Chicken Tortilla Soup

There is a short story behind the bowl of chicken tortilla soup pictured above.  I goes like this:

For about a month my family and I have been living without an oven, so while in a supermarket the other day, the smell of the freshly rotisserized (yup! new word!) chickens wafting through the air at 7pm hitting my empty stomach caused a huger pang I could not ignore!  I immediately decided what we were going to have for supper that night, and after checking the labels for gluten, MSG, nitrates, etc., and seeing it was free and clear of these nuisances, purchased two three pounders for $8!  Arriving home, I just couldn't cook the side dishes of rice and beans fast enough as the aroma of these juicy birds began to overtake our home!  As we finally sunk our teeth into the soft juicy flesh, we all agreed this was almost the best meal we've had in the last month! (tied with the frying pan pizza of course!)  At last, a meal of comfort food that tasted home-roasted, in an oven-less home!  What's even better is that we got about three meals out of just the breast meat, wings and legs alone.

Now I don't know about you, but when I have chicken carcasses left after eating the breast meat, wings and legs, I see visions of a pot full of flavorful stock and endless soup possibilities!  That's where this chicken tortilla soup comes in....

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Chicken Stock:
Place the bones, and whatever meat is left on them, of two small chickens into a 6qt stockpot.  Cover with cold water and bring to a boil.  If you have onions, carrots, and celery, and bay leaves, you could add these, roughly chopped in with the chicken bones for more flavor.  Boil for about 45 minutes or so until all the meat is falling off the bones.  Strain the stock into a large bowl through a colander, and set aside to use for the Tortilla Soup, or you can freeze for use in other soups, gravies or liquid for cooking rice.  This will give a very rustic style stock, not very clear, but full of fantastic flavor!  If there is a substantial amount of fat in the stock, simply refrigerate for several hours or overnight.  The fat will rise to the top and solidify making it very easy to remove, then you can proceed with your stock storage/usage.  DO NOT THROW AWAY THE BONES YET!  Pick every last delicious morsel of meat off those bones before discarding, this will be the meat that you use for the soup below...  or be creative!  Make your own variation of chicken soup with the meat and stock!

For the Chicken Tortilla Soup you will need:
About 1 gallon of chicken stock (above) or good quality broth
1 small sweet onion, finely diced
1 small red bell pepper, finely diced
(Feel free to add any other type of pepper that you like such as jalapeno, chipotle, pablano etc.  I kept the soup on the mild side, since my daughter does like like spicy things.)
1 large, or 2 small, ribs of celery, including the leaves
1/2 c. masa harina*
1 (28 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (14.5 oz) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
1-2 Tbs taco seasoning  (normally I make my own seasoning from individual spices, but this was all I had at the time, It worked great! of course we get the kind that has no gluten, msg, etc.)
All the chicken left over from picking off the bones above (about 3-4 cups)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Cooked left over rice, warmed
Cooked left over black beans, warmed
Cholula Hot Sauce (or your favorite...)

In the now empty 6 qt stock pot that you just cooked your stock in, heat 2 Tbs of butter or olive oil in the bottom, then saute the onion, pepper, celery (this combination is also referred to as "sofrito") until very soft and starting to brown.  (To save time you can do this step while you are picking the meat off the bones...)  Add the masa harina in at this point, and stir to combine with the butter and sofrito, to make a gluten-free roux which will work wonderfully as a thickening agent.  This will give a nice body and mouth feel to the soup, not to mention a true "tortilla" flavor*.  No need to cook this "roux" mixture any longer, simply add the stock back into the pot at this point and bring to a simmer.  Let the sofrito cook down and get very soft as the stock simmers and thickens  (I usually use an immersion blender to blend all of this up smooth for best flavor, but having no blender at all, simmering in this manner will bring those flavors out almost as good...  although it won't be quite as smooth, that is ok.).  Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, taco seasoning, salt and pepper.  Simmer on very low heat until almost ready to serve.  About 15 minutes before serving add the chicken pieces and continue simmering until hot.  At service time, place about 1/4 c. rice and 1/8-1/4 c. black beans in the bottom of soup bowl and ladle soup over top.  Serve with Cholula hot sauce (or your personal favorite...) and tortilla chips.  Sour cream, shredded Colby Jack or Pepper Jack cheeses are delicious with this as well, if you are able to have dairy. 

