Friday, July 25, 2014

Four Cheese Pesto Pizza on Udi's Pizza Crust

I have used Udi's Pizza Crusts to make Rosemary Garlic Flatbread for several years, but until today, I had never used them to make pizza.  After enjoying gluten free pizzas made with Udi's crusts on the Disney Dream and at Mama Melrose's in Hollywood Studios, I decided to finally give them a try at home.  


Udi's pizza crusts are free of gluten, dairy, soy, and nuts.  They contain water, tapioca starch, brown rice flour, non-GMO canola oil, egg whites, dried cane syrup, tapioca syrup, tapioca maltodextrin, salt, xanthan gum, yeast, cultured corn syrup solids (natural mold inhibitor), and enzymes.  The only allergen warning is that they contain egg.  


The cooking instructions on the package are to layer the pizza shell with your favorite toppings, and bake 5 to 7 minutes in a 375 degree oven (longer if frozen).  


I decided to bake my pizza on my new Williams-Sonoma Goldtouch Nonstick Pizza Crisper.  


I love the pizza crust we make with Chebe Original Cheese Bread Mix, but making pizza with Udi's Pizza Crusts is so much easier!  I made two pizzas for my daughters and I for lunch, and they both quickly disappeared.  I liked the consistency and taste of the crust, and it was perfect for making a quick pizza for lunch.

Four Cheese Pesto Pizza

Ingredients

Udi's Gluten Free Pizza Crusts
Olive oil
Pesto
Italian cheese blend (Parmesan, Romano, Asiago) -- to taste
Feta crumbles -- to taste
Grape tomatoes

Directions

Defrost your Udi's pizza crusts if they are frozen, and preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut a handful of grape tomatoes in half, squeeze out the seeds, and cut each piece in half.

Brush the bottom of the pizza crust with a light coating of olive oil.  Brush the top with just enough pesto to coat the pizza crust.  Add the Italian cheese blend, grape tomatoes, then feta.

Cook the pizza for 7 to 8 minutes on a pizza pan on the bottom shelf of the oven.

Recipe Notes

I used homemade pesto.  You can view the recipe here.

Today, I used Shaved Italian Cheese Blend from The Fresh Market, and 365 Feta Cheese Crumbles from Whole Foods.

Because the three cheese blend is made up of stronger, sharper cheeses, I used a pretty light coating of cheese.  I also used a small amount of feta on our first pizza.  I increased the amount of cheese on our second pizza, which was also very good, but the crust was not as crisp.  No one was complaining though, because both pizzas tasted great.

I used my kitchen shears to cut the pizza.  With small pizzas, they are easier to use than a pizza cutter.

You could also cook your pizza without a pizza pan.  I tend to use a pan because I don't like cheese falling down to the bottom of my oven and burning.

I purchased my Udi's Pizza Crusts at Whole Foods.  I have also seen them in the freezer section of my local Publix. 

July 26, 2014 Update -- 5 Cheese Pesto Pizza


We liked the pizza so much yesterday, we decided to make it again for lunch today.  Because I didn't have enough Italian cheese blend to fully cover two pizzas well, I added some BelGioioso mozzarella pearls, cutting each pearl into 3 or 4 pieces.  


I cooked both pizzas at the same time, one on the bottom shelf of my oven on a pizza pan, and the second, directly on the top shelf of my oven.  Sadly, I mixed them up, so I have no idea which one I liked better.  The crust of the one pizza had a little better chew, but they were both very good.  I loved the addition of the mozzarella cheese, so I will probably be making a five cheese pizza from now on.  

If you don't have a three cheese blend, just use shaved or grated Parmesan, Romano, or Asiago.







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