Once upon a time, not too long ago, I took my childhood baker’s dream and made in into a real brick and mortar business. I was a one woman shop pumping out cakes, chocolates, and cookies in a beautiful 1,000 sq ft kitchen that I built in an old industrial space.
Throughout the years, I’d built a trusty little black book of recipes – an ever growing binder filled with recipes from cookbooks, culinary school, friends, and family, that I had tweaked and edited to make my own. I had shelves of reference cookbooks, but if there ever was a fire – it would have been that little black book that I would have grabbed first – it was my personal baking bible. I still have that little black book, but it’s collecting a bit of dust these days.
After shuttering my business and walking away from my life as a professional baker broken hearted, I spent a little more time in the food world working at the James Beard Foundation for a few years. There’s definitely a book worth I could write about my time there, but to keeps things short and sweet here, I always knew that my days there were numbered, as it wasn’t practical to live on a pauper’s salary when we had plans to move to Brooklyn.
Two years post-bakery life, I felt like I had definitely moved on, even though I wasn’t completely convinced that it was all for the better. After an exhaustive search, we finally bought an apartment in Brooklyn, I had found a much better paying corporate gig, and life was settling into a normal rhythm. To restore my still shattered baker’s heart, I turned to the more savory side of baking bread when I found time.
And then, in the early summer of 2016 I was diagnosed with celiac disease.
To say that the diagnosis was unexpected is putting it mildly. I had gone to see an endocrinologist for what I thought was a simple thyroid issue, and discovered that I was an asymptomatic celiac.
I went through a series of saying goodbye to all my beloveds that summer – pizza, doughnuts, scallion pancakes, bagels …. the list is heartbreakingly long. I cleaned out my kitchen. I basically bought an entire kitchen wedding registry for my new “gluten free” life. I found a therapist. I cried. I went into a pretty dark place.
I had a few gluten free recipes in my little black baking book, but just a select few. It was time to start from scratch yet again. I stocked my shelves with a new gluten free cookbook library. I started experimenting with recipes I found online. I got my nerd on learning about the protein content of my new pantry of flours. I discovered that there is no “standard” when it comes to gluten free baking. I tried a slew of gluten free flour blends, I made my own flour blends, and I learned I have mixed feelings when it comes to working with the controversial gums (xanthan and guar). I had some extremely welcome gluten free successes, and a lot of gluten free fails!
By the end of last year, I was finally getting more confident about my gluten free baking “chops”. I started converting some of my old gluten-filled recipes for my new gluten free life. I was the one counseling others on their gluten-free baking fails and passing on recipes I knew “worked” to lift their spirits. Friends were asking me for gluten free cookbook recommendations for their friends starting down the wheat-free path. I started rebuilding my restaurant lists in my hometown of NYC and beyond where I felt safe dining as a celiac diner.
So, after a bit of soul searching, and a lot of recipe experimentation, I bring you Whisking Words. I thought it might be a good idea to start cataloguing all my gluten free finds, gluten free travel tips, and most importantly – gluten free recipe inspiration from a professional baker.
Since it was bread that initially patched up my broken heart after shuttering my bakery, I thought that I’d make bread my focus here too for our first year together, especially in a time where everyone is feeling a bit on edge, I think everyone could use a bit of comfort.
I couldn’t put it better than the sage grandfather of American food,
“Good bread and good butter go together. They are one of the perfect marriages in gastronomy, and they never fail to cheer me.” – James Beard
A lot has changed since my early baking days, but I’ll always be a baker at heart. My recipes may all be tagged #glutenfree, and my entire Brooklyn apartment could fit into my old industrial kitchen space, but I’m not letting dietary or space restrictions stop me from creating delicious food.
For those of you that have come along for the journey – welcome!
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