Paleo Pizza Crust

I'm really not overly sure how many times I've attempt to do the Paleo diet and failed but yet again my husband and I have decided to try.  It is such a restrictive diet from the American "normal" diet that it is a bit difficult to adjust to.  BUT I've already given up dairy this year and I eat almost no bread or grains anymore with the exception of oats so I feel I'm better prepared to try this again.  It is how I would like to eat.  Lots of protein, vegetables, nuts, seeds and fruit.  You cannot have grains, so no flour, no corn, no oats.  No beans.  Nothing processed.  No sugar.  Sounds super healthy and I need to strive to eat better.  My kids LOVE pizza!!

This to me was like eating a pizza on top of a unsweetened, garlic flavored pancake.  I need it to be a bit thinner and more crisp for me to really get on board with it but it definitely has potential.  I just need to work with it a bit more to make it something more fitting for me.  My kids both loved it.  My ridiculously picky daughter ate 3 mini pizzas.  They ate it without any complaint.  We made homemade Paleo sausage to top our super veggie pizza which was amazing.  Granted after I made this I realized I think bell peppers are a nightshade vegetable and I've got to read up on that a bit but I don't think I'm suppose to be eating those, oops. 

Just to make things easier I opted to cook these on a griddle first (like pancakes) for easier flipping and so everyone could have there own mini pizzas then we topped them and baked them in the oven. 

Found the original recipe here - Caveman Strong.  We changed a few things from the original recipe.


Paleo Pizza Crust
 
3 eggs
1/2 cup of coconut flour
1 cup of unsweetened almond milk
1 tsp. of garlic powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. dried basil
1 crushed/minced garlic clove
 
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Prep cookie sheet or pizza pan by covering it with parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan.  Brush with coconut oil or olive oil to prevent sticking.

Add all ingredients into a bowl and mix until combined.  Start pouring on your griddle immediately as the batter will thicken as time goes on. This will be more like a batter….not so much dough.  After 2-3 minutes flip the pancake sized mini pizza crusts and place finished ones on the baking sheet.  Bake an additional 6-10 minutes until toppings are heated through.  

You can pour the entire batter into any shape or size you want and bake for 20 minutes then flip in the oven (use parchment paper to prevent sticking) if you prefer to use that method iinstead of the griddle.  

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Pizza Dough

This turned out much better than I thought it would.  I was skeptical.  I mean it is really hard to make whole wheat pizza dough without adding in some white flour to make it taste better but I was really pleased with this recipe!  I found this recipe on Give Me Neither.  I modified the ingredients to suit what I was looking for a bit better.  I didn't eat much of this since I'm avoiding dairy but my kids and even my husband really liked this.  I wouldn't make bread sticks out of this dough but with the cheese and sauce it works really well with the whole wheat oatmeal crust.  I will definitely be making this again.

 Whole Wheat Oatmeal Pizza Dough
 
1 1/4 c. water
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. salt
2 1/4 c. whole wheat bread flour
2/3 c. ground old fashioned oats
1/4 c. vital wheat gluten
2 tbsp. honey
3 tsp. yeast

Using warm water (about 110 degrees) put in your yeast and honey and allow to sit while you grind your oats.  In a food processor grind your oats until they are the consistency of flour.  Then switch your food processor blade to the plastic blade and add in the wheat flour, gluten and salt.  With the food processor on slowly add in the water yeast mixture and oil and pulse until it turns into a rough dough ball.  Sprinkle some extra flour on the counter and knead your dough until a ball.  Let rise in a greased bowl for about 2 hours.  Separate the dough into two halves.  Roll out until desired size.  Since this dough is completely whole grain it is a bit more difficult to work with and roll out just be patient.  It also will not rise as much as a normal white dough.  In the meantime, preheat your oven to 500 degrees with a baking stone.  Top your pizza with your desired toppings and bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden.  You can brush edges with olive oil if you wish as well.  

Now this nutritional information is just for the crust alone if you made 2 large pizzas and cut them into 8 slices (16 total).

