Gluten-Free Adventures: Sourdough!

During my gluten-free adventures, I've experimented with several bread recipes and settled on a quick bread that is super convenient and tastes great toasted with peanut butter and jam. I posted about it here. But recently I happened upon a recipe for a gluten-free sourdough, shared by the King Arthur Flour company. As expected, the recipe used King Arthur gluten-free flour mixes and seemed pretty complicated. But my interest was piqued. Sourdough! Without wheat! Is it really possible? Just for the record, I personally LOVE wheat bread, especially gluten-filled, fluffy, chewy sourdough. But out of solidarity for TinySprite, I thought it would be so fantastic if we could all enjoy sourdough together. Now, I've never made sourdough before. In fact, the last yeasted bread I made was many months ago, and I've always used the supermarket-type baker's yeast that comes in those little paper packets. But this recipe got me thinking about making a sourdough with a "wild" starter, that is: using only the yeast and bacteria that are naturally occuring on the flour (or in the air) already. The rationale is that this starter is less robust, requires longer fermentation and therefore results in tangy-er, more sour, more flavorful bread. I was sold on tangy-er. If that's a word.

So I tried it. And I made a gluten-free sourdough. And, I liked it! Okay, it's not the sourdough you're thinking of; after all, there's no wheat in it, remember. But the flavor is sour, and the crust is chewy, and even though the crumb is dense rather than fluffy, I'm calling it sourdough. And I want to share it with you.

I read a whole bunch of books and articles and recipes on how to make a sourdough starter. And some on making gluten-free sourdough. But there aren't too many on making a gluten-free wild sourdough, so I kind of had to make it up as I went along.

First, I used a mixture of brown rice flour, sorghum flour and millet flour. I'm guessing you could use other types too, like garbanzo, quinoa, amaranth, white rice, etc. I measured 2T of flour and added 4T of filtered water. You'll want to make sure the water you use is not chlorinated (later I used bottled water, which also works). I mixed the flour and water together in a small glass cup. Some recipes call for pineapple juice instead of water, reasoning that the added sugar should speed things up. Some others toss in cabbage leaves or grapes to kick off the yeast culture, but I wanted to be purist. I left my cup alone, swirling it every now and then, whenever I walked by it. Honestly, I think I bothered it way too much that first day.

Not surprisingly, nothing whatsoever happened the first day that I could tell. The next day, I fed it with 2T more flour and 4T more water. On the 3rd day, I noticed small bubbles.

I wasn't sure if they were "real", but I was pretty excited. Over the next few hours, the bubbles became more pronounced. I'll show you how mine progressed:

By the 5th day, I was pretty sure I had a nice yeast culture going. And it was totally "wild" -- I didn't add any baker's yeast at all. You can also tell by the smell that something good is growing. It should smell yeasty/beery, like bread dough. Mine kind of smelled vinegary and acidic.

The length of time it will take for your culture to get to this point will vary depending on the temperature and humidity of your kitchen, and on your particular yeast and bacteria, of course. Once the culture starts going, it should not become contaminated. You'll get to know how fast and how often it needs to be fed. After a feeding, mine would bubble up a lot, then slow down and completely go flat after about 6 hours or so.

At the 6th day, I decided to grow it up to make a batch of dough. I added:

1/4 cup of flour + an equal weight of water every 12-24 hours. 

At this point, you should be measuring ingredients by weight instead of volume, because this method is much more accurate, especially for baking. By day 10, I had enough for dough. After this point, I neglected to take process pictures (actually I was half afraid it wouldn't turn out -- but mainly I was so frazzled that I didn't have the presence of mind to stop and get the camera at each step. But if you click over to the recipe site I used, you'll see she posted some process photos).

I used the recipe I found at The Art of Gluten Free Baking. Now that I'm looking at it, it might seem overwhelming, especially if you haven't baked bread before. But trust me; I think it's probably easier than sourdough made with wheat flour, which you have to work, knead, and rise several times. Gluten-free dough doesn't need that much attention. Basically what you do is add some flour to your starter, some water, salt and sugar.
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Here's what she writes as her method (if you click over, she also goes into greater detail about the process):
Sourdough Bread (Boule), Gluten-Free (edited 5/2/11 to correct flour cups measurement)

Special Equipment Needed
-kitchen scale (this recipe is best done by weight rather than volume–although I’ve included approximate cup measurements)
-4 qt Dutch oven w/a lid: Le Creuset, Mario Batali, Lodge, Dansk are all good brands
-a 4 qt bowl (one the same size as your Dutch oven)
-stand mixer (this will work best, but a hand mixer will do in a pinch)
-parchment paper and plastic wrap
-spray bottle with water for spraying top of the crust
-instant read thermometer is nice to double-check the interior temperature of finished bread, but you can do without it (they are cheap–get one!)

