Bake your own bread

So I am not all that thrilled with #glutenfree bread that's available commercially.  They are all frozen, except one that I found which was like a small brick of sawdust, and that makes them dry.  Crumbly, stale tasting bread is what you get when it is frozen no matter how good the initial bread.

That said, for me to find some good bread for toast or sandwiches I broke down and got a bread maker.  It has a setting for gluten free breads.  That means there is only one rise.  The machine, as a real baker, normally lets a standard dough rise once only to be punched down to let rise again.  Gluten free doughs do not have the structure to rise again so can't go through this process.  The program in the machine took away from any manual parts to the process.

The above loaf is from my own dough concoction.  I had recipes but not all the ingredients.  My local supermarket had almost all gluten free flours and stuff so I was able to get this done.  It's not the really airy white bread, a tad on the cake-y side for that, but it is good with nice texture and crust.  I will experiment some more with my new toy.  Looks like I am eating a lot of bread in the near future. Apparently have to make up for the seven months of no bread.

Medicine and Gluten

So I'm sure many others know or knew this but it came as a bit of a surprise to me.  Apparently prescription medicines may contain gluten, especially generics.

I ran out of a medicine a couple weeks ago.  For various reasons I never got it refilled or picked it up at the pharmacy.  I just went without.  Having changed my diet and overall feeling better now that Summer has arrived I almost was going to just stop it.  But I was convinced that I should still include all medications as part of living healthy.  After refilling the prescription a couple of days ago I quickly noticed that I was not feeling well.  A lot of gastric distress is a polite way to put it.

Some quick googling and it may be that the medicine actually contains gluten.  It's a generic, as it is the law that you get generic versions of drugs unless the doctor demands brand name.  (It's another long and technical economic story but that is part of the reason why prescription drugs cost so much.) It is difficult to find out what actually goes into medicines but from what I have seen so far it may have gluten in it.  Or it may not depending on the web page you google.  My symptoms seem to be abating so I may just chalk it up to adjusting to being back on the medicine.  Yet it makes me think of just how much around us contains things that can harm us.  I would not think gluten went into making pills, but apparently it can.

As an aside I tried some new bath products, shampoos, soaps, etc.  These were natural and contain tea tree oil.  Now I am not trying to go all hippie granola, but change can be good.  Or not when I finally look and see that shampoo and stuff have wheat germ in it.  I do not have Celiac's, just a gluten sensitivity.   This might not affect me.  I am not sure I want to find out.  Just another example of how so much in life is impacted by food sensitivity.

I am not saying that the whole world is out to get you, but there are some days where that is more believable.  It's sad I have to check the labels on absolutely everything, not just food.  Being better requires eternal vigilance.

update on baking

So a whole lot of baking did not happen this weekend.  But managed to make a pizza, gluten free.  It's a bacon and cheese.  It was good.

Time to Bake

For now I have been buying all the gluten free breads and stuff.  This weekend it might be the time to make some of my own.  I have some gluten free mixes for things like brownies, cookies, and corn bread.  And I do have a recipe book for baking, now's the time to put it into action.

If I can find a good doughnut recipe and then find a way to add cocoa to it so I can finally have chocolate doughnuts, I will be very happy.  In the mean time I think I will have to eat my way through a lot of attempts.

It's the internet, I know, so there are a lot of blogs, sites, etc. with lots of information.  I may try to go through all of these again, but I also want to discover things for myself.  When I get more comfortable I will get to baking bread on my own, gluten free of course.  I hope I can find something that acts like gluten so the loaves are not as dense as gluten free bread and still rise to a good size loaf.  Somehow we deserve both in our bread.

Among all the other things happening this weekend,  Happy Fathers' Day to all the other fathers out there, some time in a kitchen with a hot stove churning out the tantalizing aroma of baking bread just might happen.

That's the plan anyway.

Breads - a little review

It was not the Memorial Day weekend when I noticed this but actually right after I switched to gluten free, but I like bread.  I really like bread.  And now for the most part I can't eat it.  Yes, everyone gluten free has encountered this.  I have been trying to find some good alternatives, and I am sure that there are many people out there who have actually found them.  Tips in the right direction are always welcome, yet in the meantime here are thoughts on some products I have encountered so far.

First, I just want to say that Legal Seafoods does a good job with gluten free.  They have a lot of options that can be prepared that way, including a good fish and chips.  On a warm Summer day sitting at the outdoor tables feasting on fish and chips just says Summer.  Legal could work on expanding gluten free options in their drinks menu, but that is a problem most restaurants have.  The biggest compliment to Legal Seafoods is they will serve gluten free bread.  They have gluten free rolls they bring to your table as you order that taste really good.  There is a bit of a cornbread taste to it, so the dough must be heavy in the mix with corn flour, but when it comes out hot it is nice.  It is a good alternative to the focaccia type bread other places offer in that it is more light and airy, similar to gluten riddled dinner rolls.

Restaurant shout-out aside, a good bread is hard to nail down.  So far two brands seem to do alright - Udi's and Rudi's.  Now for the most part all the gluten free bread products I find are frozen.  I cannot recall finding anything fresh.  Actually that is not true - Schar puts out non-frozen bread products.

I did not like these at all.  They tasted bland, dry, and had an odd consistency.  If I can talk about food this way, it seemed more functional than good.  Schar does have some Entertainment Crackers that can serve in a pinch for snacking but otherwise I avoid this bread based on what I got in a sandwich roll.

