Archive for the 'wheat substitutes' 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!
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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!
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November 12th, 2009 -- Posted in Desserts, wheat substitutes |
I was looking for a simpler good chocolate cake recipe. I had found one but it called for yogurt and cola (which I don’t always have in the house) . This more simplified recipe comes from “Living Without”, a magazine for people with allergies and food sensitivities, especially gluten-free. It is from the April/May 2009 issue. They have a website as well: http://LivingWithout.com They give substitutions for common allergens like dairy, egg, peanut, soy, and tree nuts as well.
See “Gluten Free Cooking and Baking Tips” page to improve the texture of your gluten-free baking.
The magazine article suggested making it into a three-layer (8 or 9 inch) cake but most of my cake pans were in Tennessee so I found it fit nicely in one 9 x 13 pan. You can also use them for cupcakes.
Chocolate Cake
- 1 cup brewed hot coffee (you can’t taste it when it is done…my husband dislikes the flavor of coffee and he couldn’t tell it was in there)
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup hot water
- 3 cups gluten-free all purpose flour blend (Gluten Free Flour Blends” page)
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 cup softened/room temperature butter, margarine, or Spectrum Organic Shortening (I used butter)
- 2 1/2 cups sugar
- 4 large eggs (room temp)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and dust cake pan(s) (if doing round do three 8 or 9 inch pans).
- Whisk together coffee and cocoa powder. Add hot water and whisk until smooth.
- In a separate bowl combine all dry ingredients EXCEPT sugar (they suggest to sift the dry ingredients but I didn’t and the cake was fine).
- Use an electric mixer to cream butter and sugar at medium-high speed until fluffy (approximately 5 minutes).
- Add eggs (one at a time or be a daredevil like me and do all four at once) to the butter/sugar mix.
- Add vanilla to the butter/sugar mix and cream well. (Scrape the sides if you have ‘t already)
- Add half the dry ingredients to the butter/cream mix and blend until well-combined.
- Add half the coffee/cocoa mix to the main bowl and blend until well-combined.
- If you are like me, you will now combine in one final mixing step BOTH the dry and the wet ingredients, which I did. If you are more cautious, follow their directions of first blending the remaining dry ingredients and then blending in the remaining wet.
- Mix on medium speed until smooth (about 2 minutes)
- Spoon batter equally into the cake pan(s).
- Place in oven and bake for about 40 minutes for a layer cake. I think it was closer to an hour for the 9 x 13. Keep a watch on it and check for doneness using a toothpick or clean knife.
- Cool the cake in the pans for 20 minutes before removing (if you are going to remove them).
- Allow to cool completely before frosting.
For egg-free version: replace the four large eggs with 6 tablespoons of applesauce mixed with 2 teaspoons baking powder + 4 teaspoons warm water mixed with 1 tablespon gluten-free egg replacer. (I used eggs.)
One final note on frostings…after putting all this work into making a gluten-free cake I beg you to not use one of those horrid (maybe tasty, but horrid for you) canned frostings. They are so packed full of preservatives (think Twinkies) and sometimes hidden gluten, do yourself a favor and serve the cake naked (or dust with confectioners sugar or powdered cocoa). You can also try making your own frosting or there are some higher-end packages you can purchase. Just try to avoid all those preservatives. They may preserve our foods but I don’t think they much help us preserve our health.
I have more recipes to share. I would be interested in knowing what recipes you would like to have. Here’s to your health!
Please note that Donna is not paid to endorse Living Without Magazine. She is a happy subscriber.
Technorati Tags: gluten free chocolate cake, storing gluten free cake
