Some people are probably wondering why I chose that title. Those who aren’t though have probably eaten the same lot of gluten free pizzas that I have. Almost every gluten free pizza base is thin. This is fine, I am a big fan of thin based pizzas, especially the ones with too much topping for the base to cope with.
I love the game of can I eat this before the base gives out and I am supposed to try a fork, but never do.
There is a place I went to recently called Superfly Pizza that prompted this. It was not the base that I was expecting. Instead it was one of those rare instances where the pizza base was a proper looking pizza base. It was crunchy at the edges, and reminded me very heavily of thin wheat based pizza bases. So good.
For those who don’t know, there are a lot of gluten free pizza bases that have a kind of pancake quality to them. They have a bubbly texture, that if you are lucky will still be crisp. At least as crisp as a thin, porous triangle can be before the oils seep through and reality remembers that this thing isn’t meant to hold weight. I am fortunate enough to have the skill to eat a slice of this kind of pizza while reality is still scratching its head.
I have had a couple of pizzas that had the porous base, but were as crispy as the ocean, and only slightly more solid. Being transported on the plate gave them the illusion of structural integrity, without ever having been informed it was meant to have any.
It wasn't bad food.
It’s just…
Look, the pepperoni on the pizza was ok. Cooked to be crispy, but fairly average pepperoni. The cheese was doing more than its fair share of holding everything together, but once you were three slices in, even for a speedy eater, the cheese and the base had been fighting long enough that the base conceded, and you needed great skill to eat the rest without utensils. I didn’t have great skill, but I gave it a damn good attempt.
Certain pizza chains also opt for the crispy sponge base. This is what I am calling it from here on in. Their bases have a bit more strength to them, but they also don’t smother the base in so much cheese that it gives up and tries to run from your fingers.
I would like to say I don’t actually want a pizza that would run away from me, but I don’t think anyone would believe me. Including me.
Now we are going to take a turn for the better. Places like Superfly Pizza manage to make a proper base for a gluten free pizza, that is like a pizza base. It feels like it came from pizza dough. You can eat it like a proper piece of pizza, and not a race to eat it before it is cheese soup.
When we went there I had the Italian Meats Pizza. It had ham, 4 types of italian sausage, and provolone cheese. I was expecting a little more of a kick with the pepperoni, but the fact that there wasn’t one (to me at least), wasn’t a bad thing. All of the meats combine really well with the provolone to create a really pleasant eating experience. The whole thing disappeared off of my plate very quickly.
Next time I go I want to try one of the vegetarian ones. My partner in dine had the Veggie Watts, and that looked really tasty. The eggplant, zucchini, and capsicum made a really enticing looking pizza.
Looking at the menu, to find out what I had eaten, I discovered they had mango habanero sauce. A fantastic reason to go back. That and about 6 more gluten free pizzas to try.
This may feel like a plug for Superfly Pizza at this point, and that is because it sort of is.
There aren’t a lot of good gluten free pizza places around so I am going to shout out everyone I can find from here on in.
Back to the gluten free pizza battle.
I will admit, when I first bit into the pizza I was afraid. I may have mentioned before that gluten free things don’t always taste the greatest. Usually there is a feeling of attempt to everything you eat, especially pizzas and burgers. Any time you get a good one, your brain panics, thinking they bought you the wrong thing.
I have had this happen before.
So when I bit into it, and it was good. My brain took a step back. I gingerly bit down again, because it was good, gently prodding my stomach. I am lucky enough that if it was a normal base, my body would react relatively quickly. I have also trained myself to not let my panic fully affect the rest of the body, which is a scary thing as well, until I have made sure I am genuinely reacting to the presence of gluten.
I was not, pizza disappeared with gusto.
I was going to write that I could tell you what makes a good pizza. I can’t though, I can tell you what I love in a pizza, and I know that it isn’t everyone's cup of tea. Superfly Pizza does have good pizzas. I like the weird though, and it doesn’t really have that.
I like the pizzas that have banana and gorgonzola, or peking duck, or pear and potato (this one was way better than I thought it was going to be). I love a clash of flavours.
I have also made myself want more pizza now. Eat well, friends.
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