Palo-inspired Herb Bread and Garlic Chicken Flatbread with Udi's Gluten Free Pizza Crust

On Friday night, my husband and I had dinner at Palo on the Disney Fantasy.  For bread, I was served slices of Udi's gluten free pizza crust with herbs on it.  It looked almost exactly like my husband's gluten-filled bread.

I liked it so much, I bought some Udi's pizza crust at Whole Foods today to make bread to go with the pasta dish I made for dinner.

Pepperoni Bread

After seeing a recipe for Italian Sandwich Cupcakes with Provolone Cheese Icing on Keeley McGuire's blog, I knew I wanted to make pepperoni bread with Chebe Original Cheese Bread Mix using the technique she did in her recipe.  When we lived in Pittsburgh, my husband used to love the gluten-filled pepperoni bread made at Labriola's Italian Market in our neighborhood, so I thought it might be fun to try and recreate their pepperoni bread on a smaller scale using Chebe Brazilian cheese bread.

For the bread component of my pepperoni rolls, I used Chebe Original Cheese Bread Mix, which is free of gluten, soy, corn, rice, potato, yeast, and peanuts & tree nuts.  It is also grain free, non-GMO, and kosher certified.  I stuffed my pepperoni bread with pre-packaged Boar's Head pepperoni and provolone cheese, which are labeled gluten free.

I beat four large eggs in my largest bowl, then stirred in 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil and 2 cups of tightly packed Organic Valley Fancy Shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese.  I added two boxes of Chebe Original Cheese Bread Mix before finishing off my dough with 1/2 cup of water.  This is the same technique I use for making pizza dough with Chebe, which you can read more about here.  

I weighed my dough on my kitchen scale, and divided it into equal amounts for making 12 pepperoni breads.   Each dough ball ended up weighing about 83 grams.

I used about 2/3 (55 grams) of each dough ball to form a dough cup for each pepperoni bread in my muffin pan.  I used the rest of each dough ball to make a flat piece of dough to cover up the pepperoni and provolone filling.  

For the filling, I placed two pieces of pepperoni on a slice of provolone.  I folded the meat and cheese in half, before ripping it in two, so it would be easier to stuff in my dough cups.  

After 20 minutes in the oven, our pizza breads were ready to eat.  

You will know they are done when the top is nicely browned around the edges, and when you lift them out of the muffin pan, they are browned all the way around.  

Last night, I cut several pepperoni breads in half while they were still hot, but next time I might take them out of the muffin pan, and allow them to cool down to room temperature.  When the pepperoni bread is hot, pepperoni grease might ooze out of the bread when you cut it.  

Today, I had a leftover pepperoni bread for lunch.  I allowed it to sit on the counter for about 30 minutes before eating it, so it would warm up to room temperature.  It was just as delicious as it was last night, though it had a much different consistency.  

Pepperoni Bread with Chebe

Ingredients

2 boxes Chebe Original Cheese Bread Mix
4 large eggs
1/4 C olive oil
2 C shredded cheese (sharp or hard cheeses work best)
1/2 C water
12 pieces of provolone
24 pieces of pepperoni

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and lightly grease a muffin pan with unsalted butter or cooking spray.

In a very large bowl, beat the eggs, then whisk in the oil and cheese.  Add both boxes of  Chebe, stirring well with a spoon. Drizzle the water over the bread mix, stir with a spoon as best as you can, then knead the dough until it's smooth.  Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces, rolling them into small balls.

Lay two pieces of pepperoni on each piece of provolone in preparation for stuffing the pizza breads, then fold them in half. Take about 2/3 of each dough ball, and flatten them into a circle in your hands. They should be large enough to line the bottom and sides of your muffin cups when pressed inside of them.  Tear your folded pepperoni & cheese slices in half, then place them in your muffin cup.  Take the remaining smaller pieces of dough, and flatten each one into a circle large enough to cover each muffin cup.  Press them on top of your meat and cheese, making a good seal around the edges.

