If I’ve learnt anything from demoing at food shows, it’s that audience questions really make you think on your feet. “What can I use instead of coconut in a coconut cake?” I hadn’t met anyone with a citrus allergy until I demonstrated my blood-orange-infused carrot cake.
As the new series of The Great British Bake Off gets into full swing, it reminds me of the challenges I encountered as a contestant on the show in 2013 (fans will remember “custardgate”). But the real challenge began after the show when I realised that the super-health-conscious brigade can be rather intolerant. By that, I mean there are all sorts of ingredients people can’t or don’t want to eat.
I’m neither a coeliac nor wheat-intolerant, yet my new book is all about gluten-free baking. With friends and family members who avoid gluten, I bake gluten-free to be inclusive. If you’re scrupulous about cross-contamination (for goodness’ sake, don’t roll out gluten-free dough on a wheat-floured surface), you can create food that everyone can enjoy.
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I also find the challenge of free-from cookery inspiring. There’s something perversely liberating about finding you’ve run out of a “vital” ingredient for a recipe — it forces you to think creatively about an alternative. The quest for free-from alternatives can be an opportunity to unearth things weird and wonderful. Try saying Kockens Potatismjöl (that’s a kind of Nordic potato starch, by the way) without impersonating the Muppets’ Swedish Chef. Have you ever breathed in the heady aroma of hemp or the evocatively festive chestnut flour? Journey to southern France for a slice of socca — or, more practically, pop into your local supermarket, buy a bag of gram flour and make the Provençal pancake yourself.
Yes, I have a bent for the unconventional, but if you’ve only ever baked with standard wheat flour, you could be missing out.
Howard Middleton
Delicious Gluten-Free Baking by Howard Middleton (Robinson £16.99) is out on September 11. To buy it for £13.99, inc p&p, call 0845 271 2135 or visit thesundaytimes.co.uk/bookshop
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See recipes from the Bake Off winner Frances Quinn, The Magazine @SundayTimesFood