Gluten Free Pizza in Polson, MT

The Cove Deli & Pizza in Polson, MT now offers gluten free pizza crust using Gluten Free Mama's pizza mix. I didn't see anything about it on their menu but be sure to give them a try if you find yourself on the Flathead this summer.

The Cove is located at 11 3rd Ave West.

Billings GF News

I have a couple new things for the Billings area including another gluten free pizza option. We'll start there since it involves a common love, pizza!

Strawhat Pizza in Billings offers a gluten free crust. I don't have any details on their practices to avoid cross contamination so be sure to check with them if you try their pizza. They are located at 1005 Shiloh Crossing Blvd and can be reached at 406-652-9800.

If you are in Billings, or can be in Billings, on July 16th Dr. Alessio Fasano will be presenting a talk on Celiac Disease. He is the Director of Celiac Research with the University of Maryland. The talk will be from 11:30-2:00 at the Billings Clinic Hospital in the Mary Alice Fortin Conference Center. I have a birthday party for my girl at that time so I won't be able to make it, wish I could!

More GF Restaurants, Bozeman & Missoula

We have a couple more gluten free restaurants across this fine state.

Buffalo Bump Pizza located at Four Corner's near Bozeman now offers a GF crust and soy cheese for those that can't do dairy. I haven't talked with them about practices to avoid cross contamination but I did sample the pizza at a friend's house the other week and it was really good. They are located at 28901 Norris Rd.

In Missoula The Mustard Seed Asian Cafe now offers a gluten free menu. I have no idea how much it offers or how careful they are with cross contamination but I wanted to share the news. If you have a chance to try them or talk to them please share any information. They are located in the Southgate Mall.

Another Missoula gem is Bernice's Bakery that will do gluten free if you call ahead. I'm not sure what they offer or how much notice you need to give them so again if you have more information please share!

Audrey's Pizza Oven - Bozeman

I am embarrassed it has been so long between posts. My main excuse is a week of a stomach bug and beyond that I've just been busy. I hope to make up for it with a few posts this week, will that make everything better?

We don't go out to eat very often but I was craving pizza and since Audrey's Pizza Oven offers a gluten free crust we had to give it a try. Their crust is a pre-made frozen crust that comes on its own metal tray. They also have a dedicated GF oven giving us happy news on the cross contamination avoidance issue.

The kids and I enjoyed the Church St. pizza, which was veggies and cheese. It was delicious. Both kids had two slices and it's a pizza you can pick up and eat like normal.

Hubby is a meat lover and opted for the Rouse St. pizza. He had to get it cheese free because he can't do the dairy but he still enjoyed his pizza.

They offer Greens and Red Bridge for GF beer so you can enjoy a beer with your pizza, life is good.

Audrey's is located at 401 East Peach Street. Stop in if you have a pizza craving that needs to be met.

More Bozeman Gluten Free Options

Bozeman has more options for gluten free pizza crust and bread. It feels like such a boom and I'm a tad bit excited about it all.

First off is Audrey's Pizza Oven which now offers gluten free crust. It's not listed on the online menu yet but Nicole saw a sign in their window and I gave them a call. The crust comes prepackaged on a metal tray so it doesn't touch any surfaces. They also said they use clean utensils so it should be safe.

Great Harvest Bread Company now makes gluten free bread. I don't know what the availability and variety are like. Please note on their web page they state gluten "free" (that can scare a person a bit) and give the warning "Please note that we are a whole wheat bakery, therefore; this product is not recommended for customers with the serious autoimmune disorder, Celiac Disease, as it may contain trace amounts of whole wheat flour". This could be a legal cover their rear thing but it's something to be cautious about. If you do want to give them a try they make the bread on Tuesdays.

Last we have the Homepage Cafe that offers gluten free bread for their sandwiches.

If you have concerns about cross contamination, etc. please be sure to check with them at the time to see what their practices are. And if you happen to indulge at any of these places let me know how it goes.

More Gluten Free Pizza in Billings

Billings has a new gluten free pizza option and I can't wait to try it. I've heard great things about their non-gluten free pizza and am excited to give them a try.

Sam & Louie's New York Style Pizzeria has a gluten free menu offering salads, specialty and make your own pizzas. They are located at 1595 Grand Avenue in the West Park Plaza Mall and you can contact them at 406-281-8333.

If you've enjoyed their GF pizza please let me know what you think.

