Celiac Baker

[flxmanning]

Hello everyone!

I am really new to this as I just found out last week that I have Celiac Disease. My problems all started about 2 years ago and I continually was told by doctors that a lot of my problems could be attributed to something, anything else.

I first went to the doctor because I was losing an incredible amount of weight at a ridiculous speed. They told me that my problem must be that I simply wasn't eating enough. So, naturally, I ate more. I gained a little weight, but not much and I figured that I was just one of those "lucky" individuals with an alarming metabolism. Well, the problems got worse. The story gets better, I promise.

About a year ago I went off to culinary school with an emphasis in patisserie and baking. Just like any culinary student with a sweet tooth, my eating habits changed radically. Gone were the days of salads and fish and here were days of cinnamon rolls, tarts, cakes, anything and everything I could want and all only a short walk over to the next classmate or classroom away.

You would think all of this would make me happy, but it didn't. I had horrible depression. I was away from my family, my friends, my life. I would eat and eat and eat when I was alone on a Friday and my stomach would be so big and bloated that I couldn't even move. I figured I was just doing it to myself. I thought I had no self control. I honestly thought that I was a compulsive eater. I didn't go to a doctor, psychologist, nutritionist, etc, but I was still very thin. I thought they would tell me I was bullemic or something since I was eating so much and not gaining any weight. The problems still persisted, none the less. No matter how distended my stomach was or how full I felt physically, I felt strangly and horribly unsatisfied. One night my stomach was so big and so bloated that I couldn't stand it. I couldn't lie down, sit down, stand up, find any position even resembling comfortable. When my roommate came home, he took me to the emergency room because I thought I had some sort of foodborne illness or something. My stomach looked and felt like it would literally pop at any moment. A couple of hours later I got horrible diarreah and my stomach started to go down in size. When I was finally seen by the doctor, I confessed that after a pasta dinner I had a big thing of ice cream and, again, I was told that the problem was that I messed up and I shouldn't have had any dairy and I did anyways. After that little jaunt to the emergency room, dairy was untouched by myself. I never wanted anything like that to ever happen again.

Even without dairy, though, the problems continued. What was once a problem about once a week became a problem every couple of days. I started missing school because my stomach was so huge and I felt so sick that I couldn't even think straight let alone cook baked goods for 5 hours in class. The depression, anxiety, insomnia, etc. got worse.

I needed to get to the bottom of this, so I started searching on-line and I started reading about Celiac Disease. Everything started to suddenly make sense. The incredible appetite, the weight loss, the depression, my migraine headaches, everything. I went to my doctor, got a couple of blood tests and was prescribed a gluten-free diet for life. Saying that to a baker is like telling a musician they can never step foot in a concert again! I'm slowly trying to deal with it and I actually am glad that they found a problem because now I can take the steps to fix it rather than just suffering in ignorance, it's still very VERY hard, though. To whoever has actually taked the time to read my story, thank you. I just needed someone to listen who can maybe understand what I'm going through.

[maggee]

This forum is great for information. I am new here as well and I have learned more here than all the doctors and books combined. My family found the gluten-free diet hard at first but now (after a year) we are so much healthier (and happier). I have a suggestion (once you are on track)... with your background you should start a gluten free bakery. I can get alot of breads, bagels, etc. online or my local health food store but I would love to see the day where there are gluten free bakeries in most towns and be able to get my son a freshly made birthday cake (or me a bagel)

I hope you feel better soon.

[rinne]

Welcome and congratulations on figuring this out.

I worked in a bakery many years ago and it was the year my migraines began. I knew that the pastries didn't agree with me, I got foggy, and I didn't eat many. I know now that just working in that environment was toxic.

Gluten free baking is different than regular baking but if you love to bake you will find a way. I read an article not long ago that suggested the gluten free industry is about to take off in a big way, they expect something like ten times the business within only a few years.

Perhaps you have already explored some of the forums but if not you'll find lots of information here including information about baking and cookbooks.

