Product Review: Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza Crust Mix- dairy free/ eggless option/ whole grains
I got an email from Laura, a blog reader that was curious about the new Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza Crust Mix. I was happy to try it out for her, to see if it is worth the time and money to make it. I am always up for a good pizza!
I purchased the 16 ounce pizza mix from my local grocery store for $4.39. It makes two medium 12 inch pizzas or one really large pizza. I actually made a rectangular pizza on a cookie sheet using the whole mix. Start to finish the pizza took 40 minutes to prepare and all you have to add is water, two eggs, olive oil and your own toppings.
The dough was fairly easy to mix and spread in the pan, as long as I kept my fingers oiled to prevent sticking. At times it was a bit challenging to get the dough to an even thickness, but that is not a unique problem for me when I make gluten free pizza. I prebaked the crust for 8 minutes, added my toppings, and baked another 18 minutes.
The flavor of this crust is very mild and doesn’t compete with any toppings. In fact, the flavor is so mild it didn’t taste like much of anything. The crust baked evenly and was not soggy under the toppings, even with my hearty helping of tomato basil sauce. I did not detect any aftertaste either.
Despite the fact I tried to make the crust fairy thin, it fluffed right up when I baked it in the oven. As a result, the crust was spongy and thick, almost like a piece of gluten free bread - a piece of gluten free bread that tasted like gluten free bread. Not so great. I expected a better result based on the fact that this mix utilizes both millet and sorghum flours- usually a big bonus in my book. This is a very soft crust with almost no crispness and crunch to it. I think next time I will try to make the crust even thinner and add more olive oil to the crust to help give it more of a crunch
Overall, I think this crust if just “OK.” It wasn’t horrible/inedible, but I didn’t finish my meal thinking ” Wow- this is great!”
*This gluten free pizza crust mix has an eggless option by substituting 2 tbsp. flaxseed meal and 6 tbsp. water for the eggs.
Rating: 3 stars
Pros: fairly easy to make, enough dough for two pizzas, no sogginess, 4 g. of fiber, 3 g, of protein
Cons: bland flavor- you may need to add additional seasoning; very soft crust
Want to try it for yourself? Click the link below:
Ingredients: whole grain brown rice flour, potato starch, whole grain millet flour, whole grain sorghum flour, tapioca flour, potato flour, evaporated cane juice, xanthan gum, active dry yeast, sea salt, guar gum
October 5th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
I really did not like this pizza crust. It reminded me of cardboard. Maybe I did something wrong when mixing it. The dough was very spongey and bland when cooked. Don’t mean to be negative - I really appreciate your hard work and site.
October 5th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
No jenny, you aren’t being negative- just factual. It IS bland and spongey! I gave it 3 stars because compared to some of the crusts I have tried, this one was “middle of the road.” Not good, but not as bad as some I have tried.
October 6th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
Hey Karen,
Thanks so much for your review. I really appreciate how much detail you give in how easy/difficult it is to prepare, texture, taste, etc. I guess I’ll pass this one up - I don’t like spongy crusts, either. For me BRM is pretty hit-and-miss. I am SO glad they have the gluten free oats, though. Be well - and thanks for also reviewing Joan’s Great Bakes. I had been wondering about the muffins and bagels!
October 31st, 2008 at 5:11 pm
Thanks for your review. I had tried Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-free Pizza Crust Mix prior to reading your review, and I wish I would’ve seen this 1st! I agree with you about the taste/texture. In fact, I had such a hard time working with the dough, I put in the exact measurements it called for, but it was still so wet and sticky I had to add a lot more gluten-free flour to it before I could even think of spreading it out. I found it very doughy, and not very tasty. This was my 1st attempt at a GF pizza crust, and it didn’t turn out well!