I was in the middle of writing a post and needed a break. After a quick game of solitaire, I decided to tackle a few of the many emails that piled up during the weekend. As I read the first one, my heart began to race, my stomach was doing flips and my head began to pound. I felt physically ill after reading an article on a site called ireport.  An unnamed individual declaring two science degrees, claims their bakery uses a high gluten protein bread which, through their own scientific discovery, is now safe for 95% of celiac patients. They offer no proof beyond a link to a few form letter "testimonials" and one letter to the editor. While they claim a “scientific breakthrough”, they don’t provide any scientific or medical evidence to back up these claims.  I have no words to express how angry this makes me - well that's not entirely true, but most of those words aren't suitable for ANY type of publication.

Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disorder, caused by a reaction to gliadin, a component of the gluten protein found in wheat, rye and barley. Oats are often not tolerated and therefore off-limits on gluten free diets for Celiacs. While most celiacs experience noticeable, sometimes extreme physical reactions to ingested gluten, there are some who don’t experience any digestive discomfort, but the lack of discomfort doesn’t mean damage hasn’t occurred. I can attest to the fact that doctors are reasonably certain I’ve had celiac disease all my life. I can tell you the physical damage presented itself in a variety of ways which often were attributed to other conditions. There were also times I felt “healthy”. 

When I learned to bake bread for my son’s corn allergy (commercially available products contained corn syrup, corn starch, modified food starch or maltodextrin), I quickly learned that gluten is a bread makers best friend. Beautiful artisan breads not only use high protein (meaning high gluten) flours but often include a product called “Vital Wheat Gluten”. Proper kneading of the dough develops the gluten which in turn produces a better rise, enhances it’s ability to retain it’s shape (as in fancy braids) and provides amazing interior texture in bread products. As my culinary interests progressed into “Pastry Arts”, I quickly learned the secret to light, flaky pastry was to make sure you don’t over mix the dough and develop the gluten. While I had a variety of stomach aliments all my life, I had no idea I had celiac disease. So, like all good cooks and bakers, I tasted my products liberally, and the damage occurred liberally.

The whole point of this rant (the calmer, more polite/politically correct and highly edited version is the one I decided to post) is that I find the kinds of claims made by the Hungarian Bakery in Alberta, Canada to not only be irresponsible, but truly criminal!

Gluten Free baking can be a challenge. Growing up Italian, bread and pasta was not only food, it was tradition. Tradition is part of who we are and why Guaranteed GF’s philosophy is more than a marketing scheme. It’s my passion. Some people eat to live, I live to eat. I think of food and talk about it like some romance novelists write about whirlwind love affairs. It is possible to enjoy great food and even really good breads without risking your health.

I’ll get off my soapbox now. I think a cup of hot tea, a slice of the amazing nut bread I baked Friday topped with my “mock ricotta” cheese and lightly toasted under the broiler will serve to calm me a bit. Then I can get back to the post I intended on Lactose: a Misunderstood Sugar and My recipe for a virtually lactose free “mock ricotta” cheese.