Ep 197 November 2021 Roundup

November 3, 2021 /

Let’s start the blog with the show notes for this Episode –

It’s the beginning of the month, which means I have the pleasure of chatting with Ellen Bayens of theceliacscene.com.  Here’s some of the topics we covered –

There has been very positive feedback on the stickers and wristbands available through www.celiackidstuff.com.

The 200th episode of the podcast is coming up, and we’re turning the tables, so Ellen is asking me questions.  You can send your questions, or videos (we’ll only use the audio) to ellen@theceliacscene.com.

We shine a light on a gluten free bakery in Winnipeg calls Cocoabeans.  They have recently released four mixes that you can easily make at home – there’s even videos for any of you who might be baking novices.  Introducing Cocoabeans Gourmet Gluten-Free Mixes

The Canadian Celiac Association is hosting another great virtual conference this year on November 13th and 14th.  The 13th (Saturday) is aimed towards those who have been diagnosed less than two years, whereas the program on the 14th (Sunday) is more indepth for those who have been gluten free for more than two years (anyone can sign up for either).  The conference is free of charge, but you are asked to give a contribution towards costs if you can.

Canadian Celiac Association Virtual Conference November 13 & 14. The Celiac Scene will be there! Sign up for FREE!

If you are new to gluten free, or need a refresher, Cinde Little, the Everyday Gluten Free Gourmet has a new course called Healthy Me focusing on managing a healthy gluten free lifestyle. Find out more at  New to Gluten Free?

Ellen talks about a food labelling study looking at accuracy regarding allergens Accuracy in Food Labelling a Concern for the Allergic and a study that looks at issues celiacs encounter while dating Celiacs Who Date Report Anxiety and Admit to Taking Risks When Dining Out

I mention a little bit about my new co-host on my other podcast Gluten Free Weigh In .  In early December I will be introducing a male co-host who has just been diagnosed with celiac disease and is involved in a program awaiting bariatric surgery.  His story will be so interesting.

As well, Ellen and I talk about restaurants – some on her list are –

• Suggestions Pour in for Celiac-Safe Sushi Restaurants in Victoria •  More Sushi!

• Bare Bones Fish & Chips Taking Bookings for Christmas
• Art of Slow Food Opens 100% Cafe & Bakery
• El Faro Fusion for Dining, Shopping and Special Orders
• Join Six Mile Pub for a Gluten-Free Christmas
• Vancouver Island Safe Fries UPDATE: Onion Rings, Fish & Chips & Deep-Fried S’mores

Along with upcoming baking classes and events –

• Candied Sweet & Sour Pumpkin Seeds
• Real Food Corn Thins November Recipe Ideas

• Everyday Gluten Free Gourmet Virtual Class Calendar • Priced per household – invite your friends & family!

Sue’s Websites and Social Media –

Podcast https://acanadianceliacpodcast.libsyn.com

Podcast Blog – https://www.acanadianceliacblog.com

Email – acdnceliacpodcast@gmail.com

Celiac Kid Stuff – https://www.celiackidstuff.com

Baking Website – https://www.suesglutenfreebaking.com

Instagram – @suesgfbaking

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUVGfpD4eJwwSc_YjkGagza06yYe3ApzL

Email – sue@suesglutenfreebaking.com

Other Podcast – Gluten Free Weigh In – https://glutenfreeweighin.libsyn.com

My Thoughts –

I’m a baker, Ellen is clearly not a baker.  Let me make the distinction between a baker and a cook.  A cook prepares meals, all sorts of meals using proteins, vegetables, herbs and spices.  A baker prepares breads and desserts and only limited cross-over meals, like pizza.  I do not consider myself a very good cook.  I can get by and feed my family a variety of nutritious meals, but nothing that requires much skill. 

One major difference between cooking and baking is with cooking you can vary recipes to your tastes, make little changes and come out with something unique for yourself and your family.  With baking, you pretty much have to stick to a recipe – especially with gluten free!  Baking is a chemical equation, and depends on the relative amounts of different ingredients to give a desired texture, look and mouthfeel, regardless of the taste profile.  In other words, you must stick closely to a formula in baking.

When I looked at the recipe videos for Cocoabeans Gourmet Gluten Free Mixes out of Winnipeg that utilize tried and true formulations from their bakery, I was drawn back a few years.

I suspect Cocoabeans and I were in similar situations.  When I started my bakery, I initially took my home kitchen recipes and expanded them to make much larger volumes.  Sometimes expanding a recipe leads to tweeks in the actual recipe to take advantage of scale (if you need 2 tbsp less than one lb of butter, maybe it’s easier to make the other ingredients up, so you use the whole pound).  For me and my staff in the bakery, we had a great efficient system with our recipes and mostly used weights in grams instead of volume measurements.

Once the bakery closed, I put the recipes aside for about a year, until I came to an agreement with our local cable channel to produce a gluten free baking show.  What an amazing experience.  The most difficult challenge was scaling my recipes down to home kitchen size again after making large quantities for many years.  It’s a good think I like math, because there’s lots involved in scaling recipes, both up and down.  You also need a good knowledge of baking measurements i.e. 1 tsp = 5 ml, there are 4 tbsp in ¼ cup etc.  My challenge was to not only scale back the recipes, but test them – this part was fun!

Recently, in some consulting work I do on gluten free recipe development, I was asked to take recipe that I’d developed, using the client’s ingredient and scale it to a sample size mix.  Sounds easy, but when you get right down to it, it’s hard to use 2/3 of an egg. 

I’m not sure if it’s a flaw, or maybe a happy quirk, but scaling recipes for me is fun!  I can only imagine the work, testing and frustration that went into developing the Cocoabeans mixes.  The videos are proof that all the work is worth it!  You can find out more about my recipes and baking shows at www.suesglutenfreebaking.com.