This past weekend we took a road trip to Rochester Hills, MI. The great thing about this city is that there is a Whole Foods and a Trader Joe's directly across from each other. One of the reasons we went was Whole Foods was trying to break a Guinesss World Record with cutting open numerous blocks of Parmesan cheese. And we love cheese. :)
It was not until I went home that I realized that my three main purchases were all products made by the same parent company. Udi's, Gluten Free Pantry, and Glutino are all companies under the Boulder Brands name, previously named Smart Balance.
I've tried many Glutino products over the years, and especially enjoy their pretzels. Glutino recently started selling pop tarts, the one food that every celiac misses. In all truth, pop tarts are not the healthiest item in the world, but there's something about knowing that you CAN'T have something that makes you want it. Their pop tarts come in Strawberry and Apple Cinnamon. I searched FOREVER throughout that store to find them, finally asking a store employee where they might be. They were on the very bottom shelf, and I was so excited when I finally found them.
I tried the toaster pastry both cold, and hot, as I often ate cold pop tarts for lunch when I was in high school. It was pretty good cold, very soft. There is no frosting on top of these pastries, but the filling is tasty and comes all the way out to the edges. I toasted the pastry, and noticed later on another blog post that it is suggested that you toast them on the lightest setting or they might burn. Because, well I didn't put it on the lowest setting and it did get a little dark. Eating them hot, they reminded me more of a Pillsbury toaster strudel than a pop tart, as they were nice and flaky. Overall, a pretty good product.
This photo is taken from the Udi's website.
My Udi's purchase was their Classic French dinner rolls. They are also dairy, soy and nut free. I chose these over the multi-grain as the Classic French were only 80 calories, compared to the multi-grain rolls being 100 calories. 80 calories is an even starch exchange on the Curves Complete plan. This bag of 8 rolls are found in the freezer section and are intended to stay frozen. I baked them at 400 as directed on the bag, although I found that i didn't need to bake them as long. They were very hard and crusty, with the insides being soft and piping hot. My husband said that they reminded him of French baguettes, which he likes. I don't like my rolls that crusty, so I decided to try another one and warming that one in the microwave. I do not suggest doing this. The outside was overly chewy and not as tasty.
My Gluten Free Pantry purchase was their Decadent Chocolate Cake mix. A friend of mine is having a birthday soon, and I want to surprise her with a birthday cake. The box is only 15 oz. and the recipes for the cakes using this flour on their website all call for 2 cake mixes. Since I only bought one, I'm going to make another one from scratch using the All Purpose Gluten Free Flour that they make. I found a recipe that I think will work quite well, and then I have a large 3 layer cake. Since this flour does not contain any xanthum gum, I will have to be sure to add some. Here are some guidelines for using xanthum gum in your baked goods. I love using Hodgson Mill xanthum gum because they come in tiny little 9 gram individual packets, similar to packets of yeast. I find this product at Meijer stores. Due to the cake being a surprise, I don't want to include any photos yet, but I will update this post later so you can see the finished product!
For bread and pizza dough recipes: Add 1 tsp xanthan gum per cup of gluten-free flour used
For cake, muffin and quick bread recipes: Add 1/2 tsp xanthan gum per one cup of gluten-free flour used
For cookie and bar recipes: Add 1/2 tsp (or less) xanthan gum per one cup gluten-free flour used
So, best of luck to the Boulder Brands family, and I look forward to the new items you have coming out soon!
Update: While the all purpose mix does not have xanthum gum, it does have guar gum. Wish I would hav realized that before I added the xanthum gum, as the batter became very .... gummy. I ended up adding more milk to thin it out. The cake from the recipe, not the mix, was fantastic. The peanut butter frosting was a little thin, and the cake layers slid around. Because of this I chose not to take a picture. The cake was very much enjoyed by all though! I used PB2 powdered peanut butter in the frosting, which added great peanut flavor without extra fat. The frosting recipe did make more than i needed, but i have another cake to make for church, so it will get used up!
