Bread!

This morning we made our first loaf of gluten free bread using our new toy, a Zojirushi bread machine. We bought the bread machine a few weeks ago anticipating the need for it, but today was our first time to use it. Last night I prepped for this by having a handful of different flours ready to go, xanthan gum, yeast and all sorts of other supplies, but wouldn't you know I didn't have a 1/8 measuring cup? I used two tablespoons instead and it seemed to work out...


Beth and Luke "helped" by closely observing, dumping the cups into the bowls, and whisking things together. I want Beth to be as much a part of this as I am, watching me and learning together as we go. This is her new way of life. We'll be doing a LOT of baking (pizza crusts, hamburger/hot dog buns, breads, muffins, biscuits, rolls, cinnamon rolls, croissants...the list could go on for quite awhile), can you imagine what a good gluten-free baker she'll be as an adult?

The bread smelled delicious as it cooked, and came out of the machine pretty easily. I let it cool before I sliced it and let Beth have the first bite. She declared she didn't like the "skin" (the crust) but that she liked the white part! She ate a couple of pieces and then asked for Halloween candy. ;-)

Personally, I thought the bread had a funky after taste, but the texture and consistency was pretty perfect. It looked just like regular bread! It was made using chickpea flour, tapioca starch, and cornstarch in addition to regular bread ingredients. I'd say overall our first gluten-free baking experience was a success!

My pantry is also finished. Here it is, fully stocked and ready to go. The top shelf is for items that contain gluten (oatmeal for Luke, chips for Daddy, wheat Chex for me). The shelf below is breakfast items, canned items and broths (oh yes, and some gluten-free Halloween candy). Next shelf is snack items, dry beans and pastas, and the shelf below is my baking supplies and extra items. The bottoms shelf is for pantry vegetables, Daddy's Dr. Pepper, and all of the extras I ordered from Amazon to keep us stalked up on some more gluten-free items.

My fridge and freezer are a different story though, it's so empty that it's making a rattling noise from not having enough weight. We'd gone through all the frozen foods in the freezer so that I could make new foods to stock up (homemade pizza crusts and premade foods for nights when I'd usually get takeout for an easy dinner), but I haven't put anything in there so there's just some lonely frozen fruits and veggies. I don't know why the fridge is so empty, probably because I haven't been cooking enough lately to create leftovers!