Bake the pepperoni breads for about 20 minutes, until the edges are nicely browned, and the sides looked browned when they are lifted out of the muffin cups.

Allow to cool for about 10 to 15 minutes on a plate before serving.

Store the leftovers in the refrigerator.

Recipe Notes

I buy my Chebe Original Cheese Bread Mix from amazon.com or from Chamberlin's in Winter Park.

This recipe could also be made with other Chebe dry mixes, like the all-purpose bread mix, pizza crust mix, breadstick mix, or focaccia mix.

This recipe was inspired by a Keeley McGuire recipe for Italian Sandwich Cupcakes with Provolone Icing.  You can view the recipe here.  You might also want to check out her recipe for Chebe Pizza Muffins.  Keeley has had success freezing her Chebe creations, which I will have to try in the future when I have enough leftovers.  Update - my pepperoni bread passed the freezer test with flying colors.  Take them out of the freezer, then defrost them one at a time for two minutes in the microwave.  They tasted just as good as they did on the first day I made them.

Easy Gluten Free Italian

At Villa Salerno, aka "our house," we take pride in our Italian heritage, and in our Italian cooking.  After my Celiac diagnosis, we rarely cooked pasta for a couple of years, as I searched for a gluten free pasta that tasted like the pasta I had grown up eating.  Thankfully, we have found several brands that live up to our high standards.  You can read more about our favorite gluten free pastas here.  

One of our favorite Italian dishes is Caprese salad, and it's so easy to make.  I always have small snack size tomatoes in the house to pack in my girls' lunches.  Our new favorite is Primodoro snack tomatoes from The Fresh Market, because of their sweetness, but I also buy San Marzano and grape tomatoes.  Another staple in our house is BelGioioso mozzarella pearls, which I use when making Chebe pizza.  I have three basil plants growing on my front porch, so I don't ever have to worry about running out of our favorite herb.  

 I made this Caprese salad in about 5 minutes.  I used a package of mozzarella pearls, a couple of handfuls of tomatoes that I cut in half, fresh chopped basil, 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon of white balsamic vinegar, and a good amount of kosher salt.  The second I sat this on the table, my kids dove in.  They always get excited for Caprese salad.  You can view other variations I make here.  We also love Caprese panini.  You can read about our panini making here.  

I have an easy bread recipe that I make, but when I want to keep things really simple, I make flatbread with Udi's Pizza Crust.  

I let it defrost a bit before rubbing olive oil on both sides.  I then put it in a frying pan over medium heat, and sprinkle a good amount of rosemary and garlic salt on top.  

If I am not busy with other food prep, I press it down with a spatula, working my way around the pan, so it browns more evenly.  

As you can see, the side with the rosemary browned a bit better because of my spatula treatment.  

As soon as it's finished, I cut it with my kitchen shears and serve it right away.  It's definitely best served hot.  It's great with Caprese salad right on top, or dipped in some of the Caprese dressing.  

For meat, I decided to buy lamb steaks from The Fresh Market.  When my husband and I traveled to Italy back in 2003, we ate lamb at a little restaurant overlooking Positano on the Amalfi Coast.  We liked it so much, we ate there two or three times in one week.  

We watched it being grilled on the outdoor terrace where we sat, and all they added to the lamb before they cooked it was olive oil and coarse salt.  

It can't get much simpler than that.  My husband cooked our lamb on his Big Green Egg, but if you don't have a grill, you can use a grill pan indoors.  My girls were a little disappointed I didn't make my white bean hummus to serve with the lamb, but I was trying to keep things as easy as possible, and we already had enough food on the table.    

For dessert, I made a mixed berry crostata.  You can view the recipe here.  I made this Italian free form pie in less than 30 minutes, and baked it before I picked my daughters up from school.  I used to be so intimidated by pie-making, but it is so easy to make a crostata with Williams-Sonoma Gluten-Free Piecrust Mix.  

I love it when we have a great Italian meal and there is no stress involved in cooking it.



