The Best Gluten Free Frozen Pizza

For most of us, going on a gluten free diet is a lifestyle choice, even Oprah Winfrey has tried it; but it’s a necessary survival tool for those suffering from Celiac Disease and gluten-sensitivity.  To date findings estimate about 2 million people in the United States have celiac disease but the actual number is hard to pinpoint. Add in several million more people who pursue the diet for personal reasons (weight loss, well-being, etc.) and you have a whole heap of intelligent consumers seeking tasty gluten free foods.

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aaron greenwald

Unfortunately the term gluten free tends to inspire images of tasteless, bland food devoid of texture. Enter the 19 year-old (yes, 19) founder of Bold Organics, Aaron Greenwald, who started eating gluten free years ago to shape up for playing competitive tennis. “I eat gluten and dairy-free as much as possible; I feel better eating that way. It’s unbelievable the difference in my energy when I eat gluten. I just notice how I’m more tired, less focused and start to gain weight.”

The other thing Greenwald noticed was the astonishing lack of gluten and dairy-free alternatives.  “I didn’t realize when I started eating this way how many people out there were looking for gluten-free versions of their favorite foods. There just wasn’t anything in grocery stores, especially frozen ready-to-eat options.” Intrigued, Greenwald investigated the market more thoroughly for a project in his entrepreneurship class at Washington University in St. Louis. “I wanted to make a gluten free/dairy-free product that tasted great. I thought it was a good idea but I received a B minus on the project.”

Undeterred by his grade, Greenwald sought out a local St. Louis chef, Eric Brenner (St. Louis Magazine Chef of the Year in 2008), to help him craft the perfect gluten free pizza crust.  “It took about 10 large scale test runs to really nail down what we were going for. Brenner wanted crust with that familiar outside crunch—he found it with a mixture of rice flour, potato starch and cornmeal. Brenner worked some more magic with dairy-free cheese and organic toppings and Bold Organic’s pizza was born.

In the first two and a half months of business the company sold 50,000 pizzas. Now they are in over 200 stores and have just been approved in another 800 stores (for this June).

Greenwald doesn’t mind being a young, baby-faced entrepreneur. “At times it was annoying, for instance when I flew to California to visit our production facility I had to take taxis everywhere because I wasn’t old enough to rent a car.”

Looking ahead he views Bold as being a brand leader in specialty frozen food. He currently has over 40 new gluten and dairy-free products being tested for launch in January of 2013.

“I see this as an opportunity to shake up the market; hopefully we’ll be in over 5,000 stores by year’s end. The feedback on our pizzas has been amazingly positive. People are ready for this.”

TASTE TEST—

I served four varieties to my children (all of whom have unimpeachable pizza tasting credentials). Rated on a scale from 1-5, 5 being the best:

Gluten free Recipes with Bill & Sheila

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