A few weeks ago, my mom came into town and we spent a morning making a giant batch of pizza crusts, which we froze in bulk for me to use as needed.  I’m not sure why it never occurred to me to make pizza crust in bulk, but it is such a lifesaver on those nights where you have been running around all day with the kids/work and  you come in thinking that the last thing you want to do is make dinner.   And, since pizza is one of the 5 foods my 4 year old will eat, we tend to make it a lot around here.

This is some seriously good pizza crust folks!  In all honesty, I might even like it better than it’s gluten filled counterpart.   It’s crispy, but still manages to have a nice chew.  It’s light, yet sturdy enough to hold up a generous helping of toppings.  It is without a doubt the best gluten free crust I have tried and I love that the recipe makes such a large batch.

I liked it so much that I’ve already made it through my frozen stash. I needed to carve out a morning to make another recipe so I thought I’d document the process so you can make it at home too! The format for this post will be slightly different as I think that pictures intermixed into the directions are particularly helpful for this recipe. No fancy or colorful pics for this post because really…how colorful can you make a tutorial on pizza crust?  But, stay tuned for a delicious fun pizza recipe to try with this crust in my next post!

Let’s get started shall we?

To begin, you will need to make a basic gluten free flour blend.  Do this by combining 4 cups of sorghum flour and 6 cups of brown rice flour.  This will give you enough flour for several recipes so your leftovers can be stored in a cool dry place or in the fridge for later use.

Next, mix 4 Tbsp of dry yeast, 4 Tbsp sugar and 6 cups of warm water in a large bowl.  Let the yeast proof for at least 5 minutes or until it is bubbly and puffed up.

To this mixture, add 4 cups of the flour blend, 4 cups of potato starch, 8tsp xantham gum, and 2 Tbsp salt.  Whisk together until smooth.  Add 8 Tbsp olive oil and mix until combined.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise on top of the oven for 30 minutes.  Do not let it rise for much longer than this because the dough will become harder to work with.

While the dough is rising, take some time to gather your supplies to make the dough into individual crusts.  You will need 3 large dinner plates or pizza pans, a roll of plastic wrap, a roll of parchment paper, a pie/tart pan and cooking spray.  Cover the pie plate with plastic wrap and spray generously with cooking spray.  Place a large piece of parchment paper on your work surface and scoop a generous cup of dough onto the parchment.

Next, gently press the dough into a circle using the pie plate.  You will want to be careful when lifting the pie plate off the dough so as not to tear it.  Press the dough out so that it is very thin (less than 1/4″ thick) and about 10″-12″ in diameter.

Slide the pizza crust and parchment paper onto one of the pizza pans or large plates and place it in the freezer.  Repeat this process two more times.  On the fourth crust, you may begin gently stacking the new crusts on top of your partially frozen crusts.  This recipe makes about 8-9 crusts so once you have finished making all the crusts, allow them to freeze for several hours or overnight until completely hardened.  To store, stack the crusts on top of one another, separated by parchment paper and wrap the entire stack in aluminum foil.  Freeze until ready to use.

To cook the crust, preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Spray a pizza pan with cooking spray and place the frozen crust on the pan.  Bake on the bottom rack for 20-25 minutes until it begins to brown on the bottom.    At this point you can add your toppings and bake for additional 15 minutes until the cheese is fully melted and slightly browned on top.

  We’ve come to the last installment of our Summer Grill Out Series.  If you missed the first two, head on over to check out this Italian Bean Dip and this Grilled Romaine salad.  For this last installment, I’ve decided on a rich and flavorful main dish that is the perfect summer entertaining meal.   Where do I even start with the things I love about this meal?!?! I love the heat of the steak fresh off the grill paired with the chilled quinoa.  I love how the richness of the meat is complimented by the herbaceousness of the chimichurri sauce.   And, perhaps most of all, I love that the bulk of this meal can be made ahead of time, giving me a chance to actually enjoy my company and a glass of wine.  The salad and sauce can be made ahead of time (actually, the salad is even better the next day) and the meat can be in the marinade for 24 hours so you simply throw it on the grill and assemble everything together.  See, I told you…the perfect meal for entertaining!

Grilled Hangar Steak with Chimichurri Sauce and Quinoa Salad (serves 4)

Ingredients:

For steak:

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup tamari sauce (or soy sauce)

2 Tbsp minced garlic

2 Tbsp honey

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp onion powder

pinch of cayenne pepper

2 lbs hangar steak

For Chimichurri sauce:

1 cup (packed) fresh Italian parsley

1/2 cup olive oil

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup (packed) fresh cilantro

2 garlic cloves, peeled

3/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

For Salad:

1 cup quinoa, cooked according to package directions

1/2 cup vinaigrette from Grilled Romaine Salad

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 scallions, thinly sliced

1/4 cup freshly chopped basil

1/2 cup thinly slice fennel

1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, packed in oil

1 cup arugula

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  Combine all ingredients for the marinade in a plastic bag and marinade steak for at least 8 hours or overnight.

  For the Chimichurri sauce, place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.  This can be done a day in advance.

  For the salad, add the scallions, basil, fennel, sundried tomatoes and lemon juice to the quinoa while it is still warm.   Pour dressing over the salad and toss to coat.  Place salad in the refrigerator until chilled.  Before serving, add arugula and toss to combine.  

  Grill steak for 7 minutes on each side, or until done to your liking.  Slice and serve over the quinoa and drizzle with Chimichurri sauce.  

This salad is really the inspiration behind this whole meal in my Summer Grill Out Series.  We have a local restaurant that serves a salad very similar to this and I get it every single time I go, which says a lot since I usually prefer to vary up my menu selections.  The concept of grilling your salad is a complete game changer because it adds a smoky charred flavor that makes it something special. This particular salad also comes loaded with fried leeks and crispy prosciutto, which pack a pretty hefty punch in the flavor department themselves.  While this salad requires a bit more effort than your regular old garden variety salad (shameless pun), I can assure you it is totally worth it.  And, may I suggest making extra leeks and prosciutto so you can enjoy the deliciousness multiple nights in a row.  In the case of this salad, there is no such thing as too much of a good thing.

Grilled Romaine Salad (serves 4)

Ingredients:

For Salad:

2 heads of romaine, halved

4 oz prosciutto

2 oz crumbled gorgonzola cheese

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

2 leeks, cleaned, halved and sliced in half moon shape

oil for frying

For vinaigrette:

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

2 Tbsp sugar

1 clove minced garlic

2 Tbsp dijon mustard

2 tsp Herbs de Provence

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Lay prosciutto out on a baking sheet and bake until it begins to shrivel around the edges and get crispy (about 10-15 min).  Meanwhile, fill a pan with about 1 inch of frying oil (I like grape seed) until oil looks shiny and ripples across the top.  You can test the readiness by dropping a few leeks into the oil.  Once the oil is ready, fry the leeks in small batches for just about a minute and fish out with a slotted spoon.  Place the fried leeks on a paper towel to absorb excess grease.

Thoroughly mix all ingredients of the vinaigrette and set aside.  Brush romaine halves with oil and place on a hot grill for 2-3 minutes or until slightly charred.  Serve while still warm, topped with leeks, tomatoes, cheese and prosciutto.  Drizzle with the vinaigrette and enjoy.