Latest Favorite GF Flour Blend

As I have continued to bake gluten-free, I keep tweaking my GF flour blend. Here is the latest favorite blend. I even made a vanilla cake from my Betty Crocker cookbook using this flour blend, and it was yummy. I have found vanilla-based things to be difficult because vanilla is more subtle than cinnamon or chocolate, so the taste of the flour blend itself is more exposed.

Equal parts:

• blanched almond flour
• brown rice flour
• cornstarch
• rice flour
• potato starch (not potato flour)

I mix up a bunch and use it as a true cup-for-cup substitute in regular wheat-based recipes* with the addition of xanthan gum, as needed, according to the Bob’s Red Mill chart. Some people do not like to use xanthan gum, and I respect that preference, but I use it.

I should note that the blanched almond flour brand I use is Honeyville. Results may vary if you use a different brand.

*I should clarify that wheat-based pie crust recipes need to be tested with this blend. Cookies, cakes, and muffins/quick breads have worked well.

Biscuits (updated) and Pizza Crust

Since posting my original biscuit recipe, I’ve continued to tweak it. Below is the latest version that I think tastes much better! You can use this same recipe for either drop biscuits or pizza crust. It also worked as a topping for chicken casserole. Yum!

Dry Ingredients:
1/3 cup almond meal/flour
1/3 cup sweet corn flour
1/3 cup tapioca flour
3/4 cup cornstarch
1 T instant mashed potato flakes
1 t nutritional yeast
2-1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp xanthan gum

Wet Ingredients:
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup coconut creamer
1/2 t honey

Directions:
Combine dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and mix all. For biscuits, drop by spoonfuls onto baking sheet. For pizza crust, spread on baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until done. If making pizza, add toppings after initial baking and return to oven for 5 more minutes or until cheese is melted.

NOTES
Sweet corn flour is more finely ground than cornmeal. Cornmeal would probably work, though it might affect the final texture. You could also substitute another whole grain flour. See my “What’s in the pantry?” page.

I forgot the instant mashed potatoes one time, and the results were drastically altered. Much drier, more crunchy, and different flavor. It was almost as if I had made a totally different recipe. 

The nutritional yeast and honey are included for flavor. The yeast adds a little bit of nuttiness and rich flavor, and the honey adds just a touch of sweetness. It’s amazing how many ingredients it takes to (attempt to) replicate the flavor of wheat-based baked goods!

GF baking is all about experimenting. The proportions and flavors of the above recipe are simply what I have found to be my current favorite combination.

Pizza Coming Soon!!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted, but I haven’t stopped baking.
Not at all!!

Pizza crust has been a recent quest. I keep tweaking flour combos and adding new ingredients. I think I am close on a really easy yeast-free GF/DF pizza crust. I need to make it again and taste it by itself to be sure. We ate pizza this weekend, and the whole family liked it. Topping it with stuff from our very first garden was really cool, too!

Hope to share the recipe soon!

 

Bittersweet Brownies

I shared my GF-DF brownie recipe (here) several weeks ago. Still love those! I tried a variation and was pleasantly surprised by the result, so here are some brownie thoughts and the recipe variation for your chocolate benefit. 🙂

BROWNIE THOUGHT #1:  I wanted to try buckwheat flour in place of the sorghum because I had a bunch of it on hand and am currently low on sorghum. I was curious to see if chocolate could mask buckwheat’s strong flavor, and it does! This is good to know and allows you to save neutral flours (brown rice, sorghum) for recipes where the flavor is more exposed (biscuits, breads, or more delicate desserts, such as vanilla-flavored cakes or cookies). The neutral flours work in brownies, too, but having options is a plus!

BROWNIE THOUGHT #2:  When measuring the flour, I measured the cornstarch first (1/2 cup) and dumped it into the mixing bowl.  Then I put a little more cornstarch in the same measuring cup and topped it off with the buckwheat (to create my second 1/2 cup).  Basically, I was just trying to get closer to the 40/60 ratio that has worked so well in my GF baking.  (I explain the ratio and the source from where I learned it here.)

BROWNIE THOUGHT #3:  Tonight I halved the sugar of my original recipe (on purpose) and forgot to add the vanilla extract (oops).  But the baked result was a bittersweet chocolate brownie!  Happy Oops! A nice butter vanilla frosting/drizzle or dusting of powdered sugar might complement them well, but we enjoyed them plain, too.

