I've been pondering adding a page to the website about gluten sensitivities and wild vs dry yeast, and how wild fermented sourdoughs impacts people with gluten intolerance. In the process of that contemplation, I suddenly realized I haven't updated my rundlings in months and months. I'll refer you back to the first post on here, wherein I stated that I'm realllllllllly not good about journaling anything.

Anyhoooo....

It's been a crazy busy and fun summer! Although we have traveled almost exactly the same amount as last summer, we're definitely on the run more this summer. Or at least it feels that way. I wonder frequently if it feels so crazy only because of having a (forced) year+ off from playdates and practices and all that, and things starting to pick back up. Well, until the delta variant.

Please, please, PLEASE - if you haven't gotten a vaccine yet, please do!! Kids are at such a greater risk with the delta variant - and even though my kids want and literally ask for the vaccine - they can't get it yet because they're too young. Troy and I are both fully vaccinated, and are voluntarily masking when we go out, regardless of a municipality's masking standards. It's just too risky, for Max, for Troy, for my Mom - and for all of us who could get it being completely healthy, and still die. Or survive it and live our lives out with heart inflammation or multi-organ damage.

Please vaccinate. Please convince others to vaccinate. We've lost too many people. Too many Moms and Dads and sons and daughters. I so desperately don't want yours to be next.

And wow - my first realization is that I've strayed very far from the topic of gluten sensitivities and off down a different rundling path. My first inclination is to delete that whole section as to stay on topic - but it's a topic that pervades every aspect of our lives now, isn't it? For that matter, I wouldn't be baking for y'all if not for Covid and how it's impacted our lives. And promoting covid vaccinations and true information as to the vaccine and as to current consequences from not vaccinating is part of being a contributing member of our community, to help stop this virus. idk.

I'll take this time to mention I was nearly a philosophy major (and would have been, had I any capability to be a teacher), and that philosophizing is part of the krundle package. So....

Anyway! Gluten sensitivity. So:

People with celiac disease still can not eat sourdough bread, unless it's under 8ppm of gluten. Though I have a GF sourdough starter and GF flour, I've not practiced with it at all. LMK if there's a want/need from people for me to try! The idea that sourdough bread is safe for those with celiac disease stems from the results of a few small, controlled studies that found that eating sourdough didn’t cause symptoms or intestinal changes in those with this condition. One case study found:

1. 13 people with celiac disease on a gluten-free diet ate either regular wheat bread, sourdough that was fermented so that part of the gluten was degraded, or sourdough that contained only 8 ppm of residual gluten .

2. After 60 days, the group eating the sourdough that contained 8 ppm of gluten reported no negative symptoms and showed no negative effects in their blood work or intestinal biopsies, while the other two groups reacted to the gluten.

3. It’s important to note that the low-gluten sourdough bread was produced under controlled conditions in a lab — not a home or food manufacturing kitchen.

4. The internet is full of reports from people with non-celiac gluten sensitivity who claim that they don’t experience digestive symptoms after eating sourdough bread. This may be because some of the proteins, starches, and inflammatory compounds in wheat-based products are easier to digest when they’re fermented. However, at this time, these claims aren’t backed by science. What’s more, other compounds in the bread may cause issues for some people.

5. For example, alpha-amylase/trypsin inhibitors (ATIs) have been identified in gluten-containing products and appear to increase intestinal inflammation. Plus, carbs known as fermentable, oligo-, di-, mono-saccharides and polyols (FODMAPs) occur in grain- and gluten-containing products. They’re associated with symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

6. In a study in 26 people who followed a gluten-free diet for IBS, sourdough bread that had been fermented for more than 12 hours and showed lower levels of both ATIs and FODMAPs was not any better tolerated than regular bread. Thus, the digestibility of sourdough bread may depend on the individual and various factors.

People who have gluten intolerance due to medical conditions, it depends on a few factors.

7. Sourdough and regular bread are leavened differently. While regular bread is leavened with packaged yeast, sourdough bread is leavened with Lactobacillus bacteria and wild yeasts.

8. This mixture of bacteria and wild yeast is called a sourdough starter. It’s made by mixing flour and water and letting it sit until microbes move in and ferment it.

9. During fermentation, these organisms digest the starches in the dough and produce lactic acid and carbon dioxide .

10. Fermentation gives sourdough its distinctive sour flavor and light, airy texture.

11. As the bacteria and yeast ferment the starches, they degrade some of the gluten, thus creating a product that can be digested more easily by people with gluten intolerance.

12. The longer a loaf rests in the fridge (cold proofing) after the bulk ferment stage, the more the lactobacillus bacteria eats through the gluten, creating more acetic acid. That acetic acid in turn helps create a deeper flavor profile for the dough, and increases the sour flavor.

