Be Careful Using Flour!

I thought up a really great way of using up all the flour I had leftover from my pre-gf days. I decided to make batches of brownies in a jar as gifts for my friends. You know the type, the ones you put in a one litre jar, each ingredient layered so that it looks pretty, with a note attached saying something like add 1 cup milk, one egg, teaspoon of vanilla, and bake for 35 min at 375?

I thought it would be a fabulous way to use up my flour, and make some creative presents. Plus, I only recently graduated from university, and I’m still paying off some debt, so this would be a cheap way to make some gifts.

It started off well enough. I used a plastic funnel to layer the ingredients, put the tops on, and tied a pretty bow around the top. I’d made about four or five when I started to feel a bit sick. Not bad, but a little iffy. That’s when it occurred to me – flour dust! I was inhaling the dust! Which basically meant, I was gluten-ing myself (I know it’s not technically a word, but hey, it works!).

I called my boyfriend in to do the rest of the siphoning of ingredients, and then we scrubbed down the kitchen. I’m not sure that I really could have inhaled enough to actually cause a problem (or if I just got paranoid pains, etc.) – but it occurred to me that if I still worked in a bakery (which I did as a part time job while I was a student), I could have had a real problem! Even if the little bit I inhaled didn’t cause a terrible physical reaction, I’m assuming it was still enough to cause damage.

The gifts turned out great, but I just wanted to warn everyone – if you’re gluten-free, be careful when you’re working with flour! It gets everywhere, and you might accidentally gluten-ate yourself!