As many of you know, I am pretty crafty in the kitchen. I've made creations ranging from elaborate cakes to gourmet turkey dinners. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my Dad for his recipes and lessons comprising of reckless abandon in the kitchen. Without his inspiration and creativity, Alex and I would be pretty hungry.
When I was diagnosed in 2005, I was so uncomfortable that I didn't care what I was eating. As my tummy aches subsided, I realized that Gluten Free food was a royal drag. It never came out the way I wanted it to and it never looked particularly appetizing. A prime example of this would be the bread we had at my wedding in August of 2009. My mother and I found a bread from a local bakery (Haymishe) in Toronto, that we thought would pass as a good GF bread at my wedding. *I would just like to interject that my Mother (probably the most brilliant person I know), facilitated my entire wedding to be Gluten Free.
We ordered this bread in a size large enough to serve 100 of our guests. I was really excited. Up until that point, the Gluten Free breads they made at Haymishe were outstanding. They still make the best GF pie in Toronto. I couldn't believe that I was going to have this super bread at my wedding.
The day before the wedding, my sister picked me up so we could spend the night before my big day at the hotel I was to be married at. I opened the trunk of her car to put my bags in and was face to face with a GIANT poo-shaped blob. It was the bread. After a good laugh, we went down to the hotel and delivered it to the kitchen.
The next day, my cousins were called up to make a blessing over the "blob" before we ate lunch. My cousin unveiled the "blob". We could immediately tell from her expression that this poo-shaped brown "bread" was not what she was expecting. In fact, as the bread was cut up and served, no one was expecting that. It tasted okay but I suspect that some pieces were better cooked than others. Oops!
My take away message for all pregnant celiacs out there is that: we may want to buy our GF products in bulk because we think we will eat it all in one sitting. Although time consuming and a pain, please, when buying pre made GF bread products, buy it fresh and in small quantities. This will save on waste (who knows if next week it will make you gag), and it will save your slowly disappearing waistline from over indulgance (even if it looks like poo; it can still taste good- chocolate does!)
"So Emma, what do you do?"
I thought you'd never ask.
As mentioned before, I'm pretty creative in the kitchen. One of the things that I have become since discovering my pregnancy is LAZY!
I can't be bothered mixing up 40 different flours to make an organic blend of the perfect bread. Nuts to that!
I'm also cheap. GF bread is pricey and I like to keep my options under $5. I buy Bob's Red Mill GF Pizza Dough Mix and whip up a batch for any of my bread desires. It comes out of the oven fresh; I can be smug and add milled flax seed to it for extra fiber; and best of all, it doesn't have chickpea flour in it (which I hate).
Anyone can buy the dough at Loblaws in the health food section and I can usually get two breads or a bread and pizza out of it. Whatever I don't use up, I stick back in the fridge to make later in the week. .
If its too hot to fathom making anything in my oven, I buy bread (but that is only for special occasions like going to the cottage* see upcoming cottage post about that). I never NEVER buy or eat freezer bread. They are never right. In my experience I have found that they are loaded with preservatives. I'm talking about the Glutino breads. They taste like chemicals. If you buy a fresh bread and freeze it, that's totally cool in my books.
The best breads I can find in Tornto are:
Haymishe (Bathurst and Lawrence)
Queen St. Bakery/aka Yoshi's Sweets (Queen St. East/near Vic Park)
Organic Works (products found at Noah's and The Carrot)
My real advice would be to try them all and figure out what you like best. Bread is not really a staple in my diet but once in a while it feels good to sink your teeth into something fluffy and delicious (especially if you are feeling lousy).
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