In search of a pizza dairy/gluten free perfection?

I've been hearing a lot about Pizza recently. Mostly gluten free. That's fine, it's a start - I need gluten free, but it's not much good to me, unless it's dairy free as well, is it?? So, I've been on a bit of a quest and I think I've found a few answers, that may be you could try too - if you're after pizza that is!!

A pizza heaven??

So the first thing is, that if you're after Pizza and you're gluten free, it seems to me that you're pretty well catered for, right now. There's no need to make your own ( although of course you're perfectly free to do so) when you can buy a ready made pizza in the frozen section at Sainsbury's, or order one from Domino's (as reviewed by Kevin at Gluten Free by the Sea), Prezzo, Pizza Hut or even Ask, I believe!! It seems that Pizza restaurants have really got the bit between their teeth and are practically falling over themselves in the race to reach gluten free customers.

Others have chosen to try them out. Emma from Love Lactose Free Life has tried Pizza Hut and Grace Cheetham has tried Domino's. They elected to choose naturally dairy free toppings, I've not tried them, though. I mean I could try a gluten free pizza without cheese, if I wanted, but... it's just not pizza, then, is it?? 

Now those of you who are not gluten free but are dairy free and okay with soya, you can also get a ready made pizza. Mama Cucina do one, as reviewed by the Veggie's blog here. It is available from the chiller cabinet in some Holland and Barrett's and also Goodness Direct.

However, that is no good for me either. SO, I have been forced to make my own!!

I've tried a few bases, one of which came from a packet mix. The packet mix was a disaster, so I won't even go there! Of the ready made bases that I've tried, Sainsbury's and Tesco's own Free From bases have been the winners for me, but I've yet to try one by Venice Bakery. I've heard it is delicious! Emma reviewed it here.

The Sainsbury's base

The Sainsbury's base is not perfect by any means. It's a bit dry and brittle, which means it can crack, quite easily. However, once the toppings are on, you don't really notice that too much!

The Tesco's base I like, because you get two small ones in a packet together. I think they're slightly less dry, than Sainsbury's and they're the perfect size for one - for lunch, anyway.

Seeds of Change Stir-through sauce

As for the next stage - the tomatoey sauce base, most people would probably opt for a tomato puree, right? However, me being me, I can't eat stuff in can - my face comes out all blotchy, so I need stuff in a jar. 

I've tried two - Biona's tomato puree (in a jar) is really nice, but my favourite is Seeds of Change Tomato and Olive Stir-Through Sauce. Not technically gluten free, they are both dairy free and seem to be free from gluten containing ingredients.

Adding the puree! 'Baby' likes this bit!

Following the tomatoey base, the next level is entirely up to you! My favourite combination is ham and mushroom, as shown here!

This one was produced without Baby's help. Can you tell?

The really tricky bit about pizza, though (as far as I have been concerned) is the last layer- the cheesey bit, but this I now think I have cracked!!

As I browsed my local health food shop I happened upon a new cheese, which I have mentioned before - it's called Mozzarisella. It is fairly tricky to get hold of, although you can order it from their website. However, it's new to the UK market, so things are on the up!!

Nicely melted!

For me, it worked really well on pizza, especially if the pizza was cooked at 200 degrees C, for 10 minutes. I thought it melted just enough.

If you can't get hold of Mozzarisella, and, like me, you can't have dairy free cheese that is made with soya, there are a few other options. One is another new cheese (which I've yet to try) by Violife (Veganic) reviewed here, by Veganoo. This is also pretty hard to get hold of, right now, so your best option would be dairy and soya free melting Cheezly. This is sold in some Holland and Barrett stores and also in some health food stores. By itself, it's not particularly cheesy, but grated and melted, on top of a pizza, I think it tastes pretty good!!

Related Posts:

Cheese Please! What are the dairy free alternatives?

More 'Cheese Please!' More dairy free alternatives to cheese

New cheese on the block - meet Mozzarisella!

More 'Cheese Please!' More dairy free alternatives to cheese

A few months ago, when I joined Twitter, my initial plan was to get the news out about the Dairy Free Baby and Me Blog - there's no point in writing a blog unless there are people reading it! I was keen to get out there, to pass on what I'd learned, so that others who struggled with Cow's Milk Protein Intolerance (or similar issues) would have some kind of starting point - which is what I would have liked, when I began this 'journey'. What I didn't expect, however, was that I'd find companions, friends even, to share the 'journey.' 

