Without getting into the debate of should we be having Gluten in our diet or not? Is that guest suffering symptoms of Coeliac’s Disease or are they just Gluten Intolerant?
Here at Two Fat Blokes Pizza we choose to work with what the market is asking for without judgement.
On our recent trip to Italy focused on “all things pizza” we attended the International Food Fair in Milano.
We found several stands dedicated to GlutenFreeProducts. It clearly is a global issue.
Michael also attended the Pizza Academy in Florence.
A full day was dedicated to making gluten Free Pizza Bases.
Up until then we had been using commercially sourced bases all of which we found to be OK but not to the standard we wanted, especially when cooked in the wood fired pizza oven. The wood oven heat is a far higher temperature than that of a domestic oven. They were either too thin and cracked or too thick and too ‘bready’ for our liking. Guests still loved them albeit we felt they were simply grateful being catered for with something gluten free.
For most shows now we are asked about the availability of gluten free bases & toppings. The number of Gluten Free pizzas per show has increased significantly over the years to the extent that we now have an upper limit of 10 gluten free bases included in the price and a surcharge of $3.00 per pizza added above this number.
Why the price increase you may ask?
- The labour component is far greater (a minimum of double the time)
- A whole different process than the standard pizza base
- Smaller batch lot due to the increased time they take to make
- Completely hand formed as there is no elasticity
- The base ingredients are more expensive
- Just quietly they are far messier to handle & a really moist mix
This of course is from an Artisan specialised point of view rather than a mass-produced venture.
Flours used in the Gluten Free Base include:
- Corn flour
- Pea flour
- Millet flour
- Linseed flour
- Rice flour
- Guar seed flour
- We always make the disclaimer that although the bases/toppings are 100% gluten free the pizzas are still cooked in the same oven as the other pizzas, hence cross-contamination of gluten flour may occur.
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