Often I'll be asked "What got you into gluten free baking? If you've read Our Story, you'll understand that it stems from my desire to have an inclusive birthday party for my son.

That birthday party certainly got the gluten free baking ball rolling, what's kept it rolling ever since is my love of great food :), my curiosity, my determination for working out 'How can I make that gluten free?' and my love of sharing knowledge.  

You may be asking "What's that got to do with designing Bakers' Magic gluten free flour?"

Basically I give gluten free baking classes to share my knowledge. During my classes in 2008 I would ask participants "What do you really miss?"

Most of the time the answer was "Good bread" (occasionally it was Vanilla Slice:)).

Naturally my curiosity came to the fore.  

I would ask “What characteristics are important for your gluten free bread”.

The answer that stuck in my mind the most was “I want to be able to wrap a sausage in it”. Such a simple thing but it says so much. Flexibility is needed. Another comment that was often repeated is “It’s okay for toast”, so it might be great for toast, but it falls apart when you use it to make a sandwich. The bread needs to be strong. “I want bread that satisfies me, you know, when you’re eating it, it doesn’t just disappear”. Heads would nod in agreement at this statement. Substance is needed.

Flexibility, strength and substance

Three simple words that are not often associated with gluten free bread. My determination for working out 'How can I make that gluten free?' was well and truly awakened and so my search began. What combination of gluten free alternatives could possibly provide flexibility, strength and substance? Although some of the gums can give flexibility, I wanted to try to make bread without any gums, if possible. Of course, it had to taste good as well. So, I would scour health food shops searching for ingredients I hadn’t seen before. I would then hurry home to see if this was “THE INGREDIENT”, more often than not I was disappointed. It was a wonderful moment when I pulled my “experiments” out of the oven and knew I could make bread out of one of them. My search was over I had found “The ingredient” I was looking for.

My smile was enormous when I made my first loaf of good gluten free bread. It smelt like bread, tasted good, I could roll it and I actually had to chew it – fantastic. Flexibility, strength and substance; without adding any gums. Next, I made a loaf with raisins, cinnamon and brown sugar, it was delicious. I remember my sons comment at the time “Mum, you’ve cracked the Da Vinci Code” that was high praise indeed, coming from a 10-year-old.    

   

Decadent Alternatives was no longer manufacturing so I approached a local company, Springhill Farm. They were interested in manufacturing the product under license. 'The Real Bread Mix' was the result. Unfortunately, ~2 weeks after the launch of the bread mix in 2009, I was diagnosed with the blood cancer multiple myeloma. For the next couple of years my time was spent on treatment and recuperating. Now that I am in remission, I am finally back baking (up a storm!).

The Real Bread Mix is so much more than a fantastically versatile bread mix, so it was with this in mind that this wonderful product was renamed 'Bakers' Magic Gluten free flour' in October 2016. Unfortunately, October 2022 saw the end of production for Bakers' Magic gluten free flour. The recipe for this wonderful blend is now available for purchase for home use through the online shop.