gluten free baking

Rhubarb Crumb Pie…A Spring Treat

Rhubarb is getting plentiful so it can be a good choice for your first gluten free pie recipe.  You can buy it fresh at your local farmer’s market.  The Hellertown Farmers Market opened today; up at their new location; the field right next to the Hellertown Area Library.  I bet there was some rhubarb to be had! They are there every Sunday until November from 9 am to 1 pm. There is free off street parking available.  Get there early before all the good stuff is sold!

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This is an easy pie even though it has several steps.  It is different from the usual rhubarb pie because the texture is a bit closer to a crumb cake, no wet, faintly slimy texture and no ultra sour flavor.  I think this new version tastes as good as it did when I made it with wheat based flour.

This GF crust will work for any pie you wish and the GF crumb topping is great for any crumb pie topper.  I store any leftover crumb mixture in a sealed container in the fridge; keeps a few weeks.  What I am giving you is my mixture of three recipes with some small modifications over time – it was my first GF pie recipe, from nearly two years ago.  I know it has several steps but each one is easy and you can use these crust and crumb recipes for other pies.

Yes, this is a re-run post but it is so good that I knew some of you who are new to my blog might want to see it. Bake and enjoy!

Angie’s GF Rhubarb Crumb Pie

Crust:

1 c plus 2 tbsp brown rice flour mix (at bottom of recipe)

2 tbsp sweet rice flour

1 Tbsp. granulated sugar

½ tsp xanthan gum

¼ tsp salt

6 Tbsp. cold butter cut into 6 chunks

1 large egg

2 tsp fresh orange or lemon juice

Spray 9 inch metal pie pan with cooking spray, dust with white rice flour.

Mix dry ingredients in bowl of stand electric mixer.  Add butter and mix until crumbly and resembling coarse meal.  Add egg and juice.  Mix until it comes together into big chunks.  Shape into a ball with your hands. Put it on a crust sized piece of wax paper (14 x 14 inches more or less), flatten the crust ball some; put on top of it another piece of wax paper and chill it all in your fridge 15-20 minutes while you chop the rhubarb into ½ inch chunks.

Filling:

44 to 4.5 cups cut up fresh rhubarb – place in medium bowl

Mix with

2/3 – 1 c sugar (as much as you like; I use the lesser amount)

¼ c brown rice flour mix (see below recipe)

½ tsp nutmeg

Sprinkle – up to 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Roll out pie crust between the two sheets of wax paper, try to get the thickness even, no thick middle! Peel off one side of paper and place in pie pan, centered.  Remove other slice of wax paper.  Crimp edges all around.  Fill with dry rhubarb mix.  Pour evenly over this mixture:  3 eggs beaten lightly with 1/3 c milk (not skim), and ¼ tsp almond extract.

Crumb topping

Put all four ingredients in the same mixing bowl you made the bottom crust in and mix well with mixer paddle until crumbs form.

¾ c brown rice flour mix

½ c sugar

½ tsp xanthan gum

1/3 c cold butter cut into six chunks

Sprinkle the top of the pie with crumb mix; use as much as you like.  I like about 2/3 of the mixture.  Up to your personal taste… It sinks into the rhubarb and wet mixture to create an almost cake like texture and the crumb crust adds lots of sweetness and eye appeal.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 55-60 minutes until bubbly and the crust is light brown.  Cool at least 2 to 4 hours before serving at room temperature.

Brown Rice Flour Mix
2 c brown rice flour

2/3 c potato starch

1/3 c tapioca flour

Marvelous Chocolate Cake: One Layer, No Fuss

Nothing satisfies quite like a thick slice of homemade chocolate cake.  This dessert is my favorite chocolate fix these days.  It is a simple one bowl recipe.  I love that I can make it with ingredients I usually have around.  It is not too sweet which is good as I am not supposed to eat as much sugar as I have been doing.  It only makes one layer which I like because there are less leftovers for me to snack on.  Best of all, it is moist and tender and addictive.  I made it on the fly this weekend for a belated birthday celebration, out of milk, no problem; this recipe uses water, out of butter; fine as it is made with vegetable oil.  No chocolate; okay…it uses cocoa powder.  I have made it 2-3 times.  It is from well known blogger and prolific cookbook author Nicole Hunn.  Unfortunately she doesn’t allow other bloggers to give her recipes. So I will honor that and just give you a link to her site; look it up and next time you need a quick cake, this is your recipe! This time I put a chunky peanut butter icing on top.  Utter perfection in the chocolate cake department.

