Homemade Bread and Pink Soup

I WISH this was a photo of my own loaf of homemade bread! It's not...

I grew up with a breadmaking Mom. Even though she worked fulltime during the week, on Saturday mornings she was up early baking bread — 5 loaves of the heartiest honey wholewheat bread you could imagine. It was an old family recipe that I’m convinced was passed down from our pioneer family members.  So Sunday evening supper as I was growing up almost always consisted of that wonderful hearty bread and homemade cream of tomato soup (affectionately nicknamed “pink soup” by my daughter when she was little).  Hey, Mom!  I wish we were having your bread and pink soup for supper this evening!

A few weeks ago, my husband and I bought a new little breadmaking machine in hopes of getting really good at baking gluten-free bread. Our daughter just recently had to go gluten free, and we are making that transition, too, in solidarity with her.  I tried the one gluten-free recipe that came with the bread machine and had mixed results. So wanting to try other recipes and have more options, I ordered the book, The Gluten-Free Gourmet Bakes Bread, by Bette Hagman. It arrived, and I’ve been studying it intensely for the last few days. Tonight I’m trying another recipe and am keeping my fingers crossed that it will actually turn into bread … and be tasty.  I am determined, however long it takes, to live up to the breadmaking tradition of my family and learn to make a really good loaf of gluten-free bread.

Note: There’s a lot to learn as a person goes gluten free, and a lot to learn about baking bread, but I’m not alone in my attempt to learn these skills!  There’s all kinds of help out there!  There are terrific books, like all of those by Bette Hagman.  My friend, Les, at Lesley’s Book Nook sent me the link to the Gluten Free Girl & the Chef blog, which had the great stuffing recipe I used for our GF Thanksgiving dinner. That blog is a great resource, as is the Karina’s Kitchen blog.  I have also become a member and am taking classes at PCC Natural Markets, which is the largest consumer-owned natural food co-operative in the United States, with nine stores located right here in the Puget Sound area.  They offer gluten-free cooking classes (which helped my daughter and me get started on all of this), and also sell all kinds of GF products.  So with all that help and support, it’s just a matter of time (and lots of practice) before we can settle back into that Sunday evening tradition of homemade bread and [GF] pink soup!