For my first gluten free review, I chose Gluten Free Pantry French Bread and Pizza Mix
. The packaging concept for this product is pretty and easily recognizable. It conveys the idea of an old fashioned bakery on a tree lined street. Good deal. Read on to see how it did on each point of the rating criteria. (For more on the rating criteria, scroll to the bottom.)Ease of Use
Upon opening the the box, I found a cellophane package of white powder and a packet of yeast. (In one box there was also an extra recipe card) I was touched that they included the yeast for me. I read through the directions and noticed that I needed six other ingredients and a mixer to make this happen. I gathered my materials and got started.
I tried both the french bread and pizza crust instructions (with different packages) and got very different results.
For the bread, I opted for the oven method (because I have no idea what my bread machine manufacturer's instructions for gluten free baking are). I got everything mixed, let it rise, brushed it with beaten egg and was ready to go.
The pizza crust was something completely different. After it was mixed, the dough was of such a strange and sticky consistency that I couldn't come close to spreading it in the pan. It stuck to my utensils, my fingers, everything except the greased pan. In the end, I only managed to get it into a rough impression of a circle with various depths.
Appearance
After both the pizza and the bread were baked it was hard to believe they had both started with the same product. The bread was a beautiful golden brown color with a crusty rounded top. The pizza (sigh) was less appetizing to look at. It was misshapen and unevenly cooked with a pale (almost) ring of crust. Of course we ate it anyway!
Taste and Texture
Both the bread and the pizza crust had a dry and crumbly texture, fairly typical of gluten free products. But I was surprised at how bland the flavor was, especially considering how many ingredients I had to add.
The bread was great for sandwiches with strong flavors, though I recommend you use a fork. The pizza crust (double sigh) was undercooked in spots and did not hold up the toppings at all. Definitely not a grab and go food.
Versatility
Since my initial use of this product I have tried many other things with it. I have found it to be very versatile as a bread and roll base. The bland flavor makes it perfect to add herbs, garlic, cinnamon and sugar, spices or anything else that strikes your fancy. This mix will take on the flavor of anything you add and create a lot of different gluten free products.
Overall Value
Online, Gluten Free Pantry French Bread and Pizza Mix retails for $5.99 per box plus shipping and handling. It yields one large loaf of bread or about a dozen rolls. Price wise, I'd say that it is very comparable to other products of it's kind.
Rating
I would recommend this product as a gluten free bread mix due to it's extreme versatility and overall characteristics.
I would not recommend this product as a pizza crust due to the fact that the texture of the dough makes it near impossible to work with.
So glad to find a gluten free review page, so I thought I'd share my experience tonight. I tried it for the first time after reading your blog.
ReplyDeleteFrom the options from which to combine, I chose the lukewarm milk, tbsp of sugar, used canola oil instead of the vegi oil/butter option & since my daughter also has an egg allergy, we used the ENER-G egg replacer.
I added a handful of mozzarella cheese to the dough to try & help it hold together. ( that was something that I found from a different failed pizza crust receipe. Also added 2 tbsp of italian seasoning to it as well. (double check your ingredients...our personal allergy includes grains, not necessary gluten, but the gluten free lines works for this.)
Also, the help even it out in a pie pan, I put my hand inside a plastic bag & then pressed the dough. It didn't stick this way.
We did have to cook it longer than the box says. It was still very dough-like on the inside. We will try it again, but I think next time we will try & use a cookie sheet & spread the dough very thin- more for a crisp pizza. This turned out too much like a deep dish for our preference & it soaked up the pizza sauce.
Trial & error I guess, but we will try again. It's better than the 3 others we've tried thus far.
Hope this comment helps you if you try it again, or gives the next reader a few more ideas to be successful.
JCK
Fantastic ideas! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI am glad that I am not the only one with a bad experience with the pizza crust. I followed the directions to the "T", noticing that when I mixed the dry and liquid ingredients, that there was a lot of liquid when compared to the amount of flour mix. When I tried to form the pizza mix after it rose, it was too sticky to do anything with. I will see if I mix it with some of other GF flour if the consistency will improve.
ReplyDeleteLet me know how it goes :)
ReplyDeleteI am so glad to have found you! I just bought the pizza dough and was curious if there were any online reviews.
ReplyDeleteJulie, thanks for your tips, too!!
Just started the gluten free journey, but it seems to be going well!
Thanks for posting this, and welcome! I'm glad to hear that your journey is going well. Here's to much more success in the future :)
ReplyDeleteThats because all of you are making the pizza wrong!!!!! My husband figured out that since the dough is so sticky, you have to wet your hands completely and smooth dough into a pizza shape. Keep wetting your hands to achieve this and grease the pan well. We also brush on a light butter sauce and our pizza is perfect. PERFECT.
ReplyDeleteLOL, I am so glad to hear your enthusiastic response! Thanks for schooling us all in the fine art of sticky pizza prep :)
ReplyDeleteThis product has the right consistency for a pizza base once cooked. It's just the mixture is like superglue when you're trying to work it.
ReplyDeleteA simple rinse under the tap doesn't remove any of the mixture.
One tip I would offer up is get your pizza pan out of the cupboard before you put any fingers into the mix. Having said that it might be better to put no fingers into it in the first place.
Thanks for all of the comments and advice here, because I made the pizza dough for the first time tonight and went, "Wha...?" when I saw the sticky dough in front of me and wondered if I was supposed to let it rise like the bread instructions. So I split the dough in half, used a lot of water on my hands to press it in the pan, brushed it with olive oil (like I usually do on homemade crusts), cooked it for 8 minutes, then topped it with sauce, veggies, and cheese. It turned out great! I might bake it a couple of minutes longer next time before topping, but everyone in my house was happy with the finished product tonight.
ReplyDeleteMy husband has celiac and he has been gluten free for the past 4 years...I found the art to making this pizza great is using extra oil on the pan and your hands when spreading the dough then cooking it longer than it says to to brown the edges and bottom of crust. . It is our favorite boxed Gf pizza mix! However we have just recently discovered that every time he eats this he gets very sick- just as if he had eaten flour. His brother and dad also have celiac and they have had the same experience. Just wondering if anyone else has had this same problem? Other Gf pizza mixes seem to settle ok, so we are trying to figure out if it truly is 100% Gf or if it's something else that bothers him about it
ReplyDelete@Anon - they may be allergic to yeast or guar gum
ReplyDeleteI just stumbled across this article. I got the recipe to work (first try!) - a couple of additions to the other tips. I used a square cookie sheet to make this - about 13 x 9". Makes it way easier to spread the dough. I also used a plastic spatula to spread it evenly. Take some time to do spread it so it's even, and occasionally dip the spatula in water. I added spices ahead of time. And most importantly - the directions say to bake at 375 for 15 minutes. I did that, and then put the broiler on high for another 4 minutes. It came out perfect.
ReplyDeleteI’ve read some good stuff here. Definitely worth bookmarking for revisiting. I surprise how much effort you put to create such a great informative website. Bread Maker Cyber Monday Deals
ReplyDeleteI high appreciate this post. It’s hard to find the good from the bad sometimes, but I think you’ve nailed it! would you mind updating your blog with more information? motion sensor kitchen faucet
ReplyDelete