Whirlwind 22 Hours in Paris Sans Gluten

A couple of weeks ago I spent an amazing 22 hours in Paris. Over the past year I have heard news that gluten free has worked its way to Paris. Not just your bog-standard chocolate brownie and long life loaf of bread either. I’m taking about a completely dedicated gluten free patisserie, gluten free bakery and an entirely gluten free restaurant! This meant gluten free cakes, pastries and desserts – what more of an incentive did I need to book my ticket to Paris!

I went with my friend E who is also coeliac. This was perfect as it meant two highly excited gluten free girls in search of as many gluten free goodies as we could lay our hands on. Due to time constraints we were only able to stay in Paris for one night, which meant getting a 6am train from Sheffield to London and then catching the Eurostar from London to Paris. We arrived at 2:30pm one day and left at 12:30pm the following day. 22 hours to see and eat as much as possible – we were up for the challenge!

Not wanting to miss a second of our time, we strode off the Eurostar in Paris and headed straight to our first destination, a gluten free patisserie called Helmut Newcake. It took us a while to find as it’s a tiny place and we only had vague directions. Plus as didn’t want to waste time going to the hotel first we were on the hunt laden down with handbags, cameras, coats and suitcases too. We got a few odd looks, but we took not notice. Move out the way we were girls on a mission.

All I can say is that it was worth the hunt. We were greeted by a display case filled with the most AMAZING looking delicate tarts, choux buns and cakes, and all gluten free!! We were greeted by a very handsome French man who enquired if we wanted something savoury to start, some soup or salad maybe? “Non merci. Nous sommes ici pour les pâtisseries” He nodded and led us to a table with a smile. We spent about 5 minutes just gazing at the range of patisserie. We couldn’t decide what to have and ended up getting 3 to share in order to get a good range of pastry types and bakes. A passion fruit tart, a slice of Opera cake and a Paris-Brest.

The passion fruit tart was almost a thick shortbread case with a layer of hazelnut frangipan and a passion fruit curd on top. The shortbread was very crumbly and I felt it was a little too thick a crust but the hazelnut flavour was lovely and I loved the passion fruit curd on top, really zingy.

The Paris-Brest is a French classic. It’s a ring of piped mini choux buns filled with a smooth nutty crème patisserie. It was divine! The crème filling was so good! The choux pastry was a little firm – but it had been kept chilled due to the filling, so this was expected. Ah, so so good.

Finally there was the Opera cake, which was thin layers of moist almond sponge sandwiched with alternating chocolate and coffee ganache and topped with a layer of crisp chocolate. WOW! This was so rich and indulgent. You could really taste the quality. I’m glad we shared it, it was so rich but so good. Nice dark bitter flavours. I expect too dark for some people but I loved it.

Sugar high and pastry filled we headed to our hotel for a rest before heading out to dinner. E wanted a nap but I decided to head out and explore the area. I spotted a green square on the map called Square Montholon, wrote down directions and set off. I got a bit lost (naturally) but found it quite easily. It was a park with a few trees and a nice statue in the middle. I then took the scenic route back to the hotel. There are so many interconnecting streets and walkways – they all look the same!

After a quick shower and change we were ready for dinner at Noglu, which is an entirely gluten free restaurant.The restaurant was hidden along a very busy main road down an alleyway that was more of an arcade, all lined with restaurants and cafes with a glass roof, which gave it an almost exciting seceret location. It was a tiny place, with kitchen downstairs and around 5 tables upstairs – thankfully we had booked weeks ago.

The menu is small with only 3 starters, 4 mains and 3 desserts to choose from, but all meant to be fresh, seasonal good quality food. While we looked at the menu we had complimentary gougers to start (cheesy choux buns) in place of the usual bread or breadsticks you often get in restaurants. These were nice. A crisp outside with a mild but flavoursome cheesy flavour.

We decided to go with just mains and desserts. I had a mixed salad selection whicb included smoked purple potato salad, beetroot marinated veg, mixed leaves, herb oil and some very fancy peeled purple and yellow carrots. It was delicious and beautifully presented. Very smoky and woodsy but not overpowering. E had lasagna which had chunks of potato instead of pasta – clever but she was a bit underwhelmed.

