Tuesday 17 April 2012

GF Seedy rolls in the campervan





I’ve been driving around France and Italy for the last month, so have been cooking in the campervan.  I made up some bread mix before I left, made with urid, tapioca and conrmeal flours, Solanic potato protein (which stops risen yeasted gluten free breads slumping), lightly crushed buckwheat, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, a smidgeon of cocoa powder and some yeast.  I mix with water to a slurry, put into bread tins, sprinkle extra seeds on top, leave to to rise, then bake from cold in my campervan oven.  I have no idea what temperature it is; I just cook the bread until it is toasty brown and has come away from the side of the pan a little.

The last blog on this topic showed my high altitude bread, cooked in Bourg St Maurice when we were skiing.  This is my low altitude seedy rolls; camped by the sea near Sete, on the Mediterranean.
The bread is light, crisp on the outside, and full of flavour.  It also has no added fat or salt.

Friday 13 April 2012

Frankie & Bennies - an update on gluten free eating

I noticed that several people had read my blog from 2010 about eating gf at Frankie & Bennie's, where I said it was dull but safe.  However, since then I ate at one of their stores again.

This time the waiter said they were used to dealing with food intolerances.  I said I was very sensitive and they would need to take extra care - dishes straight from the dishwasher, not touching my food if they had touched bread etc.  I asked for a spiced chicken dish with salad.

The food came.  The chicken was not spiced - I presume they decided the spice mix had gluten or they weren't sure.  I didn't get an explanation or comment.

I don't remember much about the meal.  What I do remember is that I was ill for several days afterwards, a particular nuisance as I was starting a trip to France and Italy in the campervan.

So,  self-perceived knowledge about food sensitive may have increased but the capacity to handle food safely does not seem to be adequate.  Based on this experience I would be very loathe to eat at one of these restaurants again.