Peggy and Shawn Brokaw love pizza but couldn’t eat it for years due to food sensitivities. So they created a pie to call their own—and now their frozen pizza business, Creative Crusts, has taken wing in Chilton, Wisconsin.
There is a big demand, as it turns out, for a chicken crust pizza. It’s keto- and gluten-friendly and lends itself to a smorgasbord of tasty, high-protein recipes, from the Brokaws’ Apple Crumb Dessert Pizza to other specialty pies like the Maple Bacon, Pesto Chicken and even Krautwurst.
“Yes, most of it’s chicken,” Shawn Brokaw told PMQ, referring to the crusts made with skinless, boneless breast meat. “We have a couple of binders, but chicken is the major piece.”
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For the crust’s binders, the Brokaws settled on eggs and Parmesan cheese. The protein in the eggs helps hold the ingredients together, while the Parmesan, when melted, solidifies for better overall cohesion and adds a sturdy, crispy texture as well as flavor.
Avocado oil, meanwhile, lends more rich flavor that complements the other ingredients while keeping the crust keto-friendly.
As the Green Bay Press Gazette has reported, Creative Crusts started out in the Union Collective Kitchen in Kaukauna, Wisconsin. Sales of the frozen pies took off quickly, as the Brokaws set up booths at farmers markets and spread the word at local gyms and health-related expos. They later moved to a former pizzeria in Chilton that was already fully equipped for making pizza.
“Neither Peggy or I have any pizza industry experience, which I think allowed us to think outside the box for a pizza that we both could share due to [our] dietary restrictions,” Shawn said. “We have tried other options that would provide high protein and gluten-free, but right now we’re leading the way with chicken to get our pizza line rolling before we expand it too far.”
A healthier but still delicious pizza is something of a holy grail for many pizzaioli. The Brokaws market their line of frozen pies in part to health and fitness enthusiasts. For example, they’ll be on hand at the Mad Gluten Free Mini-Fest coming up on January 11 in Madison, Wisconsin.
Shawn said Creative Crusts’ customers “love that almost all of our pizzas have over 40 grams of protein and only around 10 grams of carbs per serving.”
Also on the Creative Crusts menu: dairy-free and egg-free pizzas and several options topped with goat cheese as well as breakfast pizzas.
“The other demographic that we are targeting is people who have food sensitivities or restrictions,” Shawn noted. “All of our pizzas and lasagnas are gluten-free, and we don’t have flour anywhere in our kitchen. Our pizzas are also great for diabetics, people who have IBS, lactose intolerance or [are] dairy-free.”
The Brokaws know what they’re good at and don’t plan to stray far from a proven strategy. “A question we get all the time is, will you ever do a cauliflower or regular crust?” Shawn says. “And our answer every time is no. We are sticking in the high-protein and low-carb niche, and that’s where we’ll be happy to stay.”
And, like true innovators, they keep the pies coming through a subscription program on their website. Customers can sign up to receive a six-pack every month for $75.
“Our plan for growth is to take our frozen pizzas to as many people as we can [and focus on] our efficiency and serving people who love traditional pizza but most likely can’t have that any more,” Shawn said.