For dessert E chose a strawberry & plum crumble and I had a Sable with cream & fruit. I asked if they had any gateaux as I’d heard they also ran a bakery, but it turned out their bakery is only open during the day and they said they only had the dessert options on the menu. I was a bit disappointed but throught the sable sounded nice. However it was terrible. Dry and biscuity with a mountain of kiwi on top (the only fruit apart from half a raspberry) I’m actually allergic to kiwi so this wasn’t a good choice. We both had a taste but it was so dry – like eating wood shavings – that we left it and shared the crumble which was much better.

The crumble was very sweet but the fruit was chunky and full of flavour. It was a massive portion so perfect for sharing. It wasn’t really a crumble as it had an almondy pastry/cakey top layer. Nice though. Noglu was quite expensive and due to a couple of disappointing dishes we weren’t sure it was worth the money. Maybe we were just unlucky.

The following morning we headed out for breakfast at a gluten free boulangerie called Chambelland Boulangerie. It was quite a trek from our hotel and again located down a winding back alleyway, but what a wonderful place. It didn’t open until 9am which for us is quite late for breakfast but by 9:40am we were seated outside the bakery on an unusually warm sunny morning enjoying some treats. It was a lovely little café with a few tables.

The breads and pastries are all beautifully presented and laid out in rows, with the menu displayed on a large blackboard behind. They has huge paving stone sized slabs of bread which they cut chunks off, then a range of tarts and cookies. Everything looked stunning and very artisan.

We went for the breakfast special which included bread, jam, hot drink and complimentary fresh juice of the day. There was a choice of plain or seeded bread, which came in long thick batons, almost like giant thick breadsticks. You couldn’t have made a sandwich or filled them in any way, but they were great for slathering in jam. We selected one of each so we could share. These came accompanied by strawberry and apricot jam. The bread had quite a soft sticky bubbly inside texture, almost like a crumpet, but the crust was very thick and crispy. It had a fantastic chew to the crust, not something you usually see in gluten free, but so delicious. The jams were good too, sweet, but you could really taste the fruit. We had tea (mint for me) and E had coffee along with the complimentary fresh juice of the day which today was a mix of orange, mango and peach. It had a great flavour and they served it in mason jam jars which was fun.

After the bread it was pastry/dessert time again. I know it was still only breakfast time but we didn’t want to miss the opportunity to try some of the stunning selection. We couldn’t have taken them with us on the train very easily. The other French patrons sitting nearby were all happily tucking into sugared pastries and brownies so we didn’t feel out of place. We shared a lemon tart and a chocolate ganache tart. Both fantastic quality and again packed with flavour

The lemon tart was piled high with a mound of torched meringue. The pastry was thin and crisp with a lovely thick tangy lemon filling. The meringue had the merest hint of crisp outer curst and then pillowy light meringue underneath. It just dissolved on the tongue. The chocolate ganache tart again had a good crisp crust and then almost a set chocolate custard filling with a layer of glossy ganache on top. It had a good intense chocolate flavour. The French really know their chocolate.

We left feeling a little sick and sugar high but oh so worth it. We bought a slab of focaccia bread, a peach muffin and a chestnut muffin to share for lunch on the train.

The focaccia was nice but a bit disappointing. It was incredibly oily and the middle bit of my half was doughy and raw. I couldn’t stomach any more sugar at that point but when we arrived in London we split the muffins. The peach one was quite crumbly but nice enough. The peach slices were almost semi dried as they were very firm and sugary rather than soft and juicy as expected. The muffin itself was studded with fresh mint which was a nice surprisingly flavour and quite strong. The chestnut muffin was a very soft close textured sponge made with chestnut flour. It was sweet and earthy but I loved the flavour.

I ate so much sugar and desserts in 22 hours that I returned with a real craving for vegetables, I felt I needed to re-vitaminise. We arrived back in Sheffield quite late. It had been a long day and a crazy 36 hours involving 14 hours travelling and only 22 hours actually in Paris but it was so much fun.