One such, is 'Sugarpuffish' - a beauty blogger who has grown up with eczema and various food allergies. Having grown up with these, she has a wealth of experience behind her. She is, moreover, able to do something that I cannot - which is tolerate soya. So, following my own post about dairy free cheese, she has very kindly agreed to write contribute this post about dairy free 'cheese' made with soya.

Thank you, Sugarpuffish, over to you!

I was diagnosed with allergies during my childhood. In those days there were no Free From aisles at the supermarket, soya milk was prescribed by my GP and I simply went without cheese.  I have watched the Free From market developed and the most exciting part for me has been the invention of dairy free cheeses. Unlike Dairy Free Baby and Me, I can tolerate soya so I am going to tell you about my favourite dairy free "cheeses". Before I get started people will moan at me that dairy free cheese is not very nice and tastes nothing like the real thing. I do not disagree there are some grim alternatives but for me the real thing is a distant memory and I think that what makes them easier for me to digest. Plus manufacturers are always improving techniques. I always say forget about what you are trying to replace and you can then embrace the alternatives.

My favourite hard/block cheese replacement is Sheese and I buy it at an independent health food store. There are eleven styles to choose from – Blue, Cheshire, Cheddar with Chives, Edam, Gouda, Medium Cheddar, Mild Cheddar, Red Cheddar, Mozzarella, Smoked Cheddar and Strong Cheddar. I personally like the Medium Cheddar style. I enjoy the stronger flavours as the milder varieties taste a little bland. I use hard cheeses for pizzas, sauces and topping off dishes like spaghetti bolognaise or nachos. Sheese also have spreadable varieties which I enjoy.

Tofutti is the brand I have known the longest and its from the USA.  The choice of products available in the US is larger than here and makes me rather jealous.  Tofutti is available to buy at Holland & Barrett or Goodness Direct and they usually stock spreadable cheese, slices and grated mozzarella style. Let’s start with the spreadable varieties. This is the one I most enjoy on crackers and I love the Garlic & Herb.  My Holland & Barrett also stocks Original and Herbs & Chives but I see Goodness Direct also offer French Onion, Country Vegetable, Chopped Olive and Sour.  I think it’s the flavouring that makes this dairy free cheese more enjoyable than others on the market. I have been told the Original version is excellent for Vegan cheesecake recipes.

Tofutti slices are similar to dairy counterparts. It tastes and looks fake so for that reason I think its best suited to sandwiches and burger buns. I am not going to lie it does have a distinct flavour and I have learnt to love it over the years. It is a convenient alternative to grating or chopping. It will melt but it does smell unpleasant and will affect the flavour so I do not recommend using it in this way. 

Other brands to look out for are Cheezly and Vegusto.  I buy Cheezly when I cannot get hold of Sheese. I think that Sheese is slightly superior in taste and texture but they are fairly similar. One problem I do have with Cheezly is it goes mouldy quickly. As for Vegusto, I tried this at the Allergy & Free From Show and found the texture grainy and not to my liking. Others do rave about their cheeses and it has won awards.  It retails online or at independent stores so not the easiest for me to get hold of. This is a plant based cheese alternative which is gluten, dairy and soy free.

I hope you have enjoyed reading. Thank you to Dairy Free Baby and Me for the opportunity to guest post on her blog.

Click here to check out my blog

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Cheese, please! What are the dairy free alternatives?

If ever I'm asked about what I miss most, being dairy free, my thoughts invariably turn to cheese. I don't think I'm quite as anal about it as Wallace and Grommit, but I used to love cheese... cheese on toast, or crackers; in sandwiches, jacket potatoes or macaroni cheese; on top of lasagne, shepherds pie or fish pie; or simply... just by itself. Sigh!

'Cheese' topped Shepherd's Pie

This post is born out of a conversation I had on Twitter. Today, someone asked me about dairy free cheese. I tend to think I know nothing about this subject, as I can only eat one dairy free cheese, but I have a few ideas and have been ably helped along the way, by Sugarpuffish and by recent conversations on our page on Face Book. So here's what little I DO know: 

The thing is, I love cheese so much, that I've been of the opinion that I don't want to try a dairy free alternative, in case it's awful and I end up disappointed.

Not that I've had all that much choice - most dairy free cheeses are made with soya, and I get really bad reactions to soya milk. For those dairy free peeps, who can have soya, you can get a whole lot more choice - most supermarkets sell some form of soya based 'cheese' as do health food shops.

