The Jewish Journal did a story on gluten, celiac disease, my father-in-law and even a little bit about us! Just in time for the CDF Conference this weekend, too! [Which, BTW, you can still register for if you call the office directly at (818) 990-2354.]

It’s really a great piece and big, big thanks to writer Adam Wills for spreading the word about celiac disease. I just need to say one teeny thing. (And then I promise, I’ll shut up about the oats, I’m sure everyone is sick of the whole oats issue.)

It’s not that “the Hier family is confidently sticking with oats.” That’s not for us to decide. The RCC tells us oats require the blessing HaMotzi, with washing before and a full Grace after Meals following.

‘Nuff said.

And thanks once again to the lovely Keren Greenberg for the photo!

When Challah Becomes the Bread of Affliction

Make sure to catch gfMeals.com / Your Dinner Secret on The KTLA Morning News tomorrow (Wednesday), between 6:00 and 9:00 AM PST. There will be 10 second teases randomly throughout the show and 3 minute segments around 6:40, 7:50 and 8:40.

KTLA’s remote reporter Gayle Anderson will be broadcasting from the Your Dinner Secret location in Woodland Hills, noshing on their mouthwatering gluten-free food (including maybe also a bundt or two!) and interviewing their team and their customers. In fact, the anchors will be eating their gluten-free goodies in the studio too.

If you do miss it, we’ll post the link to the streaming video on the KTLA web site.

Kudos to co-owner Roni Piterman for getting this kind of exposure & raising awareness
of celiac disease and gluten-sensitivity! Why it seems like only last week they featured YDS in the Daily News — oh, wait, that WAS last week! Keep up the good work, Roni!

We’ll be cheering for you tomorrow over our morning coffees and chocolate-zucchini muffins!

*
I think we’re blessed with a special angel in charge of PR. How else can we explain this terrific article on us in The Forward Jewish newspaper?

Keeping Kosher Gluten-Free - Forward.com”

Elissa Strauss, the writer, is a celiac currently living in New York, writing for The Forward obviously, but her mom who is also celiac lives here in LA, and the two came here together last time Elissa was in town. That’s how we explain it, on this plane….

***

Our bagels in The Forward! OMG, my zaidy would be so proud!! Thanks Keren Greenberg for the photo.

Check out this wonderful review of our bakery by Beth Shea, writer of the Petite Planet blog, which I just discovered. It’s all about “green living” and Beth is right on with her recommendations. Like, the very next entry (about fabrics) she recommends Hannah Anderson clothes for kids. I LOVE Hannah Anderson! The softest clothes on the planet (which is SO important with a sensitive child!) and while they seem expensive at first, they are worth every penny: your first child will wear them day after day and still hand them down to the next child.
Anyway, it turns out Beth is also a big fan of Gluten-Free Girl Shauna Ahern! What a small world it is, indeed!
Petite Planet blog review

[Thoughts on further entries - I’ve been grappling with the lunch bag problem myself, I’m going to give the GourmetGetaway a try, and I’m enjoying the article about throwing parties on a budget. Note the addition of PetitePlanet to the Blogroll!]

Well, okay, she doesn’t star in it, but she does have a big part! Check her out in this piece called Gluten Free, by Time-Warner Cable So-Cal News! It was filmed the last time Eugenie joined Peggy Curry at Whole Foods El Segundo for the “Gluten-Free and Loving It!” cooking class. Go Peggy! for getting such great exposure for gluten-free living!

We feel like we’ve just won the lottery! This is unbelievable. This November, Los Angeles Magazine’s Food Lover’s Guide features “Local Heroes,” sourcing the best locally produced food.

On page 151, “Toasts of the Town,” there’s a list of nine bakeries with photos of nine “of our favorite loaves” and — what’s that at the top of the page? “Divinely gluten free”!?! OUR FOCACCIA!?!

And just look at who else is on that list - Le Pain Quotidien, BreadBar, La Maison du Pain…. These are prestigious bakeries! (Actually, the woman from La Maison du Pain visited us one day. She’s very sweet - and it turns out she also bakes for Sophie’s Produce — she makes the little rolls for their non-gf sandwiches. Small world.)

Honestly; it’s only luck that we were even considered for such a list. I’m sure it’s just that they wanted to include a gluten-free option, and it had to be local, and we’re the only gluten-free bakery within 200 miles. But still, what luck! Thank God! And thank you, Margot - may you have a long and satisfying life! {Amen!}

by Sandee on 6/27/07 [Edited later a little.]

Download the podcast of last Saturday’s Good Food radio show, where they interviewed Eugenie about gluten-free baking and The Sensitive Baker!! Yay! Thank you SO much, everyone at KCRW! You have no idea how many people you sent our way!

We knew they taped it, obviously, but not when they would air it, that’s why I didn’t alert you to listen for it. But if you missed it, you can listen online.

I just have to take back one thing…

While we really do try to have something for everyone as Eugenie said, sometimes people with multiple food allergies have not had anything to eat, or had just one item that they could eat. Like, with the muffins, this one has eggs, that one has soy, the other one is egg-free AND soy-free, but contains nuts. The vegan bread and the vegan pizza crust both have no eggs and no nuts, but contain traces of soy from the lecithin in the pan spray.

We wish from the bottoms of our hearts that we really could bake for everyone, but as Alice Leonard of Angel Food Bakery (a gluten-free vegan bakery in New Zealand) once said to me, if we only served things that no-one was allergic to, all we could offer people would be a glass of water!

The fact is, if you’re allergic to everything, I recommend a wonderful company called “Enjoy Life Foods.” They do all kinds of baked goods; you can find them at Whole Foods and other grocers and online. There are hundreds of other products from other fine companies that you can order online, as I said in a previous post. If we attempted food that was free of everything, I’m sure it would not be as good as theirs is, and they already have pretty packaging.

To make what we make, you need to put in something. To make what we make you’ve got to put a lot of very fine things like almond meal and almond milk, and whole eggs from local cage-free chickens, and extra egg whites (ditto), and organic non-hydrogenated palm shortening, or organic-sunflower or -extra-virgin-olive oil. And lots and lots of organic evaporated cane juice. Not everyone can eat those things. We always try to have enough variety that everyone can eat something, but it is a humbling experience. I am continually and constantly awed by the multiple allergies that some people have to deal with.

Remember, also, that we are a very small bakery and some cross-contamination may occur with any of the ingredients we work with. We use good manufacturing practices to ensure that doesn’t happen, but in the same way that some people need a dedicated gluten-free facility, there are people who should only eat food cooked in dedicated nut-free facilities.

[Edited to add: We are completely PEANUT-FREE though. I forgot to mention that. Gluten-free, casein-free, and peanut-free. And mollusk-free.]