across 2 burners set to med-low and cook for another 10 minutes. This will help ensure the crust cooks and doesn’t come out soggy, but can burn if you set it too high or aren’t paying attention. Use a pizza cutter or large knife to cut up slices and serve.

TRADITIONAL RED SAUCE PIZZA

1 can good tomato paste
1 can tomato sauce (12-14 oz total)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh oregano, diced (dried is fine)
1 tbsp fresh basil, chiffonade
14-18 oz good mozzarella, shredded
other toppings such as sliced fresh tomatoes, good pepperoni, sausage, sliced or diced mushrooms, olives, green peppers, etc.

Preheat oven to 475˚ F (245˚ C). Prepare a red sauce by mixing the tomato paste, tomato sauce, olive oil, salt, and oregano. Set aside. Many people make pizza sauce using just tomato sauce, but this has a lot of water in it and will make your dough soggy. Adding paste and olive oil helps prevent this. Shred cheese and prepare other toppings. When dough is ready and allowed to rise for a little bit, spread sauce over the pizza using a spatula or a pastry brush. Add basil and cheese. Bake until edges are nicely browned. Let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.

DANDELION GREENS PESTO PIZZA

Bunch of dandelion greens (commonly available in the produce section)
Pesto as prepared from this recipe
Extra basil
1 large shallot, julienned
3 medium, high quality tomatoes, sliced thinly
10 oz good goat cheese

Preheat oven to 475˚ F (245˚ C). Prepare the pesto, but substitute some of the basil with 4-6 dandelion leaves, reserving the rest of the dandelion and basil for toppings. When the dough is ready and stretched spread pesto over the dough with a spatula or a pastry brush. Add sliced tomatoes with even spacing. Separate shallot rings with your fingers and sprinkle over pizza. Crumble goat cheese all over. Bake until edges are nicely browned. 2 minutes before it’s done baking, add a handful of roughly chopped basil and dandelion leaves to the top of the pizza (so they are warmed and wilt just slightly). Remove from oven and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.

CHICKEN PIZZA WITH WHITE SAUCE

Roast chicken meat (at least 1.5 cups), shredded
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons spelt or einkorn flour
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1 tsp sea salt
3 oz finely grated parmesan
1 shallot, julienned (optional)
14-18 oz good mozzarella

While the dough rises, prepare a béchamel sauce—melt butter over medium heat in a large skillet. When the bubbling has slowed, add the flour and whisk steadily for 4-5 minutes as the flour bubbles, careful not to brown the flour (turn down the heat if it’s bubbling too vigorously). Add the salt, then the milk in a steady stream as you whisk vigorously, then add the parmesan. Continue whisking until the sauce thickens, turn the heat to low and cook for 3-5 more minutes, whisking steadily, do not brown. Remove from heat. Preheat oven to 475˚ F (245˚ C). Spread the white sauce to the edges using a ladle or a pastry brush. Layer shredded chicken evenly, add shallot if desired, top with mozzarella. Bake until edges are nicely browned. Let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.