Since gluten is what holds the structure of the bread together, the bread is going to be a bit odd without it. As for the taste, rice and wheat don't taste the same as each other!

That Tesco seeded is one of the 'better' gluten free breads. The fact that it was reduced implies that it was far from fresh. I do indeed suffer from coeliac disease so have no choice but to endure these offerings. Believe me they are infinitely better than those available 15 years ago.

All the gluten free loaves dry out very quickly and I find keeping them in the fridge helps to maintain a reasonable texture. Genius, Warburton and Promise all do reasonable facsimiles of 'real' bread. The supermarket own brands are, shall we say variable.

Other grains whilst available aren't necessarily useful for bread making and coeliac sufferers can't have anything with wheat, barley or rye as all contain gluten. The usual flour mixes these days use rice, potato and corn flour along with a few more exotic grains for flavour. Texture remains the big stumbling block with the usual additive being xanthan gum to hold things together.

One day they will find a cure but until then it is make do with non-bread bread, so to speak and pay the exorbitant prices for said exotic concoctions. Usually at least twice the price of a normal loaf. So enjoy the cheap sliced white while you may. Coeliac disease is thought to affect as many as 1 in 100 people and of those probably at least 75% are undiagnosed Just putting up with 'a bad gut' frequently fobbed off with a diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome.

Oh well, just grin and bear it.

John

I dont think that it stops with buggered bread. I once tried caffeine free coffee. Never again – what muck, in my opinion. Vaguely recall other foods that have been tampered with. "Nowt taken out"?? Ah, but what muck has been put in that has not been mentioned, disguised by bullshit wording? " Hydrolised vegetable fats"? Other dodges like gravy browning to darken a cake because it's a cheaper ingredient than black treacle. Now I wont touch anything like that. Fortunately, I dont have too many health problems. I am pre – diabetic so dont touch iced cakes but very occasionally have a small amount of "marzipan" as I find the flavour irresistible. Go easy on it since its sugar paste with colouring and flavouring. Having had a double bypass some years ago, I'm now on 6 prescriptions for life, in theory, but the aspirin causes internal bleeding, so I very often 'forget' to take it. Some of the other medicines sometimes get forgotten due to their interference with my sense of balance such that biking has ceased as I feel that I'm a danger to myself wobbling about. Not supposed to eat grapefruit, a favourite, as it allegedly interferes with medication. Had one last week and still busy gardening, workshop, walking everyday. I take the view that many things are 'bad' for me but I enjoy them in moderation and stay happy. I feel that my careful behaviour with foods and drink, won't make much difference to my longevity so enjoy life. 'Summat' will get me sooner or later even if I do give up so many of my favourite foods, so why do it and snuff it anyway even after a few remaining years being miserable taking notice of "experts" saying I shouldn't eat this or that. I do realise that some people suffer from various ailments that mean it's imperative that they avoid certain foods and I sympathise. I said pre or borderline diabetic so I counter that with continued gradual weight loss, almost no alcohol, daily walks and try to keep as active as possible. Now mid -70 s so whatever I do now won't make much difference. Would just like to hang around long enough to draw out a darn sight more pension than what I ever paid in for!

Edited By DMB on 20/07/2023 21:59:36

It's like with fat, gluten is the tasty stuff that holds it all together

The totally fat free milk is totally taste free milk to me

I had digestive problems for many years and it was suspected that I was gluten intolerant so proper bread was out of bounds, I found that baking our own bread using Spelt flour seemed the answer. Spelt flour is from an ancient wheat that was brought here I believe by the Romans, most people with gluten intolerance can tolerate it well, it is different from normal bread flour which comes from what is generically known as Canadian wheat which was genetically selected at the time of World War Two because it gives much enhanced yields and helped feed more people when supplies were scarce. It has continued in use because of its greater yield it is far more profitable to grow, its genetic make up makes it unsuited to those with gluten problems. The Spelt bread that I used to bake was virtually indistinguishable from shop bought bread, it’s taste was no different nor its texture when compared with shop bread, I must comment that the gluten free breads available commercially taste disgusting. My digestive problem turned out to be not the gluten content of bread but the yeast it contained, I get allergic reactions from both yeast and yeast extract contained in food products. Unfortunately yeast extract is used widely in processed foods as a flavour enhancer to disguise the poor quality of ingredients used like cheap meats etc. Now having all but excluded any yeasts in my diet, and yes that means beer and wine both made using yeast, I can sometimes tolerate some sourdough breads because they use a different strain of yeast and are prepared differently than ordinary bread, one consequence of excluding yeast from my diet is that very bad excema that I suffered on my hands has completely disappeared, my dermatologist said that there was a common link between the two. Dave W

In mammals, milk is a food produced for baby animals . Usually, the ability to digest milk, in particular to break down lactose, is lost as a baby animal is weaned.

Some humans have a mutation which allows them to continue to produce lactase, and therefore digest lactose , into adulthood. It is not normal in most mammals and it is not the norm in most humans either, only about 35% of people have this mutation and are lactose tolerant. It really is not a food designed for any mammal after weaning.

There is a link between coeliac disease and lactose intolerance. Once on a gluten free diet however the lactose intolerance will likely improve. Other side effects of untreated coeliac disease include iron deficiency anaemia, B12 (folate) deficiency anaemia and osteoporosis. It also has links to dermatitis herpetiformis about a 1 in 4 chance of getting that.

Coeliac disease is unlikely to see you off but can be unpleasant and debilitating.

John

Cadbury's is okay, I am a button addict. Still have not forgiven Nestle for changing the taste of the Rolo though

I seem to remember Cadbury's shifted production to Poland sometime before Brexit. Wonder how that's going for them

Robin

I’ve had Peroni Gluten free beer and that’s made with the same ingredients as their regular beer. The gluten is apparently removed with an enzyme at the end of the brewing process.