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION - 157.2 Calories * 2.6 g. Fat * 29.3 g. Carbohydrates * 4.5 g Fiber * 2.3 g. Sugar * 6.5 g. Protein 

Chicken Alfredo Pizza

We absolutely LOVE this pizza!  This is a Neely recipe that like everything else I do, I saw on Food Network.  This pizza is awesome.  Normally I add spinach to the pizza too but the store didn't have any decent looking spinach so this night it was without.  But I'm leaving the recipe to include the spinach because it really is amazing with it.  My kids prefer regular old pepperoni pizza but this is definitely one of my husband's favorites.

 

Chicken Alfredo Pizza

1 (3/4 pound) boneless skinless chicken breast
Salt & Pepper
2 tablespoons butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 pizza dough, store-bought (or recipe below)
2 cups baby spinach, well washed and dried
1 cup grated mozzarella
Olive oil for brushing crust

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Adjust racks to the middle of the oven. Put pizza stone in the oven to preheat while you begin the sauce.  Preheat a grill pan over medium heat.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper, to taste. Put the chicken on the grill pan and grill until cooked through. Remove to a cutting board and dice. Set aside.


Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant. Add the flour and cook until light blonde in color. Whisk in the cream, reduce the heat to low, and let simmer until thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in Parmesan and season lightly with salt and pepper, to taste. 


Flour your work surface and roll the pizza dough into a large circle.  Place your dough on parchment paper so you can easily move it into and out of the oven. Ladle the sauce to cover the bottom of the pizza. Evenly top with the baby spinach, grilled chicken and the mozzarella. Brush the edge of the crust with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bake the pizza until crisp and golden, about 10-15 minutes. I use a pizza paddle to slide my pizza in and out of the oven easily. 

Basic Pizza Dough Recipe:

1 package active dry yeast (2 ¼ tsp.)

1 tsp. sugar

1 c. warm water

2 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. Extra-virgin olive oil

3 c. flour, plus more for dusting

Add yeast and sugar to warm water and let stand 5 minutes.  Add flour and salt to food processor. Add oil to yeast mixture, stir and then slowly pour into flour mixture in food processor.  Use plastic blade on food processor.  Once dough ball forms, knead a few times onto lightly floured surface.  Place in well oiled bowl and let rise 1 hour.   Divide in half and cover the half you aren't working with.  Place flour on your work surface and roll out the dough into a large circle.  I like to tuck my edges under to form the crust.  I then poke holes with a fork to prevent bubbles and I always bake on a preheated baking stone at 500 degrees.  (Makes 2 large pizzas)

Taco Pizza

The other night was pizza night.  I find it very difficult to find good quality ingredients that I apparently took for granted back in the States.  You can't find a good fresh mozzarella cheese and Parmigiana Regiano doesn't seem to exist here, so I decided we just need to expand our pizza night into new kinds of pizzas.  I've made this once before but it was quite some time ago.  Everyone in my house loves tacos and loves pizza so the two together was certainly a hit!

Pizza Dough (recipe below)

1 lb. ground beef

1 package taco seasoning

Lettuce

Tomato

2 c. Mexican cheese

1 c. salsa

First start with your pizza dough.  Of course, you can save yourself a step and do a premade pizza dough if you wanted.  

Basic Pizza Dough:

1 package active dry yeast (2 ¼ tsp.)

1 tsp. sugar

1 c. warm water

2 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. Extra-virgin olive oil

3 c. flour, plus more for dusting

Add yeast and sugar to warm water and let stand 5 minutes.  Add flour and salt to food processor. Add oil to yeast mixture, stir and then slowly pour into flour mixture in food processor.  Use plastic blade on food processor.  Once dough ball forms, knead a few times onto lightly floured surface.  Place in well oiled bowl and let rise 1 hour.   Divide in half and cover the half you aren't working with.  Place flour on your work surface and roll out the dough into a large circle.  I like to tuck my edges under to form the crust.  I then poke holes with a fork to prevent bubbles and I always bake on a preheated baking stone at 500 degrees.  (Makes 2 large pizzas) 