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Not only was this soup absolutely delicious, it was also a great way to get more meals out of my $8.  Counting the meals that we got out of the soup, I ended up getting a total of 24 individual meals (servings) out of both chickens together.  When I purchased the chickens the labels said "Serves Four" on each of them.  I technically served 12 out of each of them, and all allergen-free at that!  Just look what you can do with a little time, love and recipes from Living Free!   :o)

* Typically a tortilla soup is thickened with actual corn tortillas that are added into the soup, cooked down and then blended in with an immersion blender.  Since I had no immersion blender, needed to thicken this without gluten, and also wanted to keep a true tortilla flavor in this soup, what better way than to use masa harina, a corn flour, mixed into the melted butter in the same manner as making a traditional glutennous roux.  I was truly impressed with the result of this experiment!

Dal Makhani & Naan

Dal Makhani is a delicious Indian dish typically consisting of Urad Dal (black matpe beans or black lentils) and Red Kidneys.  It is cooked into a creamy stew-like consistency, served warm with a traditional Indian bread such as Naan or Paraatha.  This is a vegan, gluten-free, egg-free dish.  Serve with the Naan bread recipe which follows or the gluten-free flatbread suggestion, also below.

(this recipe is adapted from a punjabi dal makhani recipe found on Food.com)

Punjabi Dal Makhani

Servings: 4-6

Ingredients

3/4 cup Urad Dal ( black matpe beans or black lentils)

1/4 cup red kidney beans ( rajmah)

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

8 garlic cloves, pasted

2 inches gingerroot, grated

1 teaspoon garam masala powder

1/2 cup fresh cream

1 teaspoon red chili powder

3 tablespoons butter

2 extra large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced

1 onions, finely diced

1 tablespoon oil

Salt

Fenugreek, powdered – to taste

Directions

Soak whole black urad dal and red kidneys overnight in 3-4 cups of water.

Cook the soaked dal and rajma in the same water with salt, red chili powder and half the grated ginger until dal and kidneys are cooked and soft.

Heat oil and butter in a thick-bottomed pan. Add cumin seeds, when it crackles add onions and sauté until golden brown.

Add remainder of ginger, along with the garlic and tomatoes. Sauté until tomatoes are well mashed and fat starts to leave the masala. Add boiled dal and kidney beans to this. Do not add the liquid at first.  Mash the dals with the back of the ladle while stirring continuously, this gives that creamy texture to the dal .

Add the liquid and some water if required and simmer on very low heat for fifteen minutes.

Add fresh cream and garam masala powder let it simmer for another five minutes. Finish off with a couple of pinches of Kasoori methi (fenugreek) powdered.

Serve hot with Naan or Paraatha.

Tip: Replacing the tomatoes with 4 tablespoons of thick tomato paste will enhance the taste and color of the dish.

 My Favorite Naan Recipe Ever

(Recipe adapted from The All-New All-Purpose Joy of Cooking, by Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker and Ethan Becker, the 1997 revision)

Warning:  This Naan recipe is NOT gluten-free, but is absolutely delicious for anyone who can have gluten...  I would highly recommend this accompany your Dal Makhani.  (for a gluten-free option please see below.)

 Traditional Naan in India is baked in the clay Tandoori ovens, but in a regular oven as most of us have, Naan can be made on a baking stone or an inverted baking sheet.  Just be sure to preheat your oven and stone/baking sheet before you are ready to bake your naan.

