The Naked Pear is on Substack!
A bit about me and what to expect from your subscription
Welcome friends! For years I have been trying to find the right approach to share my gluten free recipes, tips and tricks and baking knowledge that I’ve acquired over the last 20 years. Substack seems to be the the best fit for all of our needs. Substack is a place where I can offer free and paid content, which means you get to choose how you would like to follow along! I’m so excited you are here and ready to learn with me!
A bit of my story... I’m not certain when I actually became sick with celiac disease. It definitely came to a head in my college years and that is when I started to see doctors about my symptoms. It took years, many steroids, lots of gaslighting and frustration, before an allergist sent us on the right path toward a celiac diagnosis. My diagnosis came well over 20 years ago. Very little was known about celiac disease when I was diagnosed and even less was known about gluten and gluten free products.
I was diagnosed with celiac at a time when there were zero gluten free offerings in the grocery stores and restaurants. Nothing had a “gluten free” label and I had to read absolutely every ingredient. Also, people had no idea what I was talking about when I said I couldn’t eat gluten. Life got awkward, at least from my prospective. I was in my early 20’s and couldn’t go out to eat with friends. I had a hard time accepting dinner invitations, because no one knew how to accommodate my needs. I had to bring my own food places. I remember traveling by car to a friend’s wedding and having to pack ALL of my food for the trip. When you all of a sudden can’t break bread with loved ones and friends, life feels different and isolating. Food is one of our great connectors. Food is closely tied into our memories and traditions.
To be honest, I did not branch out and explore gluten free baking for many years after I was diagnosed. It felt too overwhelming and I was just trying to make food that sustained me and tasted decent. A couple of years after I was diagnosed, I started to find some gluten free flour mixes in the health food stores and I started to experiment. After years of experimentation and study, I became quite good at baked goods such as cakes, cupcakes, muffins, quick breads and the like. Eventually, I started baking for other people with gluten restrictions. I loved making beautiful celebratory food for people.
Then 2020 hit…there was a sourdough extravaganza exploding on social media. Gluten free bread was something that I never really ventured into, nor did I have any desire to prior to 2020. There seemed to be too many gums and starches added and the store bought gluten free breads always hurt my stomach or caused discomfort. But sourdough, now that intrigued me. Sourdough was getting back into real bread and I was curious to see if gluten free sourdough was even possible. So with the rest of the world, I made a sourdough starter and dove in head first. My first loaf was not beautiful, but it was tasty and let me know that I was headed in the right direction.
For 4 years I have been working on improving my sourdough bread recipe as well as developing many other sourdough recipes. I have gluten free sourdough recipes for breads, focaccia, baguettes, dinner rolls, bagels, pizza crust, English muffins, cinnamon rolls, pie crust, biscuits, discard crackers, discard cookies and so many more. Here are a few pictures to get you excited…
What to expect…I plan to start you all off with basic gluten free sourdough recipes and then I will help you build your skills along the way. We will build you a solid starter, master a basic bread recipe, delve into some discard recipes and then build upon that foundation of knowledge. Each month, I will share one sourdough recipe, 1-2 discard recipes as well as a tips, tricks and troubleshooting posts.
I’m excited to come along side of you and walk with you through your own gluten free sourdough journey. Thank you for supporting me and my passion for baking and for teaching.
See you soon with our first recipe and step in your sourdough journey!
With gratitude,
Idris Craft