Could someone out there educate me on gluten free pizza? Isn’t there a proper way to handle it if you want to offer a truly gluten free pie? Also ideas of brands of gluten free crust would be great.Thanks.
http://www.stillridingpizza.com/ If u r in US order the sample, taste it, enjoy. You will need a separate pan to cook it, separate cooking tools from wheat flour kitchen tools.
to offer a truly gluten-free (gf) pizza you need to build an entirely new kitchen with its own hvac to insure no flower will get on the gf products. i know of one restaurant in chicago that has 2 kitchens and one is gf…the owners child has celiacs disease. my restaurant does offer gf pizza and pasta and it sells. however we also put a disclaimer that the product while gf was made in a kitchen that has gluten products. we buy a premade crust (it’s not so good, but the people like it) and build the pizza on dedicated pizza pans and bake on that dedicated pan.
i did look into making the crust myself but after some research it wasn’t worth it.
i think this whole gf thing is gonna blow over just like the whole wheat thing did a few years ago.
Can the gf crust be frozen?
I agree it is probably a fad but we have one “alternative style school” who are a pretty large account that said they are going with another shop in town who offer gf crust.
yeah, we buy it frozen and keep 2 skins defrosted in the cooler at a time.
im not sure what distributers you use but im sure gfs or sysco has them. ask your reps.
I have tried 3 different suppliers of gluten free.
The hands down winner that tastes good, according to my customers, is the one made by Venice Bakery.
They make 10" and 12" sizes. It is available through most food distributors.
Call them in California and they will sample you a couple.
Okay…now I know why I haven’t been on the boards in 3 years…this thread is hilarious.
WE have been not only selling gluten-free, but our son was only 7 1/2 when he invented the ALLERGEN-FREE PIZZA CRUST that we use in our store here in Pittsburgh, PA. Not only did he invent allergen-free pizza, but he just invented the allergen-free hoagie/sub roll. Furthermore, he is now 12 and has his own line of dry mixes for desserts…which are also all allergen-free.
I will assume that food allergies are a FAD also? Let me educate you on what someone may think is a fad…something that some of the esteemed contributors said to me 4 years ago, who are now writing stories about how GF is something we should be selling…but before it was too cost prohibitive…a waste of money…not enough people out there to eat it…A FAD. Come on…this isn’t freaking low carbs.
Here are some RECENT FACTS:
[LIST]
[*]Celiac disease is an autoimmune digestive disease that damages the villi of the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food.
[]An estimated 1 in 133 Americans, or about 1% of the population, has celiac disease.
[LIST]
[]It is estimated that 83% of Americans who have celiac disease are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed with other conditions.
[/LIST]
[/LIST]
So let’s see now…let me explain the basics for why this and food allergies exist. Did you know that there is NO public domain soy bean? I bet you didn’t…right? That means that someone, or some company, owns the rights to all soybeans. That company is Monsanto and if they catch a farmer growing soybeans with his generations old self propagated bean, they WILL put him out of business since they own the soybean.
How do they own the soybean…genetic modification.
Why do they modify a soybean…or anything for that matter, but let’s look at wheat for now. They do it because they need that grain to grow faster AND bigger.
Why? Because the world is growing faster…and bigger…and needs to eat more and more each year. So, the only way for that to happen is for a company like Monsanto to genetically modify a grain to do so.
What and How? Chemicals are the most simplest explanation. Or just science in general.
How does that affect us? For many…it doesn’t affect us at all. For some…like my son…he cannot eat wheat or he can go into shock and possible die from a closed airway. For those who are Celiac, or have gluten-sensitivity, they get migraines, stomach pain, the runs, and many more side affects.
Now let’s take it one step further. If we make chicken for our son and we buy it from the local general grocery store…he gets sick. If we buy chicken from Whole Foods, he’s fine.
Why? The chicken from WF wasn’t fed soy…which…is…from…a…genetically modified bean.
Okay…here’s some more…IF THIS IS A FAD…then I will assume that food allergies or gluten-issues are NOT real? Asia and Eastern Europe OUTLAWED genetically modified foods, or the use of products/ingredients that are GM’d. Guess what? You do not have nearly as many of those problems as we do in the U.S…
Now let’s get on the “waste of money”. 4 years ago I was told the same thing and YES the ingredients to make a GF or AF pizza are expensive, but I buy in bulk by the pallet. Then, I bought flours by the bag and yes it was costly, but we worked our ass off to make this a great product. We aren’t some bread company that whipped together a few ingredients and boom let’s sell pizza crusts since we are going to ride this FAD to the end. Again, ours was invented by our son out of need since he cannot consume, or even touch wheat.
This is NEVER going away…NEVER. Before calling it a fad, one should look up the stats on the growth pattern of those diagnosed with gluten issues, or food allergies over the last 10 years. Also, compare that to the growth of GMO products over the same course of time.
