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PLANO, TX — Pizza Hut announced Wednesday the nationwide launch of its Gluten Lover’s Pizza, a new menu item the company describes as “a long-overdue celebration of the gluten-tolerant community.” After nearly a decade in development, it is the first commercial application of the company’s proprietary yeast strain, Saccharomyces glutenmaximus.
The genetically modified yeast — developed in partnership between the Pizza Hut Institute for Dough Advancement and Yum! Brands Fermentation Command — does not merely leaven the crust; it actively synthesizes additional gluten as it ferments, a process the company calls “glutenesis.”
“Ordinary dough contains a fixed amount of gluten. We asked: why?” said Chief Innovation Officer Brent Castellano. “Our yeast keeps producing gluten right up until the moment you bite into it. In some cases, after.”
The result, Castellano said, is a pizza containing the gluten of nine pizzas, with each slice continuing to gain gluten at room temperature. Customers are advised to finish the pie within forty minutes, after which it becomes “unstable.”
The pizza also marks the long-anticipated debut of Crust Stuffed Crust™, which the company is calling “the boldest leap forward in stuffed crust since cheese.” Drawing on three decades of stuffed crust leadership, Pizza Hut’s trained artisans hand-stuff every crust with crust. “Our guests told us they wanted more crust,” Castellano said. “We listened.”
Early reviews have been enthusiastic. “Finally, a pizza that sees me,” said Doug Pruitt, allegedly 44, of Toledo, pausing mid-bite to unbutton his pants. “I can feel it still rising. In me. I’ve never felt this full in my life. I may never feel anything else.”
The launch has drawn criticism from celiac advocacy groups, who called the engineered yeast “a needless provocation” and petitioned the FDA to classify it as a bioweapon. Pizza Hut responded by announcing the Gluten Lover’s will also be available gluten-free.
The pizza starts at $14.99, or $18.99 with Extra Gluten and breadstick topping, though the company notes all pizzas eventually become Extra Gluten on their own.