13. I can always plan your loaf for an extra-long proof if you would like! Needless to say (well, I'd hope so), it takes longer to make a loaf this way, so please contact me directly to set this up (easiest is via FB DM, but you can also email me at bakedgoodsKC@gmail.com).

And now I've run out of rundling energy. I'll be back!

In the land of allllllll the crazy things, baked. was listed on KCUR's top ghost kitchens and bakeries of 2021! I am completely mind blown that what began as something so simple has evolved so far. Major thanks to Danielle Lehman for the shout out!!

Among her other successes, Danielle is the genius behind the Open Belly food podcast. She created CurbsideKC in April 2020 to help local restaurants during the pandemic (instantly winning my I'm-still-a-waitress-in-my-heart appreciation), and also created and maintained the Curbside Notary program during the months leading up to the 2020 election to help fight voter suppression (and also send some much needed traffic to local restaurants during quarantine). Best of all (imo), she does all this amazing work for her community and I've never seen her even humblebrag about it.

Danielle's post on her personal FB wall after she tasted baked. led to another amazing opportunity - an interview with Michael Mackie of IN Kansas City Magazine. I wish I had words for all this good fortune, but I don't, really. I'm very much a "give so your left hand doesn't know what your right hand is doing" type, but also realize that if people don't know the opportunities to support those in need in their community exist, they can't support it. (This shows one of many reasons why I'm not a writer, btw. Too many wordy and awkward sentences. My bestie stated it better, I had to laugh: "hot mess that does nice things for others under the radar but doesn't like social situations. feed tacos." ) But really, people can't support something if they don't know it exists. So many people will embrace opportunities to support their community if they're given the information on how they can help. People will reach out if they know simple and sure ways they can fit it into their life. What I'm doing and how I'm doing it is just a way to give back, as we all should, when we can.

Just know that your support is being put to good use - I'll be using proceeds from baked. to make a couple lasagnas for people in need through Lasagna Love this weekend.

I'm humbled and honored. Thanks for all your support!

I'll admit, I'm pretty bad at any form of journaling, so this "blog" won't be very lively, but it's also interesting to have a place to chronicle new attempts and failures, so....I'll keep trying! I have a sourdough binder I used for a bit to keep track of stuff, but my wrists are pretty messed up so I don't handwrite a lot. Journaling has never really worked for me, even before my wrists were bad, but it's prohibitive, now. Anyway, typing is easier and faster, etc., etc.

Last week I tried a garden veggie loaf with dehydrated veggie chips. The blend I used didn't have any tomatoes in it, so I added some, but they unfortunately overpowered the rest of the flavor. Take 2! This week I'm adding the veggie bits to the dough during the initial autolyse stage, and will only add the sundried tomatoes to one loaf to see if infusion changes the flavor profile. Starting to think of other inclusions too; I'm thinking of a herbs de Provence blend, but with all fresh herbs, and working on sourcing those locally as well.

My summer bakes will be a lot more fluid, based on schedules and travel and company and summer lazies that will have to be addressed by floating in the pool. I'll work orders as they come in into my next bake, which I'm sure will occur at least weekly. I just can't keep myself from baking! However, if you need anything by a specific date, just send me a message and we can get it scheduled.

I'm so looking forward to getting the pool set up and open, and to the coming months. I hope you all enjoy your summer!

Monsoon season has most definitely hit! I remember the afternoon rainstorms we used to get in Colorado, which we would watch from our covered back patio as they rolled across the Front Range. That was such a completely different experience than what happens here in KC! The torrential, drenching sheets of rain. It just blows me away, every season. It's SO much rain, and some seasons it lasts for weeks! I keep checking my basement in fear, even though we're super fortunate to have a house on a hill and don't have many of the water problems that plague Brookside and Waldo. One of the many things I love about our house (not just the dry basement) is that we have a huge, covered front porch where we can sit to watch the storms. Sometimes the storms still blow in heavy enough to unexpectedly drench us even six feet back, but we're frequently able to watch the storms roll through, and even better is that so many of our neighbors with covered porches do the same.

As soon as monsoon season is over, it'll be time for porch pizzas! We might still do pizzas in our double driveway if people feel the desire to remain distanced, but at least we're able to be closer than this time last year, when we were sitting in family clusters 10' apart up and down the street. We had to remain separated, but you can't keep us from getting together!

We just LOVE our neighborhood! The community is strong with this one. :)

One of the fun/not-fun things about sourdough is that it is a live organism that is very much affected by the weather. The good news is, we live in the age of the internet, and answers are pretty easy to find when things go south. :) I did some research, played around with several loaves, and ended up with some pretty delicious offerings. Success!!

After a couple wonky bakes last week, I'm doing lots of research and will be testing different hydration doughs and longer cold proving techniques to help combat the heat and humidity steadily infiltrating our lovely spring! There's no way my air conditioning will be able to fight the heat two ovens pump out during a bake, as well as the summer humidity, nor will my husband appreciate those utility bills, so the modifications need to be made to the dough. Where there's a will, there's a way! Thank heavens for the Perfect Sourdough FB group (run by the amazing Teresa Montgomery).