For more information on how traditional naan is baked and the use of Tandoori ovens, there are lots of incredible YouTube videos on this as well as ideas for making your own Tandoori oven (which I would love to try one day!).  Simply go to YouTube and search or do a Google search...Have fun checking them out!

Combine in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer:

2 c. bread flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/4 tsp instant dry yeast (if using active dry yeast please remember to dissolve yeast in 2 Tbs. warm water before adding to the flour, you will not need to dissolve instant dry yeast.) 

Then Add:

2 Tbs. melted butter or vegetable oil (or you can substitute olive oil or coconut oil if desired)

3/4 c. yogurt or buttermilk, at room temp (if you have neither you can use milk and add 2 tsp of vinegar to it, and let it sit to sour, it will "curdle" slightly, this is good.)

1 tsp - 1 Tbs water as needed.

Mix by hand or on low speed until a soft ball of dough is formed.  Knead for about 10 minutes by hand or with the dough hook on low to medium speed until the dough is smooth and elastic.  Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and turn it over once to coat.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for about 1 1/2 hours.  Punch the dough down and divide equally into 4 pieces.  Roll into balls, cover, and let rest for 10 minutes.

 Place a baking stone or inverted baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 475 degrees F.  Roll out each ball of dough into an oval 8-10 inches long and about 1/4 inch thick.  Place as many ovals as will fit without touching directly onto the baking stone or baking sheet and bake until each oval starts to get puffy flip over and bake for about 1-2 minutes longer.  Remove from oven and brush the tops if with 1-2 Tbs melted butter and sprinkle with about 2 Tbs minced scallions, green onions, or poppy seeds or a combination if desired and fold in half keeping the butter and toppings on the inside.  Place naan in a cloth-lined basket or plate, keep covered and serve warm.

FOR GLUTEN-FREE FLATBREAD:

If you would like to enjoy the Dal Makhani above with a gluten-free flatbread, please try the Buckwheat Pizza Crust recipe and just bake it like you would for pizza without adding the pizza toppings.  When it is finished baking simply brush on some melted butter and sprinkle with sliced green onions or you can use garlic butter as well.  (You will not be able to successfully fold this bread in half as directed with the naan.)  You may just leave it plain if you prefer. Anyway you eat it, this is a delicious gluten-free option to accompany your Dal Makhani. 

Why Am I Doing This?

This is a blog that will discuss specialty diets, including but not limited to food allergy diets and vegetarian diets.  Six months ago I found out that my son was allergic to all forms of wheat, wheat gluten, eggs, peanuts, yogurt, and oats.  What motivated me to get him tested?  He was diagnosed with ADHD four years ago, since then he has been on several medications trying to find one that worked without the side effects of head aches, stomach aches etc.  We finally found one that worked...  or so we thought.  He had been on it for about a year and a half and I noticed that his growth had slowed way down, he had not gained more than maybe a pound in almost two years, at 9-10 yrs old I did not feel that this was healthy regardless that the medical doctors said "it is fine".  Also he was not sick with it, but his appetite was decreasing and physical/emotional violence was increasing!  My husband and I found ourselves every evening trying to control this violent kid.  This was not my son!  He went from a very happy child to one that was always so negative and violent!

That is when my mom gave me a book to read about treatments for ADHD that did not include medication.  She had just underwent food allergy testing herself for some health issues that she has dealt with for over 30 years.  The book was about food allergies (and some environmental allergies) that contribute to ADHD as well as other health problems.  It was an eye opener!  So I continued to do more research, and then decided medication was not the answer, it was a temporary fix to an underlying problem.  We met with a naturopathic physician who recommended the food allergy testing.  So for the last six months my son has been totally off medication and has cut out the allergens as well as taking fish oil and vitamin D and we have seen a total change!  He is happy again and excited about life!

