If you want to make gluten-free Dutch doughnuts, use gluten-free flour in a Dutch doughnut recipe or choose a dedicated gluten-free Dutch doughnut mix. Don’t use ready-to-eat breakfast cake as a substitute. You can serve explicitly labelled gluten-free breakfast cake separately or use it as a topping. If you have coeliac disease, check the current packaging too, and avoid contact with ingredients containing gluten.
You want to make gluten-free Dutch doughnuts and perhaps serve breakfast cake too, without crumbs or traces of gluten-containing ingredients getting into the food. The Dutch Coeliac Society points out that cross-contamination also needs to be considered.
You’re looking for the flavour of breakfast cake to serve alongside the Dutch doughnuts or use as a topping, but you’ll need a different base for the batter: Allerhande’s gluten-free Dutch doughnut recipe uses gluten-free flour.
As well as checking for a gluten-free label, you check whether the chosen breakfast cake is suitable for anyone avoiding milk, lactose or lupin.
First decide whether you need an ingredient for the Dutch doughnut batter or a ready-to-eat cake to serve alongside it. Then check the gluten-free label, other allergens and how to avoid contact with gluten while baking.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Gluten and cross-contamination | Look for ‘gluten-free’ or the Crossed Grain mark on the current packaging. Use a clean work surface and clean utensils kept separate if you’re also baking with gluten. | If I’m also making regular Dutch doughnuts, I want to stop crumbs getting into the gluten-free food. Gluten safety would be the top purchasing concern for around 46% of consumers. |
| Its role in the recipe | Use gluten-free flour in a Dutch doughnut recipe or choose a dedicated gluten-free Dutch doughnut mix for the batter; choose breakfast cake to serve separately or use as a topping. | I want to make Dutch doughnut batter, so I’m not looking for a ready-to-eat cake to use as the base. The product’s role in the recipe would come first for around 27% of consumers. |
| Other allergens and format | Read the current allergen information, including details about milk and lupin. Choose between an individual bar and a whole cake that you can cut up yourself. | If I’m baking for someone with another allergy or want to cut cake into pieces for a platter, the product needs to be suitable. This additional product choice would be the main concern for around 27% of consumers. |
A claim about sugar says nothing about gluten. For example, Peijnenburg lists rye flour in its plain breakfast cake.
If you have coeliac disease, choose only breakfast cake whose current packaging explicitly says ‘gluten-free’ or carries the Crossed Grain mark.
Ready-to-eat breakfast cake doesn’t serve the same purpose as the flour in Allerhande’s gluten-free Dutch doughnut recipe or the dedicated gluten-free Dutch doughnut baking mix sold by Jumbo.
Follow a gluten-free Dutch doughnut recipe or the instructions on a gluten-free Dutch doughnut mix for the batter. Serve breakfast cake separately if you like.
The gluten-free breakfast cakes mentioned from Peijnenburg, AH and Jumbo also list milk and/or lupin. Gluten-free doesn’t automatically mean a product is suitable for someone with another allergy.
Before buying and serving, check the ingredients list and allergen information on the current packaging.
The Dutch Coeliac Society says crumbs and traces can get into gluten-free food via hands, work surfaces and utensils.
Prepare the gluten-free batter and toppings on a clean work surface, using clean equipment kept separate.
Albert Heijn and PLUS list a 285 g whole Peijnenburg Gluten-Free Breakfast Cake. You can cut it into slices or cubes to serve alongside Dutch doughnuts.
Jumbo lists a 300 g whole gluten-free breakfast cake with the Crossed Grain mark. It’s a ready-to-eat cake, not a base for Dutch doughnut batter.
Albert Heijn lists a 65 g gluten-free breakfast cake bar, designed as an individual portion rather than an ingredient for Dutch doughnut batter.
Not as a direct substitute for the flour in Dutch doughnut batter. Allerhande’s gluten-free Dutch doughnut recipe uses gluten-free flour, while Jumbo also sells a separate gluten-free Dutch doughnut baking mix. Breakfast cake is better served as an extra or used as a topping.
Check the current packaging for ‘gluten-free’ or the Crossed Grain mark, and read the ingredients and allergen information too. According to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, these are recognised labels for gluten-free products. A similar product name without one of these labels is no substitute for checking the packaging.
Yes. Keep gluten-free preparation separate from ingredients containing gluten. The Dutch Coeliac Society recommends using a clean work surface and clean equipment reserved for gluten-free food, so that crumbs and traces aren’t transferred.
Don’t assume so: the gluten-free products mentioned list milk and/or lupin. Check the current allergen information for each variety you choose, even if the packaging clearly says it’s gluten-free.
No, you can’t tell from the product name whether baker’s salt has been used. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre says bakers aren’t required to use baker’s salt. Check the ingredients list if this matters to your choice.