Ingredients (measurements are in weight ounces, not fluid ounces)

15 oz (about 3 C) flour (I use a combo of equal parts sorghum, brown rice, and tapioca) (100% BP)

30 oz (a bit less than 4 C) sourdough starter (200% BP)

approximately 6 oz (3/4 C) water (40% BP)

2 tsp salt (2% BP)

2 tsp xanthan gum (1% BP)

2 TBL granulated sugar (4% BP)

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After adding the flour, the dough became very dry and crumbly. If you have an electric mixer and a dough hook, this is a good time to bring it out. I tried mixing by hand, and I don't think I'll do that again next time. Mix, mix, mix. Make sure all the flour is completely hydrated. The consistency should be wetter than what you think bread dough should be like. More like a thick cake batter. Line a non-metal bowl with parchment, pressing the wrinkles out as much as you can so that the bread will pour in smoothly. Pour the dough into the parchment-lined bowl and let it rise for 6-8 hours.

If you have a cast iron round French oven, that is ideal. I don't, so I used a Chinese clay pot. It's best if the rising bowl is the same size as the pot you plan to bake in. After the rise, lift out the risen dough by grasping the edges of the parchment paper. Be gentle. The dough should have doubled in size. Carefully place the dough into the preheated pot, cover with the lid and replace into the oven. Bake for 45 minutes covered, then remove the lid. If you have a thermometer, you can check to make sure the internal bread temperature is 200F. Take the pot out of the oven and cool on a rack for 15 minutes before removing the bread. When cool enough, pull the bread out using the parchment, peel off the paper, and admire. Slice and enjoy! 

Summer Rolls Bento, part 2.

Summer Rolls Bento, part 2., a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

My TinySprite is so predictable; of course she asked for summer rolls again. Now I keep a stash of cooked shrimp in the freezer ready to roll anytime I need a quick no-cook bento. I'm getting better at rolling these now, too. I was able to fill the rice wrappers with lettuce, cilantro, pickled carrots and cucumbers, deli ham and a few shrimp. I made two rolls of about the same size and shape, without tearing either, and they both happened to fit exactly right in this cool new stainless steel lined double bento box set! I like the idea of the stainless interior, which is great for food which might stain, and it also seems cooler to me, like the food will stay fresher. The exteriors are plastic, and the lids are the locking gasketed type with 4 latches. They are completely watertight, which I take to mean the moisture stays in too -- thus I can pack the summer rolls without worrying that they'll dry out. One of the boxes has a removable divider, and the stainless liners of both boxes come out for easy cleaning. Look how cute the lids are, too! I love them. Along with the rolls, she gets a bunch of fruit (peach, strawberries, blackberries, champagne grapes, regular grapes, corn and a little Okinawan sweet potato bunny shape). Everything packed perfectly snugly and visibly through the translucent covers. They stack atop one another and even come with their own matching bag. Wow! Super super love them. So did she. ^_^

Lamburger Froggie Bento

Lamburger Froggie Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

While MisterMan had his burger in the traditional way on a bun (or a whole wheat sandwich thin, anyway) my TinySprite had hers on a fluffy bed of hapa rice. Fluffy rice reminded me of a sheep, so I added some broccoli, steamed Okinawan sweet potato (for ears), and baby brown sweet peppers (for horns). I cut some red bell peppers for its nose and champagne grapes for eyes. The upper tier of the cute froggie bento contains sliced peaches, blueberries, strawberry, more champagne grapes, corn, carrots and a teeny little gala apple. I hope she didn't miss the bun and instead enjoyed her gluten-free version of lamburger/ramburger/hamburgerrrrr! ^_^

Panda Egg Salmon Patty Bear Onigiri Lunchbots Bento

Panda Egg Salmon Patty Bear Onigiri Lunchbots Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Today I packed a couple of salmon patties for TinySprite in the Lunchbots Trio box. Like with the bean burgers, I bulked them up with extras; this time I used brown/white rice and quinoa. I also added shredded carrot, and minced onion and celery. It's good with Dijon mustard and a little yogurt or sour cream, and a squirt of lemon juice. Just mix until the consistency holds together, then flatten some balls and pan-fry. You can serve with mustard Old Bay aioli on a bun, but I've just placed her patties in some lettuce leaves. There's a little bear onigiri, some carrots sticks, corn off the cob, a panda egg (I cut the ears, eyes and mouth from grapes by hand), and assorted fruit (strawberry, pluot and blueberries. The kids are really digging the burger variations. What else can I make a burger out of? Hmmm.

