gluten-free Pizza Request Sent To Papa John's (and They Are Listening!)

[ncflusche]

Okay, so like most of you I miss pizza. Yes, I can make it at home with all the fixings and it tastes great (even my non-Celiac husband and friends love my pizza), but I miss lazy Friday nights of ordering that gooey; thick-crusted; golden-colored; topping loaded dish that is delivered right to my door with little to no hassle. It is greasy, but oh-so-good! Well, I decided to contact my local Papa John's and see what they could do about my dilemma.

I spent a few hours composing the perfect words (I admit I really appealed to their $$ side in order to catch anyone's attention). Within 24 hours I had two emails sitting in my inbox. The first was from Consumer Services; the second was from the Papa John's Area Supervisor for Fredericksburg and Stafford. Both were very positive in their response about forwarding my thoughts to their Research & Development Department. The Area Supervisor's email really made my day:

Mrs. Flusche,

My name is Jeff Bartlett and I am the Area Supervisor for Papa John's Pizza in Fredericksburg and Stafford. Your comments about the gluten free product were passed onto me from the weekend. I have since sent them onto our research and development department who look into these sort of suggestions. Hopefully they will take your suggestion under advisement and find that there is a large enough market for it. Sorry I could not be of more assistance to you in this matter. Hopefully we can be your pizza choice in the future.

Jeff Bartlett

So, for anyone and everyone who misses their Papa John's, go ahead and contact them. Perhaps if we show enough mouth-watering support they will show up at our doors with those fresh ingredients we long for.

Yours,

N. Flusche

[mushroom]

I don't have a Papa John's so cannot answer your poll, but kicked your post up to the top so that it will be seen.

[psawyer]

We don't have Papa John's here in the Toronto area, but any move to provide a gluten-free option at a pizzeria (or other chain restaurant) is certainly something that I think most of us would support. A pizza chain in Ontario introduced a gluten-free option about a year ago on a trial basis. I have had it several times and found it to be fairly good. It is now available in all locations of Pizza Pizza. I still prefer the pizza we make at home with home- baked crusts, but if we are in a hurry, there is a fast option. Recently a second chain in the Toronto area has advertised gluten-free pizza--I haven't tried theirs.

[ncflusche]

Again, Mushroom & Peter, thank you for your help on this post/pinning.

Peter, I really envy you! The nearest order out pizza chain from us with a gluten-free crust is 2 hours. My husband takes me there every time we go to DC, but recently they have been carrying less and less of the gluten-free crust, so if you come too late in the day it is already gone.

We still make our own crust at home, but having that order in option is just a fun, lazy thing that everyone enjoys now and then.

[GottaSki]

Definite YES!

Not for me...never felt good after eating pizza - always thought it was the sauce...kinda made sense to me after celiac dx - it was the crust bothering me all these years!

But my kids love pizza and I miss easy take out for them.

Thanks for contacting Papa Johns - I'll do the same.

I don't know about other places, but here in San Diego ordering gluten-free crust adds $3-$8 to each pizza and that pizzas-me-off

[tiredofbeingsickandtired]

as a former dough tosser at a pizza joint my biggest worry would be contamination. There is flour flying round in the air, on everyone and everything..gluten disaster zone...they would have to have seperate everything from pans to toppings to the aprons the cooks use. For me its just not worth the risk.

not sure if this link will work, but here is the thread I have on facebook about my ventures with gluten free pizza. I miss tossing the dough into the air, but it pretty awesome pizza. I make my pizza without dairy, but here is one I made for our Pastor, he also has celiac.

Open Original Shared Link

I used Bob's gluten free pizza mix plus a few more supersecret things-

Tools-

Parchment paper -don't even attempt this without parchment paper, its only $2.84 at Wally World and theres a .75 coupon floating around out there.

2 medium wire wisk... Read More

plastic wrap

small & large glass or pyrex bowls

not completely required, but I'm ocd about details soooo...

