On love, science, art, and bread...

A few months ago, my youngest son was diagnosed with Celiac’s disease and he had to go completely gluten-free. At first, I was surprised it wasn’t as hard as I’d thought it would be. There are a lot of options out there nowadays! But I quickly figured out it also wouldn’t be as easy as it had seemed at first (cross-contamination issues, variety, temptations at school…).

My son took it all in stride and has been very good about it. I’m so proud of him! Things like quinoa and rice pastas and brown rice tortillas are delicious and he hasn’t even noticed a difference. But bread is another matter. It’s been impossible to find a good gluten-free bread. We’ve always been big on bread at our house and our kids became accustomed to going to local farmer’s markets and special bakeries to buy artisan breads of all kinds. My son LOVES bread and not being able to eat it has been his biggest challenge. So I decided to try and make bread myself.

I’ve always been horrible at baking. I never had it in me to be as precise as you need to be to bake well. It’s easy to be adventurous with cooking. It’s more of an art than a science. To me, at least, baking is more science than art. But love goes a long way and making bread has become my most fun and consuming kitchen adventure. My son loves to help and knowing he’s had a hand in it just makes it taste better for all of us.

My son has been really happy with every loaf, roll, and pizza crust. They’ve been far from great, but they haven’t been bad, either. And I know it’ll get better and better because the smile on his face is the best possible reward. People say that food just tastes better when it’s made with love and I’ve always agreed. Making things with love feels wonderful, too. Time disappears.