My research indicates the dough is pulling in humidity from the air, in addition to the hydration already in the recipe, which causes a huge impact to the fermentation and rise, particularly since my recipe is already high hydration. I've also just learned about wild yeast water, so I'm going to be fermenting some and trying that as part of the equation, to see if that can bump the rise a bit. Hypotheses abound, I'll keep you updated!

tl:dr

trigger warnings: suicide, self harm, depression

I spent a good portion of Wednesday at the funeral of a friend, and the reception celebrating his life. He is mourned by hundreds, at the very least. He loved, and was loved, by so very many people. But like many of us, he was tortured by the dark corners of his mind.

I’ve had a few major depressive experiences - episodes makes it sound quick or trivial. These experiences can last weeks, if not more. During those times I've felt invisible, unseen, unheard - but my worst was far darker.

I type about this now - and speak about it whenever I can - because I’ve been there before. Planning that moment, literally writing notes. I was so very full of pain that I couldn’t see straight. This was 20 years ago, next month, but I can feel it like it was yesterday. I only stopped writing notes - and not taking action - because of a geographical/semantical moment - it had to be correct, right? After all, this was going to be the last thing they read from me, it wouldn't do for it to be incorrect. I figured the pain wasn't going anywhere, it would still be there the next day. I could have a plan for the next night. I was lucky, or blessed, pick your choice - but I woke up the next morning and felt an ability to at least deal with the next day. It changed my world.

The thing is, what I realized even in those several hours of writing letters, was that even in the pain I felt at that moment - the culmination of all that time - I *knew* that my suicide would devastate my family and friends. I knew they would be tortured by questions that couldn’t be answered. But the explanation - my explanation - is that I knew it would devastate them, but that my pain was so enveloping, so consuming, so overwhelming, that I could only try to end the pain. Their pain would be tremendous, and I was genuinely sorry for that, but I couldn’t handle another moment of that all consuming, horrendous, pain.

Today we said goodbye to a friend who wasn’t able to turn that corner, to see that light. But, like our pastor, I believe he is warm and welcome in the afterlife, safe in a sanctuary of love. He has been released from a life of pain, and has been welcomed home.

I don't particularly like sharing this story, from the standpoint of then people start worrying about me, now. I do appreciate the support and care, but this isn't really about me. It's about helping people who don't have depression, or who haven't been suicidal, to understand why a person might commit suicide. It's about so many people not knowing that that we know we are loved, but that sometimes the pain is overwhelming.

And it's also about showing people who are in that dark place that it *is* possible to turn that corner with very little to explain it. That there are so many people out here who are struggling. That it's possible to come out the other side. I so wish I could spread that message to every corner of the earth. To say, "You matter. You are not alone. I might not understand your pain, but I can empathize and give you comfort. I will sit by you in the darkness. Every time during the day that I think of you, I'm sending you the peace in my heart and soul, to take a little of your agony away."

It is so important that we talk about mental health openly. Understanding how easy it is to be caught in that downward spiral for some people is crucial, so that we can empathize and come to them with a measure of grace and peace.

One reason why I started baking again was to share food with those in need.

At the beginning of COVID, there was a lot of food insecurity and wondering how the food source network would hold up. I started baking kind of for fun, kind of as a quarantine quality, and a whole lot because I missed having friends over and cooking for them. This way I could still show my love for them, even at a distance. It became an avenue to assist people and families with food insecurities because of any aspect of COVID. Then it just became being part of a bigger community. We need to take care of the least of us, in order for us all to rise.

The summer came and went, and along with playing a lot of pickleball with our podmates, I also baked a ton of bread. A lot of terrible loaves, some good loaves, some great loaves. Fortunately, my husband is a homebrewer and shepherded me a bit on how to care for my starter, and then the loaves raised up!! I mean, they literally weren't bread bricks anymore, they were actually nice and chewy and wonderful with that lovely crunchy crust. So good that my friends couldn't eat anymore without growing out of their pants, so they suggested I start a cottage business. Much love to those of you who suggested and cheer me on along this crazy journey!

Now that I'm selling my bread, part of the proceeds of each bake goes to helping the houseless and food insecure in our community. Part of this is put forth in making lasagnas as part of Lasagna Love, to help anybody in need of a meal, whether for self care or from lack of ability to buy groceries (request one here: https://www.lasagnaloveportal.org/request-a-meal-english, or I'll gladly make you one if you click the button on my order form). I also enjoy working with Free Hot Soup KC and KC Heros, doing large batch cooking for our park picnics and delivering food in our area. There's a big part of my soul that is replenished by helping people. There are many things in life I can't control, but this I *can* do, absolutely.