Nasty-I Mean Namaste-Gluten-Free Pizza Crust-Fail

Namaste Gluten-Free Pizza Crust

I purchased this in the gluten-free section at our local grocery store.  I had originally grabbed a box of King Arthur GF bread and pizza mix, but that mix was only going to make one pizza, and the Namaste brand said it made two 14" pizza crusts, and for less money.  Score!  I tossed that one into the cart and left King Arthur on the shelf in its place.  Well, I wish I'd opted for the King Arthur brand, because this was not good.  Not good at all.  Strike one.

I got the mix out of the pantry for dinner.  I also had a bag of Pamela's pizza crust in my pantry, but I was starting dinner late, and Pamela's required a few hours of rise time, whereas the Namaste was mix and bake, with no rise time.  Great!  Strike two.

I read the instructions on the bag.  Mix 1 1/2 C water and 1 tsp of oil into the mix with an electric mixer for three minutes.  I wondered about the mix when the instructions said, "mix will look like cake batter".  Cake batter pizza crust??  Strike three.  I should have stopped here.  I kept going anyway.  I was hungry.

The instructions said to spread the mix onto a greased pan, making sure that the batter was at least 14" wide and no thicker than 1/4".  So I did that.  Then, bake it at 450 degrees for 20 minutes on the lowest rack in the oven.  So I did that.  While it was baking, I began working on getting the toppings together, and then I looked into the oven to see what was happening with the crust.

It was starting to bubble up in various places.  Not just small dough bubbles--there was a huuuge bubble on one corner.  How do you put toppings on a huge bubble?

View through the oven door.  Super bubbles!

When baking time was over, I pulled it out of the oven.  It was a sickly pale, with no browning whatsoever.  The instructions said that to achieve a crispier crust, flip it over on the pan before adding toppings.  With a bit of muscle, I was able to flip it over, but it stuck to the pan and made a big hole on one side of the crust.  Oh well...added the toppings anyway.  Then I stuck it back in the oven.

Pizza crust as it looked right out of the oven

Pizza crust after flipping

After another 15 minutes to let the toppings heat up and cheese melt, it was time to eat.  It didn't look bad, and smelled okay, but it tasted pretty bad.  It was gummy in the middle, but the edges were super-crispy, like a cracker.  It was bland, despite the fact that there were Italian spices in the mix.  We ate some out of duty, and then couldn't handle it anymore.  My husband even threw a Stouffer's French bread pizza in the oven, since he was still hungry.  I wasn't really hungry after I threw mine away.  Pizza night was a sad affair with this mix.  My score: 0.5 out of 5 stars.  Half a star because it was easy prep, but that's the only good point I can come up with.  You get what you pay for, I guess!

Gluten-Free Pizza

Pizza--One thing I will miss so much with having to ditch gluten is going to be the delicious, chewy-crusted pizzas from our favorite pizzeria here in town.  I'm on a quest to find a recipe for a pizza crust that will be close in taste and texture to what I can't have.  While I know that it will never be exactly the same, I'd love to find something that I can enjoy.  If you have any recipes that you would like to share, please feel free to leave a comment at the end of this post!


Gluten-Free Pizza!
Ingredients:
1 Pizza Crust Recipe (click on the link--this one is from Taste of Home)
1 jar (16 oz.) Meijer Organics pizza sauce (or homemade sauce, but I don't have a recipe for that)
2 C part-skim Mozzarella shredded cheese
Olive oil of your choice, for brushing on the pizza pan and pizza crust (I use special Great Lakes Olive Oil, Organic Garlic--so good!)
Italian or Pizza Seasonings
2 TBSP Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.  Prepare the crust according to the directions.  Note: I added extra seasoning to my crust, and would add garlic powder next time I make it.

Spray or oil a large pizza pan or baking sheet.  Spread a small amount of rice flour onto the pan, then pat the crust out to the size and shape you want.  Fold over the edges to create a ridge along the edge of the crust.  Cover with towel and let rest for 10 minutes, then pop it in the oven for another ten minutes.

Remove the crust from the oven.  Brush about a tablespoon of olive oil over the crust and edges, then sprinkle with about a tablespoon of Parmesan cheese.  Spread your sauce evenly over the crust, then your cheese (and other toppings, if you have them--we didn't).  Sprinkle remaining Parmesan cheese over top of the cheese, and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese is golden brown and crust is brown.  Serve hot, and refrigerate leftovers.

Rating: Hubby liked it paired with the pizza toppings, but not by itself.  I would kind of agree with him, although I didn't mind eating the crust--maybe I was just thinking, 'it's better than nothing'.  It was a decent crust for having no wheat flour.  It's more crunchy than chewy, and sadly, I like chewy.  I would give it a 3 out of 5 right now, since I haven't tried any other crusts yet :).