Delicious and Gluten-free, Together at Last!

That’s not a typo in the headline. When the assignment to write an article about a gluten-free bakery came across my desk, my first reaction was, well, not one of excitement. For many years, gluten-free products have not exactly been, shall we say, very tasty.  And being a baker myself, I was skeptical.  So off I went to investigate.

Most great ideas are born out of a need. And this was no different. Jeff Robbins, the co-owner of Get Fresh Bake House, based in Fairfield, NJ, has a daughter with Celiac Disease and wanted to find a way to provide great tasting treats for her.  GFBH opened in January, following three years of intensive research, planning, and preparation.  Jeff and his business partner, Peter Mykrantz, knew they needed a true food professional to help with this endeavor. And they found that person in Bill Doyle, a passionate baker, graduate of the CIA, and 30 year veteran of the food industry.

Celiac Disease affects one out of every 133 people in the United States. It is not a food allergy – it is an autoimmune disease.  The only treatment is the lifelong adherence to a gluten-free diet. When gluten is removed from the diet, the small intestine will start to heal and overall health improves.¹

Bill uses three different types of flour, depending on the item he is baking. The bakery is 100% gluten-free and all of the equipment in the facility is brand new, meaning that traditional wheat products never touched any of this equipment.  Gluten-free foods do not contain wheat, barley, rye, oats, or their crossbred varieties.  In addition, all GFBH products are individually wrapped to ensure there are no cross-contamination issues.

But the bottom line, of course, is taste.  And I must tell you that if I did not know that these products were gluten-free, I would have never guessed it. Gone is the dry, mealy texture, and flat taste associated with so many gluten-free products. In its place, a cookie and bar as delicious as any regular product. As the GFBH team likes to say, they’re creating a delicious product that just happens to be gluten-free.

Bill does this by taking a regular recipe, removing the traditional flour, and replacing it with gluten-free products. Everything else remains the same. He uses top-quality ingredients, including Callebaut chocolate, and no preservatives of any kind.  This produces a product with a shelf-life of only two weeks, but I don’t really think they will be hanging around that long! 

Of the products I sampled, the oatmeal-cranberry cookie and the brownie were my favorites. The oatmeal cookie was as delicious as any of the traditional oatmeal cookies I’ve made hundreds of times.  The brownie, extremely moist with a tender crumb, would satisfy the chocolate cravings of any true chocolate lover.  

And, in a fancy bit of name dropping, their classic chocolate chip cookie was the runaway winner of Oprah’s “Life Lift” blog.

GFBH makes a variety of cookies and bars, such as The Midnight 2X Chip Cookie, which is a dark, dark chocolate cookie, Bill’s Excellent Butterscotch Cookie, blondies, and the aforementioned brownie.  They are still working out the formula, but hope to offer a top-notch gluten-free bread in the near future.

Get Fresh Bake House products are currently sold on-line or at various retail locations around the NY/NJ area.

I don’t have gluten issues, but I know this affects many people. Until now, there has been little in the way of delicious dessert options for them.  It seems Get Fresh Bake House has helped to solve that problem, and along the way, created an entirely new category of desserts – “gourmet gluten-free.”  

Get Fresh Bake House

www.getfreshbakehouse.com

1-855-GET-FRSH (438-3774)

¹ http://www.celiac.org

Bivio

Bivio. Translation: fork in the road.  A fitting name for the newest pizza spot in the area.  Not only because it sits literally at a fork in the road, but for the play on words.  However, I've been there twice since they opened a week ago and have never once used a fork!  This is pizza that begs you to pick it up - you want to feel the silky dough that wrought this glorious crust. You want to lick your fingers of whatever crumb or topping may have fallen off.


I've written about pizza before (in New Jersey, pizza is almost our national food) but this is different. This is pizza straight from the coast of Naples.  This is the stuff "pizzanistas" dream about. 


Bivio is the dream of Jackie & Tomasso Colao - a small, cozy spot where Tomasso works the dough into little discs of heaven, and Jackie welcomes customers like you are a guest in their home.  

The wood-burning oven, made in Italy, is modeled after the ovens used in the bakeries of Pompeii. When we were in Pompeii, the ruins of the bakery were the most fascinating to me. According to Tomasso, the oven is almost up to the right temperature for him to start baking bread. And what a fine day that will be for those of us longing for real, artisanal bread close by.


