New Zealand’s first grain- and gluten-free bread

For many Kiwis, morn­ing toast is a daily ritu­al — almost a reli­gious exper­i­ence. But what about those of us who are try­ing the Paleo diet, either because they want to, or need to?

Loc­al baker and busi­ness­wo­man Clare Chris­ti­an has filled the gap in the mar­ket with her new com­pany Paleo Pantry, and in the pro­cess has developed New Zealand’s first grain- and glu­ten-free bread.

From a small oper­a­tion on the Kapiti Coast, to a fam­ily-owned bakery in Whan­ganui, Clare is con­stantly mov­ing to big­ger premises that can sup­port the grow­ing demand for her product. “There is a huge groundswell of people adopt­ing the Paleo way of eat­ing,” Clare tells Fish­Head. “But the biggest issue for them is the lack of options.” She is hop­ing to solve these prob­lems with a range of products that includes grain-free crack­ers, pizza bases, tor­tilla wraps, gran­ola and health bars.

“I aim to be the ‘go to’ brand for all Paleo and grain-free needs,” she says. If you would like to try Clare’s bread, head to Moore Wilson’s, Com­mon­sense Organ­ics and Farro Fresh.

We asked Clare for some serving tips, and she has shared with us her daughter’s dev­il­ishly del­ish (and not so Paleo) French toast:

Lily’s savoury French toast

1. Drench slices of Paleo Pantry bread in egg that has been lightly beaten with a splash of full cream, salt and pepper.
2. Fry the bread slices until golden.
3. Grill a thick slice of ham and place on the fried bread with baby spin­ach, cheese, a smear of Dijon mus­tard and fresh basil.
4. Pop your cre­ation back in the pan for a little while just to melt the cheese slightly, then serve with chilli, ginger and tomato jam. Yum![/success]