On Gluten Free Baking

So, I have no problem digesting gluten, at least not in the amounts contained in breads and other baked goods. My problem is digesting lactose, or large servings of protein at a go. But I happen to have several friends who can't eat gluten, so I've recently started experimenting with gluten free baking. Lots of the information I've found on-line seems confusing, and many of the recipes use hard-to-find or expensive ingredients. Not really appealing to someone who just wants to bake gluten free now and again.

So I'm going to share with you a few of the things I've learned about easy gluten-free baking.

• Gluten free baking tends to be dry, so recipes that are moist to begin with - such as those that contain pureed fruits or vegetables - tend to convert best. Alternately, it's good to add a little extra liquid (a few tablespoons) when adapting recipes.

• Gluten, among other things, helps baked goods rise. Non-gluten baking doesn't rise as high in the pan, so you need to fill the pan or muffin cups pretty much to the top instead of 3/4 of the way if you want a regular sized cake/cupcake/muffin.

• Using a blend of several different gluten free flours in combination works much better than using one. I'd say use at least three types.

• Most gluten free flours are pretty expensive, at least around here. A cheaper option is to make your own flours using a coffee grinder. If you are going to use the flour in something you don't want to taste like coffee (ie. most things) buy a seperate coffee grinder to use for flour-making. (I got one at Canadian Tire for $10 that works fine. I have also seen them at yard sales, and they'd probably be fine if cleaned out). So far, I have successfully made rice and quinoa flour in mine. I will update when I try making my own bean flours. All you have to do to make flour is fill the grinder 3/4 of the way, and grind until you have a fine powder (ie. something that looks like flour!) It might take you more than one round of grinding to make enough flour, but not necessarily, since you might only be using 1/4 cup of each flour!

•Tapioca flour, aka tapioca starch, is reasonably priced, so I buy that. (Plus, I don't have a source of dry cassava root...)

• You can also use the coffee grinder to grind flax seeds, which I've found to be the best egg replacer in gluten-free baking (many gluten free recipes I've seen call for several eggs or egg whites, probably to lend the fluffiness gluten-free goods lack. As such, I've found it best to just adapt tried and true recipes using egg and wheat replacements). 3 tbsp water + 1 tbsp ground flax seed = 1 egg.

• Most gluten free baking batters taste horrible. So, if you lick the bowl after putting the cake in the oven and think "yuck," don't worry, it'll taste fine when it's cooked. Bean flour in particular has a pungent flavour when raw, and, though it adds nice texture, it is strongly flavoured even when cooked, so I recommend using a smaller proportion of bean flour in recipes.

Gluten Free Dinner Muffins

The dinner muffin is posted on the left. On the right is President's Choice Blue Menu Dark Chocolate Bran Muffin, made with a banana in place of the egg whites the package calls for (not gluten free). I don't normally like baking mixes, but I enjoy the blue menu stuff in a pinch.

I had plans to make gluten-free cornmeal muffins for a recent potluck, but after already starting the recipe I realized I had no cornmeal. I must have imagined or dreamed about buying some at the Bulk Barn recently...

But, I improvised a non-cornmeal muffin, and the result was tasty enough to share. These are inspired by the Whole Wheat Muffin recipe in Jean Paré's Company's Coming: Muffins and More p. 37 - an old standby of mine, and a very forgiving & easily retooled recipe.

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Mix together:
• 1/2 cup garfava bean flour
• 1/2 cup brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup quinoa flour
• 1/2 cup tapioca flour
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• dash of salt
• 1 tbsp flax seed, ground in coffee grinder (not the one you use for coffee!)

Add to this dry mixture:
• 1 cup + 3 tbsp soy milk
• 1 tbsp liquid sweetner (I used agave)
• 1/4 cup canola oil.

Stir thoroughly. Fill greased muffin cups to the top. Bake for 20 minutes. Serve warm. Good with chili.


Makes 8-10 muffins.

Phebe's Famous Chocolate Cake - My most requested recipe!

