What is the affinity that celiacs have for pizza? Is it because it's hard to find a great one after diagnosis, as nothing tastes quite the same? Is it that there's nothing better in this world that hot and gooey cheese? Or is it simply that pizza is really, simply, the most wonderful meal ever?
Which is why I am sure that when Pillsbury decided to come out with three new gluten free items, pizza crust was a no-brainer.
Now, I'll be honest, I've heard some mixed reviews about the pizza crust. I've heard some who have LOVED it...and I heard one person say it was so terrible that their dog wouldn't even eat it. I figured reality lays somewhere between the two.
Because of some of the less than favorable reviews, I wasn't going to buy it...until I noticed it was on sale for $2 at my local Kroger. It also didn't hurt that earlier I had been thinking I wanted pizza for dinner. So I happily placed the dough in my cart, bought some turkey pepperoni, utilizing the coupon I had on my Kroger app, and merrily went along my way.
Due to some of the bad reviews, I figured I would "doctor" up the dough a bit. I added onion powder, garlic powder, Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese. I mixed all of that up together, rolled it out on my Pampered Chef baking stone (with a little cornmeal underneath to prevent sticking), and prebaked the crust for the time that it suggested.
I was a beautiful golden color, and the dough puffed up a bit. I added straight tomato sauce on top (with some added spices) and noticed how hard the crust seemed to be when it rubbed against the back of my spoon. I then added my pepperoni, red onions, red, yellow and green peppers, mushrooms, and finally cheese. I returned the pizza to the oven for 12 minutes (and make a quick pit stop at a friend's house) and returned just in time to see my beautful and fragrant pizza emerging from the oven.
I intentionally let it set for at least 2 minutes so we wouldn't burn the roofs of our mouths. I was pretty impressed with how good it tasted, ater all the negative comments I heard. It was even better when I went back for a third slice, as the pizza sauce had further time to penetrate the crust and add a depth of flavor. My husband thought it wasn't bad either.
All in all, I would definitely purchase this again, and would again "doctor" the crust. The one change I would make is to pre-bake the crust for a little less time, and then add my toppings and cook it longer. (Our veggies on our pizza were a little crunchy still.)
I will admit that if I have time to prepare it, I prefer the Bob's Red Mill Pizza Crust mix. BUT, the beauty of the Pillsbury doughs are their ease of use and how readily available they are for purchasing. When you are living with celiac disease, you have control over your own ingredients, utensils and preferences in your own home. But when you're away, especially if you're at a family members house or friend's house, it's nice to have something that you can make and eat in a pinch while the rest of the family is having amazing Deluca's pizza.
So thank you Pillsbury for making it easier for those who love us to try to include us at the table.....and for making life a lot easier when you don't really feel like cooking dinner!
I also purchased two tubs of their pie crust dough. I've already reviewed it once here when I made an apple pie, but I wanted to get creative and try to make a gluten free pasty, a Michigan tradition.
I've also reviewed their cookie dough it you would like to read it, here. Those cookies are really amazing. Even my non-gf friends think so!Labels: product review
