Thursday, February 17, 2011
postings scant for a week or so
Folks, my postings will be scant for the next 10 days or so - work conflicts. Thanks for your understanding!
Monday, February 14, 2011
Quick pressure cooked hummus
In keeping with my 'do it quick but do it cheap' theme I'm going to share with you a favorite recipe of mine: Hummus. It's quick, it's easy, and it is cheap.
In keeping with my 'cheap' theme, here's a tip: Shop around, when convenient, for prices on dried beans/peas. I find my local supermarket has them for about double what a local health food store charges.
Now, for the directions.
Ingredients:
1 cup chick peas
1/2 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup olive oil
First, check the chickpeas for foreign objects. All you have to do for this is put them in a bowl, pour water on them, then move them around with your hands or a spoon. Any dirt should dissolve, and stones should (hopefully!) sink. Keep your eyes open!
Add the chickpeas to the pressure cooker, with 4 cups of water. Close the lid, lock in place, and bring to pressure according to your particular cooker's instruction manual. Turn down the heat and cook for 50 minutes or so, adjusting the heat to maintain even pressure. Release the pressure rapidly (as per your cooker's manual), or set to one sit and let it release naturally.
Pour off the water, retaining a cup or 2 in a bowl. Using: a) an immersion blender b) a potato masher or c) placing the beans in a food processor, process them until they are a smooth consistency. Next, add the cumin, salt, and olive oil -- as well as garlic, lemon juice, or anything else to taste.
Serve with some of the gluten free white rice bread, rice, rice cakes, and a salad.
It DOES take 50 minutes for the beans to cook BUT:
1. You can double this recipe and eat it for quite some time.
2. For the 50 minutes it is cooking you need to be aware of the pressure cooker but not otherwise involved.
3. It is tasty.
You can also use 2 cans of pre-made chickpeas, which will make it even easier.
Enjoy.
In keeping with my 'cheap' theme, here's a tip: Shop around, when convenient, for prices on dried beans/peas. I find my local supermarket has them for about double what a local health food store charges.
Now, for the directions.
Ingredients:
1 cup chick peas
1/2 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup olive oil
First, check the chickpeas for foreign objects. All you have to do for this is put them in a bowl, pour water on them, then move them around with your hands or a spoon. Any dirt should dissolve, and stones should (hopefully!) sink. Keep your eyes open!
Add the chickpeas to the pressure cooker, with 4 cups of water. Close the lid, lock in place, and bring to pressure according to your particular cooker's instruction manual. Turn down the heat and cook for 50 minutes or so, adjusting the heat to maintain even pressure. Release the pressure rapidly (as per your cooker's manual), or set to one sit and let it release naturally.
Pour off the water, retaining a cup or 2 in a bowl. Using: a) an immersion blender b) a potato masher or c) placing the beans in a food processor, process them until they are a smooth consistency. Next, add the cumin, salt, and olive oil -- as well as garlic, lemon juice, or anything else to taste.
Serve with some of the gluten free white rice bread, rice, rice cakes, and a salad.
It DOES take 50 minutes for the beans to cook BUT:
1. You can double this recipe and eat it for quite some time.
2. For the 50 minutes it is cooking you need to be aware of the pressure cooker but not otherwise involved.
3. It is tasty.
You can also use 2 cans of pre-made chickpeas, which will make it even easier.
Enjoy.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Fast meals.
Taking a break from bread today to talk about 'fast meals.'
If you are like most Americans, cooking is not a priority. We lead busy lives and, by time meal times arrive, we're feeling to wrung out to be able to do much other than sit in a restaurant and have someone take our order. We have a few quiet minutes before food arrives. Then we eat, and pay the bill - wondering at the end of the month where all of our money has gone at the end of the month when we have nothing to show for it. Restaurant bills aren't cheap.
We almost never eat out. When I say 'almost never' I mean "less than five times per YEAR." When you deal with multiple allergies such as my wife does, it is not easy to eat out. Yes, a restaurant may be able to do a gluten free meal. But when you are gluten fee, egg free, dairy free, and don't eat chicken or turkey, that is more of a challenge. Cross contamination is very easy to happen too -- did that gluten free spaghetti sauce get stirred with a spoon that had flour on it? How would you know, until you have an uncomfortable reaction to ingested gluten.