Twin Bunnies Bean Burger Bento

Twin Bunnies Bean Burger Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Today's bento is one for my wheat-free daughter. I made black bean burgers using the basic recipe I used here, but substituting garbanzo beans with black beans. I also used black rice to keep the color scheme. She's used to eating burgers "protein-style" (wrapped in lettuce leaves instead of on a bun), so I could've served it that way in her bento with no problem. You could layer a slice of homegrown tomato and grilled onions on top as well, but I chose to pack a double patty in here instead, in lettuce, alongside a silicone cup of homemade peach salsa. Peach salsa: have you had this? I've never tried making a salsa with peach and was dubious, but it is delicious. I diced some ripe peaches, tomatoes, sweet peppers and tossed with sweet corn. Refreshing, and it just screams "Summer!" I topped the burgers with cheese bunnies with nori faces, and the other side of the LunchBot Duo contains grapes, pluots and baby sweet strawberries. ^_^

Portobello Pizza Bento

Portobello Pizza Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I saw this portobello pizza idea somewhere...maybe on Pinterest or something? Anyway, it was described as a low-carb way to enjoy pizza. Gluten-free too; so I gave it a try.

Here's the method I used:
1. Dust/clean portobello mushroom cap, and remove gills with a spoon to create a little mushroom "cup."
2. Cut off stem.
3. Fill with your choice of toppings (I used shredded zucchini, bell pepper strips, spinach, pepperoni, cheese)
4. Top with cheese if you like, and bake at 350F until mushroom and toppings are softened, and cheese is melted.
5. Alternatively: put cheese in first, and layer toppings on top.
6. Bake at 350F until everything is softened and bottom cheese is melty.

Well, the first thing I noticed is that since the mushroom cap doesn't absorb any moisture, it can fill up with moisture from the veggies. It might be better to saute the veggies before putting them on, maybe. Also, I prefer the cheese on the bottom version, because I like the fresh vegetables looking nice on top. In fact, you can reduce the cooking time as much as you like, and keep the veggies on the crunchier side, too. Still good that way. Anyway, my boy wanted to take one to summer adventures program, so I packed one in this Sistema-look-alike box. The only thing different about this box is that there are 3 divided sections on the fruit side instead of 2. I took the picture with the pizza inside the big section, but actually what I did was close the fruit section and place the pizza on top of the lid in its wax paper before closing the domed lid on top of it. Worked great! He liked all the attention his weird pizza got. In the fruit section: corn on the cob, carrots, broccoli, peaches, lychee, and cherries.
This is a fun meal that the kids can help with, and you can pile a lot of stuff in those portobellos :)

Gluten-Free Adventures: Brown Rice Sandwich Loaf

Gluten-Free Brown Rice Sandwich Loaf, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

This sandwich bread loaf is from a recipe I got out of The Wheat-Free Cook by Jacqueline Mallorca. I wanted to try it because well, it's yeast-free and doesn't need a rise. It's basically a quick bread. It's worth a shot, right? The first time I tried it, I also tried omitting the xanthan gum. If you follow the gluten-free baking school, there are some that swear by xantham gum, some that use it just because it's what everyone does, and some that insist it's not necessary. So I've taken to trying to omit it, then adding substitutes back to try to improve it. The first few photos show my xanthan-free version.

It looked great at first. Right out of the oven, it smelled delicious, looked airy and light, and seemed to hold together well. I was able to slice it for TinySprite's breakfast toast a few days before I realized it was starting to get a bit crumbly. Towards the end of the week, it just didn't hold together at all. If you can manage to eat the whole loaf in a few days, then I think the xanthan-free version should suffice. However, I need something more substantial. After all, I'm smearing peanut butter and jam on it. So for the most recent loaf (which I made two days ago), I added some ripe bananas which I thought might bind it together better (see my banana bread experience).

It seemed to work! This loaf is much moister and malleable. Less crumbly. At least 2 days in, so far. And since the banana smell was calling out for it, I sprinkled some cinnamon too. So it ended up being kind of a sweet bread. But that's not so bad for breakfast toast after all, is it? ^_^

Gluten-Free Brown Rice Flour Bread (from The Wheat-Free Cook, by Jacqueline Mallorca)

1 and 1/4 cup brown rice flour (can mix with white rice flour, some almond flour, etc.)
3/4 cup tapioca starch
2T flax meal
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup yogurt
1T canola oil
1 egg
1/2 cup water
*1 tsp xanthan gum (the recipe calls for this, but I've tried omitting it and replacing with a mashed ripe banana)

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix wet ingredients in a medium bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry. Mix well until fluffy. Pour into well-greased loaf pan. Bake for 25 minutes at 400F.

