While I am adapting pretty darn well to this whole 'gluten free life' thing, there are a few soft spots. PIZZA... being a pretty frequent player in my pre GF menu rotations is one, and I miss it. Now I don't know where you grew up but I grew up in New England. You might think lobsters...I think Greek style or Italian style. There is either a Dunkin' Doughnuts, a CVS, or a pizza place on every corner within a hundred mile radius. Sometimes it's a pizza place on one half of the building and a DD on the other. Honestly.
I have found 2 pizza places here in desert land that I will even consider eating. One has the best sauce, one has the best crust. I have not been as pizza happy since I've been here because of this but it's still a quick fix meal or a phone call away. Or...it was. There is a pizza place here that serves gluten free pizza. It's pretty pricey and if the hubby and I are going to spend $50.00 on dinner...there should be sushi or prime aged meat involved.
I have tried 2 other mixes, and 3 frozen gluten free pizza crusts. The only one worth eating in my opinion in the freezer department is, Amy's Rice Crust Cheese Pizza. I like it's mild flavor but I can not for the life of me call it a pizza. Where's the chew? Where's the fold-ability? The other mixes? Grainy, crunchy crust, "off tastes", and general grossness abound. Bland cracker style pizza? No. Sigh. I'm still not quite ready to waste money mixing my own GF mixes yet, so I set off on a Internet search for the best pizza crust. Hours of research concluded that a thin, yet chewy, NY style pizza...that was also gluten free, was pretty hard to come by. Hummm....Amazon? Top Seller list. Reviews. Found OTHER people were looking for a GF East Coast style pizza too. Top Seller? Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Whole Grain Pizza Crust Mix.
Bob's? Really? Found in grocery stores all over the country Bob's? Yep. I went out and picked up a package today. It cost $4.99 and makes 2 large 14-16 inch pizzas per package. I could also see making 6-8 single serve pizzas and freezing them for later use, or as a pizza party servings. Simple directions, and a quick rise later there I was with a glob of sticky dough that did not want to spread on to the pizza pan. I wet my hands and figured out quick that the extra water allowed me to smooth and shape the dough like clay or plaster. I knew it was going to be par baked, so I liberally applied the water and just went for it.
Par baking went well. I then topped it with a quick homemade super garlic pizza sauce, a 4 cheese Italian blend, black olives, mushrooms, some pepperoni, and more fresh garlic. I checked at at 10 minutes and it looked promising. I let it bake another 3 minutes until the cheese was starting to brown. I slipped it on to an upside down pizza pan and let it cool for a few minutes before slicing. I picked it up and the first thing I noticed was I could FOLD the slice (see pic above). There was ZERO crumbling. Then the first bite...and the CHEW...was there. It reminded my guy of a cross between a pizza chain in MA called Papa Gino's and one called, Golden Pizza.
The cons? Yes. There was ONE. The lip of un-topped crust that forms the pizza was kind of beany and gross tasting. The beany taste comes from bean flour in the mix. Since it's probably responsible for that chew, I'll deal with it. The dog enjoyed it tonight but the next time I make it I'm adding garlic and Italian seasoning to the dry mix. My guy didn't notice it but my pallet is amplified times 100. I can taste the difference between brands of salt, bottled water, oils, butter, etc.
I'm also thinking of making a CT style rectangular pizza. With it's square cuts, it naturally has minimal crust. The main crust of tonight's pizza, topped with all of the goodness... was PERFECT. I have an inflated dough ball in the 'fridge, waiting for Buffalo Chicken Pizza tomorrow night. Reviews say you can keep a stored dough ball for 3-5 days. Pretty neat.
I ordered a case from Amazon tonight. I subscribed to a regular shipping schedule and saved more than 1/2 the retail cost plus free shipping whenever I buy it, just like the bread mix and multi-purpose baking mix I buy.
There will be pizza...
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