East & West Bakery, Barnstaple

I must give the East and West Bakery in Barnstaple, Devon a mention because they are doing a fabulous job catering for Coeliacs down in Barnstaple. We visited here one afternoon as my friend had mentioned that they do gluten-free cakes. I was naturally keen to sample their delights, I mean, a bakery that actually provides a selection of gluten-free cakes is a rarity in my part of the world and as I seem to be obsessed with satisfying my sweet tooth at the moment I couldn't wait to see what the bakery had to offer.

When we walked in it was clear that the bakery was a very popular place as there were about 5 or 6 people in the queue in front of us - always a good sign! My friend pointed out to me the section of gluten-free pastries and cakes which were located to the far right of the counter as you walked in and were all displayed on their own separate tray, away from all the gluten cakes. I also happened to notice that they bake their own gluten-free bread and sell it by the loaf, individually wrapped and ready to take away.

I decided to go for the coffee cake as it just looked amazing! I am not kidding when I say it was the nicest gluten-free cake I have ever tasted - the light, moist sponge, the layers of coffee flavours and the fresh cream on top all complimented each other well, plus the slice itself was huge! I almost forgot to take a photograph of the cake because I was enjoying it so much but here's a quick picture I took before I devoured the whole slice...

Apparently they take orders too so you can order a specific type of cake if you call them in advance and they will bake pretty much anything for you -  01271 377577.

I can not wait for my next visit!

The Jolly Roger Tea Room, Exeter

After a few relaxing days away in Barnstaple, North Devon, I'm back and ready to review some of the places I managed to eat out at.

I was very surprised to find that there were actually a lot more Coeliac-friendly places to eat out in Barnstaple than in my home town of  Leek, Staffordshire. (Come on Leek get a move on!) On further thought though, Barnstaple is a very touristy place so I suppose it does makes sense that there are a lot more gluten-free places to eat out there as there is probably more demand for them. But still, it frustrates me that there is hardly anywhere for me to eat out where I live in Leek, and further affield, in Stoke-on-Trent.

I was immediately drawn in to the place as there was a sign outside advertising their gluten-free choices on the menu so this seemed like an obvious place to lunch whilst visiting Exeter for the day.

The tearoom is a very quirky little place, located on the riverside in Exeter. You can eat outside or indoors but as the weather was bad we ate inside. The interior of the tearoom is decorated in pirate-themed paraphernalia and there are pirate ships mounted on to the wall all around the room so, plenty of things to look at whilst you are waiting for your food to arrive.

The Jolly Roger specialises in their loose-leaf tea (white tea, black tea, herbal tea and rooibos tea) and I was completely overwhelmed by the choice on their menu. I have only recently been converted to tea drinking (and fruit tea only) but after much deliberation I decided to go for a pot of strawberry black tea. It's also worth mentioning that they actually sell all their tea in a little shop next door too.

When the waitress came to take our order I asked her about the gluten-free options, as it was not clear from the menu what I could have. She explained that they had scones, crumpets, and gluten-free bread if I wanted a sandwiche. I decided to go for the date and banana scone which came with dairy-free margarine spread or jam/cream. I opted for the dairy free spread (it's nice that they have the dairy-free alternative too). When my scone arrived it was warm and fresh as everything is baked on site. I would have perhaps preferred a little stronger banana taste but the scone texture itself was lovely and light, definitely not as heavy as you find with some gluten-free baked goods. However, I really wished I'd ordered two! Everyone else in our party had ordered sandwiches which were huge and came on a plate with crisps and salad and by the time I had gobbled up my scone they had barely started on their plate of food and I had to sit and watch them eat the rest of theirs. Next time I think I will probably order something more substantial but again I opted for something simple in the hope that there would be no way I'd accidentally eat any gluten. I definitely think there is a trust issue there for me.

Overall, if you like tea you should definitely visit the Jolly Roger. The fact that there are gluten-free choices on the menu is also a bonus.

The Only Way is Gluten-Free heads down south!

I'm off down south, to Barnstaple, North Devon for a few days to visit friends. I'm really looking forward to a nice break and a change of scenery but this is also the first time I will be away from home since being diagnosed as a Coeliac so I am feeling a little bit nervous about what/where I will be eating for the next 4 days.

Never fear I'm packing a few gluten-free essentials to take with me just in case - some bread, crackers, cereal and some macaroons for snacking plus some gluten-free stock cubes and gravy granules - always be prepared (can you tell I used to be in the Girl Guides?)

