Gluten is a protein composite from the processing of wheat products, including rye and barley.  It is responsible for dough's elasticity, which helps hold it together and to rise, thus creating (in our case) a light, fluffy pizza crust.  Typically used in "dough-based" products, but can also be found in beer (barley hops), ice cream, ketchup, salad dressings, croutons, pasta, soups, popsickles, soy sauce, over the counter drugs, etc. 

Lipsticks, lipbalm, playdough, and toothpaste may contain gluten also!  It hides in foods/products because labels are not required to say "Contains Gluten".  Thus, you must research where gluten lurks and decipher the label on your own. 

While gluten is great for our pizza dough, it's not so great for someone who is sensitive or intolerant to gluten.  People with Celiac's disease have an autoimmune response to gluten such that eating ANYTHING containing gluten results in an inflammatory reaction in their small intestines (horrific diarrhea, cramping, bloating, etc.).  So, eating traditional pizza isn't a pleasant experience for someone with Celiac's or someone who has a sensitivity to gluten (blunted gastrointestinal response compared to Celiac's; however, still very unpleasant). 

Since we want everyone to enjoy pizza, we offer gluten-free pizza.  We buy the dough because we are not a gluten-free facility, nor do we have the capacity to become one.  We'd need a separate dough mixer, storage & prep room, pizza station, etc. to avoid cross-contamination with our organic, whole grain, high-gluten flour we use for our dough. So we buy the crusts ready made then Michael uses great caution when preparing the pizza.  We use a separate pizza peel, oven, pizza cutter, etc. to reduce cross-contamination.  However, on a very busy night (such as Fri or Sat) there is a greater risk of contamination because we are making so many pizzas and it's impossible to eliminate flour in the air when Michael is tossing the dough. 

The gluten-free pizza crusts we use are made with rice flour, tapioca, egg whites, whey powder, Parmesan cheese, yeast, sugar, canola oil, and spices.  They are gluten free, but NOT dairy free.  They are approximately 10-12" in diameter.  The cost for a cheese pie is $15.  This time of year, they typically take 30-35 minutes to cook.  Call ahead and order your gluten free pizza today.