Pizza - Whole Foods Gluten Free Bakehouse Pizza crust

Review of Whole Foods Market's Gluten Free Bakehouse Pizza Crust

Their crust is made with: tapioca starch, white bean flour, sorghum flour, non-fat dry milk, yeast, xanthan gum, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, gelatin, sugar.

Each crust was 12 ounces and came two to a package. Total calories of one crust is 720. We paid $6.49 at Whole Foods.

Well we are still at it- trying out gluten-free pizza crusts that is. Whole Foods has a great crust that we've had much success with. The crusts come 2 to a package in the freezer section of the store. Basically all you need to do is thaw completely, which takes about 15 minutes if you leave on top of your stove top while pre-heating the oven to 425 degrees.

Once defrosted, you can either add your toppings and bake 15 minutes, or for a crisper crust, pre-bake the crust about 7 minutes and then add toppings and bake for 12 minutes.

Please note: we use a pizza stone which we highly recommend for preparing any gluten-free pizzas.

Last night I pre-baked the crust for 7 minutes, then added tomato basil pasta sauce, yellow peppers, green olives, onion and scallions and topped with fontina cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.

I let it bake on the pizza stone for 17 minutes. Apparently 17 minutes was too long though as the crust was a bit too crispy, and I had some trouble cutting through it. It was still quite tasty however and I would highly recommend giving Whole Foods crust a try.

Ease of Preparation: As with all pre-made gluten-free crusts, preparation is easy. Meaning: defrost, add toppings, and bake.

Level of Realism: Compared to other gluten-free pizzas the level of realism with regard to regular pizza is high. The crust is not like Dominos or Pizza Hut, it's closer to a savory pie or boutique pizza.

Taste: The crust was similar to real pizza, although the crust is heartier than a normal pizza. It has a crisp outside and soft inside type texture. In itself the crust doesn't have a lot of flavor- but on par with non-GF pizza. But then there's no detracting from the flavor of the toppings.

We love to hear other's ideas and comments on the products we review or suggestions for new products to review.


We're experiencing a mad rash of discipline and we will be back next week with another review.
Keep the comments coming!

Diana

Beverage: True Lime and True Lemon

Both of these are relatively new products and are gluten-free as stated on their website.

True Lime and True Lemon come in single serve packets, similar to sugar at a coffee shop. They each contain the equivalent of two wedges of either lime or lemon.

Both taste just like the real thing and easily juice up a glass or bottle of water. My wife has also used the True Lemon to make salad dressing - mixing True Lemon with some olive oil which tasted great.

Pizza - Nature's Hilights Brown Rice Pizza

Review of: Nature's Hilights Brown Rice Pizza

Nature's Hilights pizza crust is made with whole grain rice and is yeast, wheat and gluten-free.
The crust was 10 oz. and came with 2 to a frozen package. We paid $4.99 at Whole Foods.

Preparation is a four step process:
1. Defrost the crust - about 15 minutes if you put it on the stove top while the oven preheats to 500 degrees
2. Prebake for 4-5 minutes at 500 degrees before adding toppings
3. Add toppings
4. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 425 degrees

Please note: we use a pizza stone which we highly recommend for preparing any gluten-free pizzas.

Over two nights I prepared one pizza and my husband made the other one.

The pizza I prepared was topped with Sacla Italia Olive and Tomato Pasta Sauce, fresh mozzarella, asparagus, and red onions.

The pizza my husband made was topped first with Tomato Basil sauce, shredded mozzarella from a bag, red onion and ground ostrich meat.

Both were delicious, although the level of authenticity to real pizza is relatively low. What's interesting is the only ingredient is whole brown rice which gives it a non-bread like texture. It did however have a super crispy crust. The brown rice gave it a slightly sticky aftertaste which bore a resemblance to sushi rice.

Ease of Preparation: Compared to other gluten-free pizzas preparation is easy because the crust is already made. You do have to defrost completely and pre-cook though. Most others require you to actually mix up dough and roll it out- which is always time consuming and a bit messy.

Level of Realism: Compared to other gluten-free pizzas the level of realism with regard to regular pizza is rather low.

Taste: The crust was super crispy but very low in taste which allowed the toppings to really make or break the pizza.

More to come: As we review the other pizzas we'll put up a comprehensive comparison of all the products we can get a hold of.

Welcome to Celiac Food Reviews

Welcome to the Celiac Food Review blog. My aim with this blog is to offer food suggestions and ratings of current gluten-free products. The gluten-free world can be a bit daunting and expensive- and this is just a way to do a virtual taste-test before you open your wallet, or waste your time on crappy food!

Bio & Why I'm Qualified
I actually am not celiac- however, my husband has had it since infancy. His point of reference for white flour-based goods is uh pretty much non-existent. Lucky for you I am well acquainted with the deliciously moist texture of chocolate chip cookies, Brooklyn-style pizza and creamy bread puddings. Now don't get me wrong, tapioca and brown rice flours make wonderful substitutes for many recipes- they just need to be in the right combinations.

I love a wide variety of foods, though definitely in moderation. I'm a huge believer in fresh fruits and vegetables- all of which are gluten-free. Now you may ask why I follow a gluten-free diet when I'm not even wheat-intolerant. The answer is simple- my husband. Celiacs must necessarily be very careful of contamination, and as I do most of the cooking, it was just easier to adapt to his diet. My point in all this, is to really point out how easy and satisfying it can be to live without gluten. Studies are starting to show too, that diets filled with white flour (ie doughnuts, cakes, bread) are actually contributing to our obesity problem - duh! I have found that since going (mostly) gluten-free, I have also cut way back on all processed foods, anything that has chemicals, high fructose corn syrup- in general anything that has more than 10 ingredients- and I feel great.

Don't get me wrong though, I do on occasion cheat. There just (so far) isn't a replacement for a perfectly al dente pasta. I will concede though that Amy's Organic makes a mean rice Mac n' cheese. Let's just say in general that corn and rice are poor substitutes for the real deal. It has much to do with the texture (sticky and mushy) even when undercooked. You have to watch out too for the fat and calories. Just because it's gluten-free doesn't mean it's nutritious.

So, that being said, I hope to offer weekly reviews of various gluten-free products- mostly those that are Rob-requested. He can never seem to quite get enough pizza and cookies. Go figure.

Check out my review of Brown Rice pizza later this week. And please, send me any suggestions for improving the format.

Cheers!

Diana