Hello Kitty Gluten-Free Calzone Bento

Hello Kitty Calzone Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I tried another gluten-free pizza dough this time; using Nicole Hunn's recipe at Gluten Free on a Shoestring. If you haven't worked with gluten-free dough before, you'd be surprised at the texture, but she explains what to expect, and my dough looked just like the picture she posted. You have to pat the dough out, since it doesn't stretch like regular pizza dough. It works well for calzones too, which is what I made for TinySprite's bento here. Since this dough doesn't stretch and just kind of sits there, it's actually just right for making cute calzones like this Hello Kitty. I just patted out a circle, put in my fillings (spinach, zucchini, pepperoni and cheese), folded in half to close, and added extra dough pieces for the ears and bow. After baking, it came out just the way it looked when it went in. I added nori eyes, but I should have made whiskers and a nose so she's recognizable. Can you see her? The rest of the bento contains carrots, peapods, a couple of beet-dyed cherry-shaped quail eggs, blackberries, blueberries and cherries. Do you think TinySprite liked this one? (Yep, she did) ^_^

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Oh, and by the way, The Huffington Post Kitchen Daily ran a bento article today, with a mention and a shot of my Hello Kitty Pizzawich Bento in there. Happy Little Bento represent!
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Gluten-Free Pizza Dough (from Gluten Free on a Shoestring)

2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour
1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup warm water (about 100 degrees F)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (plus an extra tablespoon or two for drizzling)

1. In a medium-size bowl or the bowl of your food processor, place the flour, xanthan gum, yeast, sugar, and salt and stir to combine.

2. To the flour mixture, add the 3 tablespoons of olive oil and the water in a steady stream, either pulsing in a food processor or mixing with a spoon or fork to combine. If you are using a food processor, pulse while streaming in the water, until a ball begins to form. Otherwise, stir constantly while streaming in the water and continue stirring until the mixture begins to come together. If the dough seems super sticky, add some more flour a tablespoon at a time, and stir or pulse to combine. Press the dough into a disk.

3. Place the dough in another medium-size bowl and drizzle it with olive oil. Turn the dough to coat it with oil. This will prevent a crust from forming on the dough while it is rising. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in a warm, draft-free area to rise until doubled in volume (about 1 hour).

4. After the dough has risen, wrap it in plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour before rolling it out.

5. To make pizza, roll between two pieces of plastic wrap. Create a crust by rolling in the edges, brush the dough with olive oil, and blind bake it at about 400 degrees F (that is, bake it plain, before topping it) for 5 to 7 minutes, sot he crust begins to crisp. Then, top it with sauce, cheese, and whatever else you have in the fridge, and return it to the hot oven until the cheese is melted, another 5 to 7 minutes.

Gluten-Free Adventures: Lemon Coconut Bread

Gluten-Free Lemon Coconut Bread, homemade, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Remember my gluten-free banana bread? While that one still reigns as my biggest triumph in GF baking, this one isn't bad. I was looking for a quick sweet bread to make using the last of the Meyer lemons, and I came across this recipe in the book "125 Best Gluten-Free Recipes", by Donna Washburn and Heather Butt. I got the clafoutis recipe from this book as well, and even though they seem to tout a certain brand of GF flour mix (which I didn't buy and which I successfully substituted with my own mixture), I'm pretty happy with the way these two recipes came out. This one has a bright lemony flavor, and if you like coconut, there's a nice texture from the shredded coconut flakes as well. Although it's a short loaf, I found the density to be nice and moist, and the bread held together well (there is xanthan gum in this recipe). A nice bread, all around. If you like lemon and blueberries, you might want to check out the lemon blueberry bread I made here. It was delicious as well.

Lemon Coconut Bread (from 125 Best Gluten-Free Recipes, by Donna Washburn and Heather Butt)

1 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup potato starch
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1 cup sugar
1 and 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 T baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 T lemon zest
3/4 cup shredded coconut
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1/4 cup lemon juice

Glaze

1 cup confectioners sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice

Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix wet ingredients together in a medium bowl. Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients. Spoon into greased loaf pan, let stand 30 minutes. Bake at 350F for 60 minutes. Poke holes in the hot loaf with a skewer as soon as it comes out. Spoon glaze over hot loaf. Let cool in pan 30 minutes before removing loaf, and remove to wire rack.