Gluten Free Pizza in Butte

I have some exciting news for Butte residents needing a GF pizza fix. My friend took her girls to Silver Bow Pizza Parlor in Butte and discovered they offer GF pizza crust. I don't know how it tastes or how careful they are with cross contamination so if you stop in be sure to give me a report.

Silver Bow Pizza Parlor also has games and a carousel to keep the kids entertained, sorf of like a Chuckee Cheese. It's located at 3500 Harrison Ave in Butte and you can call them at 406-494-2750.

ZPizza Update

We were in Billings this last weekend and picked up some GF pizza from ZPizza. I'm happy to report that no one had cross contamination issues and it was delicious as always. Yeah! Hubby commented that he forgot how good the pizza was and said it would be nice if they were in Bozeman. I just heard today that they are hoping to open a location in Bozeman next. Fantastic!

Their downtown Billings location is opening later this month at 116 North Broadway. It's refreshing to know that they take GF needs seriously and I highly recommend them for a GF pizza fix.

Udi's Gluten Free Pizza Crust

I've been trying the different frozen pizza crusts that are available in our area and there are quite a few. Kinnikinnick, Glutino, Rustic Crust (at Lee & Dad's), Udi's (at Oat St and Lee & Dad's), and some others I can't remember. I haven't hated any of them and most of them are thin and easy to get crispy. They taste fine and are nice to have on hand for a quick pizza for dinner.

I'm only going to talk about my favorite one so far and that's Udi's Pizza Crust. I think it's the thinnest crust and crisped up nicely. I baked it on the bottom rack of the oven and we all loved it. I had to force myself to stop eating it. I'll be keeping these on hand for nights I want pizza but don't have the motivation or time to make the crust from scratch, like tonight. Yum! I also love that they have a homemade look to them, they are not perfectly round but have some character.

Gluten Free Pizza in Great Falls

I received an e-mail with information on gluten free pizza in Great Falls, thanks Sue! Boston's The Gourmet Pizza has gluten free crusts available. They only come in small but the report is that they are thin and taste like real pizza. Score one for Great Falls!

Boston's The Gourmet Pizza is located at 1101 7th St South and you can contact them at 406-761-2788. Their menu is available online if you want to check it out.

Colombo's Gluten Free Pizza Crust

I about fell over with excitement when I walked into Colombo’s for lunch yesterday, thank you so much Kelly for calling me for an impromptu lunch! We were standing in line to order and I always get the salad bar but still look at the pizza options when I noticed a lovely sign that has changed my world. It simply states Colombo’s now offers gluten free crust and soy cheese. My wish has come true! I was so excited I didn’t think to ask about cross contamination but I did let Joe know that I was so happy to see GF pizza crust in town. I promptly texted DH and he texted back saying I should pick some pizza up on my way home. Woot for not having to cook and for getting pizza!

I called in my order and talked with the cook to ask about cross contamination. He said the pizzas come on their own aluminum tray so they never touch the same surface the regular crusts touch including the brick oven. I then asked if they had a dedicated pizza cutter for the GF crust and he said he didn’t even think about that but to just state at the time of the order that a clean pizza cutter will need to be used for the GF crust. So I ordered two pizzas and asked that he use a clean pizza cutter which he happily agreed to do. They are the same size as their small pizzas. When I picked them up the cook said he was very careful about cross contamination and let me tell you it was a hard car ride home smelling those delicious pizzas.

The pizzas were really good and I liked the thin crunchy crust. Hubby said it’s not as good as their regular crust but we weren’t expecting it to be. These are a tasty option and as long as you ask them to be cautious about cross contamination you will have a great GF pizza experience. Thanks Colombos!

Veggie Delight

Sausage

Colombo's is located at 1003 W College, 406-587-5544.

Biga Pizza Missoula, MT Review

A couple weeks ago DH and I journeyed to Spokane to see my favorite band, Built to Spill, play at the Knitting Factory. On our way we stayed in Missoula and stopped by Biga Pizza to try out their GF pizza crust. When I initially found out about Biga Pizza I e-mailed them to ask about cross contamination and here’s the post with their response. Hubby had called to reserve us a crust (recommended by the owner) and we hungrily sat down looking forward to some GF pizza. First off I really liked the restaurant, it has a great local feel to it and we sat at the counter and were able to watch them make all of the pizzas and bake them in the oven. This was nice because I was able to keep an eye on their methods to avoid cross contamination and I was pleased with the process. Hubby and I ordered the Flathead Cherry (house made spicy Italian sausage, cherry chutney, smoked gouda, mozzarella, garlic oil & parsley) and it was awesome. I could have eaten that whole pizza myself. The crust was also fantastic, crisp and not chewy at all. This is by far the best GF pizza we’ve had at a restaurant and probably that we’ve had period.