It has a lot of unsweetened cocoa powder, sour cream, 2 eggs, canola oil,  baking powder, water and some gluten free flour mix: I like a mock Better Batter recipe I found on Nicole Hunn’s blog. Use your favorite blend and I am guessing it will be good; this is a very reliable recipe.  So easy: you put the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, stir good and add the wet ingredients one at a time stirring well with a spoon.  Pour it into a greased 9 inch cake pan and bake 30 to 35 minutes.  Let cool ten minutes and turn out to cool.  More than ten minutes and you run the risk of your cake seriously sticking.  Do not frost it warm.

I will say that my latest cake was made with 2 tbsp. less cocoa powder than the recipe on line. I liked it just fine; not quite as dark.  My peanut butter icing is simple and spectacular.  We love it made with chunky but you can use smooth peanut butter if that is your preference. For this cake I only iced the top; double this if you use it for all over or for a 2 layer cake. I used a square 9 inch cake pan; love that square look.  I also used my magic cake strip; silver fabric strip that you soak in water and put around the pan before it goes in the oven. It keeps the edges from drying out and you get a more level cake.  For the square pan which is too much perimeter; I just used one and clipped it on with 2 clothes pins; worked great.  You can buy them on-line and they really work to make your cake level and keep the edges moist.

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The last two slices; cut on the long side and it is taking every ounce of my willpower not to eat one right now!

This is an awesome cake; people rave about it, people who eat wheat every day and know what a great cake can taste like.  You can make it; so easy; no mixer, one bowl, simple ingredients, no fuss and fantastic results. Go on her website; this fantastic chocolate cake recipe is to be found at http://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/.  Click on recipes, type in chocolate cake, it is the “One Bowl GF Chocolate Cake” recipe.  Leave in all the cocoa if you like it extra dark.  She also gives a great ganache recipe for topping the cake.  Dark on dark chocolate: always a winner!  Check out the rest of her site; fantastic gluten free recipes.  I love the look of them and you may well find a recipe for your next special dessert to impress whomever you bake for.

Lemon Honey Flourless Cake with Candied Lemon Slices

Cake….always a party pleaser.  I enjoy it on special occasions but confess it is not one of the things I am good at baking, never was even when I could use regular flours.  And don’t get me started on the birthday cake curse I am crouching underneath.  But sometimes you just need that fancy dessert that serves a crowd and makes everyone happy.  This cake is fairly easy to make, is gluten free and has great lemon flavor. The honey is more of an undertone. Each bite has a satisfying texture due to the almond flour, not heavy but not light with a lovely moisture built in from the honey and olive oil. The tiny bit of potato starch helps make that great texture. No butter either; extra virgin olive oil does the trick. Make sure your eggs and whites are all at room temperature for maximum loft when whipped.

The candied lemon slices take a bit of effort but look great on top. I know I was happy with the results when I bit into my slice of yummy cake!

This recipe comes from Food Network’s test kitchens and I made only minor changes, used slightly less water making the syrup as it seemed too thin even after simmering 20 minutes and no pomegranate seeds for on top; it is spring and pomegranates are a fall fruit. I looked; none to be found. I used a half pint of fresh raspberries and they were perfect – added great color and flavor.

If you can get Meyer lemons they are recommended because of their awesome flavor but I used the usual ones from the grocery store and they worked out fine. I thought the candied slices were tasty although a couple of guests who didn’t much like lemon skipped their candied lemon while still enjoying the cake itself.  It is a very impressive looking cake with a tender moist texture. Extra syrup on top is a tempting option!

I put all my pictures together in a chunk; they can be annoying sprinkled through out the recipe when you are trying to make it.  I often use my tablet to make my own recipes straight off my blog posts so I know what I am talking about here!

