Figs. So under-represented. I mean really, the first place most people’s minds go to when a fig is mentioned is an overly sweetened, gummy, dried cookie. These plump delicate fruits need a bigger stage. Fig and prosciutto is a classic pairing and why not add this delicious combination to one of my favorite foods, pizza.

It’s no secret that pizza is up there at the top of my list of favorite foods and is without a doubt at the very top of the bf’s list. We typically get in a rut groove with toppings and stick to what we know is good. This has definitely happened with gluten-free crusts. I found a dough mix at the grocery store, it tasted decent, and we never looked back. It’s still a good dough, but the crust from last night was amazing. It was super simple to throw together, only taking me 15 minutes, with picture taking, to pull together. It does require some rise time, so it’s best to mix it up the night before and instead of letting it rise on the counter, loosely cover with plastic wrap and throw the whole mixer bowl in the fridge.

The recipe comes from the acclaimed Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef and is in their new book (do I sound like a record yet?…other highlights from their book are found here and here). Their book can be purchased at Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble. pssst…someone blogged about their pizza recipe. I’m going to share the link with you because it’s a great article about the symptoms and issues associated with Celiac and I hope everyone reads it in all of it’s gory details. The article along with pizza dough recipe is found here.

The recipe for the pizza dough is not unlike other recipes that I’ve used for the old gluten pizza dough. It’s just that coming up with the right flour combinations and ingredient amounts is so tricky with gluten free baking. Shauna and Danny definitely did their homework and tested these recipes as I’ve found, all I’ve tried, to be perfect.

Go make the dough then come back here for the toppings!

Toppings for 1 medium pizza: (1/4 of the dough recipe linked to above)
1 large sweet onion, sliced thinly
2 tablespoons olive oil (to cook onions in)
1 tablespoon butter
6 ripe fresh figs, quartered
3 pieces prosciutto (usually found in 4oz packages in the cured meat section of the grocery store)
1 large handful washed and dried arugula
1 tablespoon olive oil (to drizzle on cooked crust)
1 pinch pepper

Preheat the oven, with a pizza stone or baking stone inside on the middle rack, to 500 degrees. Using the preheated stone and high heat ensures a crispy crust. Don’t cheat. Let the oven preheat fully. I haven’t tried this dough without a stone, but if you do, let me know how it works out.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in large skillet. Cut onion in half from root to tip and remove outer papery skin. Thinly slice each half and separate while moving into the hot skillet. Cook over medium low heat for 25 minutes or until onions have taken on color and taste sweet.

While onions are cooking and oven is heating, roll out the dough. Sprinkle a bit of gf flour, I used brown rice, down on top of a layer of plastic wrap. Place your dough on top of the flour and knead and shape a bit until in a disk and not sticky to the touch. Place another piece of plastic wrap on top and roll the dough out as thin as you can.

It’s homemade pizza and it’s going to taste delicious, so don’t worry about the shape too much. Rustic is in. The plastic wrap should peel right off.

I place my dough back on a floured air bake cookie sheet, because it has no edges, this allows me to slide the dough right off the sheet and into the oven onto the hot stone. Improvise with what you have to accomplish this same thing (Maybe you actually have a pizza peel for this.)

Slide the dough onto the stone when the oven has reached 500 degrees. Cook for 5-6 minutes until edges start to lift and dough is pretty firm. Pull out of the oven, either back onto cookie sheet, or pull entire stone out, and add the toppings. Drizzle the crust with the olive oil and lightly pepper.

Spread the fig quarters and onions out over the entire crust. Add the roughly sliced or torn prosciutto.

Crumble the feta cheese over top and place back in the oven for 4 minutes then turn on the broiler to brown for about 1 minute; make sure to watch carefully. Pull out of the oven and spread arugula over top before slicing.

Slice and enjoy this delicious topping combination on the perfectly chewy, crispy crust.