The menu is small - a few salads, 5-6 pizzas, and 2-3 desserts. The arugula salad we sampled the first night was delicious, sprinkled with lemon juice and shaved Parmesan, the leaves not at all peppery. The simple dressing of EVOO was lovely but just a tad too light-handed for me. 

Ever since our first trip to Italy about five years ago, we have been hooked on porcini mushrooms.  So when we saw the Porcini pizza on the Bivio menu, we were thrilled. Tomasso rinses the mushrooms before soaking them to bring them back to life. Then he adds San Marzano tomatoes, fior de latte mozzarella, fresh basil, EVOO, and sea salt. The result is divine.


The true test of any pizza maker worth his salt, is the ability to make a fine Margherita pizza because this is as simple as they come -- tomatoes, olive oil, fresh basil, mozzarella, and sea salt. And here Bivio does not disappoint.  But the real star of the show is the crust. Not since Italy have I had crust like this. Working the pizza oven by himself, Tomasso knows just how long to bake it (about 90 seconds to be exact) to get a perfect pie. Some say the secret is in the flour (00 flour from Italy), but true aficionados know it's the combination of quality ingredients with a master's skill. Tomasso told us that this is just the way he grew up.

Going back the second time, we tried the special pizza that evening, which was crumbled sausage with sweet sauteed onions, cherry tomatoes, and mozzarella. Again we were bowled over! The simplest ingredients combined to make one of the best pizzas I've ever had.


We saved a little room that night to sample dessert - homemade Tiramisu, homemade cannoli, or fresh berries with house made cream. Such choices! We went with the cannoli and were so happy. The ricotta cream was not cloying, as sometimes is the case. Instead it was light, with just a hint of sweetness, and piped into a crisp shell. It was paired with a delicious, huge strawberry. 

I was a little hesitant to tell anybody about Bivio for fear I wouldn't be able to ever get a table again, but eventually word would leak out anyway. And as they say, when you come to a fork in the road, take it...


Bivio
7A Paterson Avenue
Little Falls, NJ
973-256-0050
www.biviopizza.com 
Open Tuesday-Thursday: 5-10pm; Friday, Saturday: 5-11pm
BYOB

Grilling Season is Upon Us!

With the recent Memorial Day holiday signaling the official outdoor grilling season (at least for those of us north of the Mason Dixon Line and east of the Mississippi), I wanted to share news about a new line of beef at the A & P line of stores (includes Waldbaum's, Pathmark, FoodBasics, The Food Emporium, and SuperFresh).  They are launching an association with Woodson and James Angus Beef. They held a public BBQ at their Woodcliff Lake, NJ store over the weekend and invited The Cook's Tour to a tasting.


All of Woodson and James beef is single-sourced, which provides A & P with quality control and a grain diet produces tender, juicy, delicious meat.


A & P's new Director of Culinary Creations, Chef Michael Grieb, is committed to providing their customers with as many locally produced products as possible (sort of "farm to table" at the supermarket level), including the sweet corn enjoyed by the attendees. 

They offer local ground beef raised in the mid-Atlantic area, and their chicken and turkeys are fed veggie diets and given no antibiotics.  All stores will be promoting "grill ready" options for the summer, meaning meats that are prepped and ready to go on the grill (very convenient!).  In addition, a new line of gourmet burgers will be showcased (bacon cheddar, Vidalia onion, and mushroom Swiss) - these could be a big hit at your next party!

At the BBQ, they offered a delicious brisket that Chef Michael cooked "low and slow" for 10 hours. They also highlighted a new line of hot dogs that I thought were terrific. Pearl Kountry Klub Hot Dogs from the Boston area had great texture and a nice snap (as they say in the frankfurter biz...). What makes these dogs so delicious is the use of brisket for the meat and the  special blend of spices.

If you have one of these stores near you, check out their new offerings for your next BBQ.

To round out your grill menu, I offer one of my favorite summer dishes, Red Cabbage Roquefort Slaw. This is a unique take on the usual BBQ sidekick - creamy and tangy, and sure to wow your guests with its gorgeous presentation. Thanks to Debbie at JerseyBites.com for the lovely photo.

And for dessert, a simple, but tasty Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Walnut cookie (sure to please both children and adults).  The addition of whole wheat flour makes these on the healthier side, not too sweet but very satisfying. Thanks to my friend, Michael, at work for this recipe.


Drop me a note and let me know what's on your grill this summer!

Onward urban grillers - may the grill be with you this season!

Print Slaw Recipe Here


Print Cookie Recipe Here