Tonight, I will making another one of our Italian favorites, deconstructed beef ravioli.  This meal is so easy to put together, and is a huge hit with my whole family.   I can cook it in about 15 minutes if I don't serve it with my quick cook tomato sauce.  With the sauce, it takes about 30 minutes.

What are your favorite gluten free Italian meals?

Gluten Free Easter Bread

Today is the first day of Lent, so I am starting to think about Easter Bread.  Easter Bread is an Italian tradition.  My husband's Italian grandmother makes it, my Italian grandmother made it, and my mom makes it.  When I was diagnosed with celiac, Easter Bread was definitely one of the foods I missed the most.  A couple of years ago, I started making a Faithfully Gluten Free recipe for gluten free paska, an Eastern European Easter Bread.  The flavor of the bread was amazing, because of lemon and orange zest and juice, but the texture was just a little bit off from the gluten-filled bread I was used to.  After seeing a recipe for Gluten-Free Challah with Apples & Raisins on GF Jules, I decided to combine ideas from both recipes and make Easter Bread Buns.  

Easter Bread Buns

Ingredients 

1/3 C warm water

1 package of gluten free rapid rise yeast (I use Fleischmann's RapidRise)

1 tsp granulated sugar

4 C (520 grams) gfJules Gluten Free Flour

3 T plus 2 tsp granulated sugar

1 1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1 C vanilla yogurt - room temperature (I use Chobani Vanilla Blended Greek Yogurt or  Lowfat Vanilla Stonyfield Farms)

5 large egg yolks - room temperature

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/3 C grapeseed or organic canola oil 

1/4 C honey

Zest of one orange and one lemon

1 large egg, beaten (for brushing on top of the buns)

Directions

Preheat your warming drawer on low.  If you don't have a warming drawer, preheat your oven to 200 degrees, then turn it off.  

In a small bowl, mix together the first 3 ingredients.  I proof my yeast on the warming zone of my stove.  If your yeast mixture hasn't bubbled and grown after 5 to 10 minutes, throw it out and start all over again with another packet of yeast.  

Whisk the second set of ingredients, the dry ingredients, together in a large bowl.  

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the third set of ingredients, the wet ingredients.  I like to use my dough hook.  Add your yeast mixture, mixing to combine on low speed.  Lastly, gradually add in your dry ingredients with the mixer on low speed.  I usually add a few spoonfuls, mix, turn off the mixer, add some more, etc.  When all the dry ingredients have been added, mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.  

Spray your muffin pan with cooking spray, and scoop a generous amount of batter into each cup.  Mix the extra egg and a splash of water together in a small bowl, then brush it over the top of each bun, smoothing the tops of the buns with your pastry brush.  Place your muffin pan into your warming drawer or oven, cover with parchment paper sprayed with cooking spray, and allow your buns to rise for 30 minutes.  I turn my warming drawer off when I put the buns in.  

After the buns have risen at least slightly, place them in an oven preheated to 350 degrees.  Cook for about 17 minutes in the middle of the oven until nicely browned.  

I drizzle them with a mixture of powdered sugar and half & half.  You could also make a glaze out of powdered sugar and heavy cream, powdered sugar and milk, or powdered sugar and water.  I love to eat my Easter Bread warm, with a little bit of butter.  

You can view our entire Easter menu in my Easter in July blog post.  We serve a lamb roast, homemade white bean hummus, lemon risotto, green beans, and Easter Bread.  

Last Easter, my gluten eating extended family was doubting my Easter Bread was going to be any good.  They all loved my Easter Bread Buns and were disappointed that everyone only got one!  My mom now uses this Easter Bread recipe, because it is so easy to make.  My parents do not need to eat gluten free, so she uses wheat flour.  

If you need to eat gluten free, I recommend using gfJules Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour in this recipe.  It contains expandex, which other all-purpose gluten free flours do not contain.  I doubt that this recipe will work well with any other gluten free all-purpose flours.

March 2016 Update

This year, I used Chobani yogurt and grapeseed oil for the first time, and weighed the amount of flour I used.   My new muffin scoop (heaping) came in handy to portion out the batter, which gave the buns a better shape.  The bread rose much better than it did last year, and with the glaze I made from heavy cream and powdered sugar, I thought my Easter bread buns were the best they have ever been.

