Gluten-free Gourmand

For years I've been trying to develop the best possible hamburger bun.  I tried lots of combinations of eggs, flours, milk, water, oil - you name it.  Then I decided to create a ciabatta recipe, and realized that it's 2-in-1.  This ciabatta bread makes not only perfect panini, but also perfect hamburger buns.  And there's no milk or eggs! Now, I realize that "real" ciabatta is made from a much longer, more artisan-style process, sort of like a sour dough.  This recipe is just a simple double-rise yeasted bread dough.  I may try to develop a recipe for a more traditional process, but that will come down the road.  This version is simple and effective, and anyone can accomplish great bread in about an hour and a half.   This bread recipe gives you the best hole structure and the most open crumb of any of my bread recipes. Ciabatta Bread Recipe Makes four 4-inch square ciabattas For this recipe you will need: -...

What is Pizza crust but a flat bread?  I have been experimenting with my bread recipes lately and decided to try cooking one on the grill.  To my delight, it worked wonderfully!  No, it doesn't fall through the grill or break apart.  In fact, as it cooks it firms up nicely and I was able to flip the crust with tongs.  The crust gets a nice char and the cheese adopts a wonderful smokey flavor.  Once I figured out this recipe, I was finally able to taste the delights of BBQ pizza! Recipe for BBQ Pizza Dough Prep time: 5 minutes Rest time: 20-30 minutes (fastest method)  Cook time: 5-10 minutes Makes two 10 to 12-inch pizzas Ingredients and other things you will need: 225g GF Bread Flour Blend 1 TBSP sugar 1/2 tsp salt 15g whole psyllium husk or 10g ground psyllium husk 225g Warm Water 2 tsp. Apple Cider Vinegar 1 TBSP olive oil 1 tsp yeast Parchment Paper extra oil for the grill tongs paper towels toppings I use a charcoal ...

I'm not sure if any of you noticed, but I took a bit of a hiatus from blogging this summer.  I also took a hiatus from cooking.  It has been a hot one here in Portland, Oregon this summer!  Last summer I baked bread all summer long trying to develop the best bread flour mix for all of you here.  This summer I made bread only twice.  Baking wasn't at the top of my list when the kitchen was already 90 degrees! I also travelled quite a bit this summer.  I attended a cousin's wedding back home in Carson City, Nevada where I grew up.  I helped rescue a hawk with a broken wing there.  (We called W.A.I.F. and they came and picked up the bird.)  I stayed at a fire lookout tower in southern Oregon.  I went to a family reunion in Bend.  I did quite a bit of camping, and my garden is going gangbusters! Now I'm back at home and ready to dig in and cook up some new recipes.  Something to look forward to this autumn will be some really ...

Xanthan gum and guar gum have been the default binders for gluten-free baking in the United States for years.  However, these substances have their limitations.  They have no nutrient value, for starters.  Then there's the fact that they don't give you much in the way of flexibility or strength in your final baked good.  Did you ever make a gluten-free cupcake that tasted like cardboard and crumbled apart in your hand as you tried to eat it?  Even though you put twice as much liquid into the recipe than you would have for "regular"flour?  You can blame xanthan gum for that. The best binders out there for your gluten-free baking may not be what you thought they were.  Chia, flax, and psyllium are the "it" girls of gluten-free bread baking right now.   I'll tell you why and how. Chia Seed  Origin: Mexico and Central America Remember the Chia Pet?  The same seeds that you might have used to coat a clay doll to grow green "ha...

I like this recipe because it doesn't rely too heavily on the flour.  Any recipe that has as much chocolate and butter as it does flour is okay by my.  This method of making cake batter results in a spectacular spongy structure.  If you would like to make this with regular gluten-ful flour, simply substitute it out by volume and omit the chia seed if desired. I adapted both of these recipes from the Joy of Cooking , which I use constantly for recipe inspiration. Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe Makes 9 large or 12 small cupcakes Have all ingredients at room temperature.  Heat the oven to 350 F. Whisk together in a medium mixing bowl, then set aside: 1/2 cup gluten-free cake flour,  pastry flour , or 1:1 gluten-free flour 1/2 cup dutch processed cocoa 1/4 tsp salt + a pinch 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp chia seed, very finely ground In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream with the paddle attachment for 30 seconds: 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter ...

Making your own DIY rhubarb-infused vodka isn't tricky at all.  All you need is two ingredients: rhubarb and vodka.  The only hard part is waiting the five days until it's ready before drinking it. Preparation: 1. Have handy a large mason jar or sealable glass container large enough to accommodate the amount of vodka you have.  Chop rhubarb in 3/4-inch pieces to almost fill it, leaving about an inch or two free at the top of the container. 2. Pour the vodka over the rhubarb in the jar and fill to the top. 3. Seal the jar tightly. 4. Shake it. 5. Place the jar in a dark spot in your cupboard for five days.  Shake the jar occasionally to get everything stirred up. 6. When the rhubarb has infused the vodka sufficiently, the color of the liquid will be pink.  Taste the infusion to see if it's to your liking.  Leaving it for a few more days will make it stronger. My jar lost a little volume during the tasting process. 7. Strain the vodka throug...

