Product: Annie May’s Sweet Café Allergen-Free Dinner Rolls – $4.50
So, I got a little impulsive when I was at Annie May’s Sweet Café on Saturday morning. It happens. Especially after a good race. And even more so after having not been to the cafe for two weeks. Two long weeks. UGH! Way too long to be away from my favorite place to grab food that I know I can safely eat. But, I’m finally back in town for a little while and that means…I’m back to my routine.
After running a great 5K race in Louisville on Saturday, my roomie and I headed to Frankfort Avenue and pulled up (FINALLY!) into Annie May’s Sweet Café parking lot. It was breakfast sandwich time. And as we were sitting there noshing on our delicious breakfast (which also included an allergen-free doughnut…because…they are doughnuts and I love them!), Cathy spotted a bag of dinner rolls up on the top of the bakery case.
While we were polishing off breakfast, she asked if I wanted to get them to try. I gave her that, “Are you really asking me that?” look and nodded my head while happily stuffing my face with more of the allergen-free vegan breakfast sausage sandwich. With that decided and our breakfast consumed, we went to the bakery case (where I resisted ordering one of the amazing chocolate chip cookies…despite really, really wanting one) and just snagging up one of the two bags of the allergen-free dinner rolls. We went to the register, paid for them, and went on our way.
I had no idea what I was going to use them for at that point. But my roommate had suggested I make tzatziki with the cucumbers I got in my CSA bin. And I had these gluten-free and vegan pablano chickpea patties in my freezer so I thought…why not make sort of a mock falafel slider? These dinner rolls would definitely make the perfect slider buns. Saturday we indulged in both Annie May’s Sweet Café and then gluten-free crepes from Sweet ‘N Savory Food Truck at Louisville’s Buy Local Fair. So, we were pretty full upon returning home that day. But…that’s what Sunday’s are made for.
Sunday evening, I made up my homemade tzatziki and then got the poblano chickpea patties into the oven. While they were starting to cook, I got the bag of dinner rolls off the counter and undid the tie. I pulled out all six of the dinner rolls (carb happiness, yes?) and put them all on a baking sheet. When the chickpea patties were about halfway done, I slid the dinner rolls into the oven to toast for about 15 minutes at 350°F, just to get them golden crispy on the outside. I did make sure I watched them though, as I didn’t want them to burn. The chickpea patties and rolls finished at the same time. I let them both stand for a minute while I sliced up a leaf of romaine lettuce and pulled the tzatziki out of the fridge.
Now…the fun part. I sliced each of the dinner rolls in half. They were so soft and steamy on the inside. They looked absolutely fantastic. It was definitely food porn of the drool=worthy type. I placed a dollop of tzatziki on each bottom half of the dinner roll, added some lettuce, put 1/3 of each patty over the lettuce, topped it off with a little more tzatziki, then put the top of the dinner roll over it. BAM…instant mock falafel sliders. All gluten-free. LOVING it.
But, the real test would come with the dinner rolls. How would they hold up? How would they taste?
I should have known, given that these came from Annie May’s…that they would be epically awesome. I never doubted it for a moment, to be honest. One bite…and I knew that these little dinner rolls had to come to Thanksgiving with me this year. They were soft to begin with, but I wanted to be sure they could hold up to the sliders I was making. So, just that short time in the oven and they got this golden crispness on the outside, but remained soft on the inside. It was dinner roll perfection. And, they didn’t hollow out. You actually got an entire dinner roll. They were light and fluffy on their own, without skimping on the bread part on the inside. They tasted awesome. Perfect. And completely allergen-free.
Annie May’s Sweet Café lists the ingredients for these allergen-free dinner rolls as millet flour, sorghum flour, tapioca starch, quinoa flour, water, olive oil, egg replacer, agave nectar, apple cider vinegar, and xanthan gum. I recognize all of those ingredients and think that they have really hit the nail on the head when it comes to their bread mix. The flours they use just bake up beautifully. Light. Not dense. Not heavy. And perfect. I was in love with every bite. And I meant it when I said I would buy a dozen or so of these for Thanksgiving, which I am hosting this year and keeping gluten-free…because that’s how my kitchen is.
A big shout-out to my local gluten-free bakery, Annie May’s Sweet Café for once again bringing me allergen-free perfection. This time…in the form of a simple dinner roll. Sometimes it’s these little things in life…these little kitchen miracles I bring home from your business…that make my gluten-free life so much more amazing. I love you…and can’t wait to try more of your goodies that I have yet to try. Until then…see you on Saturday for breakfast.
The Celiathlete 