New reviews & BREAD!!

We have now settled into the beginning of the school year and I have begun baking once again!! Below you will find a new bread recipe that we just made, very good texture and taste. We have tried a few new products.
Kinnickkinnick (who also make k'toos - gf oreos) has come out with a 4 pack of premade gf crusts. We had sworn by glutino in the past, but KinnickKinnick has surpassed the taste and texture. They provide a soft crust which can also be made into bread sticks or whatever else you can come up with, excellent!
San-J, our favorite gf soy, now has szechuan sauce as well! It has a kick, so use your discretion with your children.
Glutino gf lemon wafer cookies. My 4-year old wants these constantly, I have to hide the box, or Molly would never get one!

The following recipe had a great flavor and texture, although not as pretty as a traditional baguette. Next time, I am going to try adding 3/4 cup of asiago cheese and dusting the top with some fine cornmeal.

Baguette
3 cups gf high protein flour blend
(see previous post, in this blend I use garbanzo, arrowroot, tapioca, brown rice flour)
1 Tbsp cornmeal, more for dusting
2 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp xanthan gum
2 pkgs. (4 1/2 tsp) rapid yeast
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups warm water
1 tsp cider vinegar
2 eggs, room temperature
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a double baguette form (I used a jelly roll pan) with foil,extending foil up the sides by 2 inches. Lightly grease foil and sprinkle with cornmeal.

Mix dry ingredients together in the bowl of stand mixer.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the water, vinegar, eggs and oil. Add to dry ingredients.

Using beater or paddle of mixer (I used the paddle), beat mix on low speed until well blended. Then turn the speed up (I used level 5) and beat for 5 minutes.

Wth oiled hands or oiled plastic wrap, divide the dough in half and shape into 2 baguettes. Place in prepared pan and cover with lightly greased plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place for 20-30 minutes.

Spritz with water, place in preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes or until done.

Enjoy!

Please let me know what you think!!

Living Without, or something like that

I can't believe how much time has passed since I last blogged!! We have moved (a tad closer to Chicago) and I am very impressed at the gf offerings in the grocery alone! We have a large Irish population :) and as such I am certain a higher percentage of celiacs as well.

The goody I am raving about today is BREAD! I just found Schar bread products (in the gluten free aisle - does not need to be refrigerated until you open) and they are fabulous. My daughter was finally able to eat a PB&J with a bread that had the same texture as its glutenous relatives. Today I made a grilled cheese with tomato soup - soul food that she can now partake.

Living Without?

I just picked up a magazine this past weekend entitled "Living Without." Apparently there is controversy over the name, to me this is a nonissue, don't care. Truthfully, I wouldn't have even picked up the magazine, but there was Elizabeth Hasselbeck tearing a loaf of bread on the front. This enticed me. I flipped through and saw some things I liked - so I purchased. I am going to share the flour recipes I found in the back - although I have not tried them yet, I plan to soon!

One item of interest for my friends and readers who are also dairy free - Spectrum Organic shortening (especially if serving to others!!) in place of butter.

*Quick tips for xantham gum, unless quantity is listed

• 1/2 tsp xantham per cup of flour blend to make cakes, cookies, bars, mufffins and other quick breads.


• Add 1 tsp per cup of flour blend to make yeast bread, pizza dough or other items that call for yeast.

All Purpose Flour Blend

for all of your gluten free baking.

1/2 cup rice flour

1/4 cup tapioca starch/flour

1/4 cup cornstarch or potato starch



High-Fiber Flour Blend

This high-fiber blend works for breads, pancakes, snack bars & cookies that have chocolate, warm spices, raisins or other fruits - do not use for light flavored recipes like sugar cookies, crepes, cream puffs, birthday cakes or cupcakes.

1 cup brown rice four or sorghum flour

1/2 cup teff flur (preferably light)

1/2 cup millet flour or Montina flour

2/3 cup tapioca starch/flour

1/3 cup cornstarch or potato starch



High-Protein Flour Blend

This blend works great for wraps & pie crusts - can't wait to try

1 1/4 cups bean flour (garbanzo or soy)

1 cup arrowroot starch, cornstarch or potato starch

1 cup tapioca starch/flour

1 cup white or brown rice flour



Self-Rising Flour Blend

Use for muffins, scones, cakes, cupcakes or any recipe that uses baking powder for leavening - this will be the first I try - rating to follow

1 1/4 cups white sorghum flour

1 1/4 cups white rice flour

1/2 cup tapioca starch/flour

2 tsp xantham gum

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Happy Baking & don't forget to send me your feedback :)

More Yummies 2 (Pound Cake,Short Cake, Cookies

I am cooking a late breakfast this morning (blueberry pancakes, gf of course) and it occurred to me that it is Wednesday and shopping lists are being made for the weekend. I wanted to share the Pound Cake recipe that I mentioned previously as well as the peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. We are also conducting experiments with our chocolate chip cookies - even more fabulous recipe coming soon!

For the Pound Cake & most other cakes I use the following flour recipe:

3 cups organic brown rice flour (fine ground)
1 cup potato starch (not potato flour)
1/2 cup tapioca flour

1 1/4 teaspoons xanthan gum

*Sometimes it can be tricky to find brown rice flour that is fine enough, so I usually pop it into the food processor for a few minutes to remove the graininess.

