Baker still on rise after big win

TERRY Hunter is a gluten-free baker on the rise, thanks to persistence and a little help from the Bendigo Inventor Awards.Mr Hunter of Lansell Cottage Industries in Bendigo was named 2010 inventor of the year at last year’s awards for his revolutionary gluten-free dough. For people with coeliac disease – a gluten intolerance – gluten-free bread that tastes and performs like bread is the holy grail.“Traditionally gluten-free bread is made with batter like a cake so that it rises and has that foamy texture inside but often it tastes like cake or tastes very strange, or feels rubbery,” he said.Mr Hunter said he had spent more than 10 years, and baked 800 test loaves, to come up with a winning recipe based on 14 criteria including volume, texture, taste, its ability to slice and toast.Mr Hunter said he was inspired to invent the bread mix after a friend was diagnosed with coeliac disease.He said his gluten-free mix contained 12 ingredients sourced from around the world that produced a dough that performed like a traditional wheat-based dough and tasted as good as the real thing.The next step may be a commercial venture based on the prize-winning dough.“I’d like to set up a bakery and cafe that’s exclusively gluten-free here in Bendigo based on the bread mix,” he said.“It’s quite versatile. Not only does it make bread but it makes a pretty terrific pastry as well.”Mr Hunter said his win at the inventor awards, with its $25,000 first prize, allowed him to hire his son to run their Lansell Street shop while he researched bread-making equipment and possible commercial applications for the bread mix.The prize included a business mentor through the City of Greater Bendigo, which has prepared an extensive business plan for Lansell Cottage Industries.