Gluten-Free Adventures: Cherry Clafoutis

Gluten-Free Cherry Clafoutis, version 1. Top., a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

This summer we were gifted with the biggest, juiciest, sweetest cherries ever. While my kids are perfectly content to suck them down as is, I thought it would be nice to make something special with them. Cherry clafoutis is a French baked dessert of cherries in an eggy batter. Ooooohhhh. And, there are gluten-free versions. Hello? I tried two recipes.

This first one is from the book "125 Best Gluten-Free Recipes" by Washburn and Butt. It was my first clafoutis, and I thought it was pretty good. It's a wrinkly and lumpy looking dessert, if you've never seen it before, and I had to google pictures of it to make sure mine looked right. This one turned out more on the pancake-y, bread-y side. I won't post the recipe here in the interest of space, but I've made other desserts from these authors and I think the book is worth looking at.

Then I tried another version, by the Gluten-Free Goddess, who based her recipe on adaptation of Julia Child's recipe by Cooking with Amy. This one varied quite a bit from Julia Child's basic cherries-eggs-flour-sugar-milk version, especially with the extra egg. But oh, man, it was good. It's basically a cherry egg pie. I mean look at it. It's yellow and custardy, almost like a flan. I'll pass along the recipe for this one, since it's a bit more involved with the coconut flour and maple syrup, but those give a lot of extra flavor. This is not a traditional clafoutis, I think, but it sure is worth making, if you're looking for a crowd-pleasing, easy-bake, gluten-free summertime dessert.

Gluten-Free Cherry Clafoutis
(from Gluten-Free Goddess -- it's also dairy-free and refined sugar-free)

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup vanilla almond milk or coconut milk
4 organic free-range eggs
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup brown rice flour or sorghum flour
1 tablespoon bourbon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
3 cups fresh cherries, pitted

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Using your favorite vegan butter, grease the bottom and sides of an 8x12-inch oval gratin baking dish. Set aside. (I used regular butter, and a regular pie plate)

Using a blender or Vita-Mix, whip the almond milk, eggs, maple syrup, coconut flour, brown rice flour, vanilla extract, and sea salt till smooth and frothy.

Pour roughly half an inch of batter into the buttered gratin dish and bake it in the oven until it is lightly set- just a few minutes. Take the baking dish out of the oven and add the cherries in an even layer. Pour on the remaining batter.

Return the dish to the oven and bake for about 50 to 55 minutes, until slightly golden around the edges, and set in the center.

Gluten-Free Mac and Cheese Bento

Gluten-Free Mac and Cheese Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Yes, it's the peak of summer and I made mac and cheese. It's TinySprite's favorite, and she's been asking for it, so how could I refuse? She ate two bowls for dinner, and requested another serving for lunch, packed in her Hello Kitty thermal jar. So here it is: my special version of ka-broc-mac and cheese. There's a side box of summer-ripe cherries, homegrown sunsugar orange cherry tomatoes, a homegrown yellow pear tomato, a cup o'blueberries, and a sweet lil' lychee. See how Korilakkuma looks like she's hugging it? That's just exactly how I feel about lychee too. ^_^

I've posted my ka-broc-cheese recipe before (here) but this time I've made it wheat-free and soy-free. The only changes are a substitution of brown rice flour in place of the whole wheat flour for making the roux, and the omission of the spicy soyrizo. Actually, I made this batch in parts, because I happen to love the soyrizo in here, so I just kept it separate to mix in later. I also had to make separate kinds of pasta (quinoa elbows for the gluten-free version and whole wheat elbows for everyone else). It was a bit complicated, but totally worth it. If you don't have any issues with wheat or soy, I would keep to the original recipe; it works and tastes just as good as this one. I know, I know, it is totally untraditional, and the cheese isn't smooth and creamy with everything I've thrown in. But it is substantial, and it fills you up, and you don't even have to worry about a side salad or something. Cuz the veggies are already IN THERE. Woot!

Wheat and Soy Free Mac and Ka-Broc-Cheese Method/Recipe

Cook 8oz (or more if you like) quinoa (or corn) elbow macaroni, 10-12 minutes or until just al dente. Drain.
Steam or microwave 5 slices kabocha (or more) and one small head of broccoli until softened.
Grate the kabocha and mince the broccoli.
Melt 3T butter in a saucepan over medium low heat.
Whisk in 3T brown rice flour, 1tsp dry mustard, a few pinches of pepper, and a sprinkle of cayenne pepper until smooth, a few minutes.
Add 2 cups milk.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, 6-8 minutes, until milk comes to a boil.
Add: 2C (or 3C, or more) shredded cheddar, parmesan, or whatever cheese you happen to like. Stir to incorporate.
Add the grated kabocha and the minced broccoli. Stir.
Add more cheese if you like it cheesier.
Add pasta, stir to completely incorporate.