Food allergies were around in the 70’s when I was a kid, but your were just told that you had a sensitive stomach.
Let’s move on to other problematic links to just gluten: (I am NOT a doctor, though I am educated)
- Autism
- ADHD
- Arthritis
- Migraines
- Crohns Disease
- Lyme Disease
I PERSONALLY KNOW PEOPLE WITH KIDS WHO HAVE SEVERE AUTISM AND HAVE PLACED THEIR KIDS ON GLUTEN-FREE DIETS AND THE KIDS ARE NOW MORE ACTIVE AND VERBAL.
YES…there are people out there eating GF because they think it’s trendy.
YES…there are people out there that are eating GF because they think it’s healthier.
NO…it’s neither trendy or healthy. While you are eating less GM foods, GF products are bulkier and sometimes loaded with more sugar because manufacturers add sugar to compensate for the poor taste, or shall I say poor product development. If your body doesn’t need gluten-free, it will not easily process gluten-free foods.
You can see that I am very passionate about this subject and it’s ONLY when I see responses such as those I just read…it really chaps my ass to see such blanketed answers 4 years later.
By the way, I REFUSE to sell my gf products to people eating it as a fad. They hate me at first, and then I explain how it’s not healthy for them and they listen and come back again and again.
NO…I do not sell my products to other pizzerias so this is not a sales pitch. I don’t do it since I am too busy selling the fad to my current customers and never put much time into selling it outside of our walls. However, we do sell his crusts through the local whole foods (they won’t even sell anyone elses crusts since our outsell them 5 to 1.
Now let me address the products listed here? No Names!
One of them is horribly nasty in taste…but they will make signs for your store. We had a local restaurant buying all of our crusts from a local retailer and using them without permission at a restaurant 5 miles up the same road. They were caught…they started using one of the above listed crusts…their sale of GF pizza sunk to about nothing.
The other one listed here is used at a large west coast restaurant chain…not a pizza chain…I had a restaurant in Southern California (traveling from Pittsburgh to CA every week became too much). The first place I ate served their products…it was like mazza cracker with sauce and cheese. Gritty and just plain horrible.
Now let’s touch on the whole "You gotta have a whole separate kitchen)…NOT TRUE. You just have to have great training in place…great employees…and a plan. Don’t believe me? I only sell our product at ONE pizzeria since we cannot keep up with the demand. BUT…the kitchen is far undersized AND THERE’S FLOUR IN THE AIR EVERYWHERE.
So, since I am sure the last question is like Shark Tank, you are probably saying bullcrap…bullcrap…you can’t sell many at all. Let me tell you this, we sell in excess of 300 allergen-free pizzas per week…100 allergen-free hot hoagies per week…and we are opening a larger restaurant platform in 30-days because of the success of our sons allergen-free pizza.
The average pizzeria doesn’t sell anything near that amount of gluten-free only product.
We are safe.
We care about our customers with the afflictions.
We have a small kitchen…and only one kitchen.
We sell a buttload of the product that we invented ourselves.
We help put on the largest gluten-free expo in our town.
We are greatly respected by ALL the gluten-free groups in PA.
We have people that come from 3 and 4 States away with their children to see our science center, all the while knowing the we are the only place safe to eat.
NO…I am not tooting my horn, or patting myself on the back. Those customers who I serve this product to know me very well and when they start to cry and thank us for what we do for them…I tell the stories about how people in my own industry, who DO NOT UNDERSTAND the illness and think that it’s a fad IS THE REASON WHY MY SON DID WHAT HE DID…AND STILL DOES.
Ask him why and he will say…Just to make people feel normal, and to smile again.
SO…READ…RESEARCH…AND THEN FORM AN EDUCATED OPINION BEFORE SCARING PEOPLE OFF WHO MAY WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO THOSE WHO HAVE NO OPTIONS FOR PIZZA.
it’s so far from a fad, it’s becoming an epidemic and I am now going to try making that Paleo pizza mentioned on a different post. Yes to some that’s a fad, BUT it contains NO GRAINS SINCE THEY DO NOT EAT GENETICALLY MODIFIED PRODUCTS.
GF/AF is about 35% of my business…we have to turn people away on some Fridays and they keep coming back because they know “we understand” and “we have a fantastic product.”
eatmorepizzanc…do it on your own. Do it for the right reasons. Listen to those who actually live the problem…our son.
Try telling my son IT’S A FAD…when he cannot eat regular bread.
Try telling me IT’S A FAD…when I have to shove an epi pen in his thigh because he’s going into shock. I’m a combat vet and I have seen a lot…but nothing compares to seeing your son losing the ability to breathe OVER A FAD.
Celiac Disease / Gluten-Sensitivity / Food Allergies are ALL AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES.
Good Luck.