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Flourless Lemon Honey Cake with Candied Lemon

Ingredients

¼ cup EVOL plus more to grease pan

1 ¾ cup almond flour plus more to dust the pan

1/3 cup potato starch

½ tsp. salt

1 ½ cups sugar

2/3 cup honey

3 lemons; two zested and juiced and the third sliced very thinly

4 eggs separated

2 egg whites

½ tsp. vanilla extract

¼ tsp. almond extract

Chopped or slivered almonds; ¼-1/3 cup

½ pint fresh raspberries

Directions:

Brush the sides and bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan which you lined the bottom with a round of parchment paper; brush with EVOL and dust with almond flour.  Put rack in middle level in oven.  Heat oven to 325 degrees.

Mix flour, starch and salt in medium bowl.  Combine ½ cup sugar, 1/3 cup honey, lemon zest, 4 egg yolks, vanilla and almond extract in mixer bowl.  Mix on medium high until creamy; about 3 minutes.  Reduce the speed to low, beat in the flour mixture just until blended.

In a separate clean bowl beat the 6 egg whites until foamy, about a minute.  Gradually beat in ½ cup sugar until stiff glossy peaks form, 3 minutes maybe 4.  Gently fold about 1/3 of the beaten egg whites into the cake batter, and then fold in the rest of the whites until just barely incorporated.  Pour batter into prepared pan.  Bake until golden brown and springs back when pressed lightly; 50-55 minutes.  Place pan on a cake rack to cool completely.

While it is baking you should make the candied lemon slices.  Put the slices in a small saucepan, cover with water, bring to a simmer over high heat; maybe 3 minutes.  Drain, return to pan and cover with fresh water, repeat the heating.  Do this three times total. It gets the bitterness out of the unpeeled slices. Put the slices back in the pan; add the remaining ½ cup sugar, 1/3 cup honey, the lemon juice of the two lemons and 3/4 cup water.  Bring to a simmer over high heat, reduce heat to medium, cook, stir occasionally.  Cook until lemon slices are tender and the honey liquid is thickened; becomes like a syrup; about 20-25 minutes.  Set aside to cool.

Unmold the cake: run a knife around the edge of the pan, remove pan.  Flip cake to take off parchment paper.  Place on a serving plate.  Use a fork to remove the lemon slices from the syrup and brush the cake all over with some of the lemon syrup.  Then decorate the cake with them. Sprinkle with the raspberries and pass the leftover lemon honey syrup along with the cake.

Serves 8-10.

Delicious Gluten Free French Bread – Easy and Fast

When my family asks for gluten free bread this is my go to recipe.  It always tastes great; the original came from food.com.  I have modified it slightly. I think it is better for my changes.  If you don’t like brown rice flour use double the white rice.  In my opinion the brown rice makes the flavor more like the real deal.  Don’t change anything in the recipe until you have made it a couple of times.  It is a remarkably forgiving bread.  The original recipe came from food.com

french bread pan

The only thing is you really need a French bread pan; metal, zillions of tiny holes, makes two loaves.  I can’t see how to successfully make this without my French bread pan. Just get one! I made this bread several times a year and get many compliments from people who don’t need to eat gluten free.

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It is very easy and quick to mix up.  You need to keep an eye on it rising; should be in a warm but not hot location.  Sometimes I turn on my oven and let it heat to 105 degrees upon which I turn it off and put in the bread.  Just warm enough and no drafts inside there.  Don’t over rise it or it will deflate; disaster! Once it is getting close to ready you need to preheat the oven; take the bread out first if yours is rising in there…

It is still tasty the next day.  Makes good crumbs, great croutons if you fry it in some olive oil and garlic and if you slice extra thin this bread is excellent with a cheese course if you are into that sort of thing.

These pictures below are of my golden raisin French bread – they illustrate the process, look very much the same and I don’t have any photographs of the basic French bread in the rising process.  I will snap some next time I make it.

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Gluten Free French Bread

Makes two loaves

1 cup white rice flour

1 cup brown rice flour

1 cup tapioca flour

3 tsp. xanthan gum

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp. sugar

1 ½ cups lukewarm water; about 90-95 degrees

1 tbsp. yeast

2 tbsp. melted butter

2 large eggs or 3 egg whites, room temp. I use the two whole eggs generally.

