One problem is that I haven’t found a sufficiently good way to get a loaf of bread to rise without yeast or eggs or copious amounts of baking soda, which tends to leave a distinct and lingering aftertaste when not used in moderate quantities. I haven’t given up, but I have shifted my mindset to a more reasonable approach: the bread issue is one I’m going to have to tackle by taking baby steps, rather than giant leaps.

I thought focaccia might be a good place to start. By definition, focaccia is a flat bread, which right away solves some of the leavening problems. Sure, many focaccia recipes call for yeast, but I thought that it could easily be replaced. I went through several versions using several different flours, all which turned out decent, but this was by far my favorite. I toasted some slices and dipped them in olive oil, which turned out to be very tasty. I also used some of the bread to make croutons, which I used to top off a creamy broccoli soup recipe I was testing (stay tuned for that recipe in the days to come). I even ate some slices straight out of the fridge — cold — and still enjoyed them. That’s when I knew this was a recipe worth sharing with all of you.

Gluten Free Focaccia:

1 1/2 cups Bob’s Red Mill garbanzo-fava bean flour or garbanzo bean (chickpea) flour (the latter yields a slightly softer bread)

1/2 cup golden flaxseed meal

1/4 cup arrowroot

2 tablespoons Ener-G egg replacer

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon agave nectar

1/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided

1 1/4 cup water

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (garbanzo/fava bean flour through baking powder). Whisk in water, 1/4 cup olive oil and agave until combined.

3. Pour batter into a pre-greased 9×9″ baking dish. Use a spatula or spoon to smooth out top. Sprinkle with rosemary and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes. Top should be golden brown. Let cool almost completely on a wire rack before slicing.

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Don’t worry, though, because when that moment comes, you can go online, look up this savory gluten free pizza recipe, and make it. Right away (it’s really simple to make, I promise).

Sure, this pizza is a little different than the ones we were all used to once upon a time. But that doesn’t make it any less delicious. First of all, the crust is basically a socca. If you’ve had socca before, you know how delicious it can be. I’ve been really obsessed with this socca-as-pizza idea lately. Last time I attempted it, though, I went with a buckwheat flour batter and more traditional pizza toppings. It was good. It hit the spot. But after making this tonight, I can tell you one thing. There’s a reason the French use chickpea (garbanzo) flour to make socca. There’s also a reason that French cuisine (even of the non-Parisian variety) is emulated around the world. They simply know what they’re doing.

This “socca pizza” is crisp on the edges, ever-so-slightly chewy in the middle, and perfectly savory on top. I used Follow Your Heart vegan mozarella and a little sprinkling of nutritional yeast for some nuttiness to top it all off. It’s the perfect treat to ward off those gluten-free (or perhaps vegan) blues and to remind you that you don’t have to choose between feeling better and eating well (or alternately, eating well and helping the planet).

A few notes: You will need a cast-iron (or otherwise oven-proof) skillet for this recipe. The “dough” is not really going to look like dough. It’s more of a batter, like a crepe batter. You can feel free to experiment with different toppings, but I would stay away from “wet” toppings or sauces unless you cook the crust for longer from the start, or else you might end up with a soggier middle.

Yield: 1 9″ cast-iron skillet-sized pizza

Socca (crust) batter:

1 cup garbanzo bean flour

1 cup water

3 tablespoons olive oil (plus more for drizzling)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Toppings:

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced

3 shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional)

~ 4 ounces (a little less than half a block) Follow Your Heart vegan mozzarella cheese, grated with a microplane grater

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450. Place a well-oiled 9″ cast-iron skillet in the oven while it preheats.

2. Meanwhile, whisk together ingredients for socca batter until frothy (about 2 minutes). When skillet is hot, pour in batter and place back in preheated oven. Bake for about 30-35 minutes, or until edges are browned and middle is firm to the touch.

3. While crust bakes, make topping by heating a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil and onions and stir to coat with oil. Saute onions until dark brown, about 7 minutes. Add shitakes and cook for another 3 minutes, or until mushrooms are soft and transluscent.

4. When crust is cooked, spread onion and mushroom mixture over top and sprinkle with nutritional yeast (optional) and “cheese.” Bake until cheese has melted. Serve immediately.

Gluten Free Crust:

2/3 cup buckwheat flour

1/3 cup chickpea flour

1 and 1/4 cup water

1/4 cup olive oil (plus a tad more for greasing skillet)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

My Toppings:

prepared, organic pizza sauce

sliced kalamata olives

sliced jalapeno

Follow Your Heart mozzarella “cheese,” grated with a microplane grater

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450.

2. Place lightly greased 9″ cast iron skillet in preheating oven. Let it get really hot in there.

3. Meanwhile, whisk together buckwheat and chickpea flours and salt. Make a well in the middle and add water and olive oil. Whisk ingredients vigrorously until incorporated and bubbly.

4. When skillet is really hot, pour batter into skillet (it should sizzle!). Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes. Add desired toppings and bake or pass through broiler to melt cheese (carefully watch if broiling to make sure crusts don’t get too dark). Enjoy!