The Gluten Free Blog

Hot on the heels of Genius, Warbutons, the UK’s leading independent baker, have launched their own gluten free bread. And Gluten Free Blog was lucky enough to be invited along to the recent launch breakfast, at London’s Covent Garden Hotel, hosted by the celebrity chef and gluten free expert Phil Vickery.

Warbutons Gluten Free range

What did we eat? Well, it was an early start. So we tucked into tiny slices of toast topped with salmon and egg, bacon butties, sausage sarnies and toasted teacakes. And, as you’d expect, it was all quite delicious.

Warbutons decided to build their first gluten free and wheat free bakery in March 2010, in response to customers’ requests for a tasty, gluten free range. “We’ve thrown ourselves into this project with the same passion and care we show for all our products” says Jonathan Warbuton, Chairman of the family-run company. “The whole team is really pleased with the results and it’s our hope that you will be too!”

Phil Vickery is working with Warbutons to launch the new range and as you know, we’re fans of Mr V here at Gluten Free Blog. So it was great to meet the man himself and talk all things gluten free cooking. We also chatted about salad cream and crisp sandwiches, which both of us used to enjoy as kids!

Our goodie bag included Phil’s latest book, Seriously Good! Gluten-Free Baking, which we can’t wait to tuck into. And our bag also had a white loaf, brown loaf and a packet of tea cakes which were tested on the guys as soon as we got back to the office. And all got a thumbs-up.

Warbutons Gluten Free Bread

So what’s in the Warbutons gluten free range? So far sliced white and sliced brown in 400g and 600g sizes; sub rolls in white and brown; crumpets; and fruity teacakes which are all available in all UK grocery stores.

One of the gripes, I guess, is the price. The 600g loaf retails at £2.89, the sub rolls at £1.99 and the crumpets and teacakes at £2.19. At the time of writing the small loaf (400g) is on special offer in Asda for £2 although it normally retails for £2.49. And yet the same size loaf of ‘normal’ Warburtons bread costs a measly 67p. Hmmmmm. If Warbutons really want those with coeliac disease not to “miss out on this tasty daily staple” we’d really like to see their prices come down a bit.

Read the follow up post here. Warbutons gluten free bread – falling apart?

The decorations are down. The tree has gone out for recycling. And the diet has started. That’s it. No more mince pies or chocolates here for us at The Towers.

Oh wait what’s this? A lovely parcel from Ye Olde Friars of Keswick? Well, it would be rude not to try just one or two of their delicious handmade gluten free chocs, wouldn’t it?

Ye Olde Friars of Keswick is, as the name suggests, based in Keswick. And since 1927, they’ve been selling locally produced handmade chocolates and confectionery to the locals and tourists that flock to this pretty Cumbrian market town.

More recently they’ve added gluten free chocolates and confectionery to their range. And the Gluten Free Blog team were more than happy to give them a try.

We tried the honey flavoured milk buttons first. They reminded me of something you might find in Diagon Alley. And they were delicious. I thought they tasted more like liquorice rather than honey but maybe that’s just me.

Next up were the novelty chocolate toolkit and the truffles. Now these were amazing. Phil thought the toolkit was “some of the best chocolate I’ve ever tasted”. Whilst the gluten free truffles got a resounding “11 out of 10”. Oooh. My mouth is watering just thinking about those truffles.

We also munched our way through a box of handmade gluten free milk, white and dark chocolate selection. Again, delicious and creamy. And this week we finally got round to trying out the handmade fudge, which came wrapped in wax paper in a lovely gift box. This was literally melt-in-your-mouth stuff.

You’ll be pleased to know that via the website, Ye Olde Friars offers an overnight delivery service for a small fee of £4.95. So if you’re looking for a gluten free chocolate gift for a friend or family member, this is a good place to go.