Product: DiGiorno Pepperoni Croissant Crust Pizza
Description: Frozen pizza from a new line by DiGiorno featuring croissant crusts. This one is topped with tomato sauce, part-skim mozzarella, and pepperoni. Others in the series are plain cheese and three-meat.
Preparation summary: Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake on center rack for 25 to 27 minutes.
High points: The fragrances of a French bakery and Italian bistro simultaneously permeate your house when the pizza is baking, which gives visitors and nosy neighbors the impression you’re a skillful cook.
Low points: The meshing of croissants and traditional pizza toppings was more enticing in thought than it was on the palate. Yes, the crust escapes the “cardboard” stereotype of many frozen pizzas. And it puffed up nicely while baking. But the promise of an airy, buttery croissant deflated the moment our pizza cutter rolled through it.
The result was a flattened base striving for flakiness, and suffocated by a swamp of factory-tasting sauce and substandard cheese on top. Our conclusion after regretfully eating more than half the pie: keep croissants away from pizza.
Average retail price: $6.99
Availability: Major grocery stores