Is it more cheddar on top of my lovely creamy cheesy sauce? 

No.... muahahaha!!

It's shredded kabocha. Really.

Look: you can barely tell it's in there.

I'm serious. The cheesalicious flavor overpowers the kabocha.

Yeah, that's a lot of broccoli.

Okay, it's kind of lumpy now. 

If you don't like it, go ahead- add more cheese.

Go on, it's okay. It's cheese! It's all good.

Bolognese Panda Bento

Bolognese Panda Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Who says gluten-free has to be boring? Here's a bento for TinySprite I whipped up quickly using leftovers from dinner: pasta bolognese (naturally gluten-free) tossed with brown rice tube pasta, topped with romano and parmesan, and oregano. She's a meat lover, this girl, and meals like this are very satisfying for her. I'm happy to be able to pack it in her favorite panda bento bowl. She had previously asked to "always use this box please" - so I'm trying. The upper tier contains some super sweet dark cherries, a couple of pristine white lychee, Okinawan sweet potato flower shapes, a baby homegrown white peach, a homegrown apricot, some black splendor plums, and fresh corn off the cob.

Bolognese Sauce (from Real Simple)

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 pound pancetta, chopped
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup whole milk
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 teaspoon red pepper (I omitted)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano, or 1 tablespoon dried
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I omitted)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

In a Dutch oven, over medium heat, heat the oil. Add the onion and cook for 2 minutes. Add the celery, carrot, and garlic and cook for 5 minutes more. Add the pancetta and cook for 5 minutes, then add the beef and cook until brown. Add the wine and the remaining ingredients and simmer for 45 minutes. Serve with cooked pasta. Sprinkle with Parmesan.

Gluten-Free Adventures: Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies, homemade, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Okay, remember how I feel about chocolate chip cookies? Yeah, I like 'em. A lot. So at the top of my gluten-free baking list was making a delicious chocolate chip cookie that could "pass" as the real thing. I have done a lot of experimenting, let me tell you. The things I do in the name of research! If you do a search you'll find a ton of recipes, all insisting that they're the best in the world, etc. I had to analyze and test them all; that's just the way I am. A lot of misleading claims of excellence are out there, so you really have to be careful.

But lucky you: you have me! And you can trust me! And let me tell you: these are really, truly the best! Okay, they're the best so far. And only if you like the kind of chocolate chip cookie that I like -- crispy, puffy, slightly soft inside, just the right amount of crumble, and packed with chips and nuts. 

Still with me? Alrighty then. Here it is, the one you've been waiting for! Well, the one I've been waiting for. My recipe:

Sheri's Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/8 cup raw sugar (you can add more if you like it sweeter)
1 egg
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup almond flour
1/8 cup sorghum flour
1/8 cup millet flour
1/4 cup potato starch
1 T buckwheat flour (this gives a nice brownish color to the dough)
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp xanthan gum (I'm still trying to sub out this binding ingredient with something else; stay tuned)
1/4 tsp salt
dark chocolate chips
chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 375F.
In a medium bowl, combine the brown rice flour, almond flour, sorghum flour, millet flour, potato starch, buckwheat flour, baking soda, xanthan gum and salt. Mix.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars. Stir in the egg and mix. Add the dry ingredients a fourth at a time and mix well. Add in the chocolate chips and walnuts.
Drop rounded teaspoons of cookie dough onto a baking sheet approx. 2 inches apart.
Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.
Makes about 20 smallish cookies. Double recipe for bigger batch.

Gluten-Free Adventures: Banana Bread

Gluten-Free Banana Bread, homemade, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Of all the gluten-free baking I've done within the past few months, I'd say the lemon blueberry loaf I posted about here is still my greatest success. That is, until now! This banana bread gives that one a run for the money. It's moist, dense, flavorful, holds together nicely and has a lovely brown color. It's delicious! And what's even better, this one calls for no xanthan gum at all. There may or may not be anything wrong with xanthan gum, which is a bacterially-derived polysaccaride whose purpose in gluten-free baking is to act as a binder, making the dough stickier and adding stretchiness and elasticity. Its allergenic potential is unknown (and some GF people are sensitive to it), but without it, some baked goods turn out crumbly and short. There are other ways to achieve the "glutenous" quality, but sometimes you can just simply omit it, with no problematic effects. This recipe is a great example. Maybe it's due to the naturally moist bananas, but this bread turned out just like regular banana bread. I used the recipe in the book "Gluten-Free Made Simple" by Dahlstrom, Burnley and Dahlstrom, and highly recommend it.

