delectable

de·lec·ta·bleAdjective/diˈlektəbəl/
1. (of food or drink) Delicious.
2. Extremely beautiful.

The 'delectable' part of delectablecollectable (referred to as 'dc') is my own homemade baking using ingredients that are wheat-free. I was diagnosed as 'wheat intolerant' 8 years ago (after spending 6 months working in a French restaurant eating nothing but coissants, pastries, baguettes & pasta!) and have since tried to cut it out, in the early years - entirely and currently - when I fancy it! Gladly, I do not suffer from Coeliacs Disease so can still stuff my face when I want to but do have to deal with the consequences of bloating, fatigue, sluggishness, tummy pain, lethagy etc (not very nice). I searched the supermarkets for wheat free items (Sainsbury's and M&S do their own brand) but did not find them very tasty - the yummy chewyness of most breads and baked goods is due to the gluten and so they are often crumbly, sometimes even fall to pieces as they lack the binding ingrediet. Becuase they are also so pricey, I decided instead that if 'wheat-free' was for me - I would have to make and bake it myself....
So, I first started by using Doves Farms flour (http://www.dovesfarm.co.uk/) in cake recipes I already liked and had much success. However, sorry Doves Farms, but I cannot and have not made even one successful bread using their flour - they form a sticky dough, don't rise, fall apart and don't really taste very nice either. Because of this, and then finding that the wheat-free breads I did find were so expensive, a friend suggested using 'Spelt' flour. Spelt is our ancestral grain, is naturally lower in gluten and therefore easier to digest - therefore one can avoid the above stated negatives of eating wheat. There are varieties of Spelt - white, wholemeal etc but it makes a wonderful bread that has the chewiness of a normal wheat free loaf, without the bloating. It's not cheap at c. £3.50 per kg bag but it's the way forward. I have worked my way through about 15 spelt bread recipes and after adding less or more water or oil, adding egg, vinegar or none, dry yeast or baker's, proving or double proving, oats, seeds, honey or sugar, I have come up with my PERFECT loaf.

So...without wittering on any more, my 'delectable' breads, cakes, cookies and goodies will be onsale alongside my 'collectables' (see my new album for what's on sale) at the new V&A Market at Green Park (see my Event). www.facebook.com/delectablecollectable