A Tiskit A Tasket A Pizza in a Basket

You guessed it foodies! This is a post dedicated to a beautiful, versatile, delicious food (drum roll please!) PIZZA!! Yum yum  yum! I’m sure that you are by now aware that all things gluten have delicious alternatives hiding out just waiting for you to find them! In this case, it’s delicious pizza!

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Gluten free pizzas and gluten containing pizzas have many similarities and many differences all at the same time! Gooey cheese? Check! Tangy, spicy, intoxicating sauce? Check! Toppings, toppings galore? Check!! So… what are the differences you might ask. The crust of course! Gluten is a protein that after being introduced to water and kneaded a bit forms strong elastic support structures. These support structures hold the shape of the bread as it rises, allowing breads with gluten in them to be chewy, yet fluffy and light. For foods that do not contain gluten in them however that elastic structure has to be built from some other ingredient. Eggs work, but they tend to color foods yellow and in large quantities can taste far to egg-y and be overwhelmingly dense. Enter guar gum. Guar gum is an edible, elastic substance which can help form the structural element in gluten free baked goods. Unfortunately guar gum isn’t as strong as gluten and has a tendency to collapse if not introduced to a recipe in equal proportions; it also tends to make foods a bit overly chewy. However it is magical in certain recipes.

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But I digress. Since many of the substitutes for gluten aren’t as strong, gluten free pizza crusts must generally be kept thin or else the dough may collapse under the weight of the toppings and create a dense, chewy well in the middle of the pizza. Are there alternatives? Yes, Amy’s has a delicious frozen pizza which you can also get with dairy-free cheese. This pizza does have a thin crust, but as the crust is flavorful it doesn’t detract. Udi’s, a well-known gluten free bread company has ready-made frozen or refrigerated pizza dough and pizza crusts available, and Pamela’s, a gluten free bakery that produces delicious baked goods has a pizza crust mix that, after being mixed with herbs and slathered with sauce, makes delicious pizzas or bread sticks, depending on what you want.

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Gluten free pizza crusts brown just as well as ‘regular’ pizza crusts, but they are generally thinner and a bit like a cracker crust pizza. Since the dough is generally unable to stand up to too much weight, the thicker the pizza, generally the heavier and denser the crust becomes. Unlike traditional pizza crusts which bring a yeasty, bread flavor to the pizza. Gluten free pizzas generally have a different (and sometimes lighter) flavor, so if they are enhanced with herbs they bring more flavor to the pizza themselves.

Both gluten free and regular pizzas are very delicious, but the crust of a gluten free pizza is thin and crispy while the crust on a regular pizza, although it is sometimes similarly thin (cracker crust), generally is fluffier than gluten free crusts.

Have you ever had a gluten free pizza? How was it? What is your favorite gluten free food or dish? (Veggie dishes included).

NaOmi’s random gluten free cooking/baking tip:

Always have a wide variety of grains and nuts and beans on your hands, if you ever need a flour, a snack, or a quick meal you can grind them up for flour pretty easily (blender or food processor work the best) or you can toss them together with veggies (and a protein selection) and voila dinner! Sautéed garlic almond chicken with steamed veggies and rice anyone?