I usually make 3x the flour batch at a time and store in a ziploc so I always have enough.

Gluten Free Pound Cake (Can be used deliciously as shortcake)

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

3 eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

1 1/2 cups gf flour mix (recipe above)

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp baking soda

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 325

In medium bowl mix butter (room temp) until smooth with electric mixer. Gradually add sugar and mix until very light and fluffy, about 7 minutes. Mix in vanilla and add eggs one at a time (incorporating well after each addition). Slowly add flour in 1/2 cup intervals until well mixed. Stir in sour cream, just until thoroughly mixed. Pour into loaf pan (either 8x4x2 or 9x5x3).

Baking times will vary as oven temps, humidity and elevations do as well. Bake for 50 minutes and continually check every few minutes, the cake is done when you can insert a wooden toothpick and it comes out clean. Remove from pan (loosen with knife around edges) to cool. Do not store, best served within a few hours of baking.

So Simple Peanut Butter Choc Chip cookies

1 cup Peanut Butter (Do not use natural Peanut Butter!!!!! I use Simply Jif)
1 cup Brown Sugar
1 lg Egg beaten
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 cup Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

Place rounded teaspoon of cookie batter on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Let cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

That is all for now! I welcome your comments and suggestions, please share :) I can't believe in my rush to post my 1st blog I inadvertantly forgot to mention Lundberg Risotto, we love this and it is often an accompaniment to our nightly meals, at least once to twice a week.

Why be Gluten Free?

Although there are many reasons to live gluten free (digestive, celiac etc.) we have chosen this lifestyle for my daughter who was having many symptoms that were mislabeled as ADHD. She had an inability to focus, anxiety issues, hyperactivity and inappropriate social behavior just to name a few. I ran the gamet and had her tested for everything beginning in 1st grade. We went to the Audiologist and she was tested for APD, then it was the pediatric neuropsychologist who diagnosed her with ADHD along with an anxiety disorder. We tried the meds, but she was already having growth issues initially. I began to do my own research and found a correlation to gluten and ADHD symptoms. I removed the gluten and found after 48 hours her behavior and ability to focus had dramatically improved, not to mention she began gaining weight and height. When I removed the gluten she weighed in (as a 2nd grader) at 39 lbs. She is now ending her 3rd grade year at 58 lbs. and is 51 inches tall. I find many new people in the stores looking cluelessly at the gluten free options (there are an abundance, and not all good!). I offer assistance and am met with much gratitude as this is a difficult transition, it takes time, but is well worth it. It is my intention to post the foods we have tried and love, as well as those we don't particularly care for. 3 recommendations right off the bat: Glutino pizza (frozen complete, or individual crusts), CheeBee rolls (frozen) Vans Gluten Free frozen waffles. I have an abundance of favorites that I will be sharing as well as recipes that we have perfected as I have always loved to cook and entertain :) It is most rewarding to serve fresh baked gluten free chocolate chip cookies to kids who come over to play and they can't get enough of them! I also made the best gluten free pound cake for strawberry shortcake that was a big hit, I will be posting that recipe as well. For today, I will share 2 recipes that are simple and yummy. The pumpkin bread is fabulous and the sunken cupcakes were my daughters 1st intro to gluten free desserts, to this day on of her favorites! Happy GF baking :)


Pumpkin bread
2 Cups Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose GF Flour
½ tsp. xantham gum
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. alt
½ cup (1 stick) butter
1 pkg. cream cheese (3 oz.)
1 cup white sugar
½ cup brown sugar
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
½ cup orange juice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 12 jumbo muffin cups.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, xantham gum, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Put to the side.
In a larger bowl cream the butter, cream cheese and the white and brown sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time beating for 1 minute between additions. Add the shredded carrots and orange juice. Mix until well blended. Add the dry ingredients and mix for another 30-45 seconds at low speed.
Spoon the batter (about ½ cup) into 2 loaf dishes, bake for approximately 40-50 minutes (clean toothpick). Cool for 10 minutes in pan, transfer to cooling rack.

SUNKEN CHOCOLATE-ORANGE CUPCAKES
1 cup blanched almonds
8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter4 large eggs, separated
1 cup sugar, divided
2 teaspoons finely grated orange peel
Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place almonds in processor. Using on/off turns, blend until nuts are coarsely ground.Line 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. Microwave chocolate and butter in small bowl on high 30 seconds; stir. Microwave until almost melted, about 30 seconds longer. Stir to combine. Cool chocolate mixture until barely lukewarm but still liquid, about 5 minutes. Whisk egg yolks and 3/4 cup sugar in large bowl until blended. Mix in orange peel, ground almonds, and chocolate mixture.Using electric mixer, beat egg whites and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in another large bowl until mixture is thick and glossy and peaks form. Fold egg-white mixture into chocolate mixture in 3 additions. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups (about 1/3 cup batter in each). Bake until edges are firm and tops are cracked all over, about 16 minutes for very soft cake or about 22 minutes for firmer cake. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill. Rewarm in microwave in 10-second intervals before serving.