Turkey on White

Today I got to meet Joyce Shrock, who is by far one of the most delightful people in the world. And she also happens to be one of the brains behind the genius Grandpa's Kitchen Bread Mix. After finding out that she and four of her nine children had celiac's disease, Joyce and her husband set out to create the most palatable, delicious, bread-like gluten free bread on the market. And I would say they've succeeded. The Shrock family creates, packages, and sells their yummy mixes and flour to local Utah stores. Grandpa's Kitchen products are already available at stores like Harmon's, Good Earth, Great Harvest, Macey's and are coming soon to Smith's and Whole Foods. You can find a complete list of locations here. Joyce brought me a lovely loaf of bread and gave me some yummy recipes and tips for baking with her mixes. Some of you may remember, I've had a hiccup or two when making this mix. It is enough to make me think I forgot everything I learned in 8th grade cooking class. But I digress. All the problems I had can be fixed with these simple solutions:

1) Make sure you cook it long enough. When the timer goes off, stick a knife or skewer into the bread to make sure it's cooked all the way through.

2) The bread bakes well in a bread machine. But it is also beautiful when cooked in the oven.

3) As with all baking, sometimes outside factors like humidity, air pressure, or oven performance can affect your bread.

4) Joyce always uses Yoplait Vanilla Custard Yogurt in her bread. Her daughter always uses buttermilk. Either one will make delicious, moist bread.

5) Make sure you knead the dough in the stand mixer for the full 15 minutes. If you don't, the dough won't be as good.

6) Be sure to let the dough rise until it reaches the top of the pan. This may take some time. Don't be impatient.

7)If you like your bread at room temperature like the rest of the wheat-filled world, this bread will keep for about three days before needing to be refrigerated.

8) Keep the bread double-bagged in two large Ziploc bags to keep it moist.

9) Make sure you eat a lot of it. Because it is gluten-free heaven.

So, after Joyce left (and we had a wonderful visit, sharing our celiac stories, favorite restaurants, and recipes for barbeque pizza) I treated myself to something I haven't had for a very long time: a turkey sandwich with cheddar and dijon mustard on white bread. It was the best lunch ever.