The pictures don't do it justice since they're from my phone.

The crust used is by Sis’s Kitchen, it’s a rice crust and you can buy it frozen at The Good Food Store. I made it at home several months ago and it wasn’t as good as Biga Pizza’s but I think using my BEST pizza process it would be very close.

I highly recommend Biga Pizza, it’s going to be our new regular stop when we’re visiting family. I can hardly wait to go back in February. They’re located at 241 West Main Street and here’s the phone number to call ahead to reserve your GF crust, (406) 728-2579.

Next week I'll have GF reviews in Spokane.

Our BEST Pizza

I apologize for not posting anything last week. We did some travelling, mostly planned, but one trip was unplanned to attend a friend’s funeral in Missouri. Mark was such a fantastic guy and to lose him at the age of 32 is just heart breaking, we'll miss you Mark. Onto happier news, we were able to try a few GF menus at restaurants in 3 states and our Thanksgiving Dinner had GF stuffing from Hubby’s GF Aunt and GF pie crust from my SIL. I covered the GF gravy and none of us felt like we were missing out, it was a fantastic meal. I have a lot of recipes and reviews to post but today I want to share the best method for making GF pizza.

We’ve been trying to perfect our homemade GF pizza for awhile now and I think we finally did it. We use Gluten Free Mama’s Pizza Crust mix and it’s fantastic, I’m sure this process would work really well with your favorite GF pizza crust too.

Once your dough is mixed grease your pizza stone. I like to use garlic flavored olive oil but any olive oil will work. The Gluten Free Mama dough is for 2 12” pizzas but I used about 2/3 of the dough for my stone. I let the boy use the remaining dough to make his own little pizza or I’ll make breadsticks. Put the dough in the middle of the stone and sprinkle some flour on the top to keep it from sticking to your hands. Evenly spread the dough out on the stone letting it lay over the edge a little bit. Then fold the edges over to make the crust. I like to fold then do a little roll with the crust. Let the crust sit for 10 min and then take a fork and poke holes in the crust to keep bubbles from forming. Rub the crust (including the rolled edges) with olive oil then bake for 12 minutes in a 350 F oven.

Now it’s time for the toppings. I have a tendency to put too much of everything on my pizzas so Hubby does this part. First he puts a thin layer of pizza sauce on then he tops the sauce with Provolone cheese slices. The next layers are your toppings, we did pepperoni and mushrooms. Now sprinkle mozzarella over the toppings and then sprinkle a little bit of cheddar/jack cheese over that. Bake for 14 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the crust is just starting to brown.

This is the best way we’ve found to bake this dough, I about died over the browned crust. Neither Hubby nor I can find anything wrong with this pizza, it’s fantastic!

Do you have any pizza secrets to share?

Tortilla Pizza & a Review

The other day I found myself with 15 minutes to put dinner together, I was really wishing I could order in but as we all know GF and ordering in doesn’t really go hand in hand. I opened the fridge and stared at the contents and then I saw my favorite GF tortillas. La Tortilla Factory Ivory Teff Wraps are fantastic. They hold together like wheat tortillas (just zap them in your microwave for 20 seconds before using) and taste great. I get mine at Lee & Dad’s IGA and they are located near the produce. We always have these on hand. My friend Wendy mentioned they do tortilla pizzas and it was time to give it a try. It’s fast, simple, and yummy.

Tortilla Pizza

GF tortillas
1 T garlic flavored olive oil
Pizza sauce
Pizza toppings (pepperoni, bacon, black olives, mushrooms, peppers, etc)
Mozzarella Cheese shredded
Cheddar/Jack Cheese shredded

Preheat oven to 350F. Lay out tortillas (I made two tortilla pizzas but next time I’ll make 3 or 4, we didn’t quite have enough for 4 of us) and drizzle olive oil on top. Spread evenly over the tortilla. Spread the pizza sauce over the tortilla then put pizza toppings on the sauce. Top with mozzarella cheese and cheddar/jack cheese. Put in the oven for 12-15 minutes until the cheese is melted.

This makes a nice crisp thin crust, it was fantastic. Note that I did bake this in the top oven (I have a double oven and love it) and it turns out much better than in the big bottom oven.