Bready North America was among the vendors at the October 2 Iowa State Celiac Conference in Cedar Rapids. Operations manager Sean Lair demonstrated the Bready baking system that was introduced in the United States and Canada in May 2010. The Bready bakes breads, buns and cake and mixes dough that can be shaped, for example into pizza crust. The system is specifically designed to make gluten-free baked goods.
About the company. Company president and CEO Holly Smith-Berry first saw the system in Sweden in 1995, where it was invented. She was impressed by the dense, fiber-rich, flavorful loaves. She joined with entrepreneur and company Chairman of the Board Goran Malm in 2004 to develop the system for North American consumers. The company's vision is to provide a solution to the lack of nutrients, unpleasant texture and taste and lack of variety common in gluten-free baked goods. In addition, the closed system, which starts with sealed pouches, eliminates cross-contamination from gluten that may be present in some kitchens.
Those involved with the company are passionate about the product because they've been affected by gluten intolerance in those close to them. Lair has gluten intolerance in his immediate family and said he was interested in good gluten-free foods and the machine because a gluten-free diet was something he wanted to "do as a family."
About the breads. The vendor table offered freshly baked samples of Heavenly White sandwich bread, Apple of My Eye apple cinnamon cake and Nearly, Dearly Rye, which is made to taste and look like rye bread using caraway seed, cocoa powder and coffee powder. The breads were tasty and had good texture. Other mixes available are pecan spice bread, sandwich or burger buns, olive sun-dried tomato bread, and chocolate cake. Products coming soon include banana bread and whole-grain bread.
About the mixes and machine. The mixes don't contain preservatives and are high in nutrition with about 3 grams of protein and 1 gram of fiber per slice. The "rye" bread has 3 grams of fiber per slice. (For comparison, a typical slice of white bread made from wheat flour contains about 2 grams of protein and 1/2 gram of fiber per slice.) The machine uses scanner technology to read a tag on the bag for proper machine settings and automatically transfers the dough from bag to nonstick baking pan.
The starter kit, which includes the machine and several mixes, retails for about $325, and mixes are about $7 each. The machine, mixes and accessories can be ordered from the company's online store. The price tag might make this system a luxury for some, but for others, nutritious, fresh-baked bread might be an important necessity for satisfaction on a gluten-free diet.
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