Wednesday, November 10, 2010

A good gluten-free pizza crust?

When was the last time any of us had a pizza that actually made us forget how much we miss the "real" pizza experience and all it's conveniences?  Maybe it's just me, but I've become obsessed with the search for a better than adequate gluten-free pizza crust. While I appreciate the ever-increasing availability of gluten-free pizza options, over the last two years I've tried a few pre-made crusts and mixes and found none that have come anywhere close to neutralizing my cravings for The Works at Papa J's.

Last week I decided to try the gluten-free crust from Still Riding Pizza, which can be ordered individually or in bulk online and shipped to your door. The crusts arrived within two days of ordering and were individually packaged for convenience. The crust diameter is 12 inches and is about a half an inch thick, plenty of room for a reasonable assortment of toppings. After 15 minutes at 500F on the rack (my oven is a bit underpowered, so you may need less time), the crust was adequately crispy throughout. While it doesn't have the doughy texture that I prefer, the crust from Still Riding Pizza tastes great and holds up well to baking, cutting and reheating. Overall, a great alternative!


On a related note, Still Riding Pizza is the distributor for Mellow Mushroom's gluten-free dough. I contacted Mellow Mushroom recently for more information on their GF crust and here's what Chris McIntyre, the Mellow Mushroom Operations Field Rep, had to say:

"The answer is yes, Still Riding distributes our GF Dough for us but it is exclusive to our restaurants. We went through many taste tests and came up with our own recipe for the dough. So the dough Still Riding makes for us is not able to be purchased except from our company."

I am working on a review of the gluten-free pizza at Mellow Mushroom, but in the meantime I would love to hear from everyone reading this (there must be someone out there.......). What's your favorite crust, restaurant, etc?

2 comments:

Jayn said...

Both of these pizzas have eggs in them. Do you know of any that don't (that are worth eating)? I miss Papa John's like crazy!

Deb said...

I think I'm stuck somewhere between my fond memories of Papa John's and PopTarts. However, in this GF reality, the best egg-free crust I've made is from a recipe on the back of the garbanzo & fava bean flour from Bob's Red Mill (I bought mine on Amazon). It's tasty and easy to put together in less than 30 min. You can find more info at http://www.bobsredmill.com/recipes_detail.php?rid=932.

Ingredients:

* 1 Tbsp. Yeast, Active Dry
* 2/3 cup Gluten Free Garbanzo and Fava Flour
* 1/2 cup Tapioca Flour
* 2 Tbsp. Milk Powder (Non-Fat Dry)
* 2 tsp. Xanthan Gum
* 1/2 tsp. Salt
* 1 tsp. Gelatin powder, unflavored
* 1 tsp. Italian Herb Seasoning
* 2/3 cup Warm Water (105)
* 1/2 tsp. Sugar
* 1 tsp. Olive Oil
* 1 tsp. Cider Vinegar
* Cooking Spray

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425F.

In medium mixer bowl blend the yeast, flours, dry milk powder, xanthan gum, salt, gelatin powder, and Italian herb seasoning on low speed using regular beaters. Add warm water, sugar, olive oil and vinegar. Beat on high for 3 minutes. Add water if the dough is too stiff. The dough will resemble soft bread dough. Put mixture into 12 inch pizza pan that has been coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle extra four onto the dough, then press the dough into the pan. Bake the crust for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, top with your favorite sauce and toppings. Bake for another 20-25 minutes.

*If dough becomes too sticky, use oil or water on your hands to help work the dough.