We have to start somewhere.

Chocolate-cherry “black forest” sourdough: an intriguing combination of flavor & texture

It’s funny that today, the day I feel most inspired to start my blog off… the one about my love of France - the culture, art, food, the people, the landscapes - is the day of nationwide planned strikes there. C’est la vie?

My love of France began decades ago when I was a teen. Over the years I learned the language, did direct exchanges, hosted French exchange students here, lived there and made incredible friends along the way. But those stories are for another time.

My purpose today is to revisit the core staple of french food (and that of several other European countries), crusty, artisanally-produced bread.

Hearty, satisfying dark chocolate-cherry sourdough is wonderful with fresh cheese (such as cream cheese or chevre) and jam, whether for breakfast, brunch or as part of a festive holiday spread.

It’s a simple, straight-forward, affordable thing - until you can’t eat gluten. (Cue the losing Price is Right music.) For eight years now I’ve been without “simple”, delicious bread that I always liked but ultimately took for granted. Gluten free, commercially available breads and initial attempts at home versions paled in comparison. The commercial, shelf stable ones still do and are much more expensive that the traditional wheat-based versions.

After years of watching fellow-IG’ers bake gorgeous gluten free loaves, I finally jumped in feet first using Aran Goyoaga’s Cannelle et Vanille cookbook as my guide… and have been asking myself, “What to you so long?!?!?!” ever since.