Gluten-free Gourmand

The Julia Childs croissant recipe takes 24 hours.  I don't want to brag here, but my new croissant recipe only takes six!  Croissants aren't easy, but I've taken the tricky bits out.  These crescent rolls are even better than if you took an extra18 hours to make them. The traditional method of making croissants calls for a laborious task called "laminating" that takes up lots of time and labor.  This recipe uses a technique typically seen in other types of pastries and biscuits - cutting in the butter.  This is much faster than laminating and doesn't take much in the way of technique.  So never fear, you do not need to get a degree from the Cordon Bleu to make these tasty pastries! Croissant Recipe, Quicker and Easier Mix time:10 minutes Chill time: 60 minutes Rolling/shaping time: 30 minutes Rise time: 3-4 hours Cook time: 20 minutes Yield: 8-12 croissants In a food processor, or in a medium mixing bowl, blend together: ...

What kind of recipe would you like to have in gluten-free form? Last spring I took a poll on my Facebook page asking what kind of GF recipes people wanted to see on my blog.  I had some really intense challenges set before me, things that were highly technical and required a steep learning curve.  You know, the kinds of challenges that I love to take on.  Nine batches of croissants later at 22 hours per batch, and I had my first recipe challenge completed.  That was only the beginning.  I quickly realized that a whole new flour formula would be needed.  Croissants, technically, are a bread, not a pastry, and the ultimate request came from my mom, who wanted Danishes.  Who can deny their mom cheese Danishes? My gluten-free challenges last year made for some really prolific recipe invention.  I made a bread flour blend, learned how to make laminated pastries , and made the best-looking, fluffiest, hole-i-est gluten-free baguettes you've ever...

I'm not one for buying a million different cookie cutters.  I like to think of myself as way more DIY than that .  I can cut my own heart-shaped scones!  And I'll waste less precious scone dough with my method, too.  I decided that this Valentine's day is going to bring some beautiful heart-shaped scones to my plate, and they should be topped with a raspberry glaze. To make heart-shaped scones, you can use a traditional scone recipe , my vegan recipe , or the recipe below, a quick and easy egg-free recipe which is another old traditional recipe I love called Cream Scones.  You can even use my Scone Mix .  If you're not into raspberries, you can use any kind of jam to top these or just brush them with cream and serve them plain.  I also have a recipe for a kumquat glaze which is really pretty. To shape the scones, first cut them out as usual.  Form the dough into a circle, then cut the circle into eight triangles. Carefully place the ...

With Valentine's day coming up, you might be looking for a treat you can make for yourself - or your loved one, if he likes cookies.  But mostly yourself, right?  Most sugar cookie recipes make an ungodly number of cookies, but I for one never need 3 dozen of these guys.  This recipe is pretty easy and makes about a dozen cookies, so you can still fit into your Valentine's day outfit, sort of. Are you a gluten eater, or do you have a different GF flour on your shelf?  Just sub out cup-for-cup the flour that you have for my blend.  This recipe is very forgiving! Easy Sugar Cookies makes 1 dozen cookies With an electric beater or in a stand mixer, cream: 1/4 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter 1/2 cup sugar Cream these together for several minutes.  The blend should lighten and look fluffy.  Add: 1 egg 1/4 tsp vanilla Beat until creamy.  Add: 1 1/4 cup  Deluxe Pastry Flour 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/4 tsp salt Slowly beat the...

I've been working on this recipe for a while.  It was a request on a Facebook survey that I did last spring.  The fact that the request came from my mom inspired me more than a little, I guess.  I am taking some danishes over to my mom this afternoon for her to sample, and I'm so excited to see what she thinks.  I, for one, love these little treats. I modified this recipe from the Danish Pastry Dough recipe on Joe Pastry , a great resource for any technique that is pastry-related. Danish Recipe Makes 8-10 danishes. For this recipe you will need: - 225g  GF Bread Flour Blend - sugar - salt - psyllium husk - eggs - milk - apple cider vinegar - parchment paper - Cultured European style butter, preferably Lurpak - extra flour - I recommend potato starch This recipe takes several hours to make.  I recommend splitting it up into two days.  Any time the dough needs chilling you can extend that step overnight, as long as you wrap it i...

