What's for breakfast?

Today, let's talk about pre-made breakfast items. There aren't that many to choose from, since most traditional breakfast items are made with wheat. And most GF breakfast items fall way short of the mark, as far as I'm concerned. I haven't had a good GF waffle yet, but it's not that easy to do. Trader Joe's sells a pretty decent GF pancake in the frozen section that you can just pop in the toaster and eat. It's the closest to a real pancake you'll find, although I wouldn't want to eat it every day. Of course, there is always that box of Rice Chex cereal in the cabinet (see post below).

But today, we're talking bread items. If you happen to live in the Phoenix area, you're quite lucky these days. That's because a small bakery, Gluten Free Creations, has opened in town. Catering to those with food allergies, this little bakery tucked behind a Midas Muffler shop bakes up some pretty decent GF items. Most are also CF, DF and more, so check it out if you can.

Although not everything hits the mark, there are quite a few items that justify the big price tags they carry. The first are the GF donuts. The best two, in my opinion, are the maple-glazed donut (4/$5.95) and the insane chocolate donut (4/$6.95). These are both so close to real donuts that I've even fooled people with them. That's amazing considering most GF baked goods can only be used as doorstops. But the maple-glazed donut is a soft, cake-like donut with a yummy glaze on top. I keep a few in the freezer and just defrost when I want a donut with my coffee in the morning, or just a late-night snack.

The insane chocolate donut is just that. It's a chocolate donut, covered in chocolate icing with chocolate chips on top. Half a donut is usually all I can do, but I sure can do it. It reminds me of those great chocolate muffins I used to be able to eat. These can also be frozen until you need them. I freeze them in individual bags, making it easy to pull one out quickly.



Do these look great or what? I took these out of the freezer for the photo and it took all my willpower not to eat them. If you want a great GF treat while meeting friends for coffee, take along one of these and you won't feel deprived at all as everyone else dives into coffee cake and muffins.

The second item, also from Gluten Free Creations, is a loaf of bread. Yes, I know, GF bread stinks unless you make it yourself. Well, I have neither the time or desire to stay at home baking bread. I never did before, and I just can't now. My only attempt was a complete failure. It's like a science experiment with all the different flours, xanthan gum, baking soda, etc. I never was very good at science. I've also tried many of the GF bread options out there. Brown rice bread, tapioca bread, brown rice with fruit juice, etc. They could all be better served as a doorstop, being dense, inedible blocks.

Ener-G makes the brown rice bread and a tapioca bread. Neither is very edible. The tapioca was the only bread I could tolerate when I began the GF diet. Now, there is no way I would touch it. I suggest trying GF Creations multi-grain bread ($8.95). It's pricey, but a luxury in my eyes. I usually freeze a few pieces each in separate bags, that way toast is not a problem. Take the bread straight from the freezer and toast, you just have to toast it twice--once to thaw, once to toast. I like peanut butter or butter and marmalade. But the sandwich possibilities are endless. The bakery also makes a white sandwich bread, but this multi-grain has so much more texture and taste.



Yummy. Anyone remember the fluffernutter? Well, it's now possible with this bread. I'll post a photo of the next one I eat, if I can get it from my daughter in time.

I would suggest if you live in the area, give the bakery a try. They usually have a few items out to taste, giving you a better idea of what you like. I'm not a big fan of the cookies or cupcakes, they have a funny taste to me. But others have just raved about them. I love the hamburger bun, which is more like a good sandwich roll. The only way to know what you like is to give it a try. You can even buy just one of something, in most cases, if you want to try it without buying a whole pack.

If you're not in the Phoenix area, I believe the bakery ships items out of state. And no, I don't get any kind of commission from the store. I'm just a satisfied customer with a craving for something good for breakfast.

Enjoy.