Now on her fifth bread machine, after wearing out the first four, Gail Lavigne makes bread almost daily, not only for her family but also to share with others and for her church communion services.

Gail’s introduction to making special breads and other types of special foods came about when she discovered that her three sons, John, 13, and twins Mark and David, 10, had food allergies. "Cow’s milk was the first and then peanuts. I had to find alternatives. I did not like the store-bought bread, so I bought myself a bread machine and found a recipe I liked and over the years have tweaked it and now make two to three loaves a week. This recipe has no preservatives and the bread will hold for two to three days and then it’s good for toasting."

Gail says she and the family have found Bellamy United Methodist Church, where she has served as a Sunday school teacher, to be like their family, "as I do not have any relations nearby." Each time she and ...