Gluten Free Pizza with Ancho Chilli Sauce

My Pizza Nirvana

I’ve only gone and done it! Yes readers I’m a little over-excited. Previously I have mastered a gluten free sweet and savoury pastry, but breads have continued to baffle me. I’ve tried many and have reported the less than satisfactory results on earlier posts, they may have made for funny anecdotes but none made a decent bread.

This does the job, at least as a thin crispy pizza dough or a flat bread to eat with dips and mezze. It’s slightly unconventional cooking method may also improve DIY plastering skills (read on) but the results are a olive oil rich dough that provides a great base for my slightly tart and deeply spicy slow cooked tomato and ancho chilli sauce. Feel free to adapt the toppings as you like, I’ve used what I have in my fridge a day before payday but I hope you’ll agree this is remarkably quick to make and was wolfed down by all whilst watching the rugby.

I have used Doves Farm plain gluten free flour for this while the parmesan and oregano gives the crust a lovely flavour. Make this as thin as you can, I’ve found the reusable silicone baking sheets excellent for spreading the dough out thinly.
Makes 2 large bases

Ingredients for the dough

100g gluten free plain flour
50g cornmeal
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp oregano
1 tbsp parmesan cheese, finely grated
warm water to bring to a thick spreadable batter

Ingredients for the ancho chilli sauce

1 ancho chilli, soaked in warm water, seeds removed and chopped
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 red pepper, seeds removed and cut into quarters
1 tin plum tomatoes
1/2 glass red wine
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp Mexican oregano
1 tsp English mustard powder
Salt and pepper

My toppings

Goats cheese
Basil
Roasted onions, peppers and garlic
Fresh tomatoes
Parmesan

Method

• Make the sauce first. Roast onion, pepper and garlic in a moderate oven until slightly charred. Peel skin off peppers and garlic cloves and place all in a saucepan. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for at least 1 hour to allow the flavours to develop. Blitz in a blender or use a hand blender to make a smooth sauce. Check seasoning and set aside.
• Make the dough. Add the measured dry ingredients to a mixing bowl, then add olive oil and mix. Add enough warm water to make a stiff batter. Preheat grill to it’s maximum setting.

• Spread out the dough as shown on a baking sheet and grill until golden brown and bubbling up in places. Carefully remove from the grill and turn over, it shouldn’t stick with the olive oil but it is quite delicate. Turn the grill down to a medium setting.
• Add the sauce and toppings of your choice, grill until the toppings are warmed through and the cheese has melted.