Here it is, at long last. I think pretty much anyone who's ever eaten this cake has asked me for the recipe, and many people have told me it's the best chocolate cake they've had. It is incredibly moist and not too sweet. I got the original version from a Sunrise Tofu Cookbook ages and ages ago (I don't even have the original book anymore) and have tweaked it since.

• Preheat oven to 350 F.
Mix together:
• 1 c. cocoa powder
• 1 & 1/2 c. flour (see note)
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. cloves
• 1/2 tsp. ginger
• a dash of salt

In a separate bowl beat together:
• 1 cup canola oil
• 1 cup sugar (see note)
• egg replacer equal to 3 eggs (see note)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Add to wet ingredients:
1 medium zucchini, top and end removed, with skin, finely grated.


In a blender or food processor, puree:
• 1 300 gram package of soft, silken or dessert tofu (see note)
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice

Add pureed tofu mixture alternately with dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.

Line one 9 x 13 rectangular pan or 2 smaller (8-10 inch?) cake pans (if you want a layer cake) with waxed paper. Fill the pan/each pan to about 1 or 3/4 inch from the top.

Cake is done when inserted toothpick comes out clean (40-45 minutes).

Don't remove the cake from pan until it has at least partly cooled. It will fall apart.

Frost when completely cool.

I've used lots of different kinds of frosting on this cake. The most basic one is:

• 1/2 c. softened non-hydrogenated vegan shortening
• 1/2 cup softened non-hydrogenated vegan margarine
• 1 tsp pure vanilla or other  flavouring (adding a tsp of instant coffee granules is very tasty).
• 1/4 cup of cocoa powder (can use more or less depending on how chocolatey you want it)
• 3-4 cups icing/confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons non-dairy milk (soy, almond, coconut)

Blend the fats and flavouring with a whisk or electric mixer. Add in just enough sugar till the frosting texture is a bit dry and clumpy. Then add in the "milk." Add in more sugar if needed to bring frosting to a spreadable consistency.

 Notes:
• Typically, I use either unbleached white flour or whole wheat pastry flour. For a gluten free cake (the one you see here that says "congrats Dr. Dilia" is gluten free) I use 1/4 cup bean flour, 1/4 cup brown rice flour, 1/2 cup quinoa flour and 1/2 cup tapioca flour. These measurements are approximate, since I basically just spooned the different flours into two measuring cups until they were full. I don't think the ratios are as important as having a mix of flours. When I make a gluten free cake, I use flax as my egg replacer. See more gluten-free baking tips.
• I typically use granulated raw cane sugar but I have made this recipe successfully with white sugar or a combo of brown sugar and white sugar
• I have used several different things in place of eggs with success. I have used soft or dessert tofu, if I have a bigger package than the recipe calls for (3 Tbsp pureed tofu = one egg). I have also used ground flax seeds (1 Tbsp ground flax seeds + 3 Tbsp water =  1 egg). I have also used corn starch or pre-mixed starched-based egg replacer  (1 tbsp + 4 tbsp water for each egg). This is really a very forgiving recipe in terms of what binder you use, because the tofu, and possibly the zucchini as well, already provide some binding capacity.
• The exact amount of tofu isn't really that important, as long as you get it in the ballpark. I have used slightly smaller packages and slightly larger packages than the recipe calls for with success. And, as I noted above, if the package is a bit too big, you can use the extra as the egg replacer. If it's, say, a 500 gram package, just estimate a little less than half, scoop that our of the package and toss it in the blender. I've never had this cake fail on me, and I mess around with the proportions all the time.

I took this photo of a green smoothie

I don't remember which smoothie it was. Clearly, it had kale in it. I wanted to post it cause it's pretty! (If you haven't made a green smoothie, they generally turn out this colour, unless they have a lot of dark coloured berries in them, or chocolate).

Fluffy Pancakes with Berry Sauce and Tofu "Bacon"

Pancakes

My pancake recipe is based on the pancake recipe on p. 133 of Jean Paré's Company's Coming: Muffins and More (I love her books. Many of her recipes - particularly her baking ones - are very easy to veganize).

