The Truth about Free-from

 

I tried some white sourdough bread yesterday, bought from the bakery aisle in my local supermarket. It was labeled ‘free-from’ but there it was – not in the health food section but with loaves of mass-produced bread. Is this a sign of the times? It was a wheat-free and gluten-free loaf and it was delicious. It was from Warburton’s Newburn Bakehouse range.

About a year ago, I saw a press release from the company announcing the launch of a classic white and a white sourdough bread being the first artisan loaf types to hit the supermarkets in the UK. And there it was, on the shelf and approved by Coeliac UK.

So is this a sign of acceptance? Yes, it is.

Campden BRI, the food and drink research experts, say the market for bakery goods free-from gluten and specific allergens has increased dramatically in recent years. So much so that the research house has hosted free-from conferences to give bakeries and bakers a comprehensive review of how the technological challenges associated with gluten-free and allergen-free baking have been addressed to deliver products acceptable to the coeliac sector and beyond.

Campden bakery expert Charles Speirs said there is a need to ‘understanding the issues around developing allergen-free and gluten-free baked goods with a look at how specific ingredients can be used to replace the functional properties provided by gluten and common allergens such as soy, dairy and egg’.

The industry has now seen the need for this sector to become mainstream.

This was born out by another supermarket group, Waitrose, reporting this month that sales in free-from goods had shot up this Easter, with gluten-free hot cross buns up 124 per cent on last year. And they, too, were proudly displayed, I noticed, alongside the conventional buns.

Then French bakery specialists Bridor have recently launched a range of gluten-free briochettes, madeleines and both plan and mixed seed bread rolls. The company has launched the products so hotels and restaurants can provide for the growing gluten-free consumers.

The range is frozen, and flow-wrapped to prevent cross-contamination of gluten.

A company spokesman at this year’s IFE show in London last month said the new range ‘maintains the textures usually associated with conventional bakery products’ and achieves a flavor profile to match.

This was born out by Waitrose nutrition manager Moira Howie. She said recent advances in free-from products, recipes and their more widespread availability ‘meant that eating free-from foods does not have to lead to a sacrifice in taste or quality’.

So, I’ve noticed that free-from is more widely acceptable now than it was just a few years back – as are organic products.

Back to my sourdough loaf. I did some looking into it and its prominence on the shelves. Warburtons say the brand, Newburn Bakehouse, was ‘established to ensure that those with food intolerances or those choosing to eat gluten- and wheat-free could enjoy the same great quality and taste’ that others get from their products.

Free-from and other organic and specialist products are here to stay. If you want to know more, see the next issue of European Baker which will feature a free-from supplement. It will be an eye-opener.