I would highly recommend both Chambelland Boulangerie and Helmut Newcake. Both so good and you wouldn’t know everything was gluten free. The UK is certainly lagging behind in their artisan patisserie, especially gluten free!

My only purchase from Paris was a whole half a slab of bread from Chambelland Boulangerie. I spotted them slicing some that was stuffed with fruits and nuts and really wanted to try it. I got a half slab as I hoped I would like it and knew I couldn’t exactly go back and buy more. I had some for tea when I got back home and it was fantastic. A slightly sour tasting bread absolutely packed with whole hazelnuts, juicy raisins and large chunks of dried fig. The crust was so thick and chewy I could hardly slice it with the bread knife. It was amazing!

Was an amazing sugar overloaded, gluten free pastry filled, long whirlwind of a trip to Paris. I was actually in Paris less than 24 hours but think I managed to consume 10 different pastries/desserts in that time! I’d love to go back and see some more of the traditional Paris sites, (I didn’t even manage to spot the Eiffel tower) and eat more patisserie! J'adore pâtisseries françaises!

Leiths School of Food & Wine: Gluten Free Bread

Last week I spent two very exciting days attending a gluten free baking course at Leiths School of Food &Wine! I’ve was diagnosed coeliac nearly 4 years ago, and although I’ve never allowed it to stop me from baking, I’ve never had any kind of training or professional advice about the best ways of creating gluten free dishes and foods and so decided it was high time I did.

I wanted to learn some special techniques for some of the more complicated/advanced aspects of gluten free baking, rather than just a general beginners gluten free cookery course, which would probably have covered things like cakes and biscuits, which I feel I have mastered pretty well on my own. Instead I selected two individual day courses to combine for a more in depth knowledge of some of the most problematic foods to create when baking gluten free. Day 1 was Gluten Free Bread and Day 2 was Gluten Free Pastry.

The bread course was great fun. We were a fairly small group of only 7 students, meaning we all got to work around the one big table, chat and get to know each other. Being a gluten free course everyone there was either coeliac or had a wheat intolerance. It was so nice to be in a group of people and feel ‘normal’ while we all chatted about our favourite recipes and restaurants and the little bug-bears we have about gluten free. We were 6 girls and 1 male, who along with the female cast of teacher and 2 female assistants was a little outnumbered. David was lovely though and reminded me a bit of Howard from the previous series of Great British Bake Off.

What I enjoyed the most was how hands on it was. Our teacher over both days was a lovely lady called Adriana, a past Leiths student, who started specializing in gluten free after her daughter was diagnosed coeliac. Adriana would show us a recipe, describing the techniques to use and the reasons behind why certain ingredients were used. We were then let loose to create the same recipe ourselves.

First up was gluten free focaccia. When baking gluten free bread you need a sough that it is a lot wetter and softer than regular bread dough. It’s more like a thick paste and you can’t knead it as you would for wheat bread. This is because the wheat flour (and gluten) is replaced with a range of starches and gums that absorb a lot more water, and it needs to be wet enough to allow these starches to become hydrated and rise without being too heavy and dense.

The focaccia recipe also used some ground almonds as one of the ingredients that I thought at first was a little odd, but Adriana explained that this was to help improve the breads protein content. This wasn’t done for health reasons, but for structure. Gluten is the protein found in wheat and so if this is removed, they the structure that makes up the texture of the bread will also change. Adding gums can help replicate the elasticity of gluten, but adding another protein source can also help the structure and texture of some breads – top tip! Makes sense once you think about it.

We shaped our focaccia breads by smoothing out the dough with very wet hands, left it to prove, dimpled the top with our fingers to create the characteristic hollows in the top, drizzled with olive oil and decorated with sea salt and fresh rosemary sprigs. A short bake later and we were all bring fantastically crisp and golden focaccias out of the oven. The aroma from the fresh rosemary was mouthwatering.

As always happens it was interesting to see how the same recipe could produce slightly different results for each of us. I was very proud when I was deemed Star Baker for my focaccia!

We hungrily tore off pieces to taste and I was very impressed. The crust was crisp with a great salty flavour and the inside was soft and springy, with well defined air holes that are characteristic of focaccia. The rosemary had given it a wonderful fragrance too. After a quick taste we set them to one side to cool and began work on our pizza bases which would be our lunch.

