Product: Against The Grain Bakery Original Baguettes – $7.99+
Gluten-free breads are tricky.
Oh…they are tricky.
Especially when you are serving them to not only bread connoisseurs, but also people who do not normally eat gluten-free. Ever. Unless they are hanging out with you!
Welcome to my world!
Recently, with the holidays, I played hostess to my roommate’s family for a pre-Christmas celebration for me before I headed home to spend the holidays with my family. I was to prepare a meal that everyone could sit down to and enjoy. And in my home, that means something not only vegetarian, but also gluten-free. Thankfully, everyone attending is aware of this.
For this holiday gathering, I decided to make a pasta dish – Tagliatelle with a White Truffle Butter Sauce. So, while I was out shopping at Whole Foods for some of the necessary ingredients, I spotted the Against The Grain baguettes in the freezer. I had heard a lot of good things about the products coming out of the Against the Grain Bakery line, so I threw caution to the wind and picked some up for the occasion.
Against The Grain Bakery’s mission is to provide the gluten-free community with products that use the natural products of real foods. All the ingredients in their breads are items you would normally find in your pantry. No weird chemicals. No strange add-ins. The products that are baked up by Against The Grain Bakery are all naturally gluten-free and delicious. They certainly do not compromise taste or quality when they bake up their products.
As I was making the purchase at the grocery store, the cashier ringing me up said that he had only heard good thins about the Against The Grain baguettes. In fact, he mentioned that a lot of people said they had a cheesy flavor to them. I like cheese, so I was more than happy to hear this sort of endorsement of a new product I was trying. With the purchase made, I now just had to create my meal with it.
On the day of the big get-together, I set out to cook the meal, starting, of course, by thawing one baguette for 3o minutes, per package instructions. I sliced it up into little amuse-bouche size rounds and pre-heated the oven while I lightly brushed each slice with some olive oil and gave it a light dusting of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Into the oven they went for about 8 minutes or so…just long enough to toast up slightly…then…onto a plate and out to the guests they went. No sampling ahead of time. Trial by fire…with regular bread eaters and lovers.
I was on pins and needles when they reached for a slice to have with their gluten-free pasta dish.
And it was love at first gluten-free bite. For real. These baguettes are crusty on the outside and soft on the inside. The perfect texture combination when it comes to breads. They truly do have a cheesy flavor to them, which, upon inspection of the ingredients is brought to light by the inclusion of mozzarella cheese. A-ha! They are a cinch to slice, either as rounds or for use for a sandwich of sorts. The flavor in each bite is amazing! We were all hooked and the bread disappeared quickly from the plate, to eat on its own and to simply mop up a bit of the truffle butter sauce form the pasta dish.
When normal bread eaters can’t tell the difference, and snatch up the gluten-free bread faster than I do…then we’re on to something.
Kudos to Against The Grain Bakery for providing the gluten-free community with fine products packed with flavor! These delicious baguettes are my favorite. So much…that it has totally spoiled me on any other gluten-free baguette I have tried before. Nothing else will do. The problem is…this is a popular brand and finding somewhere that has them in stock is a bit of a challenge. They fly off the shelves as quickly as the stores get them in.
I guess part of the enjoyment is the chase. And when a product can stand on its own as this bread proved it could…well…it makes the hunt worth it. I am already on the search for another baguette to enjoy with other meals. And, I anticipate I’ll be trying other products in the Against The Grain Bakery line-up (bagels, rolls, pizzas) very soon.
If you happen to be out at the grocery store and spot these little treasures in the freezer section…whether you have to eat gluten-free or not, I encourage you to pick them up and give them a try. But be forewarned, you will be hooked! Seek…prepare…enjoy! Against The Grain is doing gluten-free breads right. And for that, I am one happy consumer…and forever fan.
The Celiathlete 