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Avocado and poached egg on gluten free crumpets #crumpetchallenge

Firstly, thank you to Warburtons Newburn Bakehouse, who sent me this amazing little hamper of delicious goodies and invited me to take part in the great gluten free crumpet challenge!

Beautiful gluten free crumpet hamper from Newburn Bakehouse

Beautiful gluten free crumpet hamper from Newburn Bakehouse

Just look at the gorgeous little butter knife from La De Da Living. It even has my blog name on it. I am so pleased with this little knife 😉

These crumpets are wheat and dairy free so perfect for anyone who is coeliac or allergic to wheat and dairy, like me.

I have had these before and know that they are very realistic to ‘normal’ crumpets. Having enjoyed wheat filled crumpets before developing a wheat allergy, they were one of the things I miss most. A real comfort food with melted butter or dairy free spread and jam. Yum!

Gluten free Newburn Bakehouse crumpets with raspberry jam

Gluten free Newburn Bakehouse crumpets with raspberry jam and cuppa

The hamper also contained some delicious raspberry jam from Hawkshead Relish which are nut and gluten free. And even though I have tried really hard to come up with something different for my crumpets for the #crumpetchalleng – I still prefer them just plain with spread or with some jam. Perfect!

Which leads me on to my #crumpetchallenge creation. Using the avocado from the hamper, I teamed this with some poached eggs and Foraging Fox beetroot ketchup. My favourite condiment, and used in nearly every meal I can get away with… fry ups, pasta, salad, roasted vegetables etc.

Newburn Bakehouse Gluten free #crumpetchallenge a la avocado and poached egg

Newburn Bakehouse Gluten free #crumpetchallenge a la avocado and poached egg

This worked really well, the avocoado was the perfect accompaniment for the runny yolk poached eggs. Delicious!

What’s your favourite crumpet topping? How do you eat yours? and please don’t say marmite… urgh!

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Looks, toasts and tastes just like REAL crumpets!

This week we tried the new Newburn Bakehouse Gluten Free Crumpets and we were very impressed. Thank you for sending us a free sample :)

Look, toast and taste just like 'real' crumpets! Newburn Bakehouse #GF crumpets

Look, toast and taste just like ‘real’ crumpets! Newburn Bakehouse #GF crumpets

So what’s in them? The ingredients…

These delicious crumpets are not only gluten free but also dairy free. Those with a cow’s milk allergy will know what I mean here – many normal wheat containing crumpets still contain dairy so it’s been a long long time since I ate anything like a ‘normal’ crumpet. My dairy allergy started much earlier than my problems with wheat so this is good news for both coaliacs and those avoiding milk and dairy for whatever reason.

Here are the ingredients: Water, Rice Flour, Maize Starch, Potato Starch, Raising Agents: Sodium Bicarbonate, Ascorbic Acid; Whole Egg Powder, Egg White Powder, Salt, Preservative: Calcium Propionate (added to inhibit mould growth); Stabiliser: Xanthan Gum; Natural Flavouring.

Be aware these do contain egg so are not suitable for anyone with an egg allergy

Something in all freefrom baked gluten free food exacerbates my eczema and can cause a flare of nodular prurigo and I suspect it’s either the Calcium Propionate or the Xanthan gum. These two ingredients are not going to go away any time soon and I wasn’t too itchy so I would eat these as a treat. Crumpets are a treat food anyway so what’s not to like?

Are they healthy?

I try to eat a processed food free diet most of the time so that means lots of fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and fish. But everyone needs treats sometimes. And treats are not meant to be healthy… right? It’s why when I bake a cake or flapjacks I end up eating the whole lot! Don’t know why I get a tin out to store them in really. It’s hardly work it… ha ha.

I am also pleasantly surprised at the simplicity of this product. There isn’t a huge long list of unidentifiable ingredients and it’s not high in salt or sugar either and at just 144 calories a crumpet I’m sold!

Firstly, ‘normal’ wheat and gluten containing crumpets nutritional information

Nutritional Info for Warburtons normal wheat containing crumpets

Nutritional Info for Warburtons normal wheat containing crumpets

Looking at these normal crumpets you can see that the fat and sugar content is marginally lower. Just 98 calories per crumpet.

So whilst there is a slight increase in fat and sugar both the normal and gluten free crumpets have similar nutritional profiles. The gluten free was just slightly higher on all the warning measures, including salt but this is probably to be expected when you’re baking without gluten. When you’re looking at a baked product like a crumpet you’re not looking for zero calories you’re looking for that crumpet heaven. The gluten free variety were still only 121 calories per crumpet which isn’t bad for a tasty treat snack.

Gluten free baked goods have had a bad reputation in the past for being high in fat, salt and calories and sometimes 4-5 times the fat content but things are obviously improving.

Nutritional Info for Newburn Bakehouse gluten free crumpets

Nutritional Info for Newburn Bakehouse gluten free crumpets

How did they taste?

They were so tasty and really, they were just like how I remember crumpets should be. A bit of a crust but soft and fluffy inside and it’s even got those holes. Memories of Saturday afternoon walks with my family and tea in front of the telly, a large board resting on two chairs and hot buttery crumpets while we watch Dukes of Hazard. Ahhhhh crumpets…

We will definitely be buying these when we can find them in the shops but oh how I mourn butter.

Even ‘husband who can eat everything’ enjoyed them. Just as well as I am not good at sharing. He had this with butter (the swine) and marmite (yuk!) and I settled for just Flora Dairy Free spread on the first one and then this morning, the ultimate crumpet taste sensation…

Soft boiled egg with dippy crumpet soldiers! The soldiers were rendered unfit for battle once soaked in egg, they did go a bit soggy, but the whole combination was just so tasty. I was licking my fingers and the plate to hoover up every last crumb.

Top marks to Newburn Bakehouse. These are amazing!

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