- a pizza pan used only for starting crusts (heavy duty) & a pizza pan with holes covered with foil for a softer crust with a little crisp, or uncovered for a crispy one)

large cooling rack

Ingredients-

Crust-

Bobs Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza mix

McKormick garlic powder

McKormick italian spice mix

Salt (iodine free is what i use)

Great Value Olive oil

Unflavored gelatin -supersupersecret ingredient

2 eggs- beaten

1 1/2 cup very warm water

(energy waster) preheat oven to 425- not so green but I can live with it for a good pizza

-empty crust mix into the small bowl -set yeast packet aside

shake in 2-3 shakes each of garlic powder and italian spices (one of these days I promise to start measuring)

add a round 1/2 tsp salt or a shallow 3/4 tsp ;P

whisk carefully to get a bit of air in the mix and combine all the ingredients so they can get to know each other

-add 1 1/2 cups very warm water to large glass bowl, empty yeast packet (included in the mix) into the bown and stir carefully with a whisk - let sit for about 3 minutes

-whisk in one packet of unflavored gelatin until thoroughly dissolved- let sit for another 2-3 minutes

-whisk in beaten egg and 2 tbsp of olive oil

with a fork stir in crust mix from the small bowl- stir until the dough pulls away from the bowl.

cover your CLEAN hands with olive oil and shape the dough into one big glob, toss glob around in about 1-2 table spoons of olive oil until coated all over

-cut the glob O dough in half with a knofe coated in olive oil

wrap the bowl with plastic and place ON TOP of warm oven

wait 20 minutes for glob to rise

-cover heavy duty pan with parchment lightly greased with olive oil

-remove one glob (with oiled clean hands), slap it on the pan, and recover the bowl

-lightly grease another piece of parchment and place it over the glob O dough

carefully work the glob between the 2 sheets of parchment, my heavy duty pan has elevated sides so its easy to work out a 14" pizza. This takes time, try to keep it even with a little more at the edges all the way around.

-remove the top parchment and place several sticks of string cheese all the way around about 1/4-1/2" from the outer edge. You should end up with a 12" pie

-oil hands again and carefully turn dough over string cheese without ripping dough- *don't think or say bad words when it rips, just dab dough with paper towel and reseal

-seal edge with a fork (oiled of course)

-let sit for about 3-5 minutes- it will take you this long to wash oil off your hands anyway

bake for 9 minutes until bottom has started to brown

-Transfer parchment and pie to pizza pan with holes (*see note about about foil or no foil)

Toppings-

-Enrico's Pizza Sauce (found at Lowes Foods, worth EVERY penny) - spread as much as you like on the top of the pie

-I use a 2/1 mixture of great value mozzarella & monterey jack- *shred fresh at home for best melting

-a few shakes of shredded kraft parmesan

-any meat that will dry out first goes on first sooo...

-chopped Oscar Mayer canadian bacon will go on first

-ground beef browned with olive oil and italian spices is next

-Hormel Bacon bits or pieces (fresh cooked hormel bacon if you have the time)

--Hormel Pepperoni allllll over

a few shakes of shredded parmesan and a little bit more of the shredded cheese mixture is last

Slap it back into the oven until browned and bubbly all over- about 8-14 minutes

Let it cool about 5 minutes before you slice

you can warm more pizza sauce and/or clarified garlic butter for dipping

Bless your pizza and thank the Lord

enjoy a slice or 3

run the next morning to make up for the rest of the pizza you're gonna eat for breakfast

little side note- Papertown has pizza boxes & foil tubs super super cheap. I truly believe that it tastes better straight from a pizza box- and you can take it into Pizza Inn and feel normal while everyone else eats their pizza. I did check with the manager and he said "sure!"

just realised I probably should've put this in the recipes area, sorry, didn't mean to hijack your papa johns poll..how do I move it?

[Lynayah]

I must say that I agree with the CC issue. In my area there are some restaurants who brag about having gluten-free pizza, but when you talk to them you learn that they do not have a dedicated oven, and the wooden paddle they use to transfer the pizza in and out of the oven is the same as the one they use on the flour ones.

If Papa John's could become certified gluten-free, I'd love it, but I am clueless as to how they could do it as their stores now stand.

I hope I am wrong. Someone please show me where I'm wrong! : ) I'd love to have a gluten-free Papa!

[mamaw]

Your pizza looks very good! Maybe this could be your new venture--- a gluten-free pizza shoppe! And if you found a way to hand toss you could make big bucks.......

Thanks for sharing...

mamaw

[savvvyseller]

As someone who can eat wheat (my 9-y-o son is a celiac), I can say that Papa John's pizza is awful. I know that Pizza Pizza in Canada has gluten-free pizza chainwide, so the idea of serving and delivery safe gluten-free pizza can be done. Will be interesting to see if one of the nationwide pizza chains in the U.S. - none of which compare to local pizza parlors, IMHO - can pull this off.

