New article-Is Pizza Vegan?

JM_Veggiepedia

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Hello, check out the latest article I wrote about whether pizza is vegan for Veggiepedia & if you like it, be sure to share it with your vegan-open friends! -Jan

And do you like this "Is It Vegan" series? Should I wrote more of these articles? :)

Thanks for any comments
 
First off, congrats on your article. Looking forward to reading your next one.

I don't think we have been introduced. My first name IS Lou. But my last name is Nitpicker. Although my friends call me Lou, my critics refer to me as Mr. Nitpicker.

In your article you wrote, "The dough base of traditional pizzas is 100% plant-based because it’s made only from wheat flour, water, yeast, olive oil and salt."

this is not exactly true and at least misleading.

First off, at many pizza places they brush the pizza pan with butter.

Also many of the ready-made pizza dough here in the US are not 100% plant-based.

I thought I might look it up and I found a great article about pizza dough


Having had trouble myself finding vegan ready made pizza dough, I had some doubts about the article's claim that 68% of pizza doughs were vegan. I have a lot of trouble finding vegan ready made crusts because 3 or 4 of the most popular brands aren't vegan.

the most popular ready made pizza crust over here is Boboli. Boboli pizza crusts are not vegan because they contain milk casein and mozzarella cheese. I also live near a Trader Joes and they have several ready made pizza crusts and the last time I looked - none of them were vegan.

I sometimes make my own pizza dough. it's a lot cheaper. but I am not very good at it. my pizzas end up looking like injured amoebas.
 
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Thanks for that article @Lou. I was happy to see that Publix is vegan though I never buy pizza crust as I am so lazy. I might try at some point though!
 
I finally found a vegan pizza crust, Brooklyn Bred. one package makes 4 slices. I keep the slices in the freezer till I need pizza. then I take one out. pour some pizza sauce and Myokos liquid mozzarella on top, add sliced mushrooms, sausage, and olives. Put the who thing the air fryer for 15 minutes.

Maybe not the healthiest dinner I have each week, not the cheapest. but not that hard and much cheaper and healthier than calling Round Table.

 
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Oh, just discovered that some Trader Joe's carry a Brooklyn Bred knock off.
in the bakery aisle - not the frozen or refrigerated section.

 
The one thing I don't mind about making pizza is making the crust! I love my making dough, and with the addition of some vital wheat gluten to regular flour, I like mine better than most
For me what is still hard about pizza isn't the actual pizza, it's the whole event of pizza. It's hearing there's pizza in the cafeteria at work spur of the moment. It's phoning in an order and picking it up. Even popping in a frozen pizza when I get home from work and want fast and satisfying. It's waking up on a weekend morning and remembering you left a piece in fridge pizza.
I now have a pizza place near me with vegan options and I'm not as happy as I'd like to be. It started off so good, but hasn't been lately. I honestly used to love Pizza Hut when they had these pepperdew peppers and an all topping special price now and then . I liked them without cheese
Trader Joes has the most awful tasting meatless vegan pizza (to me at least-like everything has Chinese 5-spice). They also have a cheeseless roasted veggie pizza--that has honey :bang:. I'm not even all that strict about honey, but as much as I liked that pizza I won't get it just because it's so terribly stupid to add honey to an otherwise vegan pizza!

I've run across many places that won't even sub cheese for another topping, saying cheese is included in price. If you don't want cheese you don't get to sub another topping

My favorite sauce is this one:
1679187919021.jpeg
 
The one thing I don't mind about making pizza is making the crust! I love my making dough, and with the addition of some vital wheat gluten to regular flour, I like mine better than most
For me what is still hard about pizza isn't the actual pizza, it's the whole event of pizza. It's hearing there's pizza in the cafeteria at work spur of the moment. It's phoning in an order and picking it up. Even popping in a frozen pizza when I get home from work and want fast and satisfying. It's waking up on a weekend morning and remembering you left a piece in fridge pizza.
I now have a pizza place near me with vegan options and I'm not as happy as I'd like to be. It started off so good, but hasn't been lately. I honestly used to love Pizza Hut when they had these pepperdew peppers and an all topping special price now and then . I liked them without cheese
Trader Joes has the most awful tasting meatless vegan pizza (to me at least-like everything has Chinese 5-spice). They also have a cheeseless roasted veggie pizza--that has honey :bang:. I'm not even all that strict about honey, but as much as I liked that pizza I won't get it just because it's so terribly stupid to add honey to an otherwise vegan pizza!

