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Yummy, Easy Millet-Crust Pizza: Gluten Free & (Yay!) Easy Topping Substitutions
Don't Procrastinate. Make Pizza.
Feel like pizza? Wanna drum your fingers and wait to pick up another 'cardboard crust' gluten free pie...or wait for delivery?
Call me paranoid, but when I order gluten-free pizza, I worry that I'll get one that's NOT gluten free, by mistake.
Whether you pick up your meal or have it delivered, you can usually count on 45 minutes to an hour from "Let's get pizza!" to "Dinner's ready!"
(Play the theme from The Godfather here). What? You got somethin' better to do in the next hour than make a nice pizza pie?
Claire's Millet Crust Pizza
The Crust
- 1 1/2 cups uncooked millet, organic preferred
- 3 1/2 cups water
- 1/2 t. sea salt
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 c. loosely grated parmesan cheese (I like Parmesano Reggiano)
- 2 T. CULTURED butter (or olive oil, or avocado oil)
- 1/2 t. truffle salt (yep, it's pricey, but it lasts forever and it's addictively good!)
Boil water in deep pan and add millet. Cook on medium low heat, uncovered, without stirring. It will take about 20 minutes to cook, so get this started first. If you salt your water, add sea salt.
While millet is cooking, assemble other crust ingredients. Grate the parmesan and get your blender or food processor ready.
Preheat it to 375 degrees Farenheit now. You'll have time to prep the toppings while the millet finishes cooking.
Topping Ideas
- 1 can pre-made organic *pizza sauce (or your own sauce, if you're ambitious)
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups grated cheese OR some fresh mozzarella, cut in 1/4" thick circles.
- Fresh veggies: tomatoes, zucchini or yellow crookneck squash, onions, fresh peppers, mushrooms, sliced or diced.
- Canned veggies, in a pinch: mushrooms, jalepenos, green chiles, etc.
- Herbs: fresh or dried basil, oregano, black pepper. I even like a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg!
- HINT: If someone in your family LOVES hot peppers, roast a couple of Thai peppers to toss on their slice of pizza! (We had Thai peppers in our garden. My husband lucked out).
*I'm not a fan of canned tomato products, but this week, the only pre-made pizza sauce on the shelf at 2J's was Muir Glen. In a can. I prefer Enrico's in a jar, not only because acid foods are safer when they're stored in glass, but because Muir Glen is part of a multinational conglomerate that supports GMO-foods! Arrgh.
Fix Up the Crust: Thick or Medium, Your Choice
Slide a few grains of cooked millet on the blade of a butter knife and taste them. They should be softer than al dente pasta, just barely.
Take the millet off the stove and rinse it briefly, in a colander. Shake off the excess water and scoop millet into a blender/food processor. Blend on low speed until mushy (a little texture is fine. Nice, even. See pics).
Add two raw eggs, parmesan, truffle salt and blend on low speed. The mixture will be more liquidy, but it should still 'mound up when you pour it onto a pizza pan. (See pic, below).
OIL the pizza pan (I sprayed mine with Spectrum Olive Oil spray).
Decide if you want a medium crust or a thick crust.
Spread the medium version all the way to the edges, leaving a raised rim. A thicker crust, like mine, will take up about 11" of the pan.
If you are on track, a thick crust, when cooked and slightly cooled, will be (mostly) self-supporting. A medium crust will require a fork. Do not spread the crust mix too thinly on the pan: even when the pan is oiled, it will likely stick.
Thick Crust Version (spread 11" on a 14" pan)
For a Medium Crust...
...remember to spread the millet all the way to the edges of a 14" pan, being careful not to have 'thin spots' anywhere.
Nothin's Worse than a Soggy Crusted Pizza!
Bake the crust at 375 for 10-12 minutes, until it's literally 'crusted over'. This barrier is important.If it springs back just a little when pressed, it's ready for toppings.
Load it Up!
Spread the pizza sauce on the mostly-cooked crust and... go to town!
I had tomatoes, canned jalepenos, onions (I sauteed them a bit, with some Thai peppers for my husband), and fresh basil from the garden. I topped it with more Parmesano Reggiano, though I'd prefer several cheeses on top.
Bake Your Dinner
It should take ten minutes or so to bake the pizza at 375, until the cheese has melted.
I like to finish the pizza off with a few watchful moments under the broiler, to brown the cheese a bit.
Gluten-Free Millet Crust Pizza is Served!
Cook Time/Prep Time.
Rookie Recipe Comment
The 'ready time' in the above capsule is slightly misleading. You're baking the crust while you're prepping the toppings. This should take under an hour, with TWO cooking times (half-baking the crust, then finishing it with toppings added).
Assembling and posting a recipe is much more time consuming than I expected. I have a lot of respect for you recipe bloggers out there! Kudos to people who do this regularly.