You lucky people can have cheddar, mozzarella, cream cheese, even those individually wrapped 'cheese' slices!

I'm reliably informed, by Sugarpuffish that 'Sheese' by Bute Island is pretty nice, and also 'Tofutti.'

If you're dairy free and unable to tolerate soya, but can handle cashews, then Vegusto, may be the 'cheese' of choice for you. It's meant to be pretty good, but... unfortunately, for me, cashews are no good for me either!

There is one, well two, dairy free cheeses that even I can have, though. By Redwood Foods, a vegan firm, and they're called "Cheezly". Redwood Foods make a range of meat and cheese alternatives and hidden among the product range is the two cheeses that I can have. Watch out, if you want to buy them though - Redwood Foods have other 'cheeses' called 'Cheezly' that are made from soya, so read the labels carefully!

The first, their cheddar cheese, is, I have to admit, a bit more expensive than your standard cheddar, but it does have a long shelf (or rather, fridge) life and it can be grated and frozen. So, bargain hunters,(like myself) can buy it in, whenever Holland and Barrett have their offers going and store it up, for ages in the fridge/freezer.

The second tastes pretty much like the first and is similar in appearance, but is made for melting. It's not cheese as such, but laid on gluten free toast, and heated under the grill, it comes near enough for me! It's also pretty good on an omelette, or pizza! Although, my top tip for pizza, is not to put the cheese on top, until the last ten minutes or so, if you don't want to burn your cheese topping.

Whichever version you use, you may be pleased to hear that like cheese made with dairy Cheezly cheeses do cContain calcium - though not quite as much. if you're trying to keep track of just how much calcium you are getting in your diet, you may be interested to know that there is 200mg of calcium per 100g.

Originally, I found this cheese it in my 'nearest' health food store. However, I've now found that Holland and Barrett stock it too - great news, as now that we have moved, my 'nearest' health food shop is not that near at all!

Free & Easy Cheese Sauce

Contains soya!

Another form of 'cheese' substitute is this 'cheese' sauce, I found in Sainsbury's. I bought a tin ages ago but was too afraid to try it - consequently it ended up being chucked, as it went out of date! I bought another tin, but it turns out it's no good for me either! 

Apparently, it contains soya, but you'd never know by reading the ingredients list, unless it's the 'hydrolysed vegetable protein'!

I have heard, via the grapevine, that this is quite nice, but obviously I'm unable to verify that!

Nutritional Yeast

There's quite a lot in this pot!

Those of us who are dairy free and soya free can still have another 'cheese' substitute, known as 'Nutritional Yeast'. In the UK, we can get it in the form of Engevita Yeast Flakes. They're made by Marigold, who also make the bouillon that we use as gravy, in Shepherd's Pie. 

The yeast flakes are not available in most supermarkets, although you can get them from Ocado. They are also sold via many health food stores and online they can be bought from Amazon and Goodness Direct, among other places. 

I've only tried the yeast flakes sprinkled over food so far. They smell like old socks, but haven't packed a flavourful punch yet, so maybe I'm doing something wrong. Apparently, according to their website, you can make them into 'cheese' sauces - something with which I've yet to experiment.

You see Baby has never had real cheese and all attempts to introduce her to dairy free cheese have been met with frowns, wrinkled facial expressions and loud verbal utterances rejecting the stuff. So experimenting with cheese flavours is something I mainly keep to myself, and, inevitably, if it's just for me, it's not going to be in great quantities, therefore I haven't made anything like a lasagna or a macaroni cheese. And, to be quite honest, there's not a lot of point making macaroni cheese just for myself, when Amy's Kitchen make such a great one! Theirs is made with Daiya cheese - an American product. So far Daiya tell me that they're not available in the UK, but they are interested!! So here's hoping!!

Not to be confused with the version sold in Tesco - gluten free, not dairy free!

However, I am gearing myself up for a little experimentation. I'll have to get back to you soon, and let you know how it goes!

By the way, if you are an experimental type, you might like to have a go at making this home made coconut milk cheese. Yes really! 

If you do, then make sure you read the comments, at the end of this lady's blog - they explain a few details a bit more, and help make sense of some of the ingredients, for us Brits! And please, let me know how you got on!

More posts about dairy free substitutes can be found by clicking on this link.