Archive for the 'Breads and Rolls' Category
December 22nd, 2009 -- Posted in Breads and Rolls, Desserts, Snacks, gluten substitutes, wheat substitutes |
Ahhh. Chewy, gooey s’mores around the campfire (or made in the toaster oven!), graham cracker crust for cheesecake or other desserts; cinnamon grahams for a tasty snack. It took me years to find a gluten-free graham cracker recipe and once I did (after a little tweaking), I have a winner that is pretty easy to do, even for a novice.
The batch makes one cookie sheet. The recipe came from “The Complete Book of Gluten-Free Cooking” by Jennifer Cinquepalmi. I adjusted the amount of cinnamon she suggested. If doing cinnamon grahams I would use 1 and 3/4 teaspoons cinnamon (the original amount suggested in the cookbook). For “regular” graham crackers, I would use1/2 teaspoon or the amount that you and your family like.
Here goes:
2 and 1/2 cups all purpose mix
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
7 Tablespoons butter or margarine (make sure it is GF), cut into pieces
3-4 Tablespoons water
3 Tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla (make sure it is GF)
If making cinnamon sugar graham crackers, prepare a bowl of cinnamon and sugar to sprinkle after baking.
Preheat the oven to 325.
Grease standard-large cookie sheet
Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well together.
Put dough on cookie sheet and press to flatten. I use my fingers you may also use a marble rolling pin sprayed with cooking spray or cover a rolling pin with plastic wrap and then spray it with cooking spray.
Make the dough an even thickness.
Prick the graham crackers all over with a fork.
Bake 12-15 minutes (remember they won’t brown)
Cut the graham crackers as soon as you remove them from the oven. (To make Cinnamon-Sugar Grahams, mix up a batch of sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the top of the crackers as soon as they are removed from the oven.)
Cool six to eight minutes then remove from pan to finish cooling.
These can be frozen. Use the crumbs to make a gluten-free graham cracker crust.
Enjoy!
Technorati Tags: gluten free graham crackers
November 17th, 2009 -- Posted in Breads and Rolls, gluten substitutes, wheat substitutes |
This time of year my heart and my tastebuds turn to root vegetables. This recipe for sweet potato corn bread is one of my favorites. It is quick to prepare and yields delicious results. I have had this recipe for close to 20 years. I first came across it when I was looking for dishes to create for an international potluck. I don’t know what cookbook I got it out of other than it came from Eastern Michigan University’s library.
I have often considered doing variations by adding nuts or raisins to make it more of a sweet bread but I enjoy the standard results so much I usually just stick to the recipe, with one exception. I do a combination of medium grind cornmeal and corn flour to make the texture a little less coarse. You could also go with a fine grind of cornmeal which would likely give you the best texture results. I do prefer stone ground cornmeal which is usually a little coarser. Experiment for yourself and see what you like.
Sweet Potato Corn Bread
1 baked sweet potato (I did once use canned sweet potatoes when I was in a hurry and it worked out okay but I prefer the flavor of fresh)
1 stick butter (softened)
4 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar (I use turbinado and add a little molasses)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 small container plain yogurt (or I substitute 1 cup buttermilk which you can make by putting 1 Tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice in a measuring cup and adding milk of your choice to make it 1 cup; let stand for a few minutes)
2 cups cornmeal (I use about 1/2 medium grind and 1/2 corn flour)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease 9 x 9 baking pan.
- Mash the potato and butter into a pulp with a potato masher or wooden spoon.
- Add eggs and beat well.
- Add sugar, baking soda, and cinnamon and mix in.
- Add yogurt or buttermilk and cornmeal.
- Combine well until batter is smooth.
- Pour into baking pan.
- Bake at 350 for approximately 50 minutes, the corn bread will be golden brown and delicious!
I served this gluten free sweet potato corn bread at the presentation I did at the Holistic Moms Network a couple weeks ago and they enjoyed it. It is a wonderful change on the holiday table from rolls and something that everyone can enjoy!
Technorati Tags: gluten free corn bread, sweet potato corn bread
November 9th, 2009 -- Posted in Breads and Rolls, gluten substitutes, wheat alternatives |
Have you tried store-bought gluten-free bagels? Hard, un-tasty, and unappealing are just a few adjectives that come to mind. In my pre-gluten-free days I never did much baking of bread and rolls so I don’t venture as quickly into that area. Well I am here to tell you that there ARE gluten-free bagels that you can make at home that aren’t difficult and they are quite yummy!