Nice rant! One out of every 133 people is .75%, which is 25% off of 1%. And the “fad” comments are based on the fact that the percentage of people who think they need gluten-free is MUCH higher than .75%. Those people are a “fad”, and will go away. Obviously, people like your son, who ARE part of the .75%, are not part of a fad and will not “go away”.
And I know my facts since I live it…not just read it and assume it like others. 99% of my customers are not fad followers…I leave 1% as the fad variable since I cannot police all that come in, but we have over 400 repeat customers who are gluten-free; of which 87% are repeat monthly customers; and the remainder are fad tryers and those we serve every few months that live out of state.
And if it’s an autoimmune disease, hereditary at that, largely brought on by GM Foods, then it’s only going to get worse. YES…there will always be those low-carb type of followers, but that percentage is so small in comparison, it’s not even worth arguing about. The fact is that the HUGE increase in child diagnosis only proves that this market segment is getting larger, as well as for us to go from selling an average of 50 per week 4 years ago, to 300 per week, is proof enough here that the market is growing. I know each and every one of our GF customers, and they are legitimately helped by eating gluten-free…not by eating our products alone…but whether diagnosed or not they do the diet and it works. Maybe it’s psychosomatic, but I believe in what I see and there aren’t many in our business so heavily involved in this GF/AF community.
Again, as I said 4 years ago they must all live in Pittsburgh, PA since we are the only ones doing so well…right?
That’s an impressive reaction considering bodega hasn’t commented with his opinion on GF.
my .02 (not sure why pizzanow refers to me in the post above though)
I would not begrudge any business that manages to carve out a niche and succeed with it. I also recognize that we are asked for GF with some regularity and there are several restaurants in town town that offer GF options. Some of those menu items are laughable putting the tag of GF on items that never had any gluten to begin with but it is like the Atkins thing a decade ago where menus would call out the items that were “Atkins”.
We got a bunch of samples of GF crusts a few years ago and I would have to agree that the Venice Bakery product was by far the best we found. Since we would only have to stock the shells and we found that we could actually make the pizza on the frozen shell and go straight to the oven there was really very little downside or added complexity and at the time no-one was doing it in our market.
We had two problems with it: 1. I felt that as a delivery business I wanted to do just one size and that would be 14". GF is more expensive and I thought the up-charge would be better accepted on the larger size (and I really do not do much single serving business of any kind) We do not offer 10" pizza. I felt that a family or group that had someone that wanted a GF pizza would just order one pizza rather than one pizza for the group plus another small one for the individual that wanted it. 2. (the killer) even though Venice offered a 14" nobody stocked it in our region. I went so far as to print the menus with GF and then found out that we could not actually get the product!
I do not have any issue with the fact that the GF business is mainly fad driven. I think there are probably 10 people buying GF for every one that actually “needs” it. As posted elsewhere only about 3/4 of 1% of people actually “need” the product. Those people would probably not be able to eat our pizza anyway as we were not planning to offer a fully G-FREE product since you can not get away from flour in a pizza restaurant and I did not (and still don’t) believe that I could be 100% certain that all GF pies would be cooked on dedicated pans or that the cook making the pie would not have flour on his hands from the last pie he made. You might say the fad business was what we were thinking of going after!
My point in another thread (on Paleo pizza) was that that is also a fad diet (with an even smaller following) and that rather than spending the $$ stocking those items and promoting to that narrow demographic that I felt investing in additional marketing in general to sell more of our core product would probably pay off better. Since we have a budget with limitations on what we can spend (perhaps others don’t?) I would not choose the direction of marketing to small niches. There are FAR more people who suffer from some degree of lactose intolerance than from gluten. That would make more sense to me as a market to go after!
You can not be “all things”. My point was that I think these are very small opportunities in most markets (certainly in mine) and that there are better ways to go for most of us. No offense meant to anyone that has managed to carve out a niche as I said. I am not in a city with millions of people willing to drive to find that special niche. I live in a city with 12000 residents which means there are probably 90 customers that “need” GF product and there are already several restaurants providing it. Even in a larger city if your market is your delivery area you are limited in the number of potential customers you can reach. It becomes very expensive to market to a larger audience and most of us do not have the revenue to rationalize that approach.
My comments were never about the right or wrong of choosing to offer these products or whether the people that think they need them really do and certainly not on the merits of GMOs, Organic food stuff, or any of the other trends out there. Our discussions here on the TT tend toward what makes things work in our businesses. I still think that Paleo and GF are niche opportunities that are not right for me or for many other businesses like mine but that does not take anything away from people who have made it work for them! Congrats on selling 300 per week. By my math for what I would have to charge, that means you do nearly as much business with GF as I do in total.
I don’t normally respond to rants, but I must ask “Lyme Disease” , really ? I always thought Lyme Disease was a bacterial infection (Borrelia Burgdofen) that was primarily transmitted through the bite of a deer tick.
Just goes to show ya what I know.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor
Tom, you are correct about Lyme’s. I had it in 1991.