I've run across many places that won't even sub cheese for another topping, saying cheese is included in price. If you don't want cheese you don't get to sub another topping

My favorite sauce is this one:
View attachment 28612
Thanks for sharing! What place and what pizzas can they offer us vegans? Maybe I'll visit the US one day :)
 
First off, congrats on your article. Looking forward to reading your next one.

I don't think we have been introduced. My first name IS Lou. But my last name is Nitpicker. Although my friends call me Lou, my critics refer to me as Mr. Nitpicker.

In your article you wrote, "The dough base of traditional pizzas is 100% plant-based because it’s made only from wheat flour, water, yeast, olive oil and salt."

this is not exactly true and at least misleading.

First off, at many pizza places they brush the pizza pan with butter.

Also many of the ready-made pizza dough here in the US are not 100% plant-based.

I thought I might look it up and I found a great article about pizza dough


Having had trouble myself finding vegan ready made pizza dough, I had some doubts about the article's claim that 68% of pizza doughs were vegan. I have a lot of trouble finding vegan ready made crusts because 3 or 4 of the most popular brands aren't vegan.

the most popular ready made pizza crust over here is Boboli. Boboli pizza crusts are not vegan because they contain milk casein and mozzarella cheese. I also live near a Trader Joes and they have several ready made pizza crusts and the last time I looked - none of them were vegan.

I sometimes make my own pizza dough. it's a lot cheaper. but I am not very good at it. my pizzas end up looking like injured amoebas.
Thank you very much for your comment! I know I need to get better at cooking, that is why I always run my articles through the community right after publishing to fix issues early on.

I primarily buy frozen pizza products with a vegan label as I have been struggling to find time for cooking ever since I set out on my vegan diet & vegan business journey, or eat pizzas at 100% vegan restaurants, so I haven't been faced with the issue of having a pizza in a restaurant that is not vegan and, as you say, may use butter for the pizza pan.

I corrected the article to "The dough base of traditional pizzas is usually plant-based because it’s often made only from wheat flour, water, yeast, olive oil and salt. Unless a restaurant brushes the pizza pan with dairy butter or uses whey as an ingredient for the dough, the pizza dough usually is vegan. Tomato sauce, the most common topping, is also perfectly vegan."

Thanks again and I hope we can find more ways to collaborate on Veggiepedia going forward! Which city in the US are you located in? I may need help with finding local vegan products and restaurants.
 
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all this talk about pizza made me hungry.
I used that pizza crust I was talking about, TJ pizza sauce, myoko's liquid mozzarella, Field Roast Italian sausage, fresh sliced mushrooms and canned sliced olives.

View attachment 28614
Now get that to my workplace and surprise me! :jump:

Actually, my old place would get a flatbread with garlic olive oil and Lebanese type spices that was awesome! My currant workplace doesn't even get good pizza, people described the cheese as being like a sheet of wet cardboard, so I don't feel bad
Beyond is sooooo good.
 
Thanks for sharing! What place and what pizzas can they offer us vegans? Maybe I'll visit the US one day :)
I'd like to visit your part of the world!

I'd say start with forgetting about cheese and focus on toppings. there are so many different types of pizza, from the thin foldable NY crust, the crisp cracker crust, the pan pizza, the chewy hand tossed, the Chicago.....
I like mine to be like hand tossed where the bottom has a bit of crispness from the oiled pan, and the dough stays soft and just baked through, the outer crust basted with garlic oil and herbs. I find a vegan mayo made with garlic, or that oil and garlic emulsification that starts with a "T". Nooch, fresh lemon juice blended together, olives, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, carmelized onions, topped with spinach and a little fresh basil
 
Thanks again and I hope we can find more ways to collaborate on Veggiepedia going forward! Which city in the US are you located in? I may need help with finding local vegan products and restaurants.
I"m near San Francisco.
Myoko liquid mozzarella is a game changer.

Not too many vegan pizzerias around here but quite a few pizzerias can make a vegetarian pizza and you can hold the cheese. I've only had one place offer a non dairy cheese. And they used a Daiya product, which IMHO ruined the pizza. This was a while back and I've heard Daiya has improved.

I mostly stay home and make my own.
 
In your article you wrote, "The dough base of traditional pizzas is 100% plant-based because it’s made only from wheat flour, water, yeast, olive oil and salt."

this is not exactly true and at least misleading.
Lou, the words “traditional pizza” typically refer to pizza from Italy.
But your comments about what to look out for in the US do make a lot of sense.

I often simply request a pizza without cheese, if no vegan cheese is available, and I have ascertained that the dough is vegan. Quite delicious IMO once you have gotten used to it.