Okay, so let’s talk about this whole gluten-free biscuit thing. I didn’t just wake up one day wanting biscuits that taste like, well, not biscuits. My stomach started kicking up a fuss quite a while ago. Went to the doc, got the usual runaround, and finally, they suggested ditching gluten. Great. Just great. My afternoon tea ritual felt doomed.
Diving into the Gluten-Free Aisle
So, I had to start somewhere. Headed to the shops. Found that special little aisle, the “free from” zone. Felt like a different planet. So many boxes, weird ingredients listed. I just grabbed a couple that looked kind of normal, you know, trying to replicate the biscuits I actually liked. Took them home, feeling a bit skeptical but trying to be optimistic.
First attempt? Disaster. Opened the packet. They looked alright, maybe a bit anaemic. Took a bite. Poof. Dry dust. It just crumbled into nothing. The taste? Like licking a cardboard box. Seriously unpleasant. Shoved that packet way back in the cupboard. Thought to myself, “This is gonna be rough.”
But I’m not one to give up easily, especially when it comes to biscuits. Next shopping trip, I tried to be smarter. Actually read the packets this time. Saw lots of rice flour, corn starch, weird gums I’d never heard of. Picked a different brand, one that looked a bit fancier and, yeah, cost more. Hoped the price meant it tasted like actual food.
The Taste Test Marathon
This second brand was… better. Ish. Didn’t turn to dust immediately, which was a plus. Had a bit more bite. But the taste was still off. Kind of bland, maybe a bit too sweet in a strange way. Definitely not the buttery goodness I missed. Started keeping a mental tally:
- Brand X: Sawdust. Never again.
- Brand Y: Tolerable. Maybe if desperate.
This became my routine for weeks. Grab a new box, make tea, brace myself, take a bite. Some were rock hard. Seriously, I worried about my teeth. Others were oddly soft and chewy, which just felt wrong for a biscuit. Found one made with almond flour; it wasn’t bad, nice nutty flavour, but crumbled if you looked at it too hard. Another was mostly rice flour; super crispy, but in a brittle, unsatisfying way.
Finding a Few Okay Options
After trying maybe ten different kinds, I finally landed on a couple that I could actually eat without feeling depressed. One brand, the name escapes me, used gluten-free oats. That seemed to give it a better texture, something closer to a real biscuit. It held up okay when dunked too, which is crucial.
There was also a chocolate chip one I found that was decent. Let’s be honest, loads of chocolate chips can make almost anything taste better. The biscuit part was still a bit dry, but the chocolate balanced it out. Ended up buying those two brands more often than the others.
It’s still a bit hit-and-miss. Sometimes they change the recipe, and a biscuit you liked suddenly tastes weird. And they always cost more than regular biscuits, which is annoying. But that’s the story of my hunt. Lots of tasting, lots of disappointment, but eventually found one or two that make cutting out gluten a tiny bit easier. It was a real trial-and-error mission, mostly error, but what can you do? When your body says no more gluten, you gotta find alternatives, even if they’re not quite the same.