I worked next to a lovely girl called Kizzy and as the day wore on we discovered we had a lot in common including a love of food and baking. It was such a treat to find a kindred spirit and we helped each other out throughout the day. The recipe for the Focaccia is below and the course also included Pizza, Seeded Crackers, Chai Multi Seed Loaf, Teff Bread, Corn Tortillas and…Brioche!!!

Some of the recipes I felt were more successful than others but the hints and tips and knowledge I picked up throughout the day was wonderful. Adriana and all the staff were so friendly and open with their knowledge and encouraged questions that it was a great day. We got to take all our breads (that we hadn’t previously devoured) home with us.

I was most excited by the brioche. It was meant to be orange and cranberry, but they ran out of ingredients and so instead I improvised with a chocolate chip, sour cherry and freshly ground cardamom version. My brioche loaves were still hot from the oven when I had to run for my train home and so I ended up perfuming the train with the heady scent of cardamom (I got a little over excited and added far too much to my brioche) but it smelt and tasted lovely. The texture was not quite like regular brioche but for a soft buttery yeasty sweet bread it was divine!

Note: I’d highly recommend the course and wanted to point out that I attended the course of my own accord. I was not invited by Leiths to attend, I received no discount on the fees and they never knew I write a food blog.

Next up pastry!

Gluten Free Focaccia (also egg and dairy free)

Ingredients

110g gluten free plain flour (we used Doves Farm plain)

220g cornflour (corn starch)

55g ground almonds

2 tsp salt

2 tsp xanthan gum

2 tsp caster sugar

14g quick active dry yeast

350g/ml tepid water

2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

Fresh rosemary sprigs

1 tsp sea salt for sprinkling

Method

Preheat the oven to 220C. Place a large baking tray into the oven to heat up. Lay a sheet of silicone paper onto your work bench.

Combine the flours, ground almonds, salt, xanthan gum, sugar and yeast into a bowl. Mix well to ensure all combines.

Weigh out the water and add the olive oil. It should be warm but not hot.

Pour most (not all) of the water over the dry ingredients and beat with a wooden spoon until everything is combined. It should be thick but wet to the touch. A few lumps are fine. Beat for 1 minute. You want a wet dough without it being runny, it must still hold a little shape without oozing. Add a little more water if needed.

Turn the dough onto the silicone paper and form into a mound. Dip the whole palm of your hand into a bowl of water and you’re your hand to gently shape and smooth the dough into an oval shape, around 1 inch thick. Keep dipping your hand into the water to smooth it out, it should look very wet and smooth on top when done. Don’t worry its looking too wet.

Once formed, set aside to prove for 20 minutes.

Once slightly puffed, dip your fingers into water and dock the dough to form dimples in the surface, only make the hollows about halfway into the dough, don’t press to the base. Be gentle as the dough will be soft and airy.

Brake off sprigs of rosemary and place some inside each of the hollows. Sprinkle over a generous amount of coarse sea salt and drizzle with a little extra olive oil.

Remove the hot baking tray from the oven and slide the focaccia onto it, still on its silicone paper. Return to the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden.

Remove from the oven and tap the base of the bread, it should sound hollow. If not, bake for a further 5 minutes and test again.

Transfer to a cooling rack to cool. Eat or freeze on day of baking.

Daring Bakers December 2012 Challenge: Panettone! (Gluten free attempt)

The December 2012 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by the talented Marcellina of Marcellina in Cucina. Marcellina challenged us to create our own custom Panettone, a traditional Italian holiday bread! I used to adore Panettone, all soft, sweet, buttery, light, flakey and fruity. I’ve not been able to taste one since being coeliac, and as they are rather an art form to bake, I’ve never even considered attempting my own. That was until this challenge presented itself.

When I read Panettone was this months challenge a felt a mixture of dread and excitement. Making a gluten free Panettone, a sweet bread that replies so heavily on its gluten structure for its unique flaky, buttery goodness seemed like an impossible task, but I decided to give it a go anyway.