BROWNIE THOUGHT #4:  Reducing the sugar did change the texture somewhat compared to my regular GF-DF brownies, which I find to be much like the texture of traditional store-bought brownie mixes. These bittersweet brownies have a little more density and a wonderful rich feel. In a word, YUM!

BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE BROWNIES (GF, DF)

Dry ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup GF flour combination (I used cornstarch and buckwheat; can be substituted, see below)
3/4 cup cocoa
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder3/4 tsp xanthan gum
dash cinnamon (opt.)

Wet ingredients:
3 eggs (or 3/4 cup egg white)3/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine dry ingredients. For flour, using a 1/2 cup measuring cup, measure first 1/2 cup starchy flour; pour in mixing bowl; then spoon a little more of the starchy flour into the same measuring cup and top it off with the whole grain flour. This gives you 1 cup of approximately 60% starchy flour and 40% whole grain flour.  Finally, add wet ingredients to the dry and combine.

Bake in a greased 9″ x 13″ dish for 35 mins.  I did a toothpick test about 2 inches from the edge.

Brownies!! (GF, DF)

Gluten-free, dairy-free brownies! These are an adaptation of the recipe Lindsay shared here: http://makelyhome.com/the-best-brownies-you-will-ever-eat/. I’ve made these for social gatherings, and people have enjoyed them. To me, they taste very close to traditional wheat-based brownies made from box mixes, though I have never done a side-by-side test. According to my husband, “No one would ever know these are not made with wheat.” That’s my favorite feedback!

GLUTEN-FREE, DAIRY-FREE BROWNIES

Dry ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
3/4 cup cocoa
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp xanthan gum
dash cinnamon (opt.)

Wet ingredients:
3 eggs (or 3/4 cup egg white)
2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix.

Bake in a greased 9″ x 13″ dish for 35-45 mins.

I did a toothpick test about 2 inches from the edge. Texture may appear undone, but when brownies cool, they will be more like normal brownies. Overbaking will cause the outer edges to be hard.

Biscuits (GF, DF)

Here they are, the gluten-free, dairy-free biscuits! I’ve tried to make gluten-free biscuits so many times, but they have never been like this. At last! Of course, there is always room for tweaking. In my wheat days, I used to add about a tablespoon of instant mashed potatoes to my biscuits and liked it a lot. I’ll have to try that next time I make these. I also wondered about adding a little sugar. Let me know if you make a change that you like!

This recipe is essentially a gluten-free adaptation of the basic Baking Powder Biscuits in my 1978/1969 Betty Crocker cookbook. In the book is a variation called “Stir-n-Roll Biscuits” that uses oil instead of shortening. I did not do the rolling. Just one bowl, drop spoonfuls, and done! I think the challenge for most gluten-free baking is the flour combination, but I wonder if oil instead of shortening also makes a difference in the final texture.

3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup cornstarch (or any starch)
1/4 cup potato starch flour
2-1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp xanthan gum
3/4 cup milk (or milk substitute, see below*)
1/3 cup neutral-tasting oil

Directions:  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Combine dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl.

Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix by hand.  In a greased pie plate**, drop by spoonfuls. Makes 8-9 biscuits.

Bake 12-14 minutes.

* I have found that So Delicious original coconut creamer is wonderful for cooking. For this recipe, I used 1/2 cup of the creamer and 1/4 cup of water. I do this to stretch the creamer, but you could try all creamer or any milk of your choice.

**You do not need to necessarily use a pie plate, but I felt it was better to use a dish with sides to provide support for the biscuits as they bake. This gf/df batter is thinner and more fluffy than wheat biscuit batter.

I started this blog a long time ago.

In June 2012, I started this blog. At the time, we were in the midst of a strict diet for suspected food allergies. For months, I had been experimenting in the kitchen, striving to find alternative ways to make foods we loved. I began sharing a few posts, and then things changed. We started adding foods back and finding little to no health issues.

Fast forward to November 2013. We find ourselves with a need to return to a food-restricted life. I am dusting off the old tools and trying out new ones.

And the blog? I have deleted the few posts I had made last year, and I am starting anew. Next post…gluten-free biscuits!

Welcome!