I love to bake too and am enjoying the process of thinking through new techniques when it comes to how to bake. I've been wondering how to recreate baklava but so far just an idea, I'm still healing and have to limit my treats.

[katecopsey]

Hello everyone!

I am really new to this as I just found out last week that I have Celiac Disease. My problems all started about 2 years ago and I continually was told by doctors that a lot of my problems could be attributed to something, anything else.

I first went to the doctor because I was losing an incredible amount of weight at a ridiculous speed. They told me that my problem must be that I simply wasn't eating enough. So, naturally, I ate more. I gained a little weight, but not much and I figured that I was just one of those "lucky" individuals with an alarming metabolism. Well, the problems got worse. The story gets better, I promise.

About a year ago I went off to culinary school with an emphasis in patisserie and baking. Just like any culinary student with a sweet tooth, my eating habits changed radically. Gone were the days of salads and fish and here were days of cinnamon rolls, tarts, cakes, anything and everything I could want and all only a short walk over to the next classmate or classroom away.

You would think all of this would make me happy, but it didn't. I had horrible depression. I was away from my family, my friends, my life. I would eat and eat and eat when I was alone on a Friday and my stomach would be so big and bloated that I couldn't even move. I figured I was just doing it to myself. I thought I had no self control. I honestly thought that I was a compulsive eater. I didn't go to a doctor, psychologist, nutritionist, etc, but I was still very thin. I thought they would tell me I was bullemic or something since I was eating so much and not gaining any weight. The problems still persisted, none the less. No matter how distended my stomach was or how full I felt physically, I felt strangly and horribly unsatisfied. One night my stomach was so big and so bloated that I couldn't stand it. I couldn't lie down, sit down, stand up, find any position even resembling comfortable. When my roommate came home, he took me to the emergency room because I thought I had some sort of foodborne illness or something. My stomach looked and felt like it would literally pop at any moment. A couple of hours later I got horrible diarreah and my stomach started to go down in size. When I was finally seen by the doctor, I confessed that after a pasta dinner I had a big thing of ice cream and, again, I was told that the problem was that I messed up and I shouldn't have had any dairy and I did anyways. After that little jaunt to the emergency room, dairy was untouched by myself. I never wanted anything like that to ever happen again.

Even without dairy, though, the problems continued. What was once a problem about once a week became a problem every couple of days. I started missing school because my stomach was so huge and I felt so sick that I couldn't even think straight let alone cook baked goods for 5 hours in class. The depression, anxiety, insomnia, etc. got worse.

I needed to get to the bottom of this, so I started searching on-line and I started reading about Celiac Disease. Everything started to suddenly make sense. The incredible appetite, the weight loss, the depression, my migraine headaches, everything. I went to my doctor, got a couple of blood tests and was prescribed a gluten-free diet for life. Saying that to a baker is like telling a musician they can never step foot in a concert again! I'm slowly trying to deal with it and I actually am glad that they found a problem because now I can take the steps to fix it rather than just suffering in ignorance, it's still very VERY hard, though. To whoever has actually taked the time to read my story, thank you. I just needed someone to listen who can maybe understand what I'm going through.

I went to my doctor, got a couple of blood tests and was prescribed a gluten-free diet for life. Saying that to a baker is like telling a musician they can never step foot in a concert again!

Take heart, you will have to learn how to cook gluten free (a real challenge) but with your knowledge and talent you may well be able to help us all find decent ways to cook with the flour combinations. I don't know about the rest of the folk here, but I have never found a decent bread recipe yet, although I am trying one from Gluten Free 101 by Carol Fenster. She has delveloped a bunch of new mixes for Bob's Red Mill line including a brownie mix and cookie mix. More are on the way. The author is celiac and culinary expert.

Good luck!

[cathzozo]

Welcome to the board! I am sure that you will begin finding ways to bake many of your favorites gluten-free. I've only been doing this for a few months, and I never baked before this, and I feel like I have gotten pretty decent at gluten-free baking. There are many, many cookbooks out there. You might not be able to make a croissant gluten-free, but you can do quick breads, muffins, cakes really well, and even yeast breads are pretty reliable. Please keep us informed of your gluten-free baking adventures.

