Product Reviews: Udi’s Gluten-Free Pizza Crust

I was super-excited when I saw the UPS man show up yesterday afternoon and even more excited when I opened my package from Udi’s Gluten Free Foods!  The aroma that filled my nose was heavenly!  A warm, sweet cinnamon aroma captured my heart as I took out of my package two gluten-free pizza crusts, a package of whole-grain gluten-free bagels, a package of cinnamon raisin gluten-free bagels, and a bread of cinnamon raisin bread that still smelled like it was made yesterday.

However, the key to a good gluten-free product is not found in its ability to intoxicate me with its sweet smells.  The true test of a good gluten-free product takes place when the strictly gluten-free eater in my home takes a bite and gives an assessment. So, here’s what we decided:

Udi’s Gluten-Free Pizza Crust

Allergy-Related Info: Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, and Nut-Free

Appearance

Pros: The pre-made crust is a beautiful, light-golden color before cooking.  After cooking, it remains nice and light-golden, which is wonderful. I was afraid it would get a little dark after cooking.  I took note of the little piercings on the surface of the dough, which has inspired me to do the same in order to reduce air bubbling.
The dough is super-thin, which is not always common with gluten-free pizza products.  My husband is crust and thick-bread avoider, so this impressively thin crust was much appreciated by him.

Cons:  It’s only a 9-in pizza crust, which means my husband goes through one (atleast) by himself.  I would like to see them a little larger.

Taste

Pros: Of course, this is one of the key elements of any good food product, but specifically, with gluten-free products, taste is crucial.  It is so hard to replicate gluten-filled products with differing ingredients, but I have to say, Udi’s has done a tremendous job here!  The thing I love most about the taste of this crust is its versatility. I simply made a pepperoni pizza with it last night, but I was inspired by it as I ate that any topping could be used on it.  The seasoning was light on the crust, so that I didn’t feel limited to making a traditional, Italian pizza. I could have made a breakfast pizza, a lighter vegetable pizza, a flatbread pizza with less-than-traditional toppings, or even a dessert pizza with sweet, decadent toppings.  I love that versatility!

Cons: Amazingly, the one thing I love about the taste of this pizza crust is also the one thing I would like to see improved. How is that possible? Because the seasoning is so light and versatile, I felt like there was a market for a more seasoned crust that would enhance the overall flavor of the pizza.  A big complaint? I think not.

Texture/Moisture:

Pros: Cooking with differing flour combinations sometimes offers strange or differing textures to dishes we expected to be soft, springy, and somewhat doughy. Any sort of yeast dough is especially hard with gluten-free cooking. However, Udi’s did a great job with this pizza dough, because the texture was light and not grainy at all! Wonderful!  Along that same lines, in my New York opinion, a good pizza is a bendy pizza.  Great job, Udi’s, you gave me that too!

Cons: Pre-cooked crust is hard in any situation, because re-cooking the crust makes the dough harder than it should be.  In this case, the crust was a little harder than desired. On a positive note, I thought the harder crust added versatility to the crust, because I could see using it for something other than pizza, but overall, I would have liked to see the texture a little more moist.     I would like to chalk it up to a few days in transit (shipment) and try it again.

What I Love 

Overall, there is so much I love about this product.  For a busy housewife, tutor, youth leader, and more, I love the time-saver this pizza crust is!  Top it with my favorite toppings and heat for about 10 minutes in my oven! Voila! It’s dinner!

I love the overall taste and texture of the crust, I love its versatility (possibility my greatest appreciation of this product). I would most-definitely try this product again!!

Also, (and this is a very key element for all you, gluten-free cooks), this crust is good the second day!! That’s saying something! A lot of gluten-free products don’t last long and needed to be eaten the day they’re made.  This lasts for a second-day microwave and tastes just as good!

What I’d Improve

Overall, I think I would almost like to see a variety of flavors of crusts to add to the possibility of its versatility.  I would also like to see it a little more moist (but again, that might have been the results of shipping it to me for a few days).

I would even wonder if Udi’s has considered selling the pre-made dough (before it was cooked).  I would definitely try that!

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Overall Rating: A

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Buy Udi’s Pre-Made, Gluten-Free Pizza Crust here!