Generally I try to write a new post once a week, but every once in a while I run across something so good that I cannot wait to share it.
Before I go on, please know that for every recipe, product and book that gets written about on this site, many, many,oh so many more are rejected! Because I truly appreciate anyone who tries to make our gluten free world a little better, I try to stay away from negative reviews. But believe me, we are a very picky group here and we have tried many products that go straight into the trash without any mention. That being said, here is the story of Bavaria Mills.
It all started with Garlic Jim's gluten free pizza - as you know we loved it! It was not only the convenience of it, but the taste of the pizza shells. Anyone who has tried them knows how wonderful they are.
Then all of a sudden, the pizza crusts changed. And they were not as good - as a matter of fact, my kids did not like the pizza. The crusts had reverted back to that gritty rice texture that we all know so well (so much for no negative reviews).
You have probably figured this out by now, but I am not one to just let things drop - we had found the pizza of our gluten free dreams (okay I am being a little dramatic here) and we were not willing to just let it slip away.
After a little research, I found the answer to the pizza crust mystery and what is now our favorite gluten free pizza shells.
Bavaria Mills is a Gluten Free Wholesale Bakery located in Vancouver, Wa. It is run by a lovely couple and, you guessed it, the makers of the gluten free pizza crusts that we love.
Marie was studying to be a Holistic Nutritionist and her husband, Mike, was an Industrial Process consult when they both discovered they had celiac disease. After eight years of perfecting gluten free cooking, Marie and Mike opened Bavaria Mills. The bakery distributes gluten free goods in Washington and Oregon, and supplies restaurants with gluten free fare. As you guessed it, they suppy Garlic Jim's with those wonderful pizza crusts.
After a short conversation with Mike on the phone, we soon received a huge box loaded to the top with gluten free baked goods.
These are absolutely the best pizza gluten free crusts!!
I was worried that the pizzas would not taste as good as the ones from Garlic Jim's - how much of the novelty would be lost by making them at home? Would they taste as good cooked in a normal oven? No worries - my kids actually liked the home cooked pizzas better (and there are no concerns about cross contamination). If you have the shell, you can whip together a homemade pizza in about two minutes - just add sauce, cheese and whatever other toppings you like and bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. How easy is that?
We are lucky enough to live within a two hour drive of a great place to snow ski and we spend many of our weekends skiing at Steven's Pass. The Weekend Chef recently made pizzas with these shells. After taking his first bite, my six year old son declared "I didn't know Garlic Jim's delivered to the mountains."
Okay, can you tell how excited we are about these crusts. And for the final icing on the cake, they are extremely reasonably priced.
The pizza shells come in 8, 10, 12 and 14 inch and they are gluten free, corn free, soy free, dairy free, no trans-fat and, because of the healthy flours they use, high in fiber.
As to Garlic Jim's, I believe they are once again using the Bavaria Mills pizza shells. It is up to you to make the requests if they are not.
We were happy to discover that Bavaria Mills makes many great products.
The gluten free hamburger buns moved to the top of our "best" list. They are actually sturdy enough to hold together a hamburger. How many times has your gluten free bun crumbled under the weight of a juicy burger? Better yet, they were very moist
.
Then the muffins arrived - these are not wimpy little muffins. These were Costco sized. We sampled four different kinds - Lemon Poppy seed, German Chocolate (basically like a cake in the shape of a muffin), Blueberry and Apple Cinnamon. They were all wonderful - ironically enough we could not agree on one favorite. It seems that everyone had a favorite and we were all different. The Gluten Free Kid loved the Blueberry muffin. My six year old of course liked the German Chocolate one - who wouldn't like cake for breakfast?
Other things you will want to try include an absolutely beautiful 9 inch pie shell, dinner rolls and of course, their breads.
Did I mention that their products are both gluten and soy free. Most of the products are also corn free and dairy free and because of the products they use, they are high in fiber, antioxidants and essential oils. And they are extremely reasonably priced.
How do you order these great products?
Because they are a wholesale bakery, you need to call them at 1-360-571-7611. Ask for Mike, and tell him I said "Hi." You can also send them an email at bavariamills@earthlink.net
They request that orders be a minimum of $50. The prices are so good, that you can get a lot of food for $50 so load up the freezer!!
Bavaria Mills will hopefully be selling their products in the Seattle area soon.
