Pizza Hut Style Pan Pizza Crust {Gluten Free Copycat}

I know, you probably find my lack of cheese disturbing. I don't blame you. I did put on every sort of topping I could find to make up for it though. Besides, this time the crust is the star.

My family is pretty split about crust types. We've got a few freaks that like thin and crispy and a couple fools that like a chewy hand-tossed, but I personally go for a nice deep dish pan pizza. In fact, since going gluten free, Pizza Hut's pan pizza is probably one of the things I've missed the most. That fluffy dough and that blessed, crispy, greasy bottom! It is a miracle among pizzas, I tell you.

So today, we're going to make our own. You start out by beating up some egg whites.



Just till you get some nice peaks, not too stiff.

Meanwhile you'll mix together your yeast and water and stuff and let it sit for a few minutes. When the whites are ready, pour the yeasty mixture into the whites and beat on medium speed until it looks like this...



Kinda freaky, but never fear! Now you can dump the dry ingredients in all at once and beat it for another minute on high speed. The dough will be like a thick batter.

Press your batter/dough into a couple of well greased cake pans. You'll want to get your hands really wet to press the dough in because it's very sticky.  Also, you'll want to use a good amount of oil in the pan if you want it to have that fried quality to the bottom. This makes it kind of hard for pressing the dough in, but you can do it!

 Let it rise for a while now so it's nice and fluffy.

Then throw on some toppings and bake it and you'll be back in the old hut of pizza before you know it. 

Also note: to warm it up, I usually microwave a piece for about 30 seconds and then I turn on the toaster and set it on top of that so that the bottom can crisp back up.

What I do in the name of food.

Pizza Hut Style Pan Pizza Crust
Makes about two 9 inch pizzas*

3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup oil (I used light olive oil)
3/4 cup warm water (somewhere between 105ºF and 115ºF)
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
3 egg whites
2 cups tapioca flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup potato starch
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Mix together the sugar, oil, water, yeast, and vinegar in a bowl, set aside. Beat the egg whites until peaks form (see photo above). Add the yeast mixture and beat on medium speed until combined. Add the remaining ingredients and beat on low speed until combined and then on high speed for about 1 minute. The dough will be like a thick batter.
Grease two 9 or 10 inch cake pans with at least a few tablespoons of oil (I used vegetable). The more grease you use, the more "fried" the bottom of your pizza will be, but it will also make it difficult to press the dough into the pans. Make sure you get your hands wet before pressing the dough in or else it will stick to your hands.
Let the dough rise for about 45 minutes or until it's about doubled (no need to be too precise). Top with desired toppings and bake at 350ºF for about 45 minutes or until the crust is browned. 

*I had about 3/4 of a cup of leftover dough using 9 inch pans so I baked the extra in a mini loaf pan. If you like your crust a little thinner, you might be able to stretch it into three 8 inch pans. Let me know if you try it!

This recipe was lightly based on this bread recipe

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Crab Cakes

So I know last time I asked you if you were annoyed that I'm always double posting here and on Yammie's Noshery. Well, the polls are in and only a few of you are really annoyed, so... get over it. HA. 

Well, today we're making crab cakes using gluten free cornbread instead of breadcrumbs. Feel free to use gluten free breadcrumbs if you want or try leaving the crumbs out altogether. They might not stick together as well, but that way they could be paleo if that's your thing. Let me know if you try them that way and they work.

Crab Cakes

6 oz. fancy lump crab meat, drained
6 oz. fancy white crab meat, drained
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1/4 cup chopped white onion
1 small clove minced garic
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup real mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon prepared horseradish
1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard
1/8 teaspoon dried dill
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cajun seasoning
1/4 teaspoon old bay seasoning
A few shakes of hot sauce (optional)
1/4 cup cornbread crumbs (breadcrumbs would also work)

A few tablespoons of light olive oil for frying

Remoulade sauce, lemon wedges, chopped red bell peppers, and chopped green onions for garnish.

Combine all the ingredients for the crab cakes and gently stir together. Form into small patties (the smaller they are, they easier they'll be to flip) and fry in a few tablespoons of oil on about medium heat. Flip them very carefully once the bottom is browned. Continue to cook until the other side is browned. Serve with remoulade and lemon wedges and garnish with more chopped red bell peppers and green onions if desired.

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Super Moist Cornbread

Also known as "corn goldies" since they're pretty much like brownies... without the brown. In other words, if you're here for a light cakey cornbread, turn back now. These guys are moist and thick and never dry.

Once upon a time, I live a very sorry life in which I did not appreciate beauty of cornbread. Firstly because I only knew of crumbly dry muffins that come out of a box mix. Secondly because the only thing I knew how to do was dunk it in chili, which is all fine and good, but...


Why didn't anyone teach me about honey and jam on cornbread sooner??? I went for like 14 years of my life without.

I hold everyone I've ever met responsible.

By the way, don't ask what the colors on the honey dripper thing are. I'm thinking maybe somebody decide to color it with crayons or something? I guess the world will never really know for sure.

Okay, so here's the secret about this cornbread. A lot of people like to use creamed corn, but I'm not that into that. Creamed corn is pretty much just pieces of corn suspended in a freaky looking corn starch jelly. I prefer to add one extra step and blend up a can of corn.

I actually use an immersion blender most of the time so I don't have to get a humungo contraption like a blender or food processor out. And it's okay if their are still flecks of corn or even a few whole kernels, so don't sweat it.

One final thing. I haven't tried this exact recipe with regular flour, but I'm sure it would work too. Let me know in the comments if you tried it out and it worked!

I decided I like it better in a 9x13 inch pan as shown below. I don't know what I was thinking before.

Super Moist Cornbread

1 can whole kernel corn
1 cup milk (Or your favorite dairy free milk, I used coconut)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 eggs
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose gluten free flour (I use this mix)
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Grease an 8x8 inch pan. Drain the can of corn and blend in a blender or with an immersion blender. Add a little milk at a time until it's smooth. Add the remaining milk, oil, eggs, and sugar and mix well. Add the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until smooth (don't worry about over-mixing unless you're using wheat flour). Pour into prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (or with a few crumbs attatched).

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