Quinoa Blend Bread and Pizza Crust (Gluten-Free)

This recipe comes to us from A.J. McEvoy.

• Yeast Mix:
  ¼ cup warm water
  1 ½ teaspoon sugar
  2-teaspoons Red Star yeast (or your favorite gluten-free brand)
• Dry Mixture:
  1 cup tapioca starch
  ½ cup quinoa flour (or you can try amaranth flour in its place)
  ½ cup sweet rice flour
  ½ cup potato starch
  1/3 cup powdered dry milk
  ¼ cup soy flour
  3 tablespoons sugar (I prefer C&H Ultra-Fine Bakers Sugar; it mixes best)
  2 teaspoons xanthan Gum
• Wet Mixture:
  2 large eggs, well beaten
  2 tablespoons olive oil
  1 cup warm water
  ¾ teaspoon apple cider or wine vinegar

Start yeast mix, and leave it in a warm (not HOT) place so it can grow while you mix the other ingredients. By the time the other ingredients are combined, the yeast mix should have a cap of cream-colored froth on top. If your yeast doesnt do this, either your water was too hot, or your yeast is old and dead.

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Measure ingredients in the order listed into a large mixing bowl, making sure to mix thoroughly (I like to run the whole dry batch through a sifter afterward, but this is really not necessary). Add the oil to the eggs. Add the vinegar to the water. Then add these to each other.

Add wet mix to dry mix, stirring well. You can use a dough mixer, but a good, strong arm will do the trick nicely. Lastly, add the yeast mixture, stirring until evenly mixed. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap, leaving it in a warm (and preferably, dark) place to rise for 30 minutes.

After first rise, stir dough, beating out most of the air-bubbles. Grease a medium-sized bread pan. Spoon the dough into the pan; then cover and let rise a second time in a warm, dark place for another 30 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes. Leave to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove from pan to cool on a cooling rack for no less than 15 minutes before slicing (When Im over-eager and slice the bread too soon, it caves in the middle, leaving bread slices that are misshapen).

FOR PIZZA CRUST:

Use basically the same recipe, reducing water in wet mixture to ¾ cup, and using brown rice flour in place of quinoa flour in the dry mixture.

After first rise, spoon dough into the middle of a greased 12 pizza pan. Dust top of dough ball with tapioca starch, so it wont stick to your hands. Dust fingertips as well. Using your fingers, flatten the dough, working to stretch it to the outer edges of the pan. Over a sink, use a turkey baster to puff air across the crust to remove the excess starch from the crusts top (Or, if youre feeling particularly uncouth, you can just blow on it!) Brush crust with olive oil. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and leave pan in a warm dark place to rise for 30 minutes.

Bake crust for 12-15 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Remove from oven. Cover with sauce and toppings. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.