BigFree gluten-free grocery store entrance (Katie Wells)
Dear celiac and gluten-sensitive community,
There is a gluten-free (GF) haven just outside of Caserma Ederle military base in Vicenza, Italy!
It’s not until you find a plentiful GF section, or one of the rare all-gluten-free restaurants or bakeries, that you realize how much mental weight searching for items, reading labels and ingredient lists to ensure a food is safe to eat can be. Before every trip, I try to minimize this extra mental load by pinning local GF spots on my Google map. Occasionally, I come across gluten-free gold!
In Vicenza, BigFree is an entire grocery store dedicated to celiac-safe food. My friend, whom is not GF, graciously fanned my excitement and accompanied me on this pit stop as we drove from Vicenza to Cortina d’Ampezzo.
Inside the BigFree (Katie Wells)
The store was even better than expected, carrying copious amounts of gluten-free brands. The majority were different Italian brands, but there were some from other regions as well. I found some unique Schär products I hadn’t tried from Germany, yet, like apricot pastries. It is also where I first stumbled upon the American brand Old El Paso almond flour and quinoa flour tortillas. These were magical in that they don’t crack during enchilada night. Luckily, since returning to Kaiserslautern, Germany, my local Edeka has been carrying them in their international section.
GF snacks BigFree (Katie Wells)
GF BigFree breads (Katie Wells)
On a trip to Rome, my sister-in-law, brother-in-law, husband and I took a cooking class. We made from scratch the most beautiful ravioli I’d ever tasted in my life, sauteed in a simple sage butter rather than tossed in marinara. The class felt like a ritual of passing down a sacred family recipe; however, it was not offered in a GF version. As many gluten-sensitive people know, sometimes gluten is your only option, or you simply don’t want to miss out on regional delicacies, so you eat the gluten and deal with potential consequences later. While the gluten was worth it for this experience, I wanted to find a great GF flour for when I attempted our instructor’s recipe later and skip the inflammation hangover. King Arthur’s GF all-purpose flour is my usual staple; however, in the pasta machine, it simply didn’t hold up for this ravioli.
When I walked down an entire aisle at BigFree dedicated to GF flour, I scoured specifically for pasta flour and couldn’t control the “Eep!” that left my mouth upon seeing not just one, but a few options! I wish I could have bought all of them to experiment with.
Flour aisel at the BigFree (Katie Wells)
GF pasta shapes at BigFree (Katie Wells)
GF Pasta at the BigFree (Katie Wells)
I’ve also been on a pursuit to make a decent homemade GF cinnamon bun at home. This is very tricky, because what makes a perfectly fluffy, pull-apart cinnamon bun is bread flour. The few brands I’ve tried resulted in a cakier, sometimes scone-like texture. I happily grabbed some bread flour to try, praying to the gluten-free gods that the two bags of flour plus the multiple pastas, tortillas, tomato and basil-flavored bagel crisps, and other snacks would miraculously fit in my suitcase.
The store had all the cookies, chips, baking mixes, sauces, pasta shapes (including stars!) and so much more than I could imagine. They even had a refrigerated section with pizzas, Italian desserts and baked goods. At the counter was a small cafe with a fresh pastry case and a small offering of hot food. I couldn’t pass up vanilla and pistachio cannoli for a road trip snack. Next to that was a couple of shelves of GF beer. My friend even found a few snacks for the road as well!
GF pastry case at BigFree (Katie Wells)
GF beer at BigFree (Katie Wells)
GF Refridgerated section at BigFree (Katie Wells)
GF refridgerated/freezer section BigFree (Katie Wells)
The owner of BigFree has a background as a pharmacist, and as a family member of someone affected by celiac disease, wanted to create a place where the ingredients were healthy and nourishing and where people could feel free to shop for all their favorite foods without worrying about the label. I couldn’t help but wish something like this existed in every city. All of this to say, if you have celiac disease or are gluten-free, this grocery store is a paradise.
Sincerely,
A fellow gluten sufferer.
