Gluten-Free Pizza Prep for Friend's Dinner: Questions Answered

[Intrepid_Chef]

I have a show next week. In honor of one of her friends who has celliac, and in an effort to give her something she can serve should she invite her over to dinner, I promised Gluten Free Pizza.

I found out that Zeppe's, a chain in our region, will sell me a Gluten Free pizza shell for $3.

What I am wondering is if there are any restrictions as far as sauce, cheese and toppings for those with gluten restrictions. I noticed a lot of sauces have soy. Is that gluten? Do I need to get special cheese, or is that my friend's restrictions on nitrates talking? Do I need to worry about stuff added to pepperoni, sausage, etc?

 

[ChefPeg]

Gluten is found in wheat. Wheat is often added to soy sauce. Check labels for "gluten free" and read ingredients. At the end of the ingredients list, there should be a "contains:" line which would list wheat if it's been added. Cheese doesn't have gluten. You shouldn't have to worry about pepperoni, sausage, etc. but check those labels anyway.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Shredded cheese almost always contains some gluten (in the stuff they put on it to keep it separated in the bag) and sometimes cured meats also contain gluten in some form. Buy block cheese and grate it at the show, and buy a brand of pepperoni, etc...that says it doesn't contain gluten - or use bulk Italian sausage. (Applegate Farms brand don't contain gluten, and neither do Hormel Naturals)

 

[Intrepid_Chef]

Oh Becky, I was hoping you would answer this! I haven't seen Applegate but I'm not much of a label checker most of the time. I have seen Hormel Naturals, I think! I looked on labels of pizza sauce and didn't see a mention of gluten but did check for soy. I'm thinking of stopping by an Amish market.Silly question ... are veggies an issue? Because Zeppes doesn't put veggies on GF pizza because of cross contamination. Wonder why the meat toppings and cheese aren't an issue? And I was thinking of doing a salad so I could show off the salad spinner and new products (cooling thing, lid, etc.)

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Probably they don't put veggies on pizza because they are fresh, and chopped/sliced/diced in the same area the regular crust is made, which means there could be some cross-contamination. That would be my guess, anyway.

Veggies are completely safe on their own. You should be able to use any veggie on the pizza.
Soy is not safe in the form of soy sauce...because traditional soy sauce is made with wheat. You can use soy sauce IF you buy Tamari Sauce, which is a wheat-free soy sauce. But, not sure that you would need that for pizza. Unless of course, you are dealing with a soy allergy too? My son can't have gluten, corn, soy, or food colorings ...so I'm well-versed on reading labels and knowing what is okay and what's not. It's a full time job!

 

[Lisa/ChefBear]

Make sure you don't use a stone that you've had regular pizza on, from what I've been told that's bad, as the "gluten" binds to the stone? I'm not sure, but I know my Gluten free customers buy there own stones for their own use, so use a new one or use metal, as that doesn't allow the binding from what I've been told. Or call your hostess to be sure.

HTH,

Lisa

 

[LoriLions]

When is the show? My uncle is very sensitive so we always go to the extreme with gluten free recipes. You cannot use your stone as someone mentioned if they are extremely sensitive. Perhaps the BBQ Pizza rack would be better.

Recently, we made shredded BBQ in a crockpot, it's a great recipe but had to use a different BBQ sauce since many include gluten--that was surprising to me. I couldn't use the $1/bottle that I primarily use; I paid $4/bottle but everyone loved it.

Are you flexible with the recipes? Only PC or just a gluten free recipe?

 

[ChefPeg]

Be sure to check out Gluten-Free Recipes | Gluten-Free Goddess for ideas and education.

 

[Intrepid_Chef]

I'm not using the stone. It's a grilled pizza. I also plan to put foil under it as an added safety step, since we don't know what may have been on her grill before.

 

[Intrepid_Chef]

This thread says most of them are fine but walmarts great value brand says it on the label!

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