Baking Love

I have had a life-long love affair with bread and anything with dough.

I'm on a mission to find ways to bring back some of our beloved breads and things traditionally made with wheat or grains and finding ways to have that food experience - but with paleo ingredients. Or - in some cases - mostly paleo ingredients.

I look at it this way - even if I add in some honey .... or gods forbid, actual sugar! ... it's still better than the way I HAD been eating, and a LITTLE - every once in a great while ... will not hurt or kill me.

So sometimes, my recipes might have a wee bit of sugar - but I try very hard to find alternatives. Like dates, or applesauce (and I'm thinking of using actual fresh stevia leaves), or honey .... things that aren't refined and can be found in the real unprocessed world.

People are always suggesting artificial sweeteners to me. well, I *will* at least TRY them - but the reality is ... I have a super tongue and a super nose and I *can* in fact taste and smell them for the most part - in whatever they are used in. I'm one of those people that ... once I can taste it ... I can't entirely LOSE it.

This means living with me is a PITA. LOL! :P

EVERYTHING simply HAS to be covered and sealed - period. I can taste freezer and refrigerator taste no matter how slight it is. Yes, this means when we used tons of butter - each stick had to be sealed into a Ziploc bag, because folks, fridge taste DOES get into even boxed and wrapped butter! No kidding. And I'm SO sensitive, that I can taste it even if it is used to cook with. In fact - it will ruin a dish for me completely. My honey has tried to sneak such things in on me only to find that he'd have to eat it ALL - because *I* can taste fridge taste throughout every bite and it overpowers everything for me.

I've left restaurants because of this issue - luckily that has only happened to me twice. But it's sad because it means they aren't really wrapping their food up right if the taste is sneaking into everything in the walk-in. And yes, it gets on veggies too - even ones that aren't cut! - if it is REALLY bad. I will never eat at a certain Hometown Buffet ever again because literally - every single thing I tried - even  basic LETTUCE had this horrid taste running through it. I even asked for a refund, because I couldn't eat anything and he asked why and I had to tell him. Obviously he didn't believe me, but what else could I do but just go eat somewhere else? lol.

Anyways - all I'm trying to say is that ... my tongue is picky. LOL. And it hates artificial sweetener aftertaste and that smell most of them seem to have. Ad I just do not TRUST fake sweeteners! I do not think that they are GOOD for you - and flat out - if compared to plain sugar as in how bad I think they are for the body ... I think sugar is way safer and better hands down. The thing is, if you eat a paleo lifestyle, or mostly paleo - you don't NEED sweet stuff very often or even really want it that much. And when you do - mellowly sweet is often "just right".

So yeah. Not into agave or splenda, truvia, any of that stuff.

I do have some exceptions - like my Raspberry Ice Crystal Light - that stuff ROCKS!! I cannot taste the sweetener at ALL! NO aftertaste - not one little bit! And it's not grainy at all and the color - OMG, it's just an awesome drink and it's the ONLY one I like. LOL. All I usually drink is water and juice once in a while, and then every so often my cherished Raspberry Ice.

But yeah. So anyways besides being a super-smeller and super-taster, I'm a texture freak.Breads and baked goods are more than taste and smell, their texture is something that is 100% what makes it what it is. Pizzas should be able to be firm enough to hold toppings, but bend, and be able to be doughy or crisp. Muffins MUST crumble! Muffins simply HAVE to have crumbs! There is no two ways about it! Same for cakes - there should be a crumble effect! Different breads and baked goods have different textures and without those elements - one will NEVER truly be satisfied with a substitute.

So my mission is to create or modify recipes until *I* am satisfied with it .... it must pass my need for proper taste, texture, and smell AND accomplish the same things that it's grain based cousins do!

I know it's possible! LOL!