This change was a huge challenge!  When my son first learned about what foods we were going to have avoid, he was devastated!  His favorite breakfast included eggs, and he loves peanuts and peanut butter and I do a lot of baking from scratch with the regular glutenous flours, so he was upset about what he couldn't have.  We had already been eating foods free of anything artificial (colors or flavors), nitrites, nitrates, and hydrogenated fats, so here are more things we have to avoid.  I could understand his frustration and disappointment!  But then, we discussed all that he could have and everything new that he was going to get to try out, what an adventure it would be!  "And mom is going to do this with you", I reassured him.

I was excited about this "adventure" and challenge!  I have many years of experience in the food service industry as pastry chef and chef, and have dealt with food allergies and specialty diets on a small basis before for others, "surely, I can come up with some awesome gluten, egg, peanut, oat, yogurt, and additive -free food that we can enjoy!" I thought.  So back to the researching, the experimenting, the taste-testing.  Yes, we had some failures!  Like gluten-free, egg-free brownies that came out looking like a pan of molten tar!  It tasted like candy made out of Oreos!  So the kids ate it that way, and reassured me that "it's not that bad" but it definitely was NOT brownies, and I definitely would NOT let them take that mess to school in their lunch! :o)  On the better side of things:  I have also had lots of successes with recipes that came out so good that even my husband and daughter ate it and raved about how good it was "for gluten and egg free...".

So, I am doing this blog to help you!  I have seen how this diet change has helped my son, not only in his health, but his outlook on eating.  He is starting to see that his diet may be different and challenging but it is also exciting - full of new flavors and textures, and he is being so responsible for his own eating.  (Even turning down hotdogs at a cookout at the school when Mom was not there to "remind" him, and sure, he still wishes he could have his old favorites every now and then, but we "remember" how he feels when he eats it and decide it is not really worth it after all!)

In the last few months I keep meeting people everywhere I go, in the grocery store, on vacation, friends of friends, or relatives of friends etc, who are struggling with challenges in their diet, whether it is by choice or by necessity,  and I want to help.  Some of the things I am learning will be posted here along with recipes that I have found to work.  Some may be my own creation, and some may be ones that I get from other sources, in which case I will give credit where credit is due.  I am still in the learning process, so this is just my way of passing on some of what I have figured out to you.  If you have something you have learned that you would like to share, feel free to comment about it!

I hope this blog will become a resource of recipes, cooking ideas, encouragement, and fun for you as you continue on your journey of Living Free from the foods that harm you! 

A Little More on the Flatbread...

Since my son has had gluten and egg allergies, he has not had many sandwiches, simply because most of the gluten-free breads you can purchase in the store has eggs, or they are too expensive, or they are just down right disgusting and a waste of money!  I had researched some bread recipes online and in some magazines, and they all had eggs in them, but hey! I have a decent egg substitute to use instead of the eggs right?  Not so much!  The recipes I tried ended up more like a brick than a loaf of bread.  We ground them up and used them as gluten-free bread crumbs... Great for Chicken Finger night! But still no solution for a great gluten-free sandwich, which my son was craving, and frankly, I needed a new option for his lunches!

After making the pizza dough several times, and making extra to put into the freezer, and playing with the gluten-free flatbread (substitute for the traditional Naan, as I posted in the Dal Makhani recipe), I suddenly had an idea!  What if I just spread the pizza dough into a sheet pan and baked it??  It would then come out in a uniform shape which I should be able to cut into squares and then put the sandwich fixings between two squares... in a similar manner as Foccacia bread.

Sounded Brilliant!  As most of my ideas do sound that way in the beginning, but they have a way of flopping and becoming quite dull after the implementation every now and again.   Why not give it a try?  The recipe I decided to use was the Soft, Fluffier Buckwheat Pizza Crust because I am all about have one recipe with multiple uses...

When mixing the dough, I doubled the recipe that I posted in the Soft, Fluffier Buckwheat pizza Crust so that it would fill the pan about half way.  After mixing it and letting it rest for 20 mins or so, I greased a half sheet pan with some butter and poured the batter into it, spreading it out evenly.  I decided to bake it at 400 degrees instead of the 475 used for the pizza, simply because it was thicker and a bigger pan, I was worried the higher temp would cause it to burn on the bottom before it finished cooking through.