I like sweet things, but I don't like things too sweet.  Strawberry Rhubarb pie is usually too sweet for me.  The point for me isn't the strawberries; it's the rhubarb.  This recipe features both flavors without overwhelming either.  It's not nearly as sweet as most strawberry pie recipes.  Who needs all that sugar?  It has a lovely tart flavor but doesn't overwhelm the strawberries.  My rhubarb came up early this year and is flourishing.  The stalks aren't incredibly red, though, so the strawberries help out with the color. Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Recipe First you must have on hand a gluten-free pie crust .  If you are making this from scratch it takes about a half-hour so plan ahead.  You can make the pie filling before rolling out the dough while it's refrigerating to save time, or the crust can be made the day before and stored in the fridge if needed.  Once that is finished the making of the pie is very quick and ea...

If you've never tried guanciale, you should check it out.  It's like bacon, only better.  Made from the jowl of the pig, guanciale is the best part of the animal once it's cured. Guanciale is the central umame flavor in Pasta Amatriciana, a rustic pasta dish from Italy.  It's simple to make and, thanks to the guanciale, it's incredibly delicious. If you use the concept of prepping and cooking at the same time, this easy dish is very quick to make. Pasta Amatriciana Recipe Prep/Cook time: 30 minutes Serves 2-3 Set your water to boil for the pasta and, at the same time, put a large pan on the stove to heat up on medium heat.  Toss in the pan: some lardons of guanciale While all that is heating up, cut up some: shallots Toss those in the pan with the guanciale that's rendering.   Cut into chunks: 1 pound fresh or frozen tomatoes By this time the water should be at a boil.  When this is indeed the case, start cooking: 8 oz. pasta...

In celebration of Cinco de Mayo, I thought I'd post a really great enchilada recipe that my cooking partner  and I came up with using my braised chicken tacos recipe .  This is the perfect way to use up some day-old corn tortillas.  Since you stack the enchilada instead of rolling, the tortillas are easier to manage. Chicken Enchiladas Verde Recipe makes 2-4 servings In a heavy saucepan, heat: 1 Tbsp olive oil Once the olive oil is hot, brown on both sides, one or two at a time: 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs Brown them one at a time if necessary; don't crowd them in the pan.  Once there is nice browning on the bottom of the pan remove the chicken to a plate and pour in: 1/2 cup beer Scrape up the browning from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.  This browning makes the sauce deliciously rich.  Once the pan is completely deglazed, add the chicken back in and top the chicken with: salsa verde more beer if...

What are scones?  In short, they are my favorite pastry.  I think of scones often, so I thought I'd share a little bit about them with you, my readers. Scones can be called a quick bread, a pastry, a tea cake.  However, they are most like a biscuit in structure.  The most traditional type of scone is made like a biscuit in that the fat - in this case butter - is cut into the flour to form chunks of fat in the dough.  When the scones are cooked the butter melts and leaves pockets of air in the scone.  This gives the little cakes a flakier texture. Scones can be sweet or savory and made with all sorts of different flour blends and liquids.  They originated in Scotland.  The traditional Scottish scone would be made with white flour, butter, sugar, salt, and cream.  They might also traditionally be made with barley flour or oat flour.  Baking powder and/or baking soda are usually added for leavening.  Currants are often used for ...

This winter I came up with many new bread recipes which I published here on my blog.  All of them involved my bread mixes which came out last fall and which I ship anywhere in the United States.  One day on my Facebook page I got this comment from a reader in response to my vegan sandwich bread recipe: Samantha Matete and I ended up swapping a bunch of messages about gluten-free bread making which eventually resulted in my blog post about how to make your own gluten-free bread flour blend .  Samantha ended up trying some of the ideas that I threw out.  I was excited to see pictures of her loaves once she did some experimenting. Here are some notes from Samantha about what she did on these loaves of bread: "Well I am definitely hooked on your bread recipes that I have been querying you about! The first 2 photos are following the vegan sandwich bread recipe and method. The 3rd photo is following the teff bread recipe and the 4th was a reci...

Did you know that I've had various sales going on over the last week for my  gluten-free flours ?  No?  Well here's how to get in the loop! Sign up for my email newsletter.  Just put your email in the box at the top of the left column. Follow my  Facebook Page . Follow me on Twitter  @GFGourmand . I also put my recipes up on  Pinterest . Join this blog or follow the RSS feed.  Find buttons in the left column. Follow me on  Google Plus . Thanks for following!

When it comes to sterilizing things, I subscribe to the notion that Americans do it too much.  Harsh chemicals in a home kitchen can be dangerous for humans and the environment.  However, there are times when it's necessary to sanitize things.  When I got my license to mix and package my baking mixes for Gluten-free Gourmand the inspector told me that I had to sanitize all equipment after washing it in a chemical sanitizer.  I hate using chlorine - talk about harmful to the environment - but he let me know that I could use iodine instead if I wanted.  It's quite a bit more eco-friendly since the substance occurs naturally. As a bonus it's really inexpensive.  You can get a small bottle in most pharmacies or drug stores for a few dollars or less, and a little goes a long way.  I think this is a good kitchen tip to share around. Iodine isn't for everything.  It's a dark brown color, so it can stain things, especially white plastics.  I have ...