• 1 C white flour
• 1 C whole wheat flour
• 1 Tbsp sugar (optional)
• 1 Tbsp baking power
• pinch of salt
• 1 Tbsp corn starch or mixed-starch egg replacer

Mix the above ingredients together. Make a well in the centre, then add in:

• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 1 1/2 cups soy or almond milk
• 1/4 cup water or soy/almond milk

Stir batter together until just mixed. Drop spoonfuls of batter onto a hot, greased pan or griddle (you know it's hot enough when water flicked onto it 'dances' or bubbles quickly to nothing). When bubbles appear in the pancakes, flip them.

Variations:

Chocolate Chip Pancakes: Add 1/2 cup chocolate chips to finished batter.
Blueberry Pancakes: Mix 1/2 to 2/4 cup blueberries into dry ingredients before adding wet ingredients.
Banana Pecan Pancakes: Add 1 chopped banana and 1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped pecans to the finished batter.

Fruit Sauce

Put about 1 Cup of blueberries, strawberries or mixed berries in a pan with a few tablespoons of water, just enough to keep the berries from sticking to the pan.
Cook berries on medium heat until they begin to bubble and break down.
Mash berries with a potato masher.
Mix 1 Tbsp of cornstarch and 2 Tbsp of sugar with enough water to make a smooth paste.
Add the cornstarch mixture into berries, while stirring over low heat.
Continue to stir the berries on low heat until they form a thick sauce. Taste them, and add more sugar to taste if necessary. You can also add cinnamon for flavour, if desired.

Tofu "Bacon"

I can't really take credit for this recipe because it's something my ex used to make. I have no idea where she got the recipe, which I never got from her. Luckily, I've managed to reproduce the flavour on my own, since I more-or-less knew how it was made.

• 1/2 block firm or extra firm tofu, drained, with excess water squeezed out, cut into strips 1/4 inch thick or even thinner. (Can use frozen and defrosted firm tofu as well.)
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp Maple Syrup
About 4 drops natural liquid smoke
about 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast

Coat a cast iron frying pan (preferable) with a generous amount of canola oil, though not enough to deep-fry. Fry tofu on medium heat, flipping once, until it is crisp and golden brown on each side.

While it is frying, mix the three liquid ingredients together. When the tofu is fried to golden, pour 1/2 this mixture over it. It will bubble and hiss a lot. You might want to turn the heat on your burner down a bit beforehand, or it could smoke due to the sugar content.

Once the bubbling has gone down a little, sprinkle nutritional yeast liberally over the pieces. Flip them over. Pour the remainder of the liquid over the tofu. Again, for the bubbling to subside a bit, and sprinkle with nutritional yeast.

This might not be the most healthy food ever, but it's probably more healthy than pork and it is really quite deliciously salty, sweet and crispy, and an excellent compliment to pancakes or sandwich filler. (Try it in a BLT!)

Lentil Dal with Nan, Jasmine Rice and Steamed Veggies

From Fresh From the Vegetarian Slowcooker by Robin Robertson, p. 103. I give it 4/5 stars. Could be spicier, and haven't quite figured out what to add to make it so.

The nan pictured here is store-bought.

Sticky "Wings" and Glazed Veggies

I got this idea from the ever wonderful Vegan Dad. Instead of making his seitan recipe, however,  I usually make my okara seitan forming it into wing-sized bits and baking it as usual on parchment paper, then coating each piece with Vegan Dad's sticky sauce and then putting them back into the oven to heat through and get all gooey. I also cut his sauce recipe in half, since I find it makes way too much for the two of us. Generally, I serve the wings with rice and vegetables. Here, they're served with veggies fresh from the farmer's market, glazed with 2 tbsp marmalade and 1 tbsp margarine. (Basically, just mix margarine and marmalade around in the veggies as soon as they're done steaming). Another glaze I like is 2 tbsp apricot jam, 1 tbsp margarine and 1 tsp grated orange peel. Yum!