[ncflusche]

I am thrilled that so many have responded so far and are adding very valid concerns and suggestions. Any restaurant that considers taking a step towards gluten-free (whether that is offering gluten-free options on their menu or going completely gluten-free) is showing that they care about their consumers and the general health of everyone--Celiac or not. I would ask no less of Papa John's--or any restaurant--to thoroughly research what gluten-free means, what food is acceptable vs. not, issues concerning cross-contamination, etc.

On a side note: I am totally salivating over tiredofbeingsickandtired's stuffed crust pizza! That looks super yummy & we are already planning to make it. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe & your expert knowledge about dough tossing/cross-contamination.

[ciavyn]

as a former dough tosser at a pizza joint my biggest worry would be contamination. There is flour flying round in the air, on everyone and everything..gluten disaster zone...they would have to have seperate everything from pans to toppings to the aprons the cooks use. For me its just not worth the risk.

not sure if this link will work, but here is the thread I have on facebook about my ventures with gluten free pizza. I miss tossing the dough into the air, but it pretty awesome pizza. I make my pizza without dairy, but here is one I made for our Pastor, he also has celiac.

Open Original Shared Link

I used Bob's gluten free pizza mix plus a few more supersecret things-

Tools-

Parchment paper -don't even attempt this without parchment paper, its only $2.84 at Wally World and theres a .75 coupon floating around out there.

2 medium wire wisk... Read More

plastic wrap

small & large glass or pyrex bowls

not completely required, but I'm ocd about details soooo...

- a pizza pan used only for starting crusts (heavy duty) & a pizza pan with holes covered with foil for a softer crust with a little crisp, or uncovered for a crispy one)

large cooling rack

Ingredients-

Crust-

Bobs Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza mix

McKormick garlic powder

McKormick italian spice mix

Salt (iodine free is what i use)

Great Value Olive oil

Unflavored gelatin -supersupersecret ingredient

2 eggs- beaten

1 1/2 cup very warm water

(energy waster) preheat oven to 425- not so green but I can live with it for a good pizza

-empty crust mix into the small bowl -set yeast packet aside

shake in 2-3 shakes each of garlic powder and italian spices (one of these days I promise to start measuring)

add a round 1/2 tsp salt or a shallow 3/4 tsp ;P

whisk carefully to get a bit of air in the mix and combine all the ingredients so they can get to know each other

-add 1 1/2 cups very warm water to large glass bowl, empty yeast packet (included in the mix) into the bown and stir carefully with a whisk - let sit for about 3 minutes

-whisk in one packet of unflavored gelatin until thoroughly dissolved- let sit for another 2-3 minutes

-whisk in beaten egg and 2 tbsp of olive oil

with a fork stir in crust mix from the small bowl- stir until the dough pulls away from the bowl.

cover your CLEAN hands with olive oil and shape the dough into one big glob, toss glob around in about 1-2 table spoons of olive oil until coated all over

-cut the glob O dough in half with a knofe coated in olive oil

wrap the bowl with plastic and place ON TOP of warm oven

wait 20 minutes for glob to rise

-cover heavy duty pan with parchment lightly greased with olive oil

-remove one glob (with oiled clean hands), slap it on the pan, and recover the bowl

-lightly grease another piece of parchment and place it over the glob O dough

carefully work the glob between the 2 sheets of parchment, my heavy duty pan has elevated sides so its easy to work out a 14" pizza. This takes time, try to keep it even with a little more at the edges all the way around.

-remove the top parchment and place several sticks of string cheese all the way around about 1/4-1/2" from the outer edge. You should end up with a 12" pie

-oil hands again and carefully turn dough over string cheese without ripping dough- *don't think or say bad words when it rips, just dab dough with paper towel and reseal

-seal edge with a fork (oiled of course)

-let sit for about 3-5 minutes- it will take you this long to wash oil off your hands anyway

bake for 9 minutes until bottom has started to brown

-Transfer parchment and pie to pizza pan with holes (*see note about about foil or no foil)

Toppings-

-Enrico's Pizza Sauce (found at Lowes Foods, worth EVERY penny) - spread as much as you like on the top of the pie

-I use a 2/1 mixture of great value mozzarella & monterey jack- *shred fresh at home for best melting

-a few shakes of shredded kraft parmesan

-any meat that will dry out first goes on first sooo...