Do you want to experience the feeling of endless layers of buttery dough shattering against your teeth as you bite into a lovely pastry?  Then you need to make yourself some of these gluten-free croissants, because odds are that no one is going to make them for you.  It's hard to get good glutinous croissants let alone GF ones, so you will have to fend for yourself.  This recipe does take several hours to a day to prep, but it's worth the time and effort for fabulous, flaky, buttery gluten-free croissants. Note: This recipe takes about 24 hours.  If that's too long to wait for your croissants, check out my newer recipe, Quicker and Easier Croissants. I learned many things about croissant making and gluten-free dough while developing this recipe.  I've done a separate post on tips for making gluten-free croissants that you can read for more details.  I also have a post with more photos for laminating the dough that you should read before delving int...

I assure you that I am the most impatient cook ever.  If there is a step that can be skipped or a corner that can be cut I will skip and cut at the same time.  I tend to look at recipes as a collection of concepts, many of which are just the author's unscientific and convoluted way of going about making something that should be very straightforward.  I look at recipes for methods for creating something, then I modify that method and create something similar, but mine, and faster and better. Near-perfect croissants that split a little It's this tendency to change things and modify that makes croissants a tricky thing for me.  They are very dependent on technique and making them is very detail-oriented.  I'm more of a big picture person. It's also this tendency to change a recipe that allowed me to figure out how to make croissants gluten-free.  It's a long and grueling process to make the laminated dough.  I simplified it.  Trus...

These whole-grain scones are gluten-free and delicious.  Have them with your afternoon tea or for a hearty breakfast treat.  These scones are made with the traditional method and all the traditional ingredients - minus the gluten.  What is gluten anyway, except an impediment to soft, delicate scones?  With wheat flour you have to be careful not to manipulate pastries too much for fear the gluten will make them tough.  You don't have to worry about that with these gluten-free scones: they will come out soft and delicious. Whole-grain Blueberry Scone Recipe The secret to getting the right texture of scones is to keep everything cold while mixing.  Some people put the pastry cutter, butter, and bowl in the freezer for a few minutes before starting to keep everything cold enough. The coldness is necessary so the chunks of butter can form little pockets in the dough when they melt away in the oven.  This creates air space for the baking soda to do it...

I went to Australia earlier this year and did quite a bit of research before I left.  Local blogs in Melbourne and Sydney proved to be really helpful, along with dining sites that had gluten-free search options.  I thought I'd give back to the community by making a traveler's dining guide for Portland.  I'll only list the restaurants that I have personally eaten at and which have strong adherence to gluten-free safety.  There's a more comprehensive list over at Gluten-free Portland dot org. New Cascadia Traditional Bakery - This dedicated gluten-free bakery serves bread, pastries, coffee, pizzas, and sandwiches. Tula Bakery  - An excellent dedicated gluten-free bakery in Northeast Portland. Hawthorne Fish House - Almost all the food served at this establishment is gluten-free.  See the full review here . Deschutes Brewery - They bake their own gluten-free buns and bread sticks in a separate kitchen, and they brew their own gluten-free beer! ...

Imagine traveling to a new city, one you've never been to before.  You go downtown, and you walk into a random coffee shop.  There are loads of pastries in the case, but nothing looks likely to be something you can eat.  You ask anyway, out of habit.  The woman behind the register blandly replies, "We have several things that are gluten-free.  There's a chocolate muffin that's gluten-free, and we have several kinds of friands that are all gluten-free." That is what happened on my first day in Melbourne, Australia.  And it happened almost every day after that.  My mom and I were amazed at how many gluten-free things there are to eat in Australia.  I even found gluten-free treats in several airports, an occurrence that has never happened in the US.  Here is proof that I bought a GF pastry in the airport in Hobart, Tasmania: In honor of the great gluten-free trip I had, I bring you a taste of Australia.  Friands aren't something you f...

Gluten-free Gingerbread Cookie Recipe These cookies are easy enough to work with that you can do gingerbread people, plain circles, or other shapes. In a medium bowl, mix together: 1.5 C  Deluxe Pastry Flour 1/2 cup teff flour 1 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp xanthan gum (if your pastry mix doesn't already have it) 1/4 tsp salt 3 tsp ginger 1 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp ground cardamon 1/4 tsp ground cloves In a large bowl, beat for 3-3 minutes: 6 tsp softened butter 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 egg Add and beat for another minute or two: 1/3 cup molasses 1 tsp vanilla Stir in the dry ingredients a bit at a time until everything is thoroughly blended.  If the dough is very sticky, add a little more pastry flour one tablespoon at a time and beat or knead it in.  The dough should feel manageable at this point.  Divide it in half and wrap the two dough balls in wax paper.  Let them rest for 2-8 hours at room temperature, o...