I gave another try at cauliflower crust pizza the other night (recipe). What I changed in the crust this go-round is that I added 1 cup of coconut flour to the doubled crust recipe. So, 2 eggs, 2 cups cauliflower and 2 cups mozzarella. To that, I added 1 cup of coconut flour.
It certainly made the crust more pliable and formable.
After baking the crust for about 10 minutes, it's on with the sauce, some cheese and chopped mushrooms.
Finally, about 3/4 of a pound of black forrest ham, a substitute for the jambon one gets in France, where La Reine (the Queen) is one of the most popular pizzas — one I ordered regularly in at a restaurant just a short walk from my flat on the Med.
I maybe oughtn't have put the pizza sauce on the outer crust as I did, as it scorched a bit at the finish line.
In all, I'm still working on it. The coconut flour made it far easier to work with, almost like a real dough, but it was a bit too dry for my tastes. In fact, it's actually better cold the next day, were it approximates real pizza far better.
On my next attempt, I'm going to add an additional egg and cut the coconut flour in half.
Interesting! I've read that with coconut flour a little goes a long way, and that you should add a LOT more eggs to the mix for it to work well. That said, I think there's a book out there called Cooking With Coconut Flour that probably has a pizza crust recipe in it. I don't have my copy anymore, but I wouldn't mind getting it back!!
Hey Richard, Where do you get your coconut flour from? I looked for it at whole foods, but it was the one flour they didn't seem to have among about 30 kinds!
Monica,
I usually steam the cauliflower as Richard does but then I run it through the food processor. This seems to work well for me.
Wow! What a yummy pizza you made!
Hey Richard — looks delicious. Mind if I ask how you process the cauliflower? I've never made cauliflower crust. Do you cook it first? Grind it without cooking? If you've written about this before, link.
There's two posts out there if you search cauliflower.
Per the recipe link, yea, you cook it first. I steamed it, drained it very well, then mashed with a potato masher — which broke, so I think I'll get a ricer.
Richard Nikoley
This pizza looks so good, I am not a huge fan of thick crusts so I am sure that I would be able to make it a little thinner. Very unusual to use cauliflower the first that I have heard of this.
Thanks for sharing
Looks perty.
I did almost the same thing, except I used 1/4 cup almond flour.
The plan is to increase the almond flour to 1/2 cup on the next go around (later this week). It taste great, just want it to be a hair more crust like.
It sure looks good! Cauliflower is one thing I never would think to use in pizza crust.
We've really enjoyed that recipe here, so thanks for posting it a few months back!
I get mine at Whole Foods, yea, in the section with 30 kinds. Perhaps they were just out on that occasion.
I like thinner crusts too, however, I fear they might fall apart a bit too easily. Let us know what you find out.
Looks great!
I have been playing around with this recipe also! The first time I made it I used grated cauliflower without steaming it first, it actually wasn't bad. The second time I made it, I steamed the cauliflower but I don't think I cooked it quite as well, the texture was off.
I like your idea of using coconut flower, does it add too much coconut flavor? I was going to run everything through the food processor next time and use some almond flour.
It's a great recipe to play with though isn't it?
I used a whole cup of coconut flour, and it was too much. There was a bit of coconut taste but mainly it dried it out a bit too much. I'll try a half cup next time. Another egg as well.
Wow! That looks fantastic. I can't wait to try it! You might want to try it with half as much coconut flour. Recipes I've seen say to add an equal amount of liquid as you do cocout flour in recipes. However, I don't think you want more liquid in this recipe since cauliflower already contains a lot of water. I saw a recipe on line for cauliflower bread sticks that also looked awesome. Can't wait to try them too.
Chef Rachel:
Very nice blog. I need to spend some time looking around. Would you say it's paleo, low carb, a combo, or something else entirely?
You mentioned that you cauliflower pizza w/coconut flour crust tasted better the second day. I found the same thing w/most coconut flour recipes. I've been working on coconut flour recipes for a magazine for people w/food allergies and intolerances and I had a few things I was ready toss in the trash. I stashed them in the fridge thinking I would give them to someone else so they wouldn't go to waste. Then I discovered many things that seemed dry the first day, were better w/refrigeration and time to rest.
Re: processing the cooked cauliflower for the pizza crust, I used my food processor, which made it easy to add the other ingredients. Really fast. I don't own a ricer.
I emphasize a produce and protein-rich diet that's mostly grain-free, gluten-free, and dairy free. I occasionally use and post recipes using dairy and gluten free grains, which I consider treats, not daily staples. Call it wide paleo. I am moving more toward lower carb.
I went wider w/my paleo diet several years ago because I didn't get the results I wanted. I now know what I did wrong and how to make a paleo diet more sustainable.
Don Matesz talks about the "Top Ten Problems With Applying The Paleolithic Diet Principles" on his blog. He just started listing them. They certainly fit my experience. (Maybe you've see it?)http://donmatesz.blogspot.com/2009/05/top-ten-problems-with-applying.html
Anyway, my approach is tending more toward lower carb paleo, while still satisfying the needs of my cooking students and clients who aren't ready to give up the grain. If I can get people into the ball park of eating more animal protein, veggies, fruits, and nuts and avoiding refined sugar, gluten grains, soda, fast food, and most dairy, I figure, I'm doing my job.
Thanks for your share！I really like it！
Thanks Rachel. Had not see that, but I'll follow along.
Richard,
I whipped this up today, and it came out pretty darn well. I really wish I had a pizza stone. I think I got my coconut flour/egg ratio on the opposite end of the spectrum as you.
2 eggs, 1 heaping cup shredded mozz, 1 cup cauli, 2 tbsp coconut flour. I think 2 cups of cheese and cauli to three eggs would be better than 1:2, respectively. As for the coconut flour, I could have put more in. I think with two cups cheese and flour, and three eggs, that 2/3 of a cup of coconut flour would work well.
Anyway, it was reasonably tasty, and I'm eager to have the leftovers! Thanks for suggesting this, as I've been wanting to try it ever since I saw it here.
Paleo on, brother!
-bryce
My sisters and I have also discovered the awesome-ness of cauliflower as a crust. Our diet is even more restrictive, so we just steam the cauliflower, let it cool, and puree with an egg white. 1 cup cauliflower/1 egg white. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and cook (with toppings) for an additional 10-15 minutes. I like to season mine with spices like oregano, basil, salt, garlic and thyme. You can also put it in muffin tins for mini crusts – Delish! 🙂
Hey! I made the Meatza tonight….awesome!!! Thanks so much for the idea!! Steve
I can’t wait to try this! My daughter is gluten free and pizza crust is one of the things we have had the hardest time finding a sub for. I do have some experience with coconut flour. It attracts moisture like crazy so a little goes a long way. And most of the recipes I’ve made with it taste much better a day or two later.