-chopped Oscar Mayer canadian bacon will go on first

-ground beef browned with olive oil and italian spices is next

-Hormel Bacon bits or pieces (fresh cooked hormel bacon if you have the time)

--Hormel Pepperoni allllll over

a few shakes of shredded parmesan and a little bit more of the shredded cheese mixture is last

Slap it back into the oven until browned and bubbly all over- about 8-14 minutes

Let it cool about 5 minutes before you slice

you can warm more pizza sauce and/or clarified garlic butter for dipping

Bless your pizza and thank the Lord

enjoy a slice or 3

run the next morning to make up for the rest of the pizza you're gonna eat for breakfast

little side note- Papertown has pizza boxes & foil tubs super super cheap. I truly believe that it tastes better straight from a pizza box- and you can take it into Pizza Inn and feel normal while everyone else eats their pizza. I did check with the manager and he said "sure!"

just realised I probably should've put this in the recipes area, sorry, didn't mean to hijack your papa johns poll..how do I move it?

This does sound awesome! I can't wait to try it, too!

On a side note but still applicable, I drove by our local pizza joint, and they had a sign hanging outside their front door: Whole Wheat Pizza Gluten Free. I'm hoping it means that they have both, not that they think whole wheat pizza is gluten free!!

[tiredofbeingsickandtired]

Thanks guys, hope you enjoy...but accck I swear I ran a spell check, sorry about all the spelling errors.

[digmom1014]

Thanks what a great idea, when I went gluten-free two years ago-I missed pizza in the worst way! Could you post your letter so other's can also request gluten-free at their local shops? I'm not saying plagerize but, I am not the most prolific letter writer and your letter seems to have gotten a response!

[ncflusche]

Sarah,

I would be happy to post my letter. I have been furiously looking for it the last couple of hours, but my computer has either filed it into some abyss or deleted it. I will ask my darling husband if he can resurrect a copy from our backup server. If all else fails I will re-write as much as I can remember for you.

Yours,

N. Flusche

[ncflusche]

We recovered as much as we could, but I had to rewrite about half of it. (I'm terribly sorry for my computer's bad behavior). I submitted my letter through Papa John's customer feedback form (Open Original Shared Link). I acutally recommend going this route rather than mailing a letter to corporate because Papa John's "official policy" is that they do not accept unsolicited ideas from outside parties. However, by using the comment form you can get your idea funneled to your local store, and if an employee, franchise owner, or supply partner picks it up and thinks it is wonderful, they can submit it to corporate on your behalf (wink, wink). So, this is how I filled my form. Personal information in the top portion, put my local Papa John's info for the store, and then answered the rest of the questions like so:

ARE YOU A CUSTOMER OR AN EMPLOYEE? (

[chasbari]

I voted that I am not really a pizza eater.... anymore. Although reading through tiredofbeingsick's pizza recipe has me drooling and remembering that I do miss pizza a bit. I used to get the cheesesticks at Papa John's and sit there scooping out the garlic butter sauce with it. I couldn't do tomato sauce so that was my way around that. Tired's pizza ... she should open a restaurant. I pretty much agree with those observing that gluten-free at the typical pizzaria would be a near impossibility. We would go to our local Papa John's to pick up pizza and I remember thinking my lungs were probably coated in flour by the time we got in and out of there. Could you imagine where the flour has gotten to in a shop that has been in business for any amount of time. I just don't see how CC could possibly be avoided. Also, the constant need to train the new help might be problematic as I am sure there is quite a bit of turnover with staff to deal with.

[GFinDC]

There are some (12) Zpizza's in Virginia, but they are mostly around DC..

Zpizza has gluten-free and vegan cheese also. I did try theirs once quite a while ago. They put the pizza on an aluminum foil liner to keep it from getting cc'd on the oven rack. So the paddle never touchs the pizza, just the aluminum. Their's are more expensive than the regular gluteney pizza's.

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

[ChickensDon'tClap]

While Papa John's definitely isn't the greatest pizza, I would definitely give their gluten-free pizza a try! There's one right by my house Van Dorn in Alexandria, VA, but I'd drive to Stafford just to give it a try. I'm tired of eating zPizza - their sauce and crust are so blah to me. I'm ready for something new!

[CeliacAndCfsCrusader]

Sorry to say I concur about the CC in a pizza joint.

Not only the flour in the air, but the utensils, cutting services, mixers, ovens themselves ....it's just a CC nightmare.

We have a chain here in Denver that offers it, but I'm not willing to take such an obvious chance (esp. when such a small amount gives me a reaction). We also have a nice bakery that does their best to do both gluten and gluten-free, I had a reaction my first and last visit. It's impossible to "clear the air".

Can't wait to try the recipe earlier in this thread!

[MindytheOrganist]

Thanks for contacting Papa John's. I intend to do the same. In fact, I'm hitting all the websites of restaurants in our area and asking them to consider a gluten-free menu.

