Gluten Craving: Homemade (Margarita-ish) Pizza

There is only one more week until Easter and Lent is over. My gluten-free commitment really hasn’t been that hard until this final week. I have been craving bread… vegetables and rice just really aren’t cutting it for me right now. In the Episcopal Church we don’t include Sundays in the 40 days of Lenten fast… but I’m really only Episcopalian by marriage so I have been kind of undecided about whether or not that Sunday indulgence thing is legit or cheating… My cravings have been so bad, though, that last night I made up my mind and decided it was legit :) So today, Palm Sunday, I made a delectable, gluten-filled, homemade pizza to celebrate the breaking of the fast. I was at Kroger, in my pajamas, at 11pm last night to get a packet of yeast and was so excited that I went ahead and made the dough when I got home. Now, I never, EVER bake… almost every time I have tried it has been an utter disaster. I am ecstatic to say, however, that this was a success!!! I made whole-wheat pizza dough using a recipe that I got from eatingwell.com. Here it is:

Ingredients:

•3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons lukewarm water, (105-115°F)
•1 package active dry yeast, (2 1/4 teaspoons)
•1 teaspoon sugar
•1/2 teaspoon salt
•1 cup whole-wheat flour
•1 cup all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting
•2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal

Directions:

1.Stir water, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl; let stand until the yeast has dissolved, about 5 minutes. Stir in whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour and cornmeal until the dough begins to come together.

2.Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. (Alternatively, mix the dough in a food processor. Process until it forms a ball, then process for 1 minute to knead.)

3.Place the dough in an oiled bowl and turn to coat. (To make individual pizzas, see Variation.) Cover with a clean kitchen towel and set aside in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Because my husband and I have vastly different tastes we debated for about an hour last night before finally agreeing that I would make a pizza with fresh mozzarella, roma tomatoes, summer sausage, and basil from the garden (I picked almost every leaf off that plant out of spite for its refusal to grow). I had some incredible left-over tomato/olive-based pasta sauce that I also used. I served roasted fennel alongside and, I must say, it was a delightful pairing. Top YOUR pizza with whatever tickles your fancy! Save some pennies and get creative by using what you have in your fridge/pantry!