Bread 'n Remembrance Bakery

History

Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it and gave it to his disciples saying, "Take eat, this is my body given for you"

I created Bread 'n Remembrance to open the door of participation in the memory-making, bread centered, events we look forward to in our lives. Why should anyone who is gluten free have to give up the joy of eating breakfast cinnamon rolls or bagels, Christmas cookies, Thanksgiving day pies, picnic hamburger or hotdog buns, dinner rolls or pretzels, or even eating the bread of Communion (which Jesus himself instructed us to do in remembrance of him and his sacrifice to save our souls). The majority of us (gluten eaters) carry a special memory tied to some smell or taste of a flour based baked good especially from a holiday or special occasion. Why should my family or anyone seeking a gluten free way of life have to live without such multisensory rooted memories and traditions? The answer is, "No one should because God has made a way and it is Gluten Free."

With a determination to provide my family and others with these joyous remembrances of baked goods, I worked on learning to make gluten free items. I have tried many recipes: some of which had me covered up to my elbows in dough; some had my hands glued to the kitchen counter as I called out for help to get free; while others had me bawling in a devastated, defeated heap on the floor. One even turned into a free for all of batter covered monster hands and flying missiles--myself, my husband, the kids, and the kitchen covered in dough. Grandma stood in the other room hooting at us and watching, she thought she was safe, but the kids took after her too. Another failure, but a far better memory that helps me laugh when recipes/techniques start to tank and I start to get frustrate.

Another reminder I use to help me work through the challenges: God opened this door because he wants me to succeed. It is his plan so failing is not possible, only mistakes to learn from. It has taken several years of mistakes to get my mind out of the gluten way of making bread based goods, and into embracing a true understanding of how gluten free doughs work and the rather savvy techniques that help to shape them. I would like to be able to say I figured out these techniques all on my own, but the truth is I learned them from the many gluten free baking books I read and the gluten free baking websites, videos, youtube channels I found to help my brain wrap around the techniques of working with gluten free dough (I have listed the most helpful ones on the resource page).

Our family discovered that we needed to be gluten free when one of our youngest girls became ill. My mom and the doctor suggested we have her tested (via an endoscopic procedure) for Celiac's disease. I huffed and fussed in refusal and disbelief: how could she have it? Would anyone else in the family have it? Was this my fault? How would we handle it? What in the world would I do for her meals at school? What do you mean play dough has wheat? How could I keep her or even her siblings safe? How am I supposed to cook or bake without using a gluten based flour? Everything and everywhere seemed to have only gluten based items. My husband reassured me everything would work out just fine and that we would work through it as best as we could. I was skeptical, but knew her health (and possibly that of her siblings) hinged on finding out the truth of her condition--so we had her tested.

Most people tell me I have a great deal of patience, but those 48 hours waiting for the results--running through possible scenarios of "gluten purging" the pantry, cookware, bakeware, grocery shopping, dining out, our entire lives--made me a lava spewing volcano of emotions--everyone was running for cover. I repeated one prayer over and over, "God please help us get through this." The results came back: everyone in our immediate family had the gene except me. Totally unexpected: my husband's and son's numbers exceeded those of my daughter (who had the procedure done). The doctor also explained that our other daughters had the gene, but their numbers indicated that it had not flipped---YET. At first my husband did not want to share this information, but after realizing it might have an impact on someone else in his family (which it did, his first daughter from his first marriage ended up having it), he let his family members know. Together his side of the family figured out his father probably had it (the symptoms were there), but no one at that time knew what it was--their family road trips just had frequent stops and eating out did not always end well. We also shared our Celiac discovery news with our friends, neighbors, and fellow church members.

I can tell you that when we first started our gluten free lifestyle, Boar's Head meats and cheeses were our primary means of survival because they were an easy option to my numerous fails at gluten free meal preparation. The number of Gluten Free products was slim and learning to cook and bake without using a gluten based flour or product was beyond overwhelming for us. Shopping trips turned into reading and researching (looking up each item's factory equipment sharing or processing information). These information deep diving trips took a minimum of 3 hours (provided the kids did not go along). My husband did not see how I could take so long. He repeatedly told me to just shop the outer isles and ignore the middle ones. I cannot tell you how many times I had to walk down those middle isles (especially with the kids in tow) despising all the items we could no longer have that had once filled our pantry--Kraft Mac and Cheese (thankfully they have caught on) 90% of the cereal, cookie, cracker isles and bread isles.

For those of you just beginning your gluten free journey, we know all too well how you feel. Yes, there are five times more gluten free products than when we first started our journey, but it still poses a challenge of reading the ingredients lists as well as finding out if the products were made on equipment that comes into contact with gluten based items (which could also depend on the time of the season). And do not even get me started on portion size compared to price size. HEADACHE sums up the average shopping trip.

Yes, it has gotten a bit easier to shop for gluten free options, but the baked goods are still lacking: no gluten free Pillsbury tubes of cinnamon rolls, dinner rolls, or pizza dough to pop open and bake in a quick need. No (or limited) sections of the grocery store dedicated to a wide variety of freshly baked gluten free items. There are many more options for premixed gluten free flours to make cookies, pizza dough, pancakes, cakes, and a few breads, but most are pre-made tiny portions that leave us limited in our options or over spending to accommodate our large family size. I have noticed an increase in the options of fresh ready to make pastas--which is exciting! But when it comes to gluten free baked items, most individuals are not even sure where to begin to create them from scratch--I four mixture does not meet every need from bread loaves to cinnamon rolls to cookies. That is why I created Bread 'n Remembrance Bakery. I want everyone to be able to enjoy freshly baked gluten free items (especially for special events and holiday gatherings) as well as have the opportunity to learn how to make them at home.

Jesus taught us to break bread in remembrance of him. We invite you to do it Gluten Free.