My Easter Bread recipe was inspired by a Jules recipe for Gluten-Free Challah with Apples & Raisins. This recipe can easily be adapted to be dairy free by using a non-dairy yogurt.  

Turkey Avocado Bacon Sandwich on English Muffin Bread

I finally did it!  It took me 7 whole weeks, but I finally made a recipe from Nicole Hunn's newest cookbook, Gluten Free on a Shoestring Bakes Bread.  I had such grand plans when this cookbook arrived.  I was going to make gluten free panettone, ciabatta, garlic knots, monkey bread, and soft Olive Garden-style garlic butter breadsticks.  Well, life sometimes gets in the way of our plans.  I received my book right after my Thanksgiving house guests left.  My "To Do" list heading into December was huge.  I had recipes to develop, blog posts to write, presents to buy and wrap, and Christmas cards to make and send, so my newest cookbook, by my favorite gluten free recipe blogger, was sadly neglected.  A blog post by Nicole today, showing pictures of bread made by her followers, finally gave me the kick in the pants I needed to try a recipe.  

I decided to start easy and make English Muffin Bread.  You can view the recipe here.  For the 3 cups of gluten-free bread flour, I used 300 grams of Better Batter Gluten Free Flour, 75 grams of unflavored whey protein isolate, and 45 grams of Expandex modified tapioca starch.

After I sampled the end piece, I decided that this would make great sandwich bread.  

I used Boar's Head Honey Smoked Turkey Breast on my sandwich.  All of their deli meats, cheese and condiments are gluten free.  You can read more about it here.  I purchase Boar's Head products from Publix.  

I was torn between Boar's Head Swiss cheese and provolone.  I decided on the provolone tonight.  

My finished sandwich contained 2 thin slices of English muffin bread, 1/2 avocado, yellow grape tomatoes (sliced in half), a generous sprinkle of kosher salt, 2 slices of turkey, one slice of provolone, and 4 slices of bacon.  It was quite yummy!  Next time I might put it in my panini press.

You can check out several of Nicole's recipes from Gluten Free on a Shoestring Bakes Bread online.  Click on the names to see them.

Oatmeal Bread

Hoagie Rolls

Chocolate Bread

Olive Garden-Style Gluten Free Breadsticks

Gluten Free Hawaiian Sweet Rolls 

If you are considering purchasing the cookbook, you should check out Nicole's blog post about getting ready for Gluten Free on a Shoestring Bakes Bread.  You can view it here.  This cookbook is not for the faint of heart, but if you love great bread, you should definitely consider purchasing it.  My goal is to try a new recipe every month.  When I am being lazy and craving bread, I can always fall back on Gluten-Free Girl's recipe for gluten free dinner rolls.  They are delicious and incredibly easy to make. You can view my blog post about Gluten Free Dinner Rolls here.

A final note -- I highly recommend Nicole Hunn's first two cookbooks.  You can view them here and here.

Gluten Free Dinner Rolls

A week or two ago, I saw a link to a recipe for Gluten-Free Dinner Rolls on Shauna Ahern's Gluten-Free Girl Facebook page.  I printed it out and made them last Friday. 

I pretty much followed all the directions, making 7 rolls in my pie dish.  I don't like this photo, because the rolls all ran together, and there are shadows from taking a picture in my kitchen at night.  I wanted to dig right in, not fiddle around trying to find just the right picture spot, which is hard with my kitchen lights on. 

This grain free recipe calls for almond flour, arrowroot flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, and psyllium husk.  All the flours and starches are available from Bob's Red Mill at my local Publix (make sure they are certified gluten free), and I found the psyllium husk at The Fresh Market.  Yerba Prima Psyllium Whole Husks is also available on amazon.  Yep, it's being marketed as a colon cleanser!  :-)  You can read more about psyllium husk in Shauna Ahern's A Guide to Gluten-Free Baking. 