 Gluten-Free, Egg-Free Flatbread

After about 15-20 mins, my new "sandwich" bread was finished.  Just as I thought...  Simply Brilliant!  It worked beautifully!  The top had begun to crack slightly, but it was firm to the touch and underneath was delicious golden brown.  I let it cool in the pan, and then sliced it into about 10 some what square shaped pieces, keeping them as equal as possible (you can't have a good sandwich if both sides don't line up nicely you know!).   Another great thing about this is you can cut it whatever size you want.  I like to cut it to fit into a Rubbermaid sandwich container for the ease of packing lunches.  The first sandwich built on this fabulous bread was a ham, cheese, mustard, and potato chips.  We use the Hormel Naturals ham since it has no gluten, nitrates, nitrites etc... and the chips... that is for the crunch!

Go ahead...  Pile just a little more on the flatbread...  and actually enjoy your gluten-free, egg-free sandwich!

YUM!

Frying Pan Pizza

Yes, you can have homemade pizza even if you do not have an oven...  

...or maybe you have a broken oven... 

I am currently in this dilemma.  God has moved me and my family to a wonderful part of the country (hence the Long Time-No Post), and I love where I am, however, the temporary, furnished, living quarters that I am in has no oven.  I am working with

a microwave, 

 

  two burners, 

one small stock pot (probably holds 1 gallon), 

 two, 1 qt sauce pans, 

  and a 10" frying pan.  

 

 
Cooking utensils include 1 metal spatula (which I did purchase at the dollar store... only a plastic one was here when moving in, and it would melt when it got hot..hhhmmm.),

 

 

and 1 plastic spoon/ladle thing.  

 

 Other than than I have 4 each metal forks, knives, and soup spoons, and also collection of "our best" plastic-ware direct from Target!  

 I did bring my chef knife with me, for which I am extremely thankful and there is a small somewhat decent cutting board here.

So all in all, I have had the challenge of thinking up meals for four people with limited equipment.  On top of that, figuring out the gluten, egg, peanut, etc - free meals for my son all at the same time.  Before moving, our family tradition had become homemade pizza every Friday night, which meant making a gluten-free crust for my son and the "normal" high gluten crust for everyone else.  After moving it had been about three weeks or so since we had pizza of any kind because it is so hard to find a pizza shop which sells a gluten-free crust, and we were all really craving some of that comforting homemade pizza...  You know how it is!  So, one Friday night, I got my determination on, and got all the ingredients, pulled out my stock pot "mixing bowl" and got to work!!  In my little kitchen area, I managed to make a HUGE mess (I am really good at that, just ask my husband!) but came up with this GREAT FRYING PAN PIZZA!

1. Simply use the Buckwheat Pizza Crust recipe that I have already posted previously, EXCEPT add more warm water to the mixture to make it closer to the thickness of a pancake batter. Don't worry about over mixing, gluten-free flours typically cannot be overworked.  I usually let the mixture rest maybe a half hour before using.
2. Heat a heavy bottom frying pan (a cast iron one would work great!) to medium low heat, have the lid ready nearby.  
3. Place enough butter in the pan to coat the bottom well.
4. Spread the mixture carefully around the pan until it reaches the sides, if the batter is too thick, this will not work and you will end up with a very thick clump of half cooked dough in your pan.
5. Place the lid on the frying pan and let it cook for about 3-5 minutes.  The bottom should be cooked and light brown and the top should be set, not raw, but it will look undercooked.  
6. Now is the time to flip!  Turn the crust over, CAREFULLY, with your dollar store spatula, as not to break the dough nor bend the $1 spatula.  
7. Immediately after flipping the dough, spread on your choice of sauce, cheese or cheese substitute, and toppings.
8. Cover with the lid once more for 3-4 minutes, until the cheese is melted.  It will not get bubbly and golden like it would in a "normal" oven, however it is awesome pizza when an oven is not available.

