Thursday, April 30, 2009

Almond Meal Bread



I was looking for a grain free bread and my favorite blogger Elana's Pantry had one. Hers was made with blanched almond meal. All I had was ground almond meal that still had the hulls on it. That is why my bread is darker than hers. But honestly having the hull is better for you as this is where the nutrients are.

You can check out the bread here:
Almond Meal Bread

I recommend this. It is really good. By the way, this loaf of bread was made with a double recipe in a regular bread pan.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Blueberry Coconut Muffins


I am doing a detox that requires me to be off sugars and grains. So I am on the hunt for something to replace my occasional muffin with my coffee in the morning. I found this recipe and decided to try it. It turned out very good. I have already "sampled" 2 of them. Can't wait until tomorrow morning.

Blueberry Coconut Muffins

¼ cup sifted Organic Coconut Flour
3 tablespoons Organic Virgin Coconut Oil or butter, melted
3 eggs
3 tablespoons honey (I used ¼ cup stevia powder)
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon vanilla
⅛ teaspoon almond extract
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ cup fresh blueberries


Blend together eggs, butter, honey, salt and vanilla. Combine coconut flour with baking powder and thoroughly mix into batter until there are no lumps. Fold blueberries into batter. Blueberries should be dry. If rinsed, dry them off before adding to batter. Pour batter into greased muffin cups. Bake at 400 degrees F for 16-18 minutes. Makes 6 muffins.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Gluten Free Best Banana Cake



A friend of mine asked me to make a gluten free banana cake for her twins birthday on Saturday. They know that one of their boys already has issues with wheat. When she asked I agreed to try but told her that I had not made a banana cake that was gluten free yet. So I started looking for a recipe that would work. I did a test run on Tuesday and it turned out great. Today was the day for the actual cake. I had a mishap with the size of the cake and ended up cutting off the end and made them into two small cakes for the boys to destroy. I even made the icing from scratch with Wilton's Butter Cream recipe. I highly recommend this recipe.

Gluten Free Best Banana Cake

1 1/2 Cups Bananas, Mashed, Ripe
2 tsp Lemon Juice
3 Cups Gluten Free Cake Flour Mix
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 Cup butter, softened
2 Cups Sugar (I reduced it to 1 1/2 cups)
3 large eggs
2 tsp GF Vanilla
1 1/2 cups Buttermilk (I used 1 1/2 cups raw milk w/ 1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar)

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees (yes that's correct)
2. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 pan.
3. In a small bowl, mix mashed banana with lemon juice and set aside.
4. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt and set aside.
5. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
6. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then stir in vanilla.
7. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk.
8. Stir in banana mixture.
9. Pour batter into a prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for 60 - 75 mins or until toothpick is clean.
10. Remove from oven and place directly into the freezer for 45 mins. This will make the cake very moist.
11. For the frosting I used a vanilla butter cream recipe (Wilton)


Gluten Free Cake Flour Mix

3 Cups Brown Rice Flour
1 Cup Potato Starch (not potato flour)
1/2 Cup Tapioca Flour
1 1/2 tsp guar gum or xanthan gum

Sift ingredients together, combining thoroughly. Use in place of flour in cakes and other baked goods. Store in a ziplock bag or airtight container.

Here are the little cakes that are for the boys. Cute huh?


Here is a picture of the cake I made on Tuesday for my trial run. Nice and moist. Hubby says it is moist, good flavor and texture. He joked that I have him evaluating food now. He has to test every new gluten free creation I make ...... poor guy.


Happy Birthday Owen & Ben. I hope your first birthday is great.

Stephanie

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Gluten Free Sourdough Bread

These are the cupcake pan rolls.



These were made in a roll pan.


I started the sourdough starter several days ago and today it is time to make the rolls for Easter dinner. I have not tried this before so it is an adventure. I had to sample one as it came out of the oven and I have to say there is no "sourdough" taste. :( I was hoping for that. But they are very good none the less and will easily be eaten by all. So I will be on the hunt for a sourdough recipe again.