I've done my research and checked out Coeliac UK's venue guide on their website and found a couple of places to eat out in Barnstaple that they recommend but I'm looking forward to having a good old nosey round the place and hopefully I will find some great new places to eat out that are Coeliac-friendly. So watch this space...

Hot Cross Buns

This was my first attempt at hot cross buns.

I decided to use Juvela's recipe as I had just been sent a sample box of their products just a few days ago which included a box of their White Mix. You can find their recipe here but I have also recreated it below:

The recipe:

Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/Gas Mark 6 and lightly grease a baking tray.

Ingredients

500g (20oz) Juvela Gluten Free Mix
2tsp mixed spice
50g (2oz) butter
1 sachet easy blend yeast (supplied with Mix)
50g (2oz) caster sugar
100g (4oz) mixed dried fruit
1 medium egg
125ml (1/4 pint) warm water (approx)
125ml (1/4 pint) warm milk (approx)

Instructions

In a bowl combine the Mix with the mixed spice. Rub in the butter to resemble breadcrumbs. Stir in the yeast, sugar and mixed fruit. Beat together the egg, milk and water. Gradually add to the dry ingredients to form a soft but not sticky dough. Knead the dough until smooth on a surface lightly dusted with Mix.

Divide the dough into 8-10 pieces and shape into buns. Place on a baking tray, cut a shallow cross on top of each bun and cover with greased cling film. Put in a warm place until well risen (this should take about 45 minutes).

To make the cross on top of the buns, use 50g of Juvela Gluten-Free Mix and mix with enough water to make a paste. Use the paste to pipe a cross on top of each bun. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 20-25 minutes.

To make a glaze for the top (optional) - Mix together 75g (3oz) sugar with 100ml (4fl oz) of water and use this mixture to brush the buns with while they are still warm.

Not bad for my first attempt.

Overall this was a quick and easy recipe for hot cross buns. It was handy using the flour mix as you didn't need to measure the flour out, you simply used the whole box including the sachet of yeast, also provided.

The dough itself was very very sticky and I found it quite hard to kneed, maybe I used too much liquid.

The final result was very pleasing indeed! Although my buns didn't rise as much as I would have liked and were rather dense, they tasted great, with just the right amount of spices and fruit, giving a really sweet, but not too sticky, fresh taste. I would liken my buns to a cake rather than a bread, but this isn't really a criticism, merely an observation. I think the key to getting lovely round buns is in the kneading and the proving of the dough beforehand. Practice will, no doubt, make perfect.

Happy Easter everyone!

Juvela goodies

A couple of days ago I received this amazing goodie box from Juvela in the post!

My dietician had given me a whole load of information and leaflets about various gluten-free companies, including one from Juvela inviting you to sign up for a free sample pack. Naturally, I filled out the form, popped it in the post and a couple of weeks later I received my sample pack.

What's inside? 

2 x pizza bases
1 box of fusilli pasta
1 box of crispbread
1 box of fibre flakes
1 box of white mix (flour mix)
1 fibre sliced loaf
5 x white rolls

This is another great company that want you to try their products first. Like Glutafin, Juvela have obviously spent massive amounts of time and money on preparing their sample boxes to send out to people. I'm so grateful that companies actually do this because it means I can sample many different products and brands before I decide on what I want to get on my prescription.


I can't wait to give them all a try. Reviews coming soon.

Thank you Juvela!

Pizza Hut

This review is quite a bit overdue as I actually visited Pizza Hut about 3 weeks ago now, so my apologies.

It was my husband's birthday and he didn't want any fuss or frills, so we visited our local Pizza Hut. I'd heard a lot about pizza companies such as Pizza Hut and Dominoes introducing new gluten-free pizza bases and had read some really mixed reviews so I have to admit I was a little nervous about trying Pizza Hut gluten-free base. I was mainly worried about cross-contamination and whether the staff would be educated and adequately trained in preparing gluten-free pizza. But I needn't have worried.

When I got to Pizza Hut I made it known to our waiter that I required a GF pizza. He was not at all fazed by my request and simply proceeded to show me to the relevant section in the menu where it mentioned the GF base. He also explained that I could have any of the toppings as they are all gluten-free. Yes!