I'm also sure you will begin feeling SO MUCH better once you've been gluten-free for awhile. That will be great!

Good luck!

Catherine

[mamaw]

Hi & welcome

For baking start out with a good gluten-free flour blend, such as Betty Hageman's or gluten-free flour blend classic from Annalise Roberts.I find using one of these blends I can make alot of my old recipes by just changing the flour.Also a book called Gluten Free Baking Classics by Annalise is one of the bestbooks. I have made alot of her recipes, her vanilla cake is fab.

I don't make alot of scratch breads but Anna's mix is the very best....There is many things you can get mainstream in your grocery such as broths for soup. Heinz from the UK has a tomato soup as well as Amy's tomato bisque is good.

I think most of us order online or mailorder for our gluten-free supplies. I know there is not much where I'm from so I travel about four times a year to stockup..

Since you have a formal education (pastries ) it will probably come easier for you to make changes to recipes... Maybe soon we will see you selling a new gluten-free pastry in the near future.

When you really start to feel better I think you will do wonderful.Just take your time and start out with ine thing at a time...... simple is best at first. I just made funnel cakes the other day, no big feat but for the kids , it was if I gave them 5,000 bucks....

Carriefaith has a soft breadstick recipe that is great, sorry I don't have the link to it but if you type that in here it will come up. I have added pepperoni & cheese , garlic and so on ... to this recipe and even my non-celiac family wants these....

blessings

mamaw

Please pm me if there is anything I can answer for you.

[Girl Ninja]

You have a wonderful opportunity to become a specialty baker. Celiac Specialties in Chesterfield, MI is hiring gluten-free bakers right now. Good luck!!

[AshleyE]

Hi, and welcome to the board. I am also fairly new to being gluten-free, but I have discovered a love of baking that I never knew existed. There is a lady named Bette Hagman who is referred to as the Gluten Free Gourmet. Any of her recipes turn out absolutely delicious. She has many different cookbooks out, I have the one on comfort foods and breads, and I can always count on the recipe turning out very similar to the original gluten filled food. That might be a place for you to start, then you can always experiment and create your own recipes.

[queenofhearts]

Hi & Welcome! This is the greatest place for information & moral support. You'll love it.

I was never a professional, but an extremely avid lifelong baker nonetheless, & I won't deny there were lots of tears when I first was told I was Celiac. But a few weeks in deep kitchen frenzy with Bette Hagman, Annalise Roberts, & Carol Fenster (their books, that is!) have given much comfort (& a few pounds!)

So far I have found that most cookies, cakes, pie-type pastries, biscuits, waffles, & so on-- basically anything you could previously make with a low-gluten cake flour-- are nearly as good as (or at times even better than) wheat versions. (Although often things don't keep as well.)

Breads are much more of a challenge. Many are quite tasty, but not at all what we're used to, baking wheat breads. And I'm not sure it would be possible to approximate puff pastry or phyllo with low gluten... probably just not enough structure to the dough.

I'm still learning gluten-free baking myself, so I have some hope that I will get closer to my dream-bread with time. I'd love to compare notes with you as you experiment!

Leah

[mpeel]

Welcome. I have been on this road of gluten-free living for over 3 years now. I wish I had your baking knowledge. I am learning and have gone from hating the kitchen to loving baking and cooking. I love experimenting. Cooking Gluten-Free by Karen Robertson has some wonderful recipes. I love the cinnamon rolls and brownies.

Michelle

mom to Beth and Samantha, both gluten and dairy free (me, too!)

[penguin]

I went to my doctor, got a couple of blood tests and was prescribed a gluten-free diet for life. Saying that to a baker is like telling a musician they can never step foot in a concert again! I'm slowly trying to deal with it and I actually am glad that they found a problem because now I can take the steps to fix it rather than just suffering in ignorance, it's still very VERY hard, though. To whoever has actually taked the time to read my story, thank you. I just needed someone to listen who can maybe understand what I'm going through.

