Mind the Gluten

Dinner at the Beehive 2002, charcoal on paper, 22 x 28 inches

 

Yvonne Jacquette completed a lovely print with Bud during her two week stay in May. I enjoyed her company and her stories of living in Manhattan as a young woman, where she socialized with Elaine deKooning, Edwin Denby, Nell Blaine, and Alex Katz amongst others.  She makes astute and entertaining observations about the work and lives of artists.

Yvonne Jacquette, The River at Belfast, Maine, color lithograph

 

My cooking in those weeks changed a bit as Yvonne requires a gluten-free diet.  I  researched recipes and concocted delicious crackers and muffins made without wheat.  We all enjoyed these baked goods, probably because they use almond flour. Here’s the recipe for crackers from Against the Grain by Danielle Walker:

 

In the food processor combine 1 cup almond flour, 2 tablespoons raisins, 2 teaspoons sunflower seeds, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons water, 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil. Whizz until thoroughly combined then add 1 teaspoon sunflower seeds and pulse once until roughly chopped. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Form into a ball and roll between sheets of parchment until 1/8 inch thick. Use a serrated cutter, pizza cutter or a knife to score into 1 inch squares. 

Transfer paper to baking sheet and bake at 350° for 15 – 20 minutes until set and golden.  Cool on a rack for 15 minutes then carefully break apart.

It’s not difficult to prepare meals without wheat/gluten but after Yvonne’s departure I was ready for a good dose of  bread.  I made pizza.

I mixed the dough and set it to rise first thing in the morning.  A long, cool rise makes for a flavorful, chewy crust.

Proof 1 teaspoon of dry yeast in 1/4 cup warm water.  Add 1/3 plus 1/4 cup water, 1 tablespoon olive oil.  Then stir in 2 cups unbleached flour (I put a tablespoon of wheat germ in the cup before measuring the flour), 1 teaspoon salt.  Combine into a moist dough and then knead until smooth.  Place in an oiled bowl and let rise until supper time.  Punch down when necessary.

I prepared the toppings in advance so they would be at room temperature when I used them on the pizza ─ sauteed onions and red peppers, a hot Italian chicken sausage.  I used the cheese I had in the fridge including the end of a piece of Brie, Catamount, Mexican Quesadilla and parmesan, making about 1 1/2 cups.

After flattening the dough and stretching it into an oval on a piece of parchment set on my peel, I scattered on half the cheese followed by a simple tomato sauce ─ a small tin of fire roasted tomatoes cooked  with garlic, sauteed in olive oil, until thickened. Then I spread the onions and peppers across the pizza, dotted it with the precooked sausage  and topped with the rest of the cheese.  I slid the pizza onto a preheated pizza steel in a  500° oven and baked for about 12 minutes.