Oh my god BREAD
That's right, a shiny crusty yeasty loaf.
Celiacs in the know, know that Gluten-Free Pantry (Glutino, those fabulous Canadians) make the best GF baking mixes around. So we non-celiac gluten-free-ers benefit from this knowledge, and hie us down to a regional chain store with a surprisingly complete gluten-free section! (Two actually, as they feature both shelved and frozen GF items.)
GF Pantry's Favorite Sandwich Bread mix really did work. I could hardly believe it. White and brown rice flour, plus sweeteners and thickeners and a packet of yeast. The directions called for a full quarter cup of butter and two eggs, which I thought was a good sign as rice-flour baking can be a little dry, and rice simply is not as flavorful as wheat - it just needs additional flavoring if you're accustomed to wheat. (I never used to salt pasta water, but I always do now, liberally.)
Anyway, as this post rambles on - this mix also does not really make what I would call a dough. More like a half-stiff batter. There were directions for a bread machine, but as the directions for regular pan baking were basically "dump everything in your KitchenAid for 3 minutes, scrape into pan for a quick rise, and bake," I decided to go that way. I love the convenience and weirdness of a bread machine, but that strange giant cube of a loaf is so unwieldy.
Despite a spillover of dough caused by my addition of extra yeast when I wasn't convinced of the original's viability, basically the bread came out looking, smelling, and feeling exactly like a loaf of wheat dough. It cooled quickly and sliced admirably, if the crumb was a little large due to the aforementioned yeast overdose. And when I ran slices under the broiler with garlic and butter to go with tonight's spaghetti dinner - my husband could not tell the difference.
!!
The man who has turned up his tastebuds at every cake, brownie, and shortbread my GF sister has baked in the last 5 years, ate 3 slices of bread and said it was every bit as good as the bread I've made with wheat over the years. (And I bake good "regular" bread, so he has a fairly high standard.)
I could just cry. Being able to bake us sandwich rolls, hamburger and hotdog buns, and an even better pizza crust, means our lives can practically return to normal. With his body image always a challenge, and arthritis binding up his activity level, feeling deprived of normalcy in food was just another blow. Of course that is common to everyone who has special dietary needs. But it's hard in every individual family, to varying degrees. I don't know what went on his youth with dieting, food denial, and shaming, but I'm sure there was at least some of each. Being able to give my husband a simple loaf of bread to ease his road - it makes me want to kiss those blessed Glutino Canadians right on the toque.
Celiacs in the know, know that Gluten-Free Pantry (Glutino, those fabulous Canadians) make the best GF baking mixes around. So we non-celiac gluten-free-ers benefit from this knowledge, and hie us down to a regional chain store with a surprisingly complete gluten-free section! (Two actually, as they feature both shelved and frozen GF items.)
GF Pantry's Favorite Sandwich Bread mix really did work. I could hardly believe it. White and brown rice flour, plus sweeteners and thickeners and a packet of yeast. The directions called for a full quarter cup of butter and two eggs, which I thought was a good sign as rice-flour baking can be a little dry, and rice simply is not as flavorful as wheat - it just needs additional flavoring if you're accustomed to wheat. (I never used to salt pasta water, but I always do now, liberally.)
Anyway, as this post rambles on - this mix also does not really make what I would call a dough. More like a half-stiff batter. There were directions for a bread machine, but as the directions for regular pan baking were basically "dump everything in your KitchenAid for 3 minutes, scrape into pan for a quick rise, and bake," I decided to go that way. I love the convenience and weirdness of a bread machine, but that strange giant cube of a loaf is so unwieldy.
Despite a spillover of dough caused by my addition of extra yeast when I wasn't convinced of the original's viability, basically the bread came out looking, smelling, and feeling exactly like a loaf of wheat dough. It cooled quickly and sliced admirably, if the crumb was a little large due to the aforementioned yeast overdose. And when I ran slices under the broiler with garlic and butter to go with tonight's spaghetti dinner - my husband could not tell the difference.
!!
The man who has turned up his tastebuds at every cake, brownie, and shortbread my GF sister has baked in the last 5 years, ate 3 slices of bread and said it was every bit as good as the bread I've made with wheat over the years. (And I bake good "regular" bread, so he has a fairly high standard.)
I could just cry. Being able to bake us sandwich rolls, hamburger and hotdog buns, and an even better pizza crust, means our lives can practically return to normal. With his body image always a challenge, and arthritis binding up his activity level, feeling deprived of normalcy in food was just another blow. Of course that is common to everyone who has special dietary needs. But it's hard in every individual family, to varying degrees. I don't know what went on his youth with dieting, food denial, and shaming, but I'm sure there was at least some of each. Being able to give my husband a simple loaf of bread to ease his road - it makes me want to kiss those blessed Glutino Canadians right on the toque.