Bread Blues

The scent of warm fresh baked bread drives me into deep waves of longing, and there is simply nothing I can do about it. I posted about a great bread company Against the Grain in a earlier blog of mine, but much as I endorse the wonderful products they produce nothing can, for me, replace crusty artisan crafted baked wheat flour bread. I can prefer Sesmark rice crackers with sesame seeds to regular crackers, I can live with quinoa pasta, I can cope with Against the Grain pizza crusts, I can live without cookies and cakes, or occasionally treat myself with flourless chocolate cake, but nothing is as gorgeous to my senses both olfactory and gustatory as good bread.

I have never tested as allergic to wheat or as having celiac disease but I’m pretty sure I have it now. I been on the Atkins diet since June, my second time on the low carb regime. Each time I basically just cut out things like bread, pasta, sugar, etc. I don’t go for the substitutes generally. Just as if I was a vegetarian I wouldn’t eat tofurky, I don’t really buy the whole substitute thing. If I don’t want to eat meat why would I want to eat bean curds shaped to look like a turkey with all sorts of weird flavor and texture additives? Don’t even get me started on how odd I find that. So you won’t find me eating all those high priced and over-processed Atkins brand carb substitute products which actually have a lot of carbs, well more than if I simply didn’t eat it in the first place. Yes, I’m eating piles of delicious healthy veggies so fret not.

Anyway, that was the point of this? Oh yes, so I accidentally cut wheat out of my diet 6 years ago and then again this year. I lost weight, felt better, stopped having headaches, and was relieved of some uncomfortable and embarrassing personal health issues that I don’t feel like elucidating for you here but if you are familiar with some of the symptoms of gluten intolerance I’m sure you can guess. Both times. And the day before yesterday I cheated. I had a little lasagna. I was at an event where I needed to eat and there were no low carb options that would have satisfied me as I had been moving tables and chairs around for 150 people. I needed food. Yesterday all day I paid the price with that little problem of mine – the one I haven’t experienced since June.

Big sigh here. I have finally had to come to terms with, as I walk down the bread aisle smelling my favorite food, that I will never ever again be able to enjoy a crusty loaf with butter and brie, or a delicious just out of the oven chocolate chip cookie, or have my beloved toast and marmalade.

I mourn.

Against the Grain

I don’t have Celiac Disease, but I do seem to suffer from gluten-intolerance and so I try and avoid wheat and other grains that contain gluten. It’s a little bit of a sacrifice for the sake of my health as I absolutely adore crusty artisan bread full of wheat and yeast and nothing can really replace that for me. Since I’m also currently doing the Atkins diet (it works for my body chemistry and blood type) I’m just avoiding all carbs anyway, except the green leafy buddy kind (i.e. broccoli, cabbage, kale, chard, salads, etc), so it’s not been an issue of late. I find avoiding carbs means I don’t crave them.

However I did just recently meet these folks and I can tell you that their product is delightful: Against the Grain. They are makers of excellent baked products to replace wheat-based goods. I think their bread tastes like Yorkshire Pudding but that’s not a bad thing in my mind; particularly as most gluten-free breads taste like cardboard or Styrofoam. They also do pizza crusts for those of you who just cannot do without pizza! I tried a slice of their crust with some yummy toppings the other day and it was darned tasty and really close to the real thing. They are a small company operating out of Brattleboro, Vermont, but they are starting to distribute to a larger and larger audience so look for them coming to a food store near you soon. If you’re lucky enough to live in their distribution range right now and unlucky enough to have Celiac Disease or be gluten intolerant check out their web site for stores near you.