26Aug

Review: Gluten-free Pizza Crust

Pizza made with Kinnikinnick Frozen Gluten-free Pizza Crust

Pizza made with Kinnikinnick Frozen Gluten-free Pizza Crust

Bread has always been my downfall.  Pizza crust is even worse.  When I was a kid, I loved all things bread and would snack on a piece of bread and butter.

One of my favorite restaurants was Beau Jo’s pizza, a local and awesome pizzeria that specializes in thick pizza crust and is famous for bringing you honey bears to enjoy with your pizza crust.  It’s kind of like eating a sopapilla with honey as dessert, only thicker and yummier.  This pizza place started in Idaho Springs, Colorado, and has now expanded to several different locations spread out over the Colorado landscape.  If you live in Colorado and love thick crust, this place is for you!

Gluten-free Pizza Crust at Beau Jo’s and Uno’s

News Flash! I just visited Beau Jo’s website and they are now offering not only gluten-free pizza crust but also dairy-free cheese!  I no longer live in Colorado but when I visit, I will be sure to try this. If you live in Colorado and have tried this crust, please leave a comment and let us know how it is!

I recently tried the gluten-free pizza crust at Uno’s and was not that impressed.  Mostly because I don’t like thin crust and that is all that they offer in gluten-free.  I also can’t have cheese so it ended up being a pretty boring pizza to me.

From no pizza to yummy gluten-free pizza crust:

For a long time I just gave up pizza, sadly, believing that it just wasn’t possible.  When friends or family ordered it in my presence, I felt myself shrink and repeat the mantra, “I can’t eat wheat.”

For whatever reason this changed when I decided there must be a way I can enjoy pizza again.

I first tried Bette Hagman’s gluten-free pizza crust recipe in her book, The Gluten Free Gourmet Cooks Comfort Foods.  I actually didn’t follow the recipe and ended up kneading it like regular dough.  What turned out was an amazing crust that I turned into a calzone, and was thick and doughy like regular crust.  I was impressed and sold on the idea that gluten-free pizza crust was not only possible, but delicious too.  My husband even loved it.  I will be doing a separate post about this recipe very soon.

Quick and Easy Gluten-free Pizza Crust?

But what about the days you don’t have a couple hours to spend making gluten-free pizza crust?  What about the days you get home at 5 and have to have dinner done by 5:30 so that you can feed your hungry kids?

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18Aug

Why soaking flours can help you digest your baked goods

apple muffins

Did you you know that it used to be common practice to soak flour in cultured milk, buttermilk or cream to make baked goods such as pancakes, muffins and cakes?  For people who are allergic to dairy products, water with a little lemon juice or vinegar can be used.

Why soak the flour?

As many people know, wheat and other grains are one of the hardest things to digest.  This accounts for many of the sensitivities to wheat and grain products that people have today.  However, if the grains and flours are first soaked for 12-24 hours, this begins the “digestion process” well before it hits your stomach.

“Because they are acidic, buttermilk,cultured milk, yogurt and whey (as well as lemon juice and vinegar) activate the enzyme phytase, which works to break down phytic acid in the bran of grains.  Sour milk products also provide lactic acid and lactobacilli that help break down complex starches, irritating tannins and difficult-to-digest proteins.  Soaking increases vitamin content and makes all the nutrients in grains more available…”  Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon, pg. 476.

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