gluten free bread or flour - where can I find this?

[Cristina7]

I saw some gluten free flour in a local health shop but it was £3 for a 450g bag and it said one bag per loaf of bread. So this sounds too expensive to me. is there anywhere else i could buy this or ready-made bread? We want to try this for a couple of weeks with DH. Many thanks.

Our supermarket (Morrisons) has a gluten-free section - pretty sure it stocks gluten-free flour.

Spelt flour is glutten free and also more nutritious than average flours. You can get it everywhere and costs about the same as normal flour. Bread made out of it tastes miles better than the rice bread sold in supermarkets.

Dietary Specials (available at most big supermarkets) does a crispy glutten free bread, It more like a cracker but it doens't taste too bad. They also do a chocolate cake and muffin glutten free flours

My dp has a massive gluten free and colitis problem. We found Tesco's have just started a huge range of gluten free stuff and some of it it a lot cheeper than other places. He especially likes the 4pk of mini baggettes, he puts them in the oven and they like normal bread. often the gluten free bread is really heavy and dry.

Good tip though: when making anything gluten free add Xanthan Gum (also available from Tesco) It makes things alot softer and gives cakes etc.. that fluffy bounce! IYSWIM.

Thank you very much for your replies and tips. I didn't know usual supermarkets did gluten-free foods, I'll have a look in them. We want to try this for a couple of weeks.

Chandra - spelt is not glutem free... it is not recommended for a gluten free diet. I do use it a lot and Kamut too (I order them from Shipton Mills). I use them as I want less wheat but they are not gluten free.

Spelt

Spelt is closely related to common wheat, originating in the Middle East, and has been popular for decades in Eastern Europe. Higher in protein than wheat, it appears to have a different molecular structure, appearing to cause less problems than wheat for some sufferers of grain allergies. It has an intense nutty, wheaty flavour. The flour is excellent for breadmaking and spelt pasta is becoming more widely available.

useful link \link{http://www.trufree.co.uk/en/article.asp?chco_id=61\trufree stockists}

My Dad is a coeliac and makes his own bread with flour he gets on prescription. He also oses Gram flour (chickpea flour) to make up batter for fish/yorkshire puds etc. You can get it in good healthfood shops.

MY SIL's partner is trying a gluten-free diet (on her doctor's advice), and they've been looking for gluten free bread mixes to use in their breadmaker - anybody know of any, or any tips to make it work? They live in US, but we could send them stuff from UK.

Here : www.goodnessdirect.co.uk/cgi-local/frameset/sect/FCIFL.html
Also I am sure it is easy to find gluten free flours in the US like here
www.surefoodsmarket.com/

Thanks Pupuce, I'll investigate.

Some of the flours in that link are reasonably priced but £6 for carrier Although if the diet works we can then think of buying in bulk so it will work out cheaper. DH has ocassional skin & scalp flare-ups, he's tried all sorts over the years and now I thought about trying gluten-free. Thanks all. I had no idea you could get flour on prescription but now I'm not surprised given the costs.

Hausfrau - Have you tried Salute spagetti? You can get it from Sainsburys, Asda and I think Tescos. Its very close to 'real' pasta and dp loves it.....he tried loads of pastas but they were all very starchy!

You have to put it in boiling water though and keep seperating it with a fork until its gone soft. It sticks together really easily so you have to watch it constantly for about 5 minutes. I then rinse it in boiling water to get that extra starch off. I have tasted it and its the best we've found.

Sainsburys also do their own gf chocolate sponge pudding with chocolate sauce and it is the b's knees!

My dp was told he couldn't get anything on prescription....? He doesn't even get a discount for the amount of tablets that he has to take for the rest of his life.

Also you have to give at least 3 months of no gluten what so ever to get it out of your system before you notice a difference

I use Dove's Farm and I don't think it's that expensive. They also do a Spelt flour which is lovely, but I'm not sure how strictly gluten free it is.
\link{http://www.wheatanddairyfree.com/\www.whateanddairyfree.com} looks interesting but I haven't tried it yet.

I've just bought Dove's Farm gluten-free flour from Sainsbury's. It was £1.57, so much better than the £3 price i'd seen at the health shop. I'll make some bread with it tonight, i'm curious now to see what it tastes like. It says it's a mixture of wheat-free flours.

I noticed today that Tescos had a good selection of gluten-free things including different flours (for around £1.40), bread, pasta and even some goodies like pastries and cakes.

Here's a recipe I found for bread. It says it's flat, but I suppose i could make a hole in the middle and put some chilli or something, like a tortilla. \link{http://www.dovesfarm-glutenfree.co.uk/gluten-free-bread-recipes.htm\gluten-free flat bread}

Cristina of all the gluten-free stuff I find bread the hardest. It's never the same and doesn't have the springy-ness of ordinary bread. I guess that's the gluten then eh?

I've been trying to get round it by putting other stuff in for flavour to detract from the lack of springyness, like herbs, nuts, seeds, sun dried tomatoes and chunks of cheese or goat cheese. With varying degrees of success.

Flat bread recipe looks to be worth a go.

Spidermama - can I ask why do you persist with it if it's not too much fun? Is it for general health?

Good point Kangel that DH might need to give it a try for longer than 2 weeks. His skin flare-ups only occur now and again so a 3 month period is probably more sensible from this p.o.v too, otherwise it can be just chance. I'll see how hard we find sticking to it. I'll join him too, I can't let him suffer alone if it's not too tasty.

I find making my own results in a much more appetising bread than bought ones. If doing things properly though breadmaker cant be used for gluten flours due to cross contamination.

Appologies for that, have just re-checked and you are very right. For some extrange reason it was on our list of wheat substitutes when we went glutten free while we got back the results of his allergies test (supose we have been advised on that because of the bit you mentioned, that some grain allergy sufferers have less problems with Spelt)

Appologies again.

Ch

To answer your question Cristina I feel much healthier and more energetic off the wheat. I'm on it atm because ds needs to be tested for an intolerance but the test only works if he's eating wheat. Since going back on it I've put on loads of weight, feel groggy and bloated, and my exzema has returned. I also easy it is to use wheat in order to feel full up, when I'd be better off eating more nutritious stuff to fill me up. I also enjoy my food more because I make more effort and it's richer in flavour and nourishment.

The serious drawback is that the whole thing takes much more thought and time.