The recipe involves many stages. A yeast sponge starter, a first dough, second dough, filling and prove. However, I have learnt from my many gluten free experiments that gluten free bread does not like being touched after its first prove. There is no gluten to hold the bread structure together and so purposely knocking out any air you have managed to create in the dough during a prove, is a bad idea. However, this did mean that I could condense the steps required, make one dough and then leave it to prove, meaning the process itself was quite quick. I didn’t have a Panettone mould so I used the base of my giant cupcake tin!

So how did my gluten free Panettone turn out?....well…..it was ok. It was more like a giant scone than a Panettone. It tasted nice, it reminded my strongly of Stollen rather than Panettone. It was quite dense, cakey and closely textured, and on day of baking it was soft and moist. However, by the following morning it had turned a little dry and very crumbly, making it seem even more scone-like.

I’m going to say it was a semi success. It had a good flavour, but apart from that it was nothing like a traditional Panettone. I may try it again in the future, but I think I would look for a gluten free Panettone recipe as my dough wasn’t right. I did add more water, but I think it needed more as the structure inside was not right.

I had fun attempting the challenge and as the saying goes, it’s the taking part that counts! Click here to see my fellow Daring Bakers delicious looking Panettone.  

Gluten Free Panettone

(Recipe loosely based on The Italian Baker by Carol Field)

Sponge

4g active dry yeast
60ml warm water
35g gluten free plain flour

Dough

4g active dry yeast
30ml warm water
2 eggs

1 egg yolk
290g gluten free plain flour
100g caster sugar
150g butter, melted

1½ tbsp honey

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

½ tsp salt

½ tsp baking powder (my addition)

1½ tsp xanthan gum

Fruit Filling

100g golden raisins or sultanas
50g dried apricots, chopped
50g dried cranberries

Zest of ½ orange, coarsely grated
Zest of ½ lemon, coarsely grated

Sponge

Mix the yeast and water in a small bowl and allow to stand until creamy, around 10 minutes.

Mix in the flour, cover with clingfilm and allow to double in size for about 20 minutes.

Dough

Grease a Panettone mould or large round, deep baking tin. About 5inches wide.

Mix the yeast and water in a large bowl and allow to stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

Mix in the sponge and beat well with a wooden spoon.

Stir in the eggs, sugar, honey, melted butter, extracts and salt. Beat well to combine.

Sift over the flour, baking powder and xanthan gum.

Mix together and beat well for several minutes, until a smooth and sticky dough is formed. Add more water if it seems too stiff.

Add the fruits and grated zests and mix into the dough thoroughly.

Scrape the dough into the prepared tin and cover the top with lightly oiled clingfilm.

Place in a warm spot and leave to prove for 3 hours.

Baking

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Place your panettone in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.

Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C and bake for another 10 minutes.

Reduce the heat again to 160°C and bake for 30 minutes until the tops are well browned and a skewer inserted into the panettone comes out clean.

Allow to cool in the tin for 30 minutes before turning out onto a rack and leaving to cool completely.

(I’ve found this gluten free panettone/giant scone is ok on day of baking, although like scones, it doesn’t keep well and so is best eaten on day of baking.)

Berry & Almond Muffin ‘Bread’ Pudding

I made this a few weeks ago in order to use up some of the berry muffins I made a while ago. I was the only person around to eat the muffins at the time and so couldn’t get through more than 3-4 before they started to go a bit past their best. Normally I freeze any cakes or cookies I don’t think I’ll eat in time, and then get them out later as and when needed. However, when I went to put the muffins in the freezer, it seems I have been putting more in than I have been taking out as they wouldn’t fit! I don’t want you to think I have a freezer full of cakes and cookies, there were plenty of other things in there too – bags of berries, cartons of homemade soup, meals etc. Either way, it was time to come up with a plan B.

Recently I had been day dreaming about trying to create a gluten free bread and butter pudding and hit upon the idea to make a denser bread pudding and to use the muffins in place of bread. The more I thought about it the more the ideal appealed and I set about doing a little research into bread pudding recipes.