This recipe comes from the October/November 2009 volume of “Living Without” a magazine for people with food sensitivities, especially gluten, dairy, and eggs. My wonderful sister, Elaine, gave me a subscription for Christmas this past year and every recipe I have tried from the magazine has turned out well and this one was no exception.
Make sure you have a substantial mixer to use that is designed to create bread and you will also want parchment paper (you can find this in higher-end grocery stores or specialty baking stores).
The gluten-free multi-grain flour blend (makes 9 cups) contains:
- 1 and 1/4 cups garfava flour (I think this is a blend of garbanzo and fava bean flours)
- 1 and 3/4 cups superfine brown rice flour (can use food processor on regular brown rice flour if you can’t find superfine)
- 2 cups potato starch (or arrowroot flour or chestnut flour)
- 2 cups cornstarch or potato starch
- 1 cup tapioca starch/flour
- 1 cup sorghum flour or armaranth flour
Blend ingredients together and store in a tightly sealed container in the fridge until used.
“Best Bagels” by Rebecca Reilly (Living Without, Oct/Nov ‘09)
- 3 cups gluten-free multi grain flour blend (recipe given above)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons flax meal
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons egg replacer
- 1 Tablespoon xanthan gum
- 1 Tablespoon yeast
- 2 Tablespoons honey
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
- 1 and 1/4 cups warm water
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- brown rice flour for rolling bagels
- cornmeal for dusting pan
- optional toppings of poppy seeds, sesame seeds, etc
- optional egg white for brushing on the bagels before placing toppings on them
- Line baking pan/cookie sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle with cornmeal.
- Line second baking pan/cookie sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle with (extra) brown rice flour.
- Whisk together (in mixing bowl) multi-grain flour blend, salt, flax meal, egg replacer, xanthan gum, and yeast.
- Using a separate bowl, whisk together honey, oil, cider vinegar, and 1 and 1/4 cups warm water.
- Using the paddle attachment of the mixer, slowly incorporate the liquid mixture into dry ingredients. Add more warm water, if necessary to create a smooth consistency. Mixture should be quite thick.
- Beat on medium-high speed for three (3) minutes.
- Shape the bagels by using a large spoon to scoop out the batter and place on cookie sheet lined with rice flour. Lightly roll dough in the flour to coat it and then shape into a ball. Flatten the ball slightly and then create a hole in the center (using your index finger) that will be large enough that the hole won’t close up while raising. (Smaller than my thumb, about the size of my middle finger.)
- Repeat shaping (step 7) until all dough has been used.
- Place each bagel on the baking pan sprinkled with cornmeal.
- Lightly cover bagels with an oiled piece of plactic wrap and place pan in a warm place for bagels to rise (about 20-30 minutes).
- Bring a skillet (I’m not sure why she says skillet, it must be that this is supposed to be a more shallow pan of water) of water to boil. Add 1 teaspoon of sugar to the water (the sugar helps to create a shiny crust).
- Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
- Drop a few bagels into the boiling water. Simmer for 30 seconds, turn over and cook for another 30 seconds.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove bagels, drain away excess water, and put bagels back on the same baking pan.
- Optional: brush them with a wash of 1 egg white and 2 Tablespoons cold water beaten together then sprinkle with your choice of toppings (examples: poppy, sesame or caraway seeds, toasted onion, raw garlic bits, salt, etc).
- Once all bagels have been boiled, bake them for 25 minutes in preheated oven then cool on a rack.
The recipe makes eight (8) bagels with nutritional content of (not counting toppings): 262 calories, 5 gr total fat (0 saturated, cholesterol or trans fats), 303 mg sodium, 51 g carbohydrate, 2 gr fiber, 4 gr protein.
I wasn’t sure how to find a warm place for the bagels to raise and my mom suggested a pan of hot water in the oven on the bottom shelf with the tray of bagels on the top shelf. That worked out very well.
I was pleasantly surprised at the ease of the recipe and the tasty results. Plan a few hours to make them but remember you will have 20 – 30 minutes of rising time and another 25 minutes of baking time. Enjoy the results (and they do freeze well too).
