CeliacChicks

Bette's Gluten-Free Caraway Soda Bread Recipe Rocks!

Soda Bread, Page 77

For some reason, my attempts at using a bread machine have so far ended in tears.  Kelly is the bread machine expert, and because of her I haven't given up hope.  However, when I  just NEED warm crusty bread OR ELSE, I break out this fabulous Bette recipe.  It completely satisfies the bread craving and it's really easy to make ... it's a quick bread, which means it doesn't require yeast ... you just throw it in the oven!  Irish soda bread is quite popular, and I've wow'd many non-celiacs with this rice flour version.  Actually, I've experimented with many different types of rice flour.  More types are becoming available, and they can bring a variety of flavors to your GF baking.  My favorite type is Bhutanese Red Rice Flour by Lotus Foods (check these guys out .. they have a great selection).  I found it at Whole Foods and it adds such a nice twist.  Also, if you're anti-dairy, or baking for the lactose intolerant, substitute the sour cream with soy yogurt ... actually, I think the soy yogurt makes the bread tastier than sour cream.  But don't take my word for it!  Grab Bette's book and rock some soda bread!

A Fabulous Gluten-Free Bakery Has Arrived In Brooklyn!

Josef's Gluten-Free Bakery
194 South 8th St.
Brooklyn, NY 11211
718.336.9494

Oh boy, have we found a special place ... Josef’s Gluten-Free Bakery. Josef and his mother, Devorah opened their bakery 8 months ago. Josef is wheat-intolerant and was inspired to produce good quality tasty GF baked goods. We headed over during one of those blizzards, and essentially had the place to ourselves. Josef couldn't have been a nicer guy ... he enthusiastically began spreading out all of his wares for us to sample. Josef's Bakery is O.U. Certified Kosher. To comply with Kosher standards, everything he bakes is dairy-free. Also, he's sugar-conscious and uses substitutes like honey or nothing at all. Take the Almond Muffins for instance; no sugar, just a little honey is used and the natural sweet flavor of almond makes them taste divine (Josef had us try these WARM ... too good). Speaking of nuts, he also had us try his Pecan Cookies, which exploded with overwhelming pecan-y flavor. There were lemony lemon rolls, jelly rolls, garlic bread that contained no butter, but somehow tasted like it contained tons of butter, a huge cookie selection (chocolate chip, butter, sugar, pecan), muffins, and bagels, yes BAGELS. Needless to say, Kelly and I were mostly speechless, wide-eyed, and chewing. And if you can stand anymore good news, I'll have to mention the frozen pizza crusts.

Bette Hagman's name came up while sharing GF baking stories, and it was then that we found out that Josef is also a Bette fan and actually had somehow acquired the number to the secret Bette Bat Phone and actually spoke with her about coming to New York for a possible speaking engagement! We were very impressed, and might work with Josef to make this happen.

Josef's Bakery also stocks many GF products like pasta, flour, etc. For those of us in the New York area, let's make sure to support this very special place. You know how exciting it is to find really good tasting GF goods, so support support support!

Clockwise, L to R: Apple Bread (make sure to buy this, it's incredible), Garlic Toast, Sugar Cookies, Jelly Roll, Chocolate Chip Cookies

That's a partially eaten bagel on the right ... yum.

Later, I made pizza!