Bakery – Gluten Free Me

After spending a few days in San Sebastián I headed over to the city of Bilbao. Bilbao is much bigger than San Sebastián so my expectations of finding gluten-free eateries was high. In this post I’ll share the details of where I ate and what to expect in the Basque city.

Gluten-free tapas

We kicked off eating our way through Bilbao at Los Fueros, a Michelin Guide restaurant in the Casco Viejo (the old town) area of the city. We went at lunchtime and had a few tapas bites to eat, although bigger mains were available. I had the Russian salad and the tomato salad accompanied with toasted gluten-free bread (admittedly not the best gluten-free bread I’ve had in Spain) – both salads were delicious and there were plenty of other gluten-free options available.

Gluten-free bakery

Whilst I didn’t eat here, I stumbled across a gluten-free bakery called Magora Bakery in the famous La Ribera market. They mainly offered biscuits and cakes but they also offered bread too. They are both gluten-free and milk-free.

Dedicated gluten-free restaurants

Naked and Sated

Next up we went to Naked and Sated. They have a few restaurants across the country and are a dedicated gluten-free and health food restaurant. We ordered the poke bowl, the cheeseburger and a cheesecake for dessert. All of the food was good here, but not particular highlights of the trip for us. That said, it was relaxing to eat in a completely gluten-free restaurant and this place was perfectly en-route for us walking from the old town (Casco Viejo) to the Guggenheim.

Urregin

Our final meal in Bilbao was at Urregin and boy was it worth the wait. The entire menu is gluten-free and was happily devoured by myself and my gluten-eating husband, who also thoroughly enjoyed the gluten-free experience. Our only regret is only finding this on our last night in Bilbao.

We enjoyed the cow tail smoked with foie gras, hake in ali-oli, Idizabal cheesecake and chocolate brownie. I thoroughly recommend this place and would advise booking ahead. The restaurant is only very small and is also very popular, so booking in advance is a must.

Gluten-free Spanish vocabulary

Speaking Spanish was definitely useful on this trip as not everyone spoke English. Below are a few key phrases which you may find helpful:

English:

I am coeliac

I cannot eat gluten

Is there cross-contamination in the kitchen?

Does it contain gluten?

Without gluten

Wheat

Barley

Rye

Spanish:

Soy celiaco/a

No puedo comer gluten

¿Hay contaminación cruzada en la cocina?

¿Contiene gluten?

Sin gluten

Trigo

Cebada

Centeno

Overall verdict

Overall rating

Since I arrived in Bilbao after spending two days in San Sebastián, where eating gluten-free was super easy, I found Bilbao much more difficult to navigate on a gluten-free diet, and the options available were much more limited. That said, this can certainly be worked around with some planning ahead of your visit.

Coeliac friendly

Coeliac disease and the importance of avoiding cross-contamination did seem to be well-understood, however I also found to be restaurant options and gluten-free options on the menu to be somewhat limited.

Safety

I didn’t have any issues with any of the food I ate whilst in Bilbao and staff did seem to take cross-contamination seriously.

Since being diagnosed with coeliac disease, like many, I’ve been pining for the doughy, stodginess of bread, cakes, and doughnuts. So when I found out I had a gluten-free bakery just 10 minutes from where I live I was pretty excited to try it out. Here’s what I found…

Gluten-free white bread

Bread is one of the foods which is so hard to replicate gluten-free. Thankfully Wildcraft Bakery do a pretty decent job with their gluten-free white bloomer.

It has a slight crustiness to its outer and the crumby softness of white bread. Unlike some of the gluten-free breads you may find in supermarkets, this doesn’t have to be toasted to be enjoyed, but can be happily devoured in its natural non-toasted state – bon appetite!

Wildcraft Bakery also offer teff wholemeal, sprouted buckwheat and multigrain soda breads.

Gluten-free doughnuts

With so many different doughnuts on offer at Wildcraft it would be rude to simply sample just the one. So I went on a culinary journey sampling three of the many different options on offer: the apple pie doughnut, “The Terry” chocolate orange doughnut and the not-biscoff doughnut.

The apple crumble doughnut tastes just like the gooey, comforting apple crumble you’re hoping for, but better yet- it’s in a doughnut! The oozing centre keeps this one interesting but never soggy.

Terry’s chocolate orange is definitely something I’ve missed since embarking on a gluten-free diet, so I couldn’t resist giving this one a try. A ring doughnut with a chocolate orange glaze, giving hints of that classic chocolate orange flavour without being overpowering.

Now the ‘not-biscoff’ doughnut takes the crown in my book. This dense doughnut oozes a ‘not-biscoff’ butter from its centre and for me tastes just like the real thing. After kidding myself that I’ll save half for later“, I couldn’t help myself and went all in for the full thing and no regrets. I’ll be stocking up on these on my next visit I think.

Here I sampled just a few of the treats on offer at Wildcraft Bakery, and from what I’ve had I’ll definitely be back for more. They also offer cookies, cakes, scones and much more. They also offer delivery from their website, so you don’t have to live in Leeds to get a slice of the action.

Tag: Bakery

Bilbao: A Gluten-Free Guide