1 tsp. cider vinegar

Directions:

Put the flours, gum and salt in bowl of stand mixer, blend.

In two cup measuring cup or small bowl dissolve yeast and sugar in the lukewarm water; let stand 3-5 minutes until foamy.

Dump into the dry ingredients; add the butter, egg whites, and vinegar.  Beat on high for 3 minutes.

Spray French bread pans, those ones with the tiny holes everywhere and the half round shape; spray them with cooking spray and dust all over with yellow cornmeal.

Glop in the bread dough; it will be like soft putty.  Smooth the top with your fingers that you dampened in water.  Cut 3 slashes diagonally on the top. Sprinkle it with more cornmeal if you like.  I often do that.

Let rise for 30 minutes until doubled.  Bake in pre-heated 400 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes.

Cool before slicing.  It doesn’t have to be stone cold to slice but cutting it hot is a bad idea; gets all gummy….not a good thing.

This is a version of a recipe I found on food.com. I put in brown rice flour and use whole eggs.  I also have a version with orange rind, golden raisins and fennel seeds elsewhere on my blog.

Fennel Italian Bread, Fantastico!

When my family asks for French bread I have just one great recipe I love: the base recipe for this posted bread is my go-to recipe.  It always tastes great; the original came from food.com, I have modified that recipe somewhat. I think it is better for my changes.  I have made it like 10 times.  This is a recent variation I created adding some extra ingredients. I think it isn’t too raisiny: the golden chunks are very attractive and tasty in the fresh bread.  The fennel is critical to make the flavor pop while the orange zest adds a nice undertone. This is the best bread I have made since going gluten free.

I served it to my family with some homemade shrimp cannelloni and it was a perfect combination.  You can butter your slice for extra yumm but it is still delish without butter. I bet it would go great with ham for Easter luncheon.

This dough is very easy and quick to mix up.  You need to keep an eye on it rising; should be in a warm but not hot location.  Sometimes I turn on my oven and let it heat to 105 degrees upon which I turn it off and put in the bread.  Just warm enough and no drafts inside there.  Once it is getting close to ready you need to preheat the oven; take the bread out first if yours is rising in there!

My sisters loved this bread, Karen said it was like a “religious experience” eating it; she had four slices! Snuck the fourth when I left the room to get some water… And they both love good French bread and are not GF either so if they adored it that says something!

It is still tasty the next day.  I think it would make fantastic French toast. 

These pictures are all together for your convenience: in order of the recipe; the dry ingredients, the bread dough in the stand mixer, same dough with the added raisins and fennel seeds, the bread before rising, after rising just as I put it in th oven, freshly baked and a lovely slice about to be eaten by me!

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Gluten Free Fennel Italian Bread

Makes two loaves

1 cup white rice flour

1 cup brown rice flour; throw it briefly in the blender if it isn’t finely ground

1 cup tapioca flour

3 tsp. xanthan gum

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp. sugar

1 ½ cups lukewarm water; about 90-95 degrees

1 tbsp. yeast

½ tsp. ginger

2 tbsp. melted butter

3 egg whites, room temp.

1 tsp. cider vinegar

3/4 cup golden raisin

1 ½ tsp. fennel seed

1 tsp. orange zest

Directions:

Put the flours, gum and salt in bowl of stand mixer, blend. Add the zest, beat briefly to blend.

In two cup measuring cup or small bowl dissolve yeast, ginger, and sugar in the lukewarm water; let stand 3-5 minutes until foamy.

Dump into the dry ingredients; add the butter, egg whites and vinegar.  Beat on high for 3 minutes. Add the raisins and fennel; beat on med low for 20-30 seconds to blend it in.

While the three minute beating goes on, spray French bread pans, those ones with the tiny holes everywhere and the half round shape; spray them with cooking spray and dust all over with yellow cornmeal.

Glop the bread dough in blobs close together into the pans to make two loaves; it will be like soft putty.  Smooth the top with your fingers that you dampened in water.  Try to push in any raisins right on the surface. Cut 3 slashes diagonally on the top.  Sprinkle with a touch of cornmeal.

Let rise for 30 minutes until doubled.  Bake in pre-heated 400 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes until golden.

Cool at least 10 minutes before slicing into thick pieces.