Gluten Free Food Reviews

I purchased this ‘Cause You’re Special mix from my local natural food store for $7.99 ( ouch!) for an 18 ounce bag. I was hoping it was good because it was pretty pricey. I found that this mix makes approximately 4 batches of 6 standard sized biscuits. The perfect size for a single meal for two to three gluten free people.

This mix makes both drop biscuits or regular ( rolled out and cut with a biscuit shaped cutter), both of which are very good. Once I mixed the dough after adding an egg, milk, and shortening, I found it to be very sticky and added extra mix to outside of the dough and the rolling pin when making the traditional version. The final product is light and fluffy and looks appealing with the gently browned exterior. The flavor is mild with just a hint of it’s rice flour base, and simply yummy. It matches perfectly with warm butter or a natural fruit spread. This biscuits are not grainy or heavy and would compliment any meal.

The biscuits kept well for another day or so in the fridge, but quickly dried out after that. I suggest eating them quick for best results. And since they are so tasty, that shouldn’t be a problem!

I’ll definitely buy this again.

Pros: light and fluffy texture, gentle flavor, appealing appearance

Cons: price, sticky batter

Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Click below to try for yourself:

Cause You’re Special Hearty Gluten-Free Biscuit Mix from Gluten Free Mall.com

Ingredients: white rice flour, potato starch, sugar, baking powder (sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbobate, corn starch, monocalcium phosphate), salt, xanthan gum.

I purchased this bread mix from my local grocery store. It is priced at $4.89 for a 22 ounce box, and includes a yeast packet.

To make the bread, you need to add water, oil and eggs. I mixed this in my Kitchen Aid mixer with no problems (there is a bread machine version, but I have not tried it yet). Speading the glue-ey mixture into the bread pan took some effort, and puffed up during the 40 minute rise time. After baking, the crust sounds hollow when tapped and is slightly crispy and a beautiful golden brown color.

I found this bread easy to slice both warm and completely cooled, with very little crumbling. The texture is slightly spongy, but thinly slicing the bread helped with this. This bread stored wonderfully in my refrigerator for three days and tasted and sliced like it was fresh. However, beware when freezing- it becomes dry and crumbly. The flavor was mild and balanced, not too “ricey” - just right.

This bread was really good hot out of the oven with butter and jam. It also made wonderful fresh and grilled sandwiches. I will definately buy this mix again!

Pros: easy to mix, stores well, slices nicely, great in sandwiches

Cons: Crust is pretty crispy out of the oven, doesn’t freeze well

Rating: 4 stars

Ingredients: white rice flour, brown rice flour, potato starch, skim milk, whey, corn starch, brown sugar, guar gum, salt, yeast packet

Yes, good ‘ole Pamela has done it again!

This bread mix is just yummy! The bread should be mixed by a hand mixer and is simple to assemble. The dough spreads easily in the bread pan, where it rises a bit for 60 minutes. It doesn’t rise a lot, just to the top of the pan.

For best results bake this bread the full 70 minutes, as 65 minutes tends to leave it a bit too moist and soft. The crust is soft and chewy, not rock hard like other home-baked mixes. The bread slices easily with an electric knife and has a few nooks and crannies. Overall the flavor is mild, slightly sweet and tasty. The texture is more smooth and not at all crumbly. Best mix I have tried to date!

This mix may also be used for pie crust, pizza crust and sweet breads- the side panels have recipes for these items. (edited to add: I tried this mix to make pizza crust and it was way too sweet. I wouldn’t suggest it Read my review HERE).

PROS: soft yummy bread, great for sandwiches

CONS: long rise and bake time- be sure to plan ahead, slightly sweet

Rating: 5 stars

Locations to Purchase Coming Soon!

Ingredients: Sorghum flour, tapioca flour, sweet rice flour, brown rice flour, organic natural evaporated cane sugar, chicory root, white rice flour, millet flour, molasses and honey, rice bran, sea salt, xanthan gum, yeast packet ( active dry yeast.)

 

 I was unsure at how this mix would turn out. It uses mostly bean flours instead of the traditional rice flours. But hey, I am willing to experiment and try something new.

The mix was easy to use with my automatic mixer-3 minutes on medium high and it was ready for the pan. The dough was thick and sticky, and was a bit difficult to spread into all four corners  of the pan. An oiled spatula was very helpful in completing this step.

The mix rises nicely and bakes to a pretty brown color. When sliced, I found it was full of small holes and crevices, not a smooth texture. It consistency bordered on spongey, but sliced well with minimal crumbling. The taste was quite bland and definately nothing special. I chose to store the sliced bread in my fridge wrapped in plastic. However, this did not prevent the bread from quickly drying out and becoming more bland- if that’s even possible.

 This bread is good for high flavor sandwiches that need a neutral balance, but don’t expect to much from this mix, it’s nothing to brag about. I paid $5.19 for the mix from a natural foods store, and even though it was “OK”, I’m not sure of I’ll buy it again.

Rating: 2 1/2 stars