I am a retired Functional Medicine Health Coach, Fitness Instructor and Wellness Educator.  I was diagnosed with gluten intolerance 15 years ago and struggled to find food that I could digest. Then, I became an Unexpected Baker. I wrote my first recipe for Gluten-free cookies 15 years ago.  I enjoyed them and shared them with my friends.  Though I was encouraged many times to sell my cookies or at least sell my recipe, I just didn’t see that as a viable path for myself. Then, about a year and a half ago I found a local bakery that was making “gut-friendly” artisan sourdough bread.  I knew that “gut-friendly” meant that I could eat their bread and not have any negative effects from it. Their sourdough was amazing.  I became a loyal customer and shopped them weekly.   
Sadly, only a few months after finding this bakery, I learned that they were closing their doors for good.  I knew that I couldn’t go without their delicious sourdough. I knew that I couldn’t go back to store-bought, gluten-free bread!  I realized that it was time that I learned how to make it for myself. I researched, I learned, I failed and tried again and again.  I made terrific bread and I made many duds too.  But I kept at it.  Before I knew it, people were asking to buy my bread. I continue to learn and research, and what I know for sure is that we can all be sourdough bakers.  It just takes desire, a heart for sourdough, trial, error, grace and patience for that delicious loaf. 
I am so grateful to be serving this sourdough. I have people come to me for sourdough because they cannot digest commercial bread.  I have people with ALS, gluten-intolerance, Crohn’s, Lupus and many other debilitating conditions.  They can eat this bread.  My earlier path in life led me to become a Functional Medicine Health Coach, Wellness Educator & Fitness Instructor and my older adult clientele were able to slow the aging process and to stay independent in their own homes.  Then my life took a drastic turn and now I nourish people in a different way. 
And that is how I became an Unexpected Baker. I own Pure Bliss Baking LLC and I run it from my Cottage Kitchen with my husband, Al.

 

 

Al found his love for being in the kitchen in high school where he was the star forward in basketball and football quarterback.  He was also known as the class clown....the one teachers cringed at when they found out that he was on their roster.  One day, he got himself kicked out of typing class.  The teacher was at her last straw and sent him packing to the principal's office.  The principal thought that a great punishment for this guy was to send him to Home Economics as the only guy in the class.  When the Home Ec. teacher found that she too was going to be punished with student Al Lemke, she took him out to the hall and respectfully asked that he not give her a hard time.  He  quickly agreed that he would not.  One of the first assignments was to go shopping for pizza making ingredients.  He was thrilled to get to leave campus.  And then got to come back and bake a pizza!  He ended up making dinners for his basketball and football team mates.  His kitchen adventures have only increased.  He loves to try "different" ingredients.  Al continues to be the main cook in our home. 

 

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