Sweet Laurel Bakery Classes

I am a terrible baker. People don't believe me when I say it—because of my culinary skills they think I'm being humble, but the truth is baking is very different. Baking requires the precision and patience that I really don't have. I also find that when I am looking at a baked recipe my first inclination is to eliminate just about everything. Remove the binder (gluten), remove the sweetener, remove the dairy, remove the eggs, the list goes on…what I usually end up with is some kind of weird hockey puck tasting object.   This is why I was so excited to attend the baking and biodynamic wine class hosted by Laurel Gallucci of Sweet Laurel bakery and Claire Thomas of Kitchy Kitchen. I tried Laurel's baked goods in the past and was completely blown away by the flavor and cleanliness of her treats. They didn't taste "healthy" in the crunchy granola way, but they also didn't taste synthetic like many of the gluten-free baked goods I've eaten. We will call them elegantly wholesome. When I saw that she was offering a class paired with biodynamic wine—signing up was a no brainer.   We came to learn simple tricks to clean baking and that's exactly what we got. I was genuinely so impressed by the integrity of Laurel's baking—it almost seemed a little magical. How could she make simple baked goods that taste so amazing, have no grains, no gluten, no artificial sweeteners, no artificial binders, and have vegan options for everything? I'm familiar with all of the flavorful options you can come up with using healthy ingredients in raw food, but baking is an art that doesn't like to be messed with. Laurel has figured it out.  We made a delicious scone recipe using lavender almond flour from recycled almond milk pulp (yay, no waste!) and a cauliflower flatbread. Both recipes are great bases for many different variations. Check out our Peach Cobbler that we made using the scone recipe.   The wine was the icing on the cake for me. I was introduced to Club W a wine club aimed at millennials and young people who are interested in buying reasonable wines handcrafted with integrity. They have no middlemen for mark ups so you're getting great wines at a much lower cost. I LOVE this concept. And I joined…for around $50 a month you can drink great wine for a fraction of the cost.  Cheers to learning something new from people who get it—and help us elevate our food and wine experiences!  Do yourself a favor and continue your education by joining a class and supporting your community of artisans.