Gluten Free Pizza Base / Focaccia / Sharing Bread

This is several recipes in one, I've written it up as a pizza base, but if you want to make on of the variations, see the notes at the bottom.

In: Basic

  Cooking temperature: 200°C

Makes/Serves: pizza base

Ingredients

  • 175 ml Warm Water
  • 0.5 sachet Fast Action Dried Yeast
  • 0.5 teaspoon Caster Sugar
  • 1 Egg
  • 0.5 teaspoon Cider Vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 225 g Gluten Free Bread Flour

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Method

  1. Put the sugar and yeast into the warm water and leave for just over 10 mins.
  2. Meanwhile, beat the eggs and add the oil and vinegar. Set aside.
  3. In another, larger bowl, weigh the flour and add some salt. Mix together.
  4. Get your baking tray ready. Use one that's about 23x30cm and has sides to it - unconventional for making pizza I know, but this isn't a dough that can be rolled. I line mine with some greaseproof paper to make lifting them out easier.
  5. Once the yeast mixture has started to look frothy, tip it into the flour along with the egg mixture. Use an electric whisk to mix it all together well. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula to make sure that all of the flour is incorporated.
  6. At this point you can add any additional flavours to the dough - cheese, herbs, olives...
  7. Tip the mixture into the baking tray and use the spatula to spread it out. It should be nice and thin - about half a centimetre. Go right up to the sides of the baking tray and use that to create a lip that will become the crust. Try and scrape it away from the side of the baking tray a bit to make it look more like a pizza crust.
  8. Leave it to prove for just over 30 mins. It will have puffed up a noticeable amount.
  9. Bake at 200°C for 20 mins.
  10. Then build your pizza and cook again as if it were a bought pizza!

If you have 2 baking trays then you can make 2 at a time and freeze them.

To make this as a focaccia, use a 9 inch square dish. When the dough is in the dish, lightly drizzle with olive oil and poke holes in with your fingers before proving. Any flavours you want to add, like olives, herbs or garlic can be poked into the dough too. Bake for 30 mins.