Simple Almond Flour Bread and my gluten free adventure.

I mentioned in a previous post that I was having some tummy problems. We will not get into details here because this is a food blog, where you come to be appetized and, well, you know... Anyway! I've decided to refer to my new dietary guidelines as my Gluten-Free Adventure. The alternatives, which included "my gluten-free pity party" and "my gluten free temper-tantrum" didn't sound nearly as fun. So, in the interest of my health I am not eating gluten (which means wheat, barley, rye, triticale, and most oats). If, after a couple of months things haven't changed I will march directly to Dunkin' Donuts and order a baker's dozen just for myself. However, I think I'm already seeing some very direct evidence in favor of this diet so, I am willing. Pain, whether emotional or physical, will do that to a person.

It's kind of exciting, though, for a number of reasons.

#1: I get to be special at restaurants. This is fun because my two favorite partners in crime are also special at restaurants - one is vegan, the other is gluten and dairy free - so we can be pains in the ass together. Servers of Asheville, beware!

#2: I get to buy things with this fun retro-style label on them -







#3: I will actually list a serious one now - what an awesome opportunity to expand my culinary horizons and discover new flavors and textures and ingredients! In the west, we rely so much on wheat flour, you'd think there was no other kind. This is a falsehood and I am pretty stoked to start discovering new types of flour and new ways of baking. My first new flour discovery was almond flour, which I tried last night in a nice, simple bread recipe.

When I decided to go gluten-free I immediately started searching for food blogs that would help me with recipes. My favorite so far is Elana's Pantry. She bakes in a way that is healthier all-around, not just in the gluten-free department, and she keeps an eye out for the Glycemic Index. Her flour of choice is almost always almond flour, which she explains on her site. Last night I tried her Simple Bread recipe, linked here because I'm afraid to reprint it because of copywrite. Plus I want everyone to visit her awesome blog. The loaf was fairly compact but not overly dense. Almond flour is rich and sweet, only a little nutty because almonds are pretty mild as nuts go. The crumb was soft and tight and the crust was perfectly crisp and a little salty, somehow. It was such a treat with just a little fruit-sweetened jam. And yet, I did not have the "I must now eat the entire loaf" reaction that I have almost always had to baked goods before. I felt satisfied with a couple of slices (each about 1/16 of the loaf, making them just over 100 calories each) and then I stuck the rest in the freezer. Almond flour is hella expensive, so I probably won't use it too often, at least not by itself. But I also can't wait to make cookies with it because they will be out of this universe amazing, I just know it!