Gluten-Free Banana Bread
(from "Gluten-Free Made Simple" by Dahlstrom, Burnley and Dahlstrom)

3 ripe bananas
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
3 T buttermilk
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups GF flour (since I know what flours I prefer, I used a mix of brown rice, white rice, sorghum and millet)

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
Mash bananas.
In a large bowl mix sugar and butter until creamy. Add eggs and bananas.
In a small bowl mix buttermilk, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Add to butter mixture and mix well.
Add GF flours to the butter mixture and mix well.
Pour into pan.
Bake 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Gluten-Free Cauliflower Pizza Bento

Gluten-Free Cauliflower Pizza Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Hello people! Remember the first gluten-free pizza crust I made over in this bento last month? It was from a mix, and it was okay. It had that gluten-free background flavor, not like real crust. Well, this time I wanted to try something totally different, and I found this cauliflower pizza crust idea floating around. I saw it at RecipeGirl's site first, but she noted that lots of others had tried similar variations. All you do is grate a head of cauliflower, mix it with egg and cheese, form a crust and bake. Sounds crazy? Actually I thought, there's no way this is going to stick together to make a crust. So I added some rice flour and some flaxmeal. Did I ruin it? Who knows? Let's just say this does not turn out to be what you think it'll turn out to be. It's basically a cheese cracker with some cauliflower bits mixed in there. Nothing wrong with that, but I mention it just so you'll know. Now, I love a cheese cracker. Salty, crispy, and yes - greasy - goodness is hard to argue with. So of course my little girl loved it! But if you try it, I'd caution you to use a nonstick pan, or parchment paper.

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Cauliflower Pizza Crust (from Recipe Girl)

1/2 large head cauliflower (or 2+ cups shredded cauliflower)
1 large egg
1 cup finely shredded mozzarella cheese
[not in original recipe but I added 2T rice flour and 2T flaxmeal]

Directions:
1. Grate the cauliflower into small crumbles. You can use the food processor if you'd like, but you just want crumbles, not puree. I used a box grater. You'll need a total of about 2 cups or so of cauliflower crumbles (which is about half a large head of cauliflower. Place the cauliflower crumbles in a large bowl and microwave them (dry) for 8 minutes. Give the cauliflower a chance to cool. They'll be nice and soft.

2. Prepare the crust: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Spray a cookie sheet or pizza pan with nonstick spray (or use a nonstick surface). In a medium bowl, mix the cauliflower crumbles (about 1 1/2 cups since they shrink after cooking) with the remaining crust ingredients. Pat the "crust" into a 9 to 12-inch round on the prepared pan. Spray the crust lightly with nonstick spray and bake for 15 minutes (or until golden). Remove the crust from the oven and turn the heat up to broil.

3. Add toppings of your choice and return pizza to oven to broil for 5 minutes or until toppings are hot and cheese is melted and bubbly.

For this pizza I used chopped mushrooms, sliced zucchini, pepperoni, and diced capsicum in varying colors, then topped with shredded mozzarella. The pizza came out nice and crisp, since I pressed the crust as thin as I could manage. It doesn't stick together very well, so a thin crackery crust probably works better than a thicker crust which might break. I packed some in her Keroppi sandwich box, and placed some refreshing fruit and veggies in the lower tier. Pretty successful as a gluten-free pizza, but my search continues...
Added to What's For Lunch.

Sticky Rice and Canadian Bacon Bento Bowl

Sticky Rice and Canadian Bacon Bento Bowl, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Twitterfoodparty showed up this month in the form of bacon. You can check out this month's submissions on twitter by searching the hashtag #twitterbaconparty. I rarely cook bacon at home but happened to need a gluten-free alternative to lup cheong for the sticky rice (method here) I was planning to make. Most Chinese sausages and deli meats are marinated in shoyu, making them no-nos in a gluten-free diet. I steamed some sliced lup cheong separately to be mixed in everyone else's servings, but TinySprite was satisfied with diced and pan-fried Canadian bacon in hers. The overall flavor just wasn't traditionally the same, but it'll have to do, since I don't plan on learning how to make my own Chinese sausage! It was still tasty enough, though. I packed some in her favorite panda bento bowl, along with a selection of fruit in the top tier: cherries, lychee, blackberries, peach, and sweet potato. Next month's theme will be strawberries!

