The Great British Bake Off 2021: Pinch of Nom Free From Week Inspiration

Wowee! It’s the Quarter Final of Bake Off… We’re down to the fab five, and we all know Paul and Prue will be taking no prisoners. This week in the tent they’ll be judging the bakers’ ‘free from’ skills – that’s dairy free, gluten free and vegan bakes. It’s a never-before-seen theme in the tent, and we’re super excited to see how the contestants handle a fresh challenge.

Paul and Prue are using ‘free from’ week to test the cream of the crop, but making something suitable for a specific dietary requirement doesn’t have to be daunting. You can  usually make it happen with a few simple swaps! 

Fancy having a go at the challenge yourself? We’ve put together some of our favourite ‘free from’ sweet and savoury bakes for you. Ready, set, bake!

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Dairy free sweet baking recipes

Dairy free baking and cooking means, you guessed it, excluding dairy products completely. That means avoiding lactose in ingredients like milk, cheese, yoghurt, butter and cream (so basically, some of the most convenient baking ingredients out there – eek!). Luckily, there are ways around using foods containing dairy.

Our Portuguese Custard Tarts recipe isn’t dairy free by default, but you can easily make it suitable for dairy free diets by swapping out the milk in the recipe for a dairy-free alternative. Substitutes like Alpro will whisk together just as well with the eggy, sweet filling. 

These custard tarts are the perfect balance of creamy filling and flaky, pastry exterior. Bake them in the oven until they’re golden and crisp – yummy!

We’ve got the perfect, classic bake for you to enjoy with your Bake Off cuppa this week. Our Lemon Drizzle Cake recipe is super light at 73 calories per slice and, better yet, it’s totally dairy free! You can’t beat a fluffy, citrusy slice with a hot brew. 

The ingredients list is short and sweet, with only flour, sweetener, lemons and eggs needed – perfect! This simple recipe might not win you the Great British Bake Off 2021 trophy, but it’ll definitely win you some happy customers at home.

Biscoff, anybody? (We know it’ll be a yes). These light, crispy Biscoff Swirls have all the malty, caramel flavours without the calories. The original recipe uses reduced fat puff pastry and semi skimmed milk – swap them for suitable alternatives to gain a dairy free sweet treat!

Whether you’re baking for a Bake Off buffet spread or a smaller audience, you can make these by the batch load and store them in the freezer so they’re handy to grab whenever you fancy a sweet nibble. 

If a bake is vegan, it’ll also be a dairy free treat. Vegan bakes don’t have the benefit of a light and airy egg to fluff up their mixture. No-bake sweet treats like our Chai Rice Pudding are easier to serve on a vegan menu. 

We leave this one bubbling in the slow cooker for a few hours to let the spiced, creamy flavours work their magic. Time things right and you can easily grab a bowl full between the ads while you’re watching GBBO. 

Gluten free sweet baking recipes

Avoiding gluten can be a bit of a challenge in the kitchen. Flour, oats, barley and rye are common ingredients that can be contaminated by gluten in day-to-day food and bakes. Luckily, pure gluten free ingredients are more readily available than ever in most supermarkets.

We love a good biscuit, and our Double Choc Chip Cookies are a moreish, chocolatey sweet treat that’s hard to say no to. To keep the gluten out of the recipe, we’ve used a gluten free flour alternative. Coconut flour is a common substitute used in gluten free bakes, and it’s important to note that not all kinds are the same. Different brands can vary both in density and in terms of calorie count.

If you’re making this recipe with Sukrin, just remember it’s a lot thirstier than regular wheat flour, so that’s why we use very little (no one wants a dry cookie!).

Bake until the cookies are crisp around the edges, soft in the middle and brew-dunk ready.

Our Cinnamon Drizzle Squares are an easy tray bake you can adapt for gluten free diets. Again, you’ll need to swap out regular flour for a gluten free alternative. Supermarkets (and Amazon) often sell affordable, ‘free from’ versions that aren’t far off being like-for-like with regular flour. Just be sure to adjust any calories accordingly!

The spiced, cinnamon drizzle flavours are perfect for watching Bake Off on a chilly, wintery night. If these squares come out of the tray quite bready, don’t worry – you’re looking for a less cakey, more gingerbread-like texture. 

In the unlikely event of leftovers, why not save a batch in the freezer to enjoy another day?

Dairy free savoury baking recipes

Paul and Prue might have a sweet tooth, but we’ll be hoping the bakers get to create some savoury goodies this week too. You might expect a savoury, veggie-filled tart to be cheesy or creamy, but we’ve not used any of that in our Vegetable Tarts recipe.

Using a base of low calorie tortilla wraps, we’ve fried together a tasty blend of courgettes, peppers, tomatoes and spices to create a veggie-packed flavour fest. These only need around 12 minutes in the oven until they’re crispy and golden. You can enjoy them as a light lunch, or stodge them out into a dinner with a portion of Rustic Potato Wedges. 

We love pasties and pies, so it made sense to combine two savoury favourites into one impressive bake. Our Cornish Pasty Pie is a midweek dinner showstopper the whole family will love. There are lots of different fillings you could have in a pasty (including creamy, cheesy ones), but our recipe uses a classic combo of beef and veggies. 

We’ve used strips of pastry instead of a full-on pastry lid to lower the calories. The Bake Off judges might not approve, but our bellies definitely do!

Gluten free savoury baking recipes

Start the day with a savoury bake by whipping up these filling Breakfast Muffins. They’re a simple breakfast blend of cheese, eggs and veggies that’ll keep you going for hours (no flour needed here!). We love that you can prep them and keep them handy in the fridge – enjoy them as an easy brekkie on the go, or as a light snack throughout the day. 

We found out what happens when you cross a quesadilla with a cheeseburger: a Baked Cheeseburger Wrap. Meaty, cheesy and pickle-y (it’s even got the gherkins!), this savoury bake will curb your cheeseburger cravings for far less calories. To keep the recipe gluten free friendly, make sure to use a low calorie, gluten free tortilla wrap. 

You could even go for double points in the Bake Off tent by making this one dairy free too! Bake with dairy free cheese and mayonnaise substitutes and you’ll be a frontrunner for Star Baker.

Mmm, who doesn’t love Sausage Rolls? Arguably one of the most famous British bakes going (for good reason), it wouldn’t be a true list of savoury bakes without them. Our recipe breaks from tradition in that it uses tortilla wraps instead of pastry as the coating that holds the herby meat filling. 

By using gluten free tortilla wraps and swapping out the Worcestershire sauce, you can make this recipe gluten free diet inclusive. 

There’s so much we’ve got left to learn about baking and cooking with ‘free from’ ingredients. It’s about experimenting and figuring out what works best so that your favourite meals and bakes can be more conscious of dietary requirements, without compromising on flavour or texture. Please make sure to double or triple check all of your ingredients if you’re cooking for people with allergies.

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