Today, we went to a favorite restaurant and spoke with the manager about providing a gluten-free menu. I mentioned that having a gluten-free menu would put them ahead of another similar restaurant in the area, and would gain many more customers. Competition is good!

[nasalady]

I agree that ZPizza's pizza is pretty blah....

However....I'm lucky enough to live near a Garlic Jim's Pizza that offers gluten free pizza, and WOW, is it good!

Also, they have very good protocols in place to prevent cross-contamination; my husband and I are both extremely sensitive and we have never been glutened by Garlic Jim's. Pei Wei's yes, Garlic Jim's no.

Since we have now gone grain free as well as gluten free, we're no longer frequenting Garlic Jim's and I miss it. If any of you have a Garlic Jim's close to you call and see if they have the gluten free crust....it is so much better than ZPizza!

Here's their website....note the link to the gluten free menu is prominently displayed on their home page!

Open Original Shared Link

[skinnyminny]

I agree that ZPizza's pizza is pretty blah....

However....I'm lucky enough to live near a Garlic Jim's Pizza that offers gluten free pizza, and WOW, is it good!

Also, they have very good protocols in place to prevent cross-contamination; my husband and I are both extremely sensitive and we have never been glutened by Garlic Jim's. Pei Wei's yes, Garlic Jim's no.

Since we have now gone grain free as well as gluten free, we're no longer frequenting Garlic Jim's and I miss it. If any of you have a Garlic Jim's close to you call and see if they have the gluten free crust....it is so much better than ZPizza!

Here's their website....note the link to the gluten free menu is prominently displayed on their home page!

Open Original Shared Link

I just ate here last night at the one in Franklin, Tn and it was so good! I asked where they got there crusts and she said somewhere out of California, and I asked if I could order them to have at home and the lady told me she didn't think so. But it was a real treat! They assured me they take all precautions to prevent CC. I think the flour they use to pat out the regular pizza is rice flour that way there is no gluten in the air! I was really impressed by there establishment!

[skinnyminny]

I agree that ZPizza's pizza is pretty blah....

However....I'm lucky enough to live near a Garlic Jim's Pizza that offers gluten free pizza, and WOW, is it good!

Also, they have very good protocols in place to prevent cross-contamination; my husband and I are both extremely sensitive and we have never been glutened by Garlic Jim's. Pei Wei's yes, Garlic Jim's no.

Since we have now gone grain free as well as gluten free, we're no longer frequenting Garlic Jim's and I miss it. If any of you have a Garlic Jim's close to you call and see if they have the gluten free crust....it is so much better than ZPizza!

Here's their website....note the link to the gluten free menu is prominently displayed on their home page!

Open Original Shared Link

I just ate here last night at the one in Franklin, Tn and it was so good! I asked where they got there crusts and she said somewhere out of California, and I asked if I could order them to have at home and the lady told me she didn't think so. But it was a real treat! They assured me they take all precautions to prevent CC. I think the flour they use to pat out the regular pizza is rice flour that way there is no gluten in the air! I was really impressed by there establishment!

[thleensd]

If I had a quarter of a million dollars lying around I'd open up a garlic Jim's franchise (any takers with bucks in San Diego?) They seem to be doing fine (?) and are looking to franchise. They use rice flour for the bottom of ALL their pizzas (so as not to have wheat flour flying around!) I've eaten there a half dozen times or so when I've been near LA... no problems. They assemble all of their gluten-free pizzas in the back. Most of their toppings are said to be gluten-free. The gal making my pizza washed her hands a lot as well.

(I echo that I've had problems with Pei Wei, too! Boo! Even when the manager stood over the cook that was making my meal...)

But, since I don't have 250K, writing to Papa Johns sounds like a good idea.

=)

[savvvyseller]

There's no need to wait for a chain to offer gluten-free pizza. Check out Open Original Shared Link, which provides restaurants with gluten-free pizza and dedicated equipment that can be used anywhere. Right now the company is offering a cool referral deal - if you refer a restaurant that decides to add Still Riding pizza to its offerings, you can get 'dough' (if you know what I mean!) The company is even offering a sweet deal for restaurants to try it out - the first order of pizzas, equipment and training all at no charge.

Do a Google search for "Still Riding Pizza referral" for more details. This isn't an ad and I don't work for Still Riding. I just wanted to pass on this information to those who could benefit. There are a couple places in the Philadelphia area that offer their pizza, and it's really good!

Michael