This week I thought I would take a break from Country Loaves and bring you something that might help with the ever challenging problem of what to pack in a school lunch. I made these for my daughter when she went to a dance competition as they never have anything there she can eat and they often order in pizza for everyone else. She loves pepperoni pizza and wondered if I could turn the pizza pretzles into a pepperoni pizza stick. Since the dough is very soft rolling the pepperoni stick inside was not an option. Instead I piped out a line of dough placed 1/4 of a pepperoni stick on top and covered it with another row of dough. They turned out amazing and since everything is cooked they stayed safe to eat in her cooler for the entire competition.  The only thing she requested different was that I put in 1/2 a stick as she felt it was a little short on meat. Next week I will share the sweet treat I made for my son with the dough. Happy Baking!

Where does the time go? This has been a bit of a crazy time for me. Last week my 3 year old oven quit working. Gives you an idea of how much use it gets. Turns out the brains were toast and cost $360 to fix. Darned electronic gadgets! My previous wall oven had been here for 30 years! It probably didn't get this much of a workout every day though until I moved in a wore the poor thing out. 3 days of no baking put me a bit behind in baking orders and meant we were also without fresh baking. I now have my oven back and have almost caught up. Yesterday I snapped the bowl into my Kitchenaid only to have the bowl spring snap off. I guess it is just not designed for the workout it gets every day. I can still mix as long as I hold onto the bowl, which is good as it could be a few weeks before I can get a new clip ordered in. I guess I could unpack my new Kitchenaid but it too is electronic and does not have the harmonious sound of my old Heavy Duty one. I think I will just hold the bowl. As previously mentioned I am enjoying making country loaves. This week's recipe is a Sundried Tomato and Asiago Country Loaf. It is one of my most requested flavours along with the olive ones. I have made this with and without sourdough and it works equally well, so if you don't have a GF sourdough starter on the go (why not?) you can still make this tasty loaf. Cookbook #3 has information and recipes for sourdough and making a starter. Enjoy!

Another year begun and so much baking to try. Over the Christmas holiday I tried several new recipes. Some turned out better than others. The successes will be posted as the year goes on. I thought I would start this year with a dessert that can be made and kept in the freezer. It will be ready to pull out when you have unexpected company or when you want to treat yourself or your family on a busy weeknight. Pumpkin Cake Roll is light and easy to make. Over the next few weeks I want to get back to sharing bread recipes with you as I have tried so many new things. Some with new recipes others with old recipes reflavoured or given a new shape. My family loves fresh bread with soup or stew and now that I have such a wide variety of flavours and shapes to make the hardest part is deciding which one to make. Looking forward to another adventuMonrous and exciting year of baking!

What could be better on a snowy Monday morning than to start baking some heavily flavoured country bread. Today is such a day in my part of the world. Besides making bagels I made a Dark Sourdough Country Loaf and a Onion/Garlic/Herb Sourdough Country Loaf. The aroma in the house was heavenly! The Dark Country Loaf has the taste and texture of rye bread so if you have been missing that flavour this is the loaf for you. Allow it to cool completely and slice it thin like rye bread. The Onion/Garlic/Herb Sourdough Country Loaf gave the house the most amazing aroma. My daughter had 3 slices for her lunch, just to be sure it was good of course. I can imagine this as a grilled cheese sandwich. My mouth is watering already. Both recipes will be posted on the Membership site today! Enjoy! Happy Baking!

This past week was a little different from normal. My 90 year old grandmother was visiting me for a week. She is very spry and feisty so she really isn't much work. She does love good food although her portions are small. I let her help me with menu planning this past week so she could have the foods she doesn't normally get at home. She enjoyed all the meals I prepared and particularly liked the ones that included fresh baked bread or muffins. Although she is not on a gluten free diet she thought my bread was wonderful, especially fresh from the oven. Her favourite part...... the crust with butter and peanut butter. I guess the kid is still inside. This week I made a new pull apart pan bread which has potential to be a good product. We ate it with fresh minestroni soup and it was really great but I think it could still use a little modification as it fell once it cooled. This week's recipe is the promised Olive Country Loaf which I have now made a lot of. I made 3 for one friend as she ate almost the whole loaf the first time I gave it to her. I have made this with Kalamata or Black olives. The Kalamata olive loaf has a very tangy flavour  but if you love Kalamata olives this is the loaf for you. The loaf stays soft and fresh the next day and makes a really nice sandwich bread. I have really enjoyed making this style of loaf so stay tuned for more Country Loaf flavours in future posts. Happy Baking!

Thank you to Rachel for this Christmas Baking Challenge. I know it is still October but many newly diagnosed are worried about what to do as Christmas approaches. Rachel requested a gluten free Christmas Fruitcake and a Christmas Pudding. My recipe for Christmas Fruitcake can be found in cookbook 2 and I will post it on the Members Page of this web site along with my mother's recipe for Carrot Pudding which we enjoy every year. I always make a double batch and give away a few to my celiac friends. Carrot Pudding is so rich you really cannot eat a lot anyway, especially after a huge turkey dinner with all the fixings. If you have any other Christmas challenges please let me know and I will see what I can do to fix them for you. Happy Baking!