Fresh Bread: Gluten-free Glory

Well, the simple blood test let me rest assured that I don't have celiac disease - but it didn't tell me why I feel so much better keeping 90% of wheat and related glutens out of my body.  Or what we should do about the carbs we love the best: bread and pasta.

Both of us grew up with the rare pleasure of home-baked bread; but the bread machine had been tucked away in storage for years.  Since baking (even with a machine) is not my forte, I do helpful sous-chef tasks like picking the rosemary, getting three eggs out to warm up, stirring the sourdough starter, and of course, expressing gratitude.  Basha does the rest, with the help of three guides:  memories from her grandmother's kitchen; a gluten-free baking pamphlet a friend copied in the days before many books on the topic were available; and a copy of Bread Machine Magic.

Each loaf comes out a little different, but delicious every time.  The warm yeasty aroma fills the house while we putter at weekend chores; and cutting a hot slice (as soon as the loaf is cool enough to cut) is irresistible.  Eggy yet light and moist and chewy, with a lovely golden crust, this bread in no way resembles the gluten-free doorstops sold in groceries.  With a little restraint, a loaf lasts us a week.  

Celiac? We'll see

For years I've had experiences I just attributed to allergies, anemia, blood sugar . . .

Like most symptoms of celiac (a condition where the person lacks an enzyme to digest the protein of certain grains, called gluten), they are easy to write off as something else.

• Why do my hands sometimes feel like I have arthritis, when I show no other signs? Why does that soreness and stiffness come and go?
• Why do I feel fine til bed some evenings; and other evenings feel overwhelming tired, sluggish, achy, irritable and like I can't think?
• Why do I have mornings after enough sleep when I just can't get into gear, even after black tea?

I never heard of any of these symptoms connecting to celiac until I happened across an article featuring a food blog, Gluten Free Girl. I went and looked from curiosity, and found great recipes that celebrate joyful cooking and sharing of healthy food - my kind of food culture. And some medical basics, the authors own story, plus anecdotes about others. That combination of recognizing myself and thinking, 'wow - I could enjoy eating this way' made me willing to dump denial and get tested for the antibody that indicates a likelihood of the condition.

And then came Sunday, with its increasing raft of unpleasantness (all of the above). By late afternoon and after 3 serious servings of wheat (toast x2, waffles x2, and a pupusa), I could barely hold my head up and walk around the house, much less finish a coherent sentence. It really feels like being drugged, beaten up, and heckled. A lost evening, sleep with anti-inflammatories, and a difficult Monday morning at work, trying to keep enough focus to be productive. Right then I started figuring out what I could eat without gluten. And the rest of this week has been, if not perfect, really good.

So we'll see what the blood test says, what my doctor says, and where I go from here. High hopes!