Here is what my dough looked like after I combined my wet and dry ingredients.  I used one packet of Fleischmann's Active Dry Yeast, which I proofed with honey and warm water on the warming zone of my stove top.  It's quite effective.  I warmed up my warming drawer for a couple of minutes on low heat while I put together the dough.  I turned it off at least 5 minutes before I put my dough in to rise. 

Ninety minutes later, my dough looked pretty good! 

Today, I used my Polish Pottery muffin pans to make the rolls. 

I decided to make ten, because the seven rolls I made last Friday were huge.  (Update -- I have also made 11 dinner rolls and cooked them for 17 minutes)

After 15 minutes in the oven, they were nicely browned and crusty on the outside. 

I ate two of these beauties for lunch with some salted butter.  They were so delicious! 

I much prefer the rolls I made in my muffin pans.  They cooked better, and I loved all the crunchy crusty parts along the top, bottom, and sides.  These rolls have the most wonderful yeasty taste and smell, just like my husband's grandmother's homemade bread.  Last Friday, I wrapped the leftovers in aluminum foil, and reheated them the next day in the microwave for about 10 seconds.  They were still ridiculously good.  Today, I am going to try freezing 4 of them.  I'll let you know how it goes. Update - these dinner rolls freeze very well.  I defrost them in the microwave, then warm them up in the oven.

You can check out Shauna Ahern's recipe for Gluten-Free Dinner Rolls here.  They are so easy to make and so incredibly delicious!  Not only are they gluten free and grain free, but Shauna gives tips to make them dairy and egg free as well.  

Ingredients - 1 C warm water, 1 packet of active dry yeast, 1 tsp honey, 200 grams almond flour, 100 grams arrowroot flour, 100 grams potato starch, 50 grams tapioca flour, 2 T psyllium husk, 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt, 8 T unsalted butter, 1 large egg (optional)

To make this recipe, you will need a kitchen scale.  I am so glad I bought one about a year ago.  It has become one of my favorite kitchen gadgets.  I now weigh my ingredients if a recipe includes grams, ounces, or pounds.  It saves me from having to clean up a bunch of measuring cups.  If you're a fan of Gluten Free on a Shoestring, Nicole includes weights for all of her newer recipes.  A handy tip - if you're measuring one cup of all-purpose gluten free flour, like Cup4Cup or Better Batter, it should weigh 140 grams.  I purchased my scale from amazon.  

November 29, 2013 Update

I knew I wanted to use this dough to make bread for panini.  I decided to experiment the day after Thanksgiving with my leftovers.  I made the dough like I always do, but after it rose, I divided it between two 8-inch pie plates.  I had sprayed them with cooking spray, and easily spread the dough out with my hands.  Before I placed them in the oven, I brushed the dough with egg.

Here's what my bread looked like after 15 minutes in the oven.  It was a little bit of a challenge to slice them in half, but my big bread knife came in handy. 

I was in panini heaven.  I cut each round into 3 wedges, then added leftover cranberry relish, cornbread stuffing, and turkey to my sandwich.  It was the best panini I have had since going gluten free.  This is definitely my favorite way to eat Thanksgiving leftovers.  I have family members who like to add gravy and mashed potatoes too.  My daughter Kate requested a Caprese panini next time, with fresh mozzarella, basil, tomatoes, olive oil, and kosher salt.  The possibilities are endless!

You can view all of my Thanksgiving recipes here.   

November 30, 2013 Update

For dinner, we made a Caprese panini with leftover bread.  Yesterday, I wrapped my second bread round in aluminum foil, and let it sit on the counter overnight.  Before cutting, I reheated it in the oven until it was warm to the touch.  I dressed my San Marzano tomatoes (seeds squeezed out and cut in half lengthwise) and fresh mozzarella with extra virgin olive oil and a little bit of white balsamic vinegar.  I layered the mozzarella, fresh basil, and tomatoes on my bread, then sprinkled them generously with kosher salt.  I think we will be having Caprese panini again very soon!  Everyone loved it, even my daughter Emma, who is not a big mozzarella fan.