 

While your dough is rising go ahead and brown your ground beef just like you do for tacos.  Add in your taco seasoning and water if the seasoning packet requires it.   After your roll out your dough, prick it with a fork spread your salsa over the dough just like you would a regular tomato sauce.  Use as much or as little as you like.  Then add your meat and cheese.  Bake 500 degrees for about 10-12 minutes or until edges are nice and golden brown.  Top with lettuce, tomato and any other taco topping you like such as guacamole or sour cream.  Enjoy!

Homemade Pizza Dough

We make pizza in our house about once a week.  I love pizza but the delivery around here is just terrible plus I think I've spoiled everyone with making homemade dough all the time.  This recipe makes 2 large pizzas and you can do it thin crust or thick crust, whichever you prefer.  It also keeps well for a few days in the fridge or you can freeze half of it for later use too.  Just defrost to room temperature before using.

Basic Pizza Dough:

1 package active dry yeast (2 ¼ tsp.)

1 tsp. sugar

1 c. warm water

2 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. Extra-virgin olive oil

3 c. flour, plus more for dusting

Add yeast and sugar to warm water and let stand 5 minutes.  Add flour and salt to food processor. Add oil to yeast mixture, stir and then slowly pour into flour mixture in food processor.  Use plastic blade on food processor.  Once dough ball forms, knead a few times onto lightly floured surface.  Place in well oiled bowl and let rise 1 hour.   Divide in half and cover the half you aren't working with.  Place flour on your work surface and roll out the dough into a large circle.  I like to tuck my edges under to form the crust.  I then poke holes with a fork to prevent bubbles and I always bake on a preheated baking stone at 500 degrees.  (Makes 2 large pizzas)

Bacon, Egg & Spinach Pizza

Lee loves over easy eggs.  Not to mention he is on a high protein diet because he lifts weights all the time.  So, since I'm the one that cooks in the house he asks me to try to make his meals high protein.  Well, eggs are a great way to get the protein in and I love pizza so why not combine the two.  This pizza has spinach, Parmesan cheese, bacon and eggs.  I threw some feta on it just because I had some and who doesn't love extra cheese.  This pizza turned out really good, Lee loved it.  Its like a fancy dinner way of doing your morning eggs on toast!

Pizza Dough Recipe:

3 c. flour
1 c. warm water
2 1/4 tsp. yeast
1 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. olive oil

I use my food processor since I have to do most things one handed while holding my 8 month old but you can do this by hand if you want.  Add warm water to measuring cup and add yeast and sugar and let proof for about 5 minutes.  Add flour and salt to food processor fitted with plastic blade.  Turn on and slowly add in water, yeast mixture.  Add in the 2 tbsp. olive oil.  Once it comes together in almost a ball pour onto lightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes until smooth and elastic.  Place and large oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise 1 hour.  This is a great pizza dough recipe as if you don't have time you can simply roll it out or if you forget about it and it rises for longer than an hour it is fine.  You can roll it thin or thick and it makes plenty of dough.  

This pizza I simply used 6 (diced and rendered) pieces of bacon, 2 c. baby spinach, 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese, 1 few sprinkles of feta and 4 eggs.  I rolled out the dough, pierced with fork to prevent bubbles and covered with spinach and cheese and baked on 500 for about 5 minutes.  I use a baking stone for nice crispy crust.  I took it out, added 4 eggs and crumbled bacon and baked another 7 minutes.  The eggs were over easy.

A tip for the pizza crust.  The dough recipe makes enough for 2 large pizzas.  You can freeze one if you want and use later.  I like to make a cinnamon sugar donut of sorts out of the left over dough when I have time but that's not today.  Anyways, roll out the dough to desired size and fold the crust under itself and it'll form a great piece of crust once it cooks.  Also, brush the edges with olive oil if you want to add extra flavor.  I didn't do that in these pictures but do it from time to time.