FREDERICKTOWN — As his staff was winning the Pick the Pizza contest held recently at Country Club Retirement Campus, Pizza Dock owner Mike Amheiser was competing in The American Pizza Championship in Orlando, Fla. His cheesy meatball pizza came in second in the America’s Best Gluten-Free contest.
Amheiser said he developed a gluten-free pizza to serve those individuals who are gluten-sensitive or have celiac disease. Instead of substituting ingredients such as cornstarch or potato starch for wheat flour, Amheiser said he created his own combination of whole grain oat flour, sorghum, milled flax and rice flour so the dough would have more nutritional value.
Although all the ingredients for the gluten-free pizza are gluten-free, Amheiser said, the environment in which it is prepared does contain wheat flour. Pizza Dock employees are being trained in the proper food preparation techniques to minimize cross-contamination.
Amheiser said he is still “tweaking” the gluten-free dough recipe.