Steeliac

Tag: gluten free bread

  • Amazing GF focaccia

    Amazing GF focaccia

    This focaccia might just be my new favourite gluten free bread. The texture was wonderful and softly chewy on the inside, the outside had a lovely crunch, it had amazing flavours on the top and the trademark focaccia dimples. It even met with approval from the house’s gluten eaters. The only drawback? You have to make it yourself! But it’s very easy.

    I bought the mix early on in the first lockdown to go with a home made lasagne but that was when you had to re-mortgage your house to buy yeast and flour, so it sat in my cupboard for quite a while. It’s a Davinia Steel mix. I’ve not used any of her other products, but there’s a scone mix, a pizza mix and a loaf mix as well as this one. I’ve just had a look at the website and discovered they have recently launched a ‘dipping and dunking snack range’ of (pre-made) biscotti and crostini, which look rather fine!

    Apologies for the next photo – evidently taken after opening!

    Once I did get hold of some yeast, the mix was really easy to make. This kit comes with a flour mix and two packets containing rosemary leaves and garlic powder. To make the bread, you just need to add water and salt (and the yeast, of course) to the bread mix, and you need to have a 20cm, cake tin, oiled. With a generous amount of oil on your hands, it’s fairly easy to flatten the top of the mix and make the dimples with your fingers.

    After an initial proving, which I did in the oven at about 50C, it had doubled in size and I was pleased that the dimples were still there. At this point, the rosemary leaves (provided) can be sprinkled on. I also added a bit of garlic powder and extra salt on the top, and then baked in the oven for about 25 minutes.

    Once baked, you leave it the focaccia in the tin to cool and the steam helps it come out. You’re supposed to leave it to cool completely before eating, but as I botched my timings, we ended up eating it much sooner than that.

    We ate it with carbonara but it would go well with any pasta, with soup or just with antipasto.

    It was so good, I’ve already bought another one for myself and one as a present!

  • The hot mackerel bap – featuring Genius soft white rolls

    The hot mackerel bap – featuring Genius soft white rolls

    We all know that making butties can be a pain with gluten free bread – sliced loaves are generally crumbly, so only good for toast. I often use sandwich thins, particularly for nine year old’s packed lunches, as they are a sensible size.

    I came across these Genius soft white rolls in Sainsbury’s a few weeks ago – are they new? I don’t remember seeing them before. I was surprised to find that when I gave them a bit of a squeeze, they did indeed feel soft, so I thought I’d give them a try.

    I  have to say, I was really impressed – I used them to make hot mackerel* baps, which just wouldn’t be right on a sandwich thin. They are super easy to make, once you’ve tweezed all the bones out from the mackerel fillets. The fish just needs to be pan fried for a few minutes each side in a little oil, until the skin is crispy and the fish cooked through.

    The kids loved them, although they had to ask what a bap was! Fresh cooked mackerel is so soft and sweet, it’s delicious – and a great way of getting an extra portion of oily fish with it’s omega 3 oils. We ate them with lashings of tartare sauce and the kids had ketchup on theirs. The bread held together really well and had a good texture.

    I don’t tend to buy many Genius products as their sliced loaves are frequently full of holes – although their spicy fruit loaf is excellent and never really has holes in. So I don’t know if Genius have changed their recipe, but I will definitely buy these again.

     

    *Without wanting to be preachy, please ensure your mackerel is from a sustainable source by buying fish with the Marine Stewardship Council certification. This page has good information about which supermarkets are sourcing the most sustainable fish.

  • Fresh gluten free bread in Sainsbury’s

    Fresh gluten free bread in Sainsbury’s

    It’s been an exciting week for coeliacs in Sheffield* as our local big Sainsbury’s stores started selling freshly baked gluten free bread! And we all raved about it because it’s extremely good. 

    It was Sunday afternoon when we made it to our local Sainsbury’s (Archer Road) so the shelves were rather decimated, but we were able to pick up a few things to try: 


    We bought a farmhouse loaf, a few packs of rolls (white and seeded) and a baton, which is small and baguette shaped but soft instead of crusty. (Loaf £2.30, others £1.50)

    The bread is baked in its plastic wrap to avoid cross contamination while cooking and is displayed above the regular fresh bread so no crumbs can drop into it. 

    I was keen to dive in to this bready feast as quickly as I could, so we immediately sliced and buttered one of the seeded rolls. I was not disappointed! The bread is soft and has a great texture – not at all crumbly. So far so good. 


    Next morning I sliced the loaf so we could have toast for breakfast. Impressed again! It sliced really well with no big holes through it. The texture in the middle was soft and it had a nice crust. 


    It made great toast – very much a breakfast treat for me. But it was also good enough to make a sandwich for my older boy’s packed lunch… that didn’t fall apart when I picked it up! 


    So a huge thumbs up from me. I hope it sells well enough to keep it in store.

    Participating Sheffield stores are Archer Road at Millhouses and Wadsley Bridge near Hillsborough. 

    *Not just Sheffield – there are 200 stores nationwide selling these products.