Gluten-Free Adventures: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars (gluten-free), a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Okay, so I have been hard at work experimenting with treats and snacks in the gluten-free vein. When I saw this recipe for GF peanut butter chocolate chip bars, I thought: perfect! And also: so easy. I love bar recipes, because they're so much less labor-intensive than ones requiring you to make crusts, or roll out balls, or scoop into muffin tins. You just pour it into a pan and forget it until the timer dings. And it's usually at least a half hour or so, so you can kick back and relax too. This recipe, from Serious Eats, is no exception. I liked that the main flour is brown rice flour, which I've grown to realize I like the flavor of. And the peanut butter should mask any other taste issues as well.

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars (Serious Eats)

Ingredients
3 3/4 ounces (3/4 cup) brown rice flour
2 ounces (1/3 cup) potato starch
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 ounces (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
4 ounces (1/2 cup) smooth peanut butter (I used chunky)
3.5 ounces (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
4 ounces (1/2 cup) dark brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup chocolate chips
[I added chia seeds and flax meal too]

Preheat oven to 350°F;. Grease 8x8x2-inch pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In small bowl, whisk together brown rice flour, potato starch, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In large bowl, cream together butter, peanut butter, and sugars until light and fluffy, about one minute. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat well between each addition. Stop mixer and scrape down bottom and sides of bowl. Turn mixer back on and continue to beat until mixture is light, fluffy, and almost white. Turn off mixer. Add dry ingredients, turn mixer to low and blend to combine. Add chocolate chips. Mix until just combined.

Spread batter evenly into prepared pan. Bake until bars are puffy, golden brown, and a cake tester interested into the center of the bars comes out with a few moist crumbs, about 35 minutes. Place pan on wire rack to cool. When cooled, cut into 12 bars.

I have to say, these bars turned out perfectly. They look and taste exactly like gluten-filled peanut butter bars. Mine came out a tad bit dry, but that was my fault; I let them cook longer than the recommended 35 minutes because I thought they looked anemic (and I like my baked goods to look nicely golden brown). I won't do that next time. They were deeeeeeeelicious. A definite kid-pleaser!

Gluten-Free Gyoza Bento and Method

Gluten-Free Gyoza Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Today's bento contains homemade gluten-free gyoza. Really!

Ever since deciding to try a gluten-free diet for TinySprite nearly 6 weeks ago, I've been trying to come up with alternatives to all our favorite wheaty foods. So far I've been successful with cookies and breads, but I was worried about gyoza. You see, we love gyoza. And wonton too. But how are we going to make them gluten-free? Well, luckily I'm not the first one to wonder this. I decided to use Andrea Nguyen's recipe and method for making them with mochiko, tapioca and millet. She made it seem easy enough, and even noted that they tasted great! Well, it was hard! Hard for a non-dough-expert like me, anyway. I'm not a fan of rolling and cutting out dough, but for gyoza I'll do it. And if I can do it, so can you!

Nguyen's Recipe for Gluten-Free Basic Dumpling Dough

3 3/8 ounces (3/4 cup) tapioca starch
3 3/8 ounces (3/4 cup) millet flour
4 3/8 ounces (3/4 cup) Mochiko Blue Star Brand glutinous (sweet) rice flour
2 teaspoons xantham gum
3/4 cup just-boiled water plus 1 to 2 tablespoons cold water

I simply mixed everything up and formed a wettish lump of dough.












I pulled off balls about the size of golf balls.














Flattened them with my fingers.

Rolled them out with a wooden dowel and cut out circles that I thought would be big enough. They turned out to be a bit bigger than standard sized wrappers, but she cautioned that this dough doesn't really stretch and give, so I wanted to make sure I could fill them sufficiently without them tearing.

This recipe made about 24 wrappers, but mine were a bit thick since (as mentioned) I was concerned about tearing. In fact, they look like tortillas, don't they?

I filled the gyoza wrappers as usual, placing a teaspoonful (or so) of pork and scallion mixture, then folded into a half-circle. The edges do not glue together like regular skins, but must be pinched together like dough. I was able to make pretty good pleats and close off the edges. These are ready to go into the pan.

Yes, they turned out to be a bit thick, but making them bigger was a good move since I could fill them pretty heftily. I pan-fried and steamed them as usual. They developed a crispy bottom and soft tops, and held up pretty well! The wrapper was a bit chewier than the normal wheat wrappers, but not in an unpleasant way. Otherwise, they tasted great! TinySprite loved them! I ended up making the wrappers on one day, storing them in a sealed container in the fridge overnight, then filling them the next day after bringing them back to room temperature. This is due to the fact that the wrapper-making was a bit time-consuming. The wrappers stored just fine, staying soft and pliable without drying out. I'd consider this recipe a success and would definitely make them again!