Gluten Free Sourdough Bread

Dry Ingredients
2 C White Rice Flour
2/3 C Potato Starch
1/3 C Tapioca flour (aka starch)
1/2 C Dry Milk Powder (I used coconut milk powder)
3 1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum
1 1/2 tsp Celtic Sea Salt

Wet Ingredients
3 Eggs
3/4 C Sourdough Starter
1 C Warm Water
3/4 C Ricotta Cheese (I had to use cottage cheese as it was the only thing in the house)
1/4 C Honey
1/4 C Vegetable Oil (I used my coconut ghee oil)
1 tsp Cider vinegar

Add all dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well. With a mixer on low speed slowly add the wet ingredients until blended. Beat 10 mins.

Place dough in greased bread pans and allow to rise for 1 hour. ( put the dough into a dinner roll pan and muffin pan for rolls).

Bake at 375 degrees for 30-60 mins. Use a toothpick to check for "doneness".

Enjoy!

Have a Blessed Easter. May you rest in the peace of our Lord and Savior.

Mark 16
The Resurrection
1When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body. 2Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3and they asked each other, "Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?"
4But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

6"Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.' "





Stephanie

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Gluten Free Sourdough started for Easter




It takes 3 days to make the starter for a sour dough bread so I started it today in preparation for Easter. I have not had a great sour dough bread since going gluten free. I used to love Trader Joe's Cheese Peppercorn Sourdough bread. Ahhhh... Warmed with some butter and you think you are in heaven. So I decided to try to make my own. I may make sourdough rolls for dinner since bread is a little harder to deal with at the table with children.


Sourdough Starter

1 1/2 cups white rice flour
1 cup water (110 -115 degrees)
2 1/4 tsp Red Star Active Dry Yeast

Add all ingredients to a 4 cup glass bowl or container. I used my batter bowl with the lid. Mix them well and cover loosely. Let stand in a warm place for 1 to 3 days stirring 2-3 times a day. The mixture starts out thick but will rise and fall over time and become thinner as it ferments. When the starter is developed it will be foamy and may have a liquid layer on top. It can be used immediately or placed in the refrigerator for later.






Monday, April 6, 2009

Gluten Free Cinnamon Raisin English Muffins


Today I made a new recipe. I found some gluten free English muffins at the store but they were so expensive. I figured I could make them myself. I made some cinnamon raisin and plain cinnamon muffins.

Gluten Free English Muffins
3/4 Cup Sorghum Flour
1/4 Cup Potato Starch
1/2 Cup Tapioca Starch
1/4 Cup Corn Starch
1/2 tsp Celtic Salt
1 tsp Xanthan Gum
1 Tbs Sugar
1 tsp oil
1 scant Tbs Yeast
3/4 cup + 1 Tbs warm water
For Cinnamon / Raisin:
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup raisins soaked in hot water to soften.
  1. Spray the cookie sheet and the English muffin rings with non-stick spray.
  2. Mix all dry ingredients in bowl of mixer
  3. Add water and oil; mix until just blended. Scrape down the sides. Beat on high for 2 minutes.
  4. Spoon dough into rings. Let rise for 20 mins or until double the size.
  5. Bake at 375 degrees (preheated) for 15 minutes. They should be barely brown.
  6. Let cool and split.
To your health....Naturally!
Stephanie

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Eet Smakelijk - Gluten Free Banana Bread




You are probably wondering what I am doing. Eet Smakelijk is Dutch for Eat Heartily or Well. It is also the name of a cookbook with fabulous Dutch recipes. It is a staple item to be received by every new bride to be. I got mine back in 1985. Yikes! I have always loved the banana bread in this cookbook. I think it is the most used recipe since the book opens to it automatically. But since going gluten free we have had to give it up. Today I pulled it out again and decided to use my new flour combo. I just asked my daughter if she thought it was good and she said "I was thinking I would like another slice". The seal of approval from a 6 1/2 year old is a pretty good review.



Eet Smakelijk - Gluten Free Banana Bread
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
4 bananas, mashed
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Greas 2 8x4x2 loaf pans (or one large and 2 small pans). Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and bananas. Sift together flour, soda and salt. Add sifted ingredients, mixing well. Mix in vanilla. Pour into pans and bake for 60 to 75 mins. Cool 10 minutes and remove from pans.

Slice and enjoy!
To your health - naturally!
Stephanie