Katz Gluten Free and musings on baked goods and cravings...

Some time back I heard of another mailorder Gluten Free source. Katz: http://www.katzglutenfree.com/?gclid=CJfd_rOqzKUCFQS7KgodbCGJmA. They offer a free sample pack, which, of course, isn't really free since you have to pay for FedX shipping. But there's quite a lot in the sample pack. Several kinds of bread, a couple of muffins, Rugeleh, a dinner roll, a 3 pack of other rolls and a slice of marble cake.

I sampled the marble cake, which was a trifle bland, but ok. I had the dinner roll for dinner ;-), and it was also a trifle bland, but the texture was excellent. Very 'real bread' like, which seems to be quite rare in GF yeast breads. I ate the chocolate chip cookie, which was ok - but tiny, and the cinnamon & chocolate rugeleh samples. They were ok, but still a bit bland and grainy.

So, am I being too picky? I've had all of these years to become a fan of really GOOD bread and bakery. I think the thing I am most disappointed with Gluten free baked goods is a) lack of flavor, b) graininess and c) texture - often too moist. The graininess is from the rice flour I guess, which is not as smooth as wheat flour. The moistness is because GF bakery requires far more liquid and eggs than gluten containing bakery. But what happened to the flavor? So many of the commercially available things seem far too sweet, and often that's the only flavor that really comes through. Whole grain gluten flours taste better after baking, and definitely smell better while baking, but am I really asking too much of the GF baked goods? This is truly frustrating me.

I have all of my life had the problem that if I crave 'something', often not sure what that 'something' is; I will eat quantities of things trying to satisfy that craving. If the craving is not satisfied, I will continue to try different things attempting to find the 'right' thing. This has been one of the greatest contributors to my overweight. I am unfortunately finding myself in that craving mode for really GOOD GF bread and not finding it! Since I know what it is I crave, I have some control, but it still is very frustrating!