Baking Bread...My New Obsession!

Ok lovelies, this post is completely off topic of what I've been talking about lately. Hell, it's not even vegan-related. However, in my quest to find the perfect tasting gluten free bread for my youngest son (aka the manchild), I've given up on the store-bought stuff and went back to baking my own.

Some may know that he is on the autism spectrum and gluten is not an ingredient I want in his food for various reasons. Gluten is a protein that exists in many grains such as wheat, barley, rye, etc. Some people cannot digest the protein (as in celiac disease for example), but for my son and others like him with autism, there has been a link between autism and the inability to break down gluten in their gastrointestinal tracts. This prompts the release of opiates. Yep! He basically gets high off his own supply. Poor guy! There is debate about this of course, but let's just say it has been medically proven in my son.

Since his gluten "addiction" has seemed to worsen over the past few months, I'm slowly removing it from his foods. The main source for him being bread, why not start there? I baked breads from scratch before, but with the use of a bread maker. I was nervous about how my "real bread" would turn out. I started out with a gluten free flour pre-packaged mix that I found at Kroger (about $4.99).

 

 

It turned out pretty good!He and the fiance LOVED it. Still, I wanted to use my own flours and other ingredients, so I searched the web.

 

 

I found this site, which has an amazing variety of not only gluten free breads but also paleo, yeast free, dairy free, refined sugar free...it goes on. Man! My head was spinning, but I did spot a multigrain recipe that looked good. I based the bread I baked on this recipe, but tweaked some ingredients. I went back to the Dekalb Farmer's Market here in Atlanta and did some shopping.

 

I subbed organic oat flour for the almond flour (although I will try it in the future), and since I couldn't find sorghum flour in the store, I subbed coconut flour. Megan stated coconut flour "would not work" with this recipe, but it turned out just fine for me. It just calls for a bit more liquid to be added to get the right consistency. I use almond milk in my breads because I find it adds a bit of lightness to the bread. Total liquid I used was about 1 1/2 cups. 1 cup water, 1/2 cup almond milk. I also used agave syrup instead of honey. I later found sorghum flour online at Amazon.com, and it should be arriving any day.

 

Fresh out the oven. Smell it?!!

Sliced easily. Think I'll slice smaller next time. He had ginormous sandwiches at school =)

 

 

That's it. It was simple to make, and smelled deeelicious! Of course, I'm doing raw now, so I couldn't taste it. Still was another hit with the fellas, so I'm excited to see what else I can come up with. I'm thinking raisin bread, or something vegan friendly. I have also started using organic coconut sugar, which is so much better for you than agave (in my opinion), and you can also bake with it so I will be trying it out in my baked goods soon.

Thanks to everyone who has been asking for the recipe. I'll keep posting more as I make them.

 

 

Love and Happiness,

 

 

Nikki



Breathe

It's really, really, REALLY hard being a single mom. Then, add autism into the mix, and, well-it's extremely hard. People constantly say stuff like "I don't know how you do it". Or, "I can't imagine...". Well, thanks.

To be honest, I don't know how I do it. Want some extra honesty? I can't imagine having to deal with the daily challenges autism brings long term. However, what gets me through are the moments like I had last night. My 10 year old son, who can be the sweetest little guy, decided to hang out with me. He usually watches "his" television in the family room (it pretty much stays on nickjr.) or bounces around the house entertaining himself. He came into my room while I was listening to a podcast by Dave Pavlina on self-improvement. Into my bed he jumps. Now, I could have gotten annoyed because this was supposed to be "my time", but I recognized another opportunity.

You see, several times after he was diagnosed I would ask myself: how unfair is this? How will we ever have meaningful, special moments together? I mistakenly thought if we couldn't speak to each other (he is nonverbal), we couldn't really communicate. So wrong! We often look at each other and he laughs after I smile at him. I don't care if it is connected to my smile or if it is just involuntary. When we both get an opportunity to have peaceful, happy moments free of crying fits and emotional disconnects, I take it!

So, I smiled and motioned for him to sit next to me. He laughed. I clicked on my camera phone and we took silly pictures. I thanked God for a moment of clarity and "normalcy" in our lives. Autism sucks, but my son is a beautiful gift. He teaches me to breathe-to just be patient. It doesn't rain forever. When we are having a rough day or four, I just wait for the rain to stop and look for the sunshine.

I guess that's how I do it.