Step 4, spreading the batter...

Step 5, after it has been cooked with lid on...

Step 6, a finished gluten-free pizza crust.

I am pretty sure that this technique would also work on a grill or over a campfire, however I would suggest making sure the heat is at a medium to medium low level to prevent burning the bottom while you add your toppings and melt the cheese.

Even if you have a working oven, have fun trying this technique out... It is fun, even though it takes a while because it makes one personal size pizza at a time, but it is SO worth it!

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MAYBE you can have gluten (lucky), and would like a good quick pizza dough recipe??  Here it is; the one I used for the rest of the frying pan pizzas.  Be sure to cook your gluten-free crusts first, if having to use the same frying pan for both type crusts in the same meal, to prevent cross-contamination!

FULL GLUTEN PIZZA DOUGH  *Caution: do not consume if you are allergic to gluten!*

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 packet (1/4 oz.) of instant (rapid rise) yeast
1 Tbs granulated sugar
2 Tbs. olive oil
4-6 cups of all-purpose unbleached flour (bread flour works great for this too, I just happened to have AP flour)
1/2 Tbs salt

Raw full-gluten pizza dough placed in frying pan.

In a large mixing bowl (or small stock pot, as I have) place the warm water.  Sprinkle the yeast over the water, and then sprinkle the sugar over the yeast.  Add the olive oil and about 3 cups of the flour, and the salt.  Stir this until it is smooth then gradually add as much of the remaining flour as needed to get a nice firm, yet soft and elastic dough.  A little stickiness is good with pizza dough.  You will most likely end up having to kneed in the last cup of so by hand as it will get to thick to stir.  If you have a mixer that will handle yeast doughs, you may accomplish the same thing in half the amount of time and effort.  I do not currently have my mixer.  :o(

Full gluten pizza crust (flatbreat) almost done...

Once the dough is mixed, let it rest for about 1/2 hour, then divide it into about 8-10 pieces.  Flatten each piece into a 8"-10" round (whatever will fit into your frying pan) making sure that it is fairly thin keeping in mind that it will puff significantly as it cooks.  At this point, add the flattened dough to your warmed, buttered pan and cook the dough and pizza the same as mentioned above from step 5 - step 8.

When I made these pizzas I only made four pizzas total for that meal, so obviously I had a lot of dough left over.  I decided to cook all the remainder as just plain flatbread because I had no other way to keep it for later.  This worked out extremely well, because it refrigerated great for up to 3-4 days, just storing it in a plastic food storage bag and was super convenient to pull the crusts out and make up pizzas when I didn't have the time, or space, to go into all the effort to mix up dough again.  I used the same frying pan technique, I just warmed the crusts in the pan before adding the toppings.  These crusts would also freeze good for 1-2 months.

Finished full-gluten pizza crusts.

Black Bean Burgers

I like making these black bean burgers a couple days after I make a big crockpot of black beans, using the leftovers.  These are delicious fresh...  they tend to be a little dryer when reheating, but with some salsa and/or sour cream they are still great! 

1 1/2 c. Black Beans, cooked, not rinsed
(if using canned beans, you will want to drain most of the liquid, reserving 2-4 Tbs worth to mix in with beans.)
1/2 c. Crushed Tomatoes, canned (or taco sauce or salsa)
2 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 tsp. Onion Powder
2 tsp. Cumin
2 Tbs Cilantro, fresh, chiffonade
2 tsp. Chili Powder
3/4 c. Cornmeal
1/2 c. Masa Harina
1 c. Quinoa, cooked and cooled, can be the red or white variety
Chipotle Tobasco hot sauce - to taste (or another favorite brand)
Salt & Pepper - to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir by hand until thoroughly mixed.  Scoop the mixture using a 1/3 cup measure and empty it onto a greased skillet, over medium high heat, flattening each "pile" into a patty or "burger" as you go.  I just use the bottom of the scoop to do this.  Cook until the bottom begins to brown and then flip over carefully.  When the burgers are done they should be lightly golden on both sides and firm to the touch.  These can be eaten just as you do burgers, like a sandwich...  or serve them with rice, and freshly made salsa for a beautiful plated vegan entree.