Bread pudding turns out to be a bit of a minefield when it comes to specific recipes. I found some that called for cubes or bread to be baked in a custard, others crumbled them into crumbs and created a mush which was baked into something much sturdier. Some were custard based, others used water, milk or even tea as a socking liquid. The baking times also varied enormously. Some called for a hot oven and a short time, other a much cooler oven and a long bake. Anything from 25mins to 2.5hours! Some were dense and served in squares, others lighter and served with a spoon. This also includes side stepping all the bread and butter puddings which are completely different.

A few bleary eyed hours later I formulated my own recipe, picking and choosing the best aspects of various different recipes I liked. I decided to use milk as my soaking liquid and to crumble the muffins into fine crumbs as I wanted to end up with a denser, sliceable pudding. I added a little jam for extra fruity sweetness and some sultanas to add a dried fruit chew. Mixed spice and almond extract for flavour and just a tiny amount of flour to bind it all together.

I decided on a long slow bake for my pudding, as the mixture was very wet and I wanted to ensure I ended up with something that was not only cooked, but that could be served and held in slices. It was a little trial and error going along, but my finished pudding was delightful.

The outer edges of the pudding had gone wonderfully thick and chewy, while the middle was softer, more tender and studded with moist juicy fruits and crumbs. I adored the almond flavour, it really shone through and went so well with the fruits and spices.

I love how it looks quite plain from the outside and yet is so colourful and inviting once sliced into. Delicious and the perfect way to use up some leftover muffins or cakes you might have lingering around. Success!

Berry & Almond Muffin ‘Bread’ Pudding

Ingredients
600g leftover fruit muffins, around 7
250ml milk
50g gluten free self raising flour
1tbsp raspberry jam
2 eggs
100g sultanas
1tsp mixed spice
1tsp almond extract
1tbsp sugar for sprinkling

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C. Line an 8inch square baking tin with greaseproof paper, letting it drape up two opposite sides of the tin, which will help you remove the pudding once baked.
Tear the muffins into small chunks and add to a bowl along with the spices, almond extract and sultanas. Pour over the milk and mix together briefly. Then set aside for 10minutes.
Beat the eggs and jam together before stirring into the muffin mix. It should become very soft and mushy at this stage and look quite unappetising, but this is fine. Finally scatter the flour over the top and mix together.
Pour the mixture into the tin and smooth the surface. Scatter over the caster sugar and cover the tin with a foil.
Bake in the oven for 1 hour, before removing the foil and leaving to bake for a further 40 minutes.
It should be a dark golden brown colour on top and feel firm to the touch.
Allow to cool in the tin for 15minutes, before running a knife around the edge and removing from the tin with the help of the greaseproof paper.
Allow to cool to room temperature before cutting into 12-16 pieces.
Store at room in an airtight container and eat within 3 days.
Can also be heated and served with custard.

Gluten Free Rosemary, Tomato & Red Onion Focaccia! A Review and A Giveaway

I used to love focaccia bread. Its soft and springy texture with the thin golden crisp salty crust, studded with herbs. Since having to go gluten free I never thought I would eat it again, but all that changed when I tried this recipe from The Gluten-Free Baker by Hannah Miles.

I was recently sent a copy of this book and enjoyed looking through its pages, bookmarking recipes to try. Hannah Miles herself does not need to follow a gluten free diet, but does have an interest in baking of all kinds. Some people might remember Hannah from the final of Masterchef back in 2007. She also writes her own blog. The book is split into sections including cakes, cookies, breads, pastry and desserts, with many delicious sounding recipes to choose from. I don’t really know why I settled on the focaccia as my first recipe to try, especially as my own experiments with gluten free bread baking have been a bit hit and miss. The photo of the focaccia looked so inviting and ‘normal’ (see below) that I yearned to be able to create something equally as good.

I followed the recipe to the letter, with the only slight variation I made was to use red onion instead of olives and natural yoghurt in place of buttermilk, but as it was only a spoonful, I didn’t think this would matter. The dough was more like a thick cake batter than bread dough, but this is a consistency I am learning is most suited to gluten free bread baking.