Now when it came to the salad bar I was a little bit more apprehensive. Our waiter was a little unsure about what sections of the salad bar I could actually have so he went to ask his manager and came back with a list of the items I should avoid, which included the pasta salad, bacon bits, croutons, bread sticks, and dry onions. He also said I should be wary of the seeds, salsa and pickled onions as they couldn't guarantee they were safe. I was so grateful for the extra effort he went to which made me feel a bit bad but in the end I decided not to have any of the salad because I was just so worried about the cross-contamination aspect - I mean, all the salad is in one place and it could be so easy for someone to drop, say, a crouton in to the lettuce accidentally or snap a bread stick in half and then some of the crumbs go in to the rest of the salad. Call me paranoid, but I was just not willing to risk it but I really appreciated the Pizza Hut staff going to so much effort to find out what parts of the salad bar were GF.

When my pizza arrived I found it was a square base, which means that the staff can distinguish between the normal bases and the GF bases so there is no way of mixing them up, genius! They also told me that the GF pizzas are cooked in their own square tins to avoid any cross-contamination. It looked delicious and I couldn't wait to tuck in, but not before cutting my pizza myself with my own (clean) pizza cutter. Again, this is another way Pizza Hut avoid cross-contamination by getting you to cut your own slices. This is such a good idea!

Overall I loved my pizza. It had the same flavoursome toppings that Pizza Hut are so well known for just with a different base. The base itself, although very thin, wasn't dry at all or chewy which I have found with some GF bases. Delicious!

When I had finished eating, the waiter came back to check that everything was OK with my pizza and he even told me that when Pizza Hut had first introduced the GF base all the staff had received training on how to prepare and cook the GF pizzas and as part of the training they had all sampled a GF pizza. He told me that most of the staff were really impressed with the taste, and these are people that wouldn't normally eat GF pizza so that is definitely reassurance to us Coeliacs!

It was great to see that the Pizza Hut are so well educated on their GF base and have gone that extra mile to include Coeliacs in their clientele. The waiting staff were wonderful and went out of their way to ensure my dining experience was stress-free and enjoyable! Thanks again, Pizza Hut! It now means that if I am out and about with family or friends and we need a quick, relatively cheap bite to eat, we can go to Pizza Hut and I'm not excluded from the pizza experience. I'm now on the look out for other eateries with GF pizza bases. Can anyone recommend anywhere else?

*Enjoying my first GF pizza base courtesy of Pizza Hut. This is the spicy cajun chicken topping*

A little help please

I hate to admit I am finding things tough at the moment.

How long does it take to notice a real difference in symptoms after starting a gluten free diet?

I know that there probably isn't a clear cut answer to this but I am interested in finding out from my fellow Coeliacs how long it took you to notice a big difference and to feel well again after removing gluten from your diet.

I am now in week 5 of my gluten free lifestyle and I admit that during the past 2 or 3 weeks I had noticed a slight improvement in my symptoms e.g. I was not quite as tired as I have been feeling for months and months, but nevertheless still tired.

However, I am currently going through what can only be described as a bad spell and to save me from despair I thought I would turn to my blog and fellow bloggers for some advice. I have been feeling really ill for the past 5 days, the tiredness is back with a vengeance, and it seems like my symptoms are back to being as bad as they have ever been, despite noticing a small improvement in my symptoms initially. I don't think I have slipped up and eaten some gluten without knowing, as I have been so careful. But I really don't know what else could be wrong. Hence, my frustration! Any ideas?

I know I need to be patient and these things take time but if I am doing something wrong, I want to change that. Is it normal to have good and bad days whilst getting used to the gluten free diet? Am I doing something wrong? Or am I just jumping the gun a bit and expecting too much in the first few weeks?

 I recently read a suggestion online that you should change your toothbrush when you go gluten free even if it doesn't need changing yet just in case there is any gluten lurking in there. This is something I never even thought about but I have immediately thrown out the toothbrush and got a new one. I have brought a new chopping board so that I don't contaminate my bread with my husband's (gluten) bread. I no longer use our toaster and use the grill instead if I want toast. Despite being in to my 5th week of my gluten-free diet I am not really finding much improvement in my symptoms. And as far as I am aware I have been doing all I can to ensure that I don't have any gluten. I've read that some people can notice a difference in a matter of days, others it's a few weeks but then for some it could take up to a year for the gut to fully heal itself. I know I need to be patient but it's so tough! I want to feel better right away and I want to make all the sacrifices and changes to my diet seem worth it.

Anybody else have any other tips to help speed up my recovery or is it just a case of time? I would love to hear from you too if you are also struggling.

Thanks