I like your analogy! I've used the one where it's like you're a really good football player, MVP, etc., and then you're suddenly stuck in a wheelchair.

Tell me about it! My grand scheme was to go to culinary school and complete a patisserie program, but then the celiac dx happened. Baking gluten-free is like learning how to cook all over again, and it's very frustrating at first. The most important step to take first is to find a flour blend that you like, I personally like Annalise Roberts' mix of 2 c superfine brown rice flour (authentic foods), 2/3 c. potato starch flour, and 1/3 c. tapioca starch. Then you add about 1tsp xanthan gum per cup. That's the mix for everything but bread, I haven't even bothered with bread yet, my ego is still too fragile for that ball of wax

Incedentially, I'm starting culinary school. Of course, I'm going for the culinary arts program, not patisserie, but at least it's still cooking. I'm lucky in that my school is willing to work with me, and what it will boil down to is one of three things: 1: I don't taste anything that I make with flour (mother sauces, breading, etc) 2: I convince the chefs that a successful roux can be made for these things and that gluten-free flour breading works as well (much less likely) or 3: I make two of everything, one gluteny and one gluten-free. The chefs will have to work with me to an extent, because it's a legitimate disability.

As for the baking section of the curriculum, well, that's just going to be 6 weeks of me being screwed, and I'll wear a mask (maybe a hazmat suit? ), and obviously won't taste anything. At least I know I'll excel in that class, I was always best at baking

I'm going to have to make friends in the pastry program so that they can teach me how to do all the pretty sugar and chocolate showpieces, and how to work with fondant...

Just wanted to let you know that I'm right there with you, and that there are always more opportunities!!!

[flxmanning]

Hi everyone!

Thank you so much for the open arms and ideas! Unfortunately, my digestive tract is so messed up right now that I really can't have fun experimenting yet and I have to stick to bland and "boring" foods. When I feel ready and everything is working properly again I'll definately start experimenting.

Chelsea-

I actually did do the full culinary program, but am now in rotation and am focusing more on patisserie and baking than the culinary part. What culinary school are you going to go to? Is it Le Cordon Bleu?

[penguin]

Chelsea-

I actually did do the full culinary program, but am now in rotation and am focusing more on patisserie and baking than the culinary part. What culinary school are you going to go to? Is it Le Cordon Bleu?

Yes, it's the ole blue ribbon

I'm going to Tx. culinary...signed all the paperwork, I'm so excited

[flxmanning]

Congratulations!

I went to the one in Pasadena. If you ever need help with anything (projects, homework, etc.) you can e-mail me (flxmanning@hotmail.com). I think the programs are pretty much identical.

[acousticmom]

flxmanning & Chelsea--

Good luck with your culinary careers! If you do decide to specialize, I really think the demand for gluten-free foods is going to skyrocket. One article I read said that the number of diagnoses is doubling every year. But if the media picks up on it, diagnoses will increase much faster. You're ahead of the bubble.

Anyway, whatever direction you go, I wish you the best!

Carol

[samara]

Thank you for sharing. I too was diagnosed recently and have actually run into quite a few people who are celiac's as well. I also experienced your symptoms. They seemed to start years ago, but of course the doctors have always treated each complaint as a seperate illness. I most recently went though almost 6 months of nausia, stomach blotting and hours of bathroom visits daily. My doctors referred me to a specialist who intern tested me for Barrets..... my specialists thank God came back with a negative to that but then told me my stomach was overproducing acid and of course handed me prescriptions and of course a mound of samples and told me to figure out what hurt my stomach and stop eating it. Sad right!... My father had suggested that maybe it was a reaction to gluten, he had been reading everthing he could to help me. Turns out he was right. My doctor tested me and here we are.......... I guess listening to our parents even at our age is still important. Anyway thank you again for sharing. Please share any recipes you may come up with, I'm sure that in your career you must be experimenting by now.