Udi's and Rudi's are frozen.  Preservatives must not react well with non-wheat flour doughs.  Once thawed out these manufacturers make a good product.  The bread gets to a decent size.  I have noticed that since the gluten holds in the gases released by yeast allowing bread to get big and fluffy the lack of gluten limits how big a load of bread will get.  Rudi's bread has a hearty rye bread feel and texture to it.  That's good for substantial sandwiches, but for kids it's a big change from the WonderBread type bread.  Rudi's can get a little dry, perhaps that was just thawing it out too fast.

I prefer Rudi's bread to Udi's.  They are both very similar, but Rudi's seems lightly less dry.  And dryness has become a big factor in what makes good bread for me.  Something too dry just feels crumbly as well as falling apart when eaten.  Udi's does make good bagels though.  These toast up well and have a good amount of chew without having to really work at it.

Udi's also makes hamburger and hot dog rolls.  Memorial Day made the bread problem all the more poignant.  Cheeseburgers and hot dogs on the grill are necessary for Summer.  I think it's a law or something.  The gluten free complications are felt most for these rolls.  They are just plain more dense and dry than the hamburger and hot dog rolls I remember as a kid.  Hot dogs rolls especially had a light fluffy texture that worked well, both steaming like at a ball game or toasted on the grill.  Gluten free rolls just do not have that moist texture.  I will spare the tirade on how they are not made split top New England style, hot dog rolls that is - it would be pretty stupid to have split top hamburger rolls.  Udi's hamburger rolls are good.  The dryness is noticeable but is not as egregious as the hot dog rolls.  That's mostly just due to the nature of the types of rolls.

Now there are a couple of other bread stuffs that I should mention.  Baguettes.  Nice crusty outside, soft tasty inside.  Remember when I said gluten free bread just doesn't get as large as regular bread?  That's more true of things like baguettes.  I had some in a restaurant in New York, and they seemed like really fat bread sticks, not proper baguettes.  

Against the Grain makes a proper baguette.  It is a decent size and tastes good.  I thawed a loaf out and eventually made a good garlic bread out of it.  Again it is frozen so there is some planning involved to eat it, but there's a bit of planning involved for gluten free anyway so it really isn't bad.  

Lastly, doughnuts.  I desperately miss doughnuts.  Easing that pain, I like Kinnikinnick's frozen (again?) donuts.  I found two flavors, cinnamon and sugar, and chocolate covered.  If you remember the DunkinDonuts brand Ol' Fashioned flavor doughnuts then you know how these feel to eat.  They are good, and I didn't read it on the box but a few seconds in the microwave will thaw them out fast.  

My bugaboo about the frozen is that once thawed the breads do not seem to last as long as regular breads, and since I am not sure I will go through a whole loaf of bread or box of donuts (who am I kidding, I will go through a whole box). I hate to thaw out a whole package just to risk wasting any.  But so far all these products work out well.  And I found all of them at my local super market, or at Whole Foods.  If more stuff like this hits the shelves of non-specialty stores then gluten free eating at home will get even easier, and tastier.

Memorial Day Weekend

First, to all the families of all the service personnel who gave their lives for our freedoms, thank you. The debt citizens owe them cannot be paid.  This weekend is more than just the unofficial kick off to Summer.  The day is for acknowledging and remembering all those men and women who gave their lives because their country asked them to go and risk it all.

Despite the solemnity of the holiday, the long weekend is a time to get together with family and friends.  It is a time to relax and fire up the grill.  Like so many other families that's what mine did.  We drove down to Cape Cod, right to a really nice cottage next to the sea, and joined family for a bar-b-que.  This almost didn't happen.  Grilling has its pitfalls for the gluten intolerant, or any food sensitivity.  Unless you read labels carefully you can't be too sure what goes into your hamburger or hot dog.  Then, of course, there are the buns.  I will probably do a product review posting of bread very soon, yet on this occasion it was not a worry. The extended family went out of their way to be gluten free.

Some of the guys didn't notice, even though I'm sure there would have been some grumbles had gluten free been common knowledge.  As an aside, lots of hot dogs, sausages, and BubbaBurgers are gluten free.  It's the bread that kills you.  But I digress, steak tips and chicken grill very well.  The marinades were selected to be dietarily compliant.  Another digression - sauces and marinades can have gluten related stuff in them.  Read the labels.  Soy sauce, for example, is made from wheat and is often used to give a little salty tang to sauces.  The same goes for salad dressings.  Simple oil and vinegar gets boring.  Ken's Steakhouse brands are almost all gluten free, but again, remember to check the labels.

Back to the story, we had a great time hanging out by the water, eating lots of good food.  The adult beverages were fine.  Stella Artois is basically gluten free thanks to the brewing process (it's not labeled as such so if you are very sensitive or have Celiac's stick to stuff specifically labeled gluten free) and some flavors of Mike's Hard Lemonade is processed to be gluten free.  It was hard to go wrong with steak, chicken and roasted asparagus.  The kids tossed the Nerf football around, and I never knew nine year olds would enjoy croquet so much.

I am very grateful to my girlfriend's family for making an amazing bar-b-que that really accommodated our diets.  It was very thoughtful, and was not hard to do.  We brought down a dessert that went over very well, an apple pie from The Maine Pie Co that is gluten free.  And if they didn't tell you it was gluten free you would never guess it.  It's great.

Hope everyones' Summer started off just as well.  Looking forward to a wonderful Summer with all the good food I want and expect, but still in a way that will keep me healthy.