Thursday- Disasters in Cooking, Big Time Fail

I like to think of myself as something of a skilled bakestress. Seriously, I can get my rise on, yo.

I offered to make big, soft pretzels for all of the children in Lila's kindergarten class as a special treat. Her teacher told me that there are a few people with celiac and she'd tell their mom's to send a special snack for them that day because they can't eat the pretzels. I, ready for the challenge, said that I would venture into the land of gluten free baking and de-wheat my kitchen aid mixer so that I could toss together some delicious treats for all to enjoy.

I mean, how hard could it be?

I found this simple recipe and followed it to the tee. There were a few things that I questioned... but I have dabbled enough in gluten-free cooking to know that sometimes the baking process is different for non-wheat foods.

So, my first real indication that there was something terribly wrong was the after I mixed the dough and kneaded it a bit... my hands smelled a lot like henna. When the smell of your hands reminds you of slathering your head with mud to turn your hair red when you were 15... it's problematic.

Next, when it was time to boil the pretzels in their baking-soda bath, I put only one in. I got the water to a nice rolling boil and gently moved the pretzel into the boiling water, face down. Within 15 seconds most of the pretzel had dissolved. The baking soda bath quickly turned into a frothy, boiling cauldron of henna-scented gruel.

I decided to just bake the remaining pretzels and see what happened.

What happened was that I created the most disgusting, repulsive, non-edible baked good that has ever existed. Even the smell of them baking was putrid. They were just... AWFUL.

Thank god that we have a completely allergen free bakery called Sweet Freedom near-bye. I popped in and picked up two magic bars and two blueberry oat bars for this afternoon. At least it's something special! Of course, the whole point was to bring in the exact same thing for the kids with celiac as I was bringing for everyone else... so that there'd be no difference. My heart aches because I have failed in this.

On a personal note, I have my test for celiac and appointment to talk to a dr. about my nutrition on Tuesday. I feel like when my diet is naturally gluten free, I feel great. But even when I try to use gluten substitutes, I am just as sick as I'd be if I at a sandwich made from whole wheat bread.