My dough looked promising and once I studded the top with some tomatoes, red onion and little sprigs of rosemary I was beginning to feel quite excited by it. One point I learnt is don’t prod your fingers into the surface to create little dips like you do with a normal focaccia, or else you’ll just make a deflated hole in your dough as there is no gluten to make it spring back! I only did this once and a handy tomato covered the hole so no one was any the wiser.

Once baked the bread looked and smelt amazing. It didn’t rise quite as tall as the one in the photo but it wasn’t far off! It had a thin crispy golden crust and an airy springy underneath. I love how studded with little holes it is. It was even a little flexible without crumbling or falling apart at all! I think using eggs and a little vinegar seemed to help stabilise the dough.

The taste was amazing! It was just like regular focaccia. Light and springy with a wonderful flavour from the sweet roasted tomatoes and onion and a slight saltiness from the little sprinkling of rock salt. The best focaccia I’ve ever made – gluten free or not and definitely the most successful and delicious gluten free bread I’ve ever produced!

It was fabulous the first two days, after which it got a little drier, but using it to make a toasted cheese sandwich soon transformed it back to deliciousness once more. It was so good. I’ve already made another one and frozen it in wedges to dig out when I need. I’m thrilled to have a recipe for a more artisan type bread that really works. I can’t wait to try out some of the other recipes.

All of the recipes in the book use ingredients that are readily available which helps make them feel approachable to all bakers. For the purposes of a fair review, I will also add a slight negative comment that I’ve noticed with the book. A lot of the cake, cookie and savoury recipes use ground almonds as a substitute for flour. Although I know this often works quite well, it can result in a heavier, denser, moister end product which is not always desired. Plus, not everyone likes the taste of ground almonds, so I felt they were a little too relied upon. However, I’m sure you could replace some with gluten free flour if you liked. Don’t let this minor point put you off the book, as all of the recipes I have so far tried have been wonderful.

Now onto the exciting part. I am delighted to be able to offer a copy of the book to one lucky person. With Christmas coming up it would make the ideal gift for a friend or family member who might have recently been diagnosed with coeliac disease, or even if you’ve just got an interest in gluten free baking.

To be in with a chance to win, simply leave a comment telling me a bit about your own experiences of gluten free food. Do you or anyone you know have coealic disease? Do you have a go-to gluten free recipe you produce should the need arise or are you daunted by the idea of it and want to learn more?

Open to UK residents only. Competition closes at midnight on Monday 14^th November 2011.

Gluten Free Rosemary, Tomato & Red Onion Focaccia

(Recipe from The Gluten-Free Baker by Hannah Miles)

Ingredients

450g gluten free white bread flour (I used a mix of maize, rice, potato & buckwheat)

1½ tsp xanthan gum

2 tsp fresh yeast (I used fast action dry)

2 tsp honey

2 tbsp warm water

300ml warm milk

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp white wine vinegar

3 tbsp buttermilk (I used natural yoghurt)

1 tsp fine sea salt

20 cherry tomatoes, halved

20 pitted black olives (I used sliced red onion)

Few sprigs fresh rosemary

Olive oil for drizzling

Sea salt flakes for sprinkling

Method

Generously grease a deep sided 33x23cm/13x9inch oven tray.

Put the yeast, warm water and honey in a small bowl. Stir and leave for 10-15 minutes to become foamy.

Sift the flour into a mixing bowl, add the proofed yeast, xanthan gum, warm milk, eggs, vinegar, buttermilk and fine salt. Beat everything together using a spoon or spatula to form a thick dough.

Spread the dough into the greased tray and spread it out into an even layer.

Cover the top with clingfilm or a clean towel and place in a warm place to proof for 1 hour or until risen and puffy.

Preheat the oven top 190C.

Dot the halved cherry tomatoes, slices of olive (or onion) and small sprigs of rosemary over the surface of the dough. Don’t stick your fingers into it though!

Drizzle the surface with olive oil and scatter the top with sea salt crystals.

Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes until golden brown and crisp on top.

Allow to cool in the tin to room temperature before cutting into large squares and serving.

Tastes delicious on its own or served with soups, chutneys, cheese or split in half and toasted to make sandwiches.

Eat within 2 days or freeze in portions on day of baking.