What if Gluten Intolerant while Baking during the Pandemic

My Year in a Nutshell

You know the saying, “When life gives you lemons…”

So, here’s my lemonade, I’m back with more and some changes! I took an unexpectedly long break from blogging with my last post at the end of January. I have returned in full force with a new YouTube Channel to go with it. This all started in part from my discovery of being gluten intolerant while baking during the pandemic.

Where have I been for the past 8-9 months? traveling (pre-pandemic), making dietary changes based on the AIP elimination diet, discovering gluten and almond intolerances, self-quarantining for a month, moving to another state, preparing my YouTube Channel, transferring my blog, learning software, developing new ideas for videos and blogs, filming and editing videos…Whew!

So, what does this mean? With an autoimmune disease, there is an increased risk in developing other health issues. Long story short, after a couple of months of being on the AIP (Autoimmune Protocol) elimination diet due to digestive issues, I discovered that I am gluten intolerant. Of course, this discovery became evident while wanting to bake during the pandemic. As you can imagine for someone who lives on gluten and loves to bake with gluten, this was quite an unexpected and unpleasant surprise.

What now?

With this new discovery of being gluten intolerant, I felt I needed to answer the question… so, now what? I’m learning much about gluten-free baking and experimenting with gluten-free flours and gums. I have opted to continue my original plan of baking the world with the added bonus of turning these recipes into gluten-free bakes. This will occur over time and likely with lots of trials, since gluten-free flours are finicky and require lots of patience and practice.

Not Only that, but…

I have launched my YouTube Channel (Summer Bakes the World) that will feature videos of my blog bakes. You’ll also find additional videos of cooking and baking tips and hacks that will also be added regularly to my blog.

Changes, you say? I will post new videos of bakes from my previously written blogs to my YouTube Channel. Those blog posts will be updated with the new videos and easy-to-view, share, and print recipes for each bake. I will be peppering in new blog posts with the updated ones. Check out my updated first blog post on the Hokkaido Japanese Milk Bread.

Join me!

As always with both the videos and blog posts, I hope to use my knowledge, skills, and teaching expertise to provide you with something useful, inspiring, or new to enhance your life. If nothing else, maybe I’ll just be a welcomed distraction from the day-to-day challenges in your life. 😉

Remember to subscribe, follow, and share my YouTube Channel and blog if you see benefit. Your support is greatly appreciated. Now, go check out my first video on making the Hokkaido Japanese Milk Bread from my first blog post and feel free to comment by sharing your thoughts and ideas. Feedback is important to me as I navigate this new world and look to improve with subsequent videos and blog posts. Thanks again and enjoy!!

Published by Summer

Bonjour! As a teacher of French and English to international students, amateur baker, traveler (having studied and lived in France), life-long learner, and a cycling and hiking enthusiast, I believe I’ve found my next adventure. I have many years of experience in all of these areas as well as having moved and lived all over the country (US that is). I’m fortunate to have in my camp PhD level experts in the fields of nutrition, dietetics, exercise physiology, and sports nutrition whom I can lean on for advice and scientific-based knowledge. I’m excited to piece all of these elements together during my journey to provide honest and accurate information as well as my own potentially disastrous first-hand experiences, without edit, to demonstrate the reality of a new journey. Please join me in learning something new, in laughing at my faults, and in appreciating all of the perceived differences in the world.