We've Been Hibernating . . .

. . . But we're back! Things have been busy the past several months and, while I've still been experimenting in the kitchen (and have some great recipes to share), I just haven't felt like blogging. I never wanted this blog to feel like work, so I've allowed myself to relax and not worry about neglecting it for a few months. Now, classes are over, I actually have time to relax and I feel like it's time to resuscitate the blog.

Since February I've been accepted into a full-time PhD program with funding, increased my weekly running mileage (but still have to be careful about my knees) and been busily decorating the condo Joe and I share.Of course, I've also been working full-time and taking classes part-time. Busy, busy, busy!

The beginning of this year marked five years living gluten-free. At first I ate only rice because I was too scared to explore options. Rice felt safe. In the five intervening years, I've embraced experimentation and trying new things in my gluten-free diet. One thing I thought I'd have to give up forever once I went gluten-free was bread. Most gluten-free bread leaves a lot to be desired. In fact, I believe bread is the hardest thing to recreate gluten-free. It was a tough adjustment, especially since growing up my Mom was an amazing bread baker. Readers, I have discovered something that has completely revolutionized my gluten-free life: this bread. I know the ingredients list and the instructions look complicated, but, trust me, it's so worth the extra effort. I cannot stop raving about this bread. Eating my first slice (without butter or jam or peanut butter or ANYTHING) I exclaimed to Joe four or five times, "This bread is SO GOOD!" And it is, it's so good as

Sandwich bread!

Pizza!

Cinnamon rolls!

I purchased the book book, Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, which includes an entire gluten-free chapter with two master recipes that can be used to make most of the other recipes in the book. The gluten-free crusty boule is a fantastic all-purpose recipe, this versatile and tasty dough can be packed into crusty bread, thin crust pizza, and even naan (which I haven't tried yet, but I'm confident it will also be delicious). The Gluten-Free Brioche is just slightly sweet and bakes into the most delicious GF cinnamon rolls I've ever had. I make the dough on the weekend and put four balls of dough in the freezer that I pull out throughout the week to bake fresh bread for sandwiches or pizza crust or some yummy, gooey cinnamon rolls for a special breakfast. Making the dough is a little time consuming (and hard on the arms since I don't own a mixer), but the ease of pulling it out of the freezer to thaw in the refrigerator overnight more than makes up for that. I also really recommend using the method outlined on the website for the dutch oven, it makes for a delicious crusty bread.

Here's the bottom line: this bread has air pockets and texture almost just like gluten-full bread.