Soft, Fluffier Buckwheat Pizza Crust

So, it's been a while since the last post.  Vacation has a way of making one enjoy the time away from all technology, or at least for me.  As much as computers/internet etc is helpful for keeping in touch with people and learning new information, it is so nice to take a break from it for a while.  My first blog back is about a wonderful gluten-free pizza crust - now that you are eating gluten-free, you should still be able to eat pizza and enjoy it too! 

This crust is awesome!  It can be made ahead of time and kept in the freezer until time to use and it's quality is still as delicious as fresh.  I even took these on vacation to use for my son - they traveled, froze, and refrigerated well.  In addition to traditional style pizza, we also make mexican/taco pizza on these crusts, and use them for garlic breadsticks, and gluten-free croutons, by keeping them in the freezer and thawing them as needed.  You will love how easy this recipe is and the versatility of having it on hand!  For anyone who cannot have the masa harina that is in the recipe you can use same amount of quinoa flour or all buckwheat flour, or feel free to substitute in a different one to your liking!

1 c. Warm Water
1 1/2 tsp yeast, active-dry or instant
2 Tbs Sugar
2 Tbs Olive Oil
2 Tbs. flaxseed egg substitute mixture (see egg-substitute post)
1 3/4 c. Buckwheat flour
1/2 c. Masa Harina
1 tsp. Baking Powder
2 tsp. Salt

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water, and sprinkle with the sugar.  Add the olive oil, flaxseed mixture, buckwheat flour, masa harina, baking powder, and salt.  Stir by hand with a wooden spoon until smooth and dough-like.  This mixture should be very sticky, it will not be as elastic as a "normal" pizza dough, and will not be thick enough to hold it's shape in a ball, but it should not be runny.  It should be just a little moister/stickier than biscuit dough.  When all ingredients are combined thouroughly, drizzle some olive oil over the top (maybe 1-2 Tbs.) just to prevent the top from drying out, and then cover loosely with a clean dry towel and let rest for about an hour.  It should rise a little bit, it probably won't double.  During this time, preheat oven to 475 degrees.  Grease a 14 inch pizza pan.  After the dough has rested, dump the dough out onto the greased pizza pan.  You will need to sprinkle the top of the dough with some additional buckwheat flour, and then using your fingers press gently into a circle, you should be able get it pretty close to a 14" circle.  Place in the oven and bake for about 10 mins, the top will begin to crack in places and the bottom will begin to brown.  Remove from oven and cover with your chosen pizza sauce/toppings.  Return to oven and continue cooking for another 10 mins until all toppings reach the desired doneness and bottom should be browned and slightly crispy.  Remove and let sit for 2-3 minutes before cutting.

If you are just making the crusts to put in the freezer.  Bake for about 15 mins when you first put them into the oven.  The bottom will be golden brown, the top will be cracked in places and it will feel firm to the touch.  Remove crust from the oven and cool on a wire rack.  They keep great in the freezer in an airtight container, or you could wrap them in plastic wrap and then foil and then freeze.

This recipe makes one 14" pizza or two 8" pizzas.  When making crusts for the freezer, I like to double the recipe and make four 8" pizza crusts.  They fit better in my freezer that way.

We try to avoid all Nitrates and Nitrites, so for the pepperoni seen in the pizza pictures above we used the Hormel Natural Pepperoni - it is found in a small brown and red box with the Hormel products in the supermarket.  It contains no Nitrates or Nitrites.