Pizza Crust

Ingredients

• 135 g (2/3 Cup) Boiling Water
• 35 g (3 Tbsp) Sugar
• 40 g (3 Tbsp) Oil or Fat (canola, vegetable, soybean, olive, schmaltz, whatever ya got)
• 120 g (3/4 Cup) Cornmeal (the regular stuff: not grits, polenta, or masa)
• 1/2 + 1/4 Tsp Xanthan
• 9 g (1 Tbsp) Dry Active Yeast if baking within a couple of hours, 1/2 Tsp if making ahead
• 1 Tsp Salt
• 30 g Sweet Rice Flour or Glutinous Rice Flour (3 Tbsp + 1 Tsp Sweet Rice Flour or 1/3 cup Glutinous)
• 105 g (1 Cup) Tapioca Starch/Flour

Special Equipment
  Food processor (optional)

Time
  About an hour

Makes
  Approximately a 10-inch pizza, serves 1-3 people

Instructions
Bring your 135 g (2/3 cup) water just to a boil, and, in a bowl or your food processor, immediately mix in the 35 g (3 tbsp) sugar thoroughly. It's important that all the sugar gets dissolved in the water, since we want it to be eaten by the yeast. Leftover grains of sugar will leave an undesirable sweet taste in the dough and cause it to brown too fast in the oven. Add the 40 g (3 tbsp) oil and 120 g (3/4 cup) cornmeal, mix well, and test the temperature. If the mixture is more than lukewarm, make large strokes with a spoon or flexible spatula to cool. Add the 3/4 tsp xanthan and 1 Tbsp yeast, mix again, and scrape down the sides of the bowl so that the mixture is all together. Set a timer for 15 minutes. It's important not to skimp on this- it makes for a robust yeast population, as well as hydrating the cornmeal, so that you get a smooth dough rather than a crumbly mess.

When the 15 minutes have elapsed, add the tsp salt, 30 g (3 tbsp + 1 tsp) sweet rice flour, and 105 g (1 cup) tapioca flour and mix. When I'm not using a food processor, I like to use a flexible spatula and my hands for this. If using a plain metal pan, oil the pan and leave the oil on your fingers to help you press out the dough. If you're using a pizza stone, go ahead and put it in the oven and turn the oven to 450. If you don't have a peel, I recommend pressing out the dough on the counter or another flat surface, flipping it over onto the back of a pan that has extra cornmeal sprinkled on it, and then forming the crust. Either way, you're just going to form the dough into a ball and press with your fingertips from the center- treat it like playdough. When you've achieved your desired size, fold over the edges and squish them down to form a crust. Put the pizza in a warm place to rise for at least half an hour. If you're using a regular metal pan, you can preheat the oven to 450 about 20 minutes before you're ready to bake the pizza. Add the sauce, cheese, and toppings just before you're ready to bake the pizza. If you're using pasta sauce, it's a good idea to mix it with an equal amount of tomato paste- spaghetti sauce is really too thin, and can separate and make the crust soggy. Bake 15 minutes, or until it looks done.     ****************

Amazon Links for Ingredients:
Xanthan
Cornmeal
Dry Active Yeast
Glutinous Rice Flour
Tapioca Starch

Sweet Rice Flour (Certified GF)

Modifications and extra notes
Rapid Rise yeast is fine if you have it around, but it doesn't seem to speed up the process much. I don't think polenta or grits will work in place of regular cornmeal, because they're too coarse. Masa may work; substituting by weight you'd want 1 cup of it to sub for the cornmeal.