I'm not saying that all restaurants are careless - far from it. But if you're very sensitive to numerous foods there is a limit to what a commercial kitchen can do.
We aren't independently wealthy and we don't have a chef who prepares our meals for us. We also don't buy large quantities of pre-made gluten free food because of its cost and there are often other things in the items that my wife is allergic to, such as soy. The cost for me is the sticker shock -- when you look at a SMALL box of gluten free crackers and they are over $5 you start asking yourself "how much do I really want these?" At the same time, convenience is nice. If you get home and want (say) a beef stew, which normally takes 3 hours to cook, you're out of luck.
Actually, you aren't out of luck. Here is the solution we have found: a pressure cooker.
Pressure cookers cook by sealing food inside an air tight vessel (the cooking pot), and, using heated steam, raising the internal pressure over that of the outside air. At those temperatures water boils at a higher temperature than normal. At seal level, and with an additional 15 pounds of pressure inside a pressure cooker, the steam temperature is about about 250F.
This doesn't sound like a really high temperature, since we cook in the oven at 350F, 450F, or even higher. But steam has a lot of energy, and steam under pressure cooks MUCH faster than the dry heat inside the oven.
Here is an example: To cook fresh broccoli, I used to steam it. Typically it took 5 minutes or so to bring some water to boil, then the broccoli steamed for 15 minutes or so. To cook broccoli in the pressure cooker, I place 1/4 cup of water in the pressure cooker, place the steaming rack into the cooker, add the broccoli, and seal it up. It takes 2 minutes or so to bring that tiny amount of water to a boil and raise the steam pressure inside the cooker. The broccoli cooks in 2.5-3 minutes from then, and you release the pressure, and serve.
20 minutes versus 5 minutes is a huge time savings.
For more information, the best reference I have found on pressure cookers is this one:
This book is not a set of recipes of the type 'Assemble the following ingredients. Place in pressure cooker. Cook.' It is far better than that. Instead, it gives you the tools to create your own recipes and cook the food you most want to eat. There ARE many excellent recipes in it, but it is also loaded with timing charts and background information on pressure cooking. It is the best book I have found, and Ms. Sass has several great blogs too, one of which can be found here: http://pressurecookingwithlornasass.wordpress.com/.
Pressure Perfect is a book for omnivores, though very useful to vegetarians. I'm not a vegetarian but have also found this book invaluable:
If you decide to take up pressure cooking, you have many choices for types of pressure cookers you can buy. Presto, a great American brand, makes stainless steel and aluminum pressure cookers, in various sizes, at a foundry in China. [I have one of the old ones, when their foundry was still in Wisconsin, and have no experience with the new ones]. Here's a convenient link:
My favorite brand of pressure cookers is made by Kuhn Rikon. They are more expensive, but I decided to splurge. I have a personal issue about only buying USA or first world produced items, especially if they are going to touch food, and my old Presto wouldn't work on my current stove. [Note: new Presto cookers will work on electric smoothtop stoves. My old one wouldn't.] I elected to buy one of these:
As I have mentioned, we tend to use our pressure cooker daily, and sometimes more than once daily. I'll even confess that I have more than one pressure cooker, and occasionally will use two or three simultaneously.
You can buy pressure cookers that go on your stove top, or ones that are electric and sit on a counter.
I'll talk about other quick gluten free recipes you can make in your pressure cooker in the near future.
If you are like most Americans, cooking is not a priority. We lead busy lives and, by time meal times arrive, we're feeling to wrung out to be able to do much other than sit in a restaurant and have someone take our order. We have a few quiet minutes before food arrives. Then we eat, and pay the bill - wondering at the end of the month where all of our money has gone at the end of the month when we have nothing to show for it. Restaurant bills aren't cheap.
We almost never eat out. When I say 'almost never' I mean "less than five times per YEAR." When you deal with multiple allergies such as my wife does, it is not easy to eat out. Yes, a restaurant may be able to do a gluten free meal. But when you are gluten fee, egg free, dairy free, and don't eat chicken or turkey, that is more of a challenge. Cross contamination is very easy to happen too -- did that gluten free spaghetti sauce get stirred with a spoon that had flour on it? How would you know, until you have an uncomfortable reaction to ingested gluten.
I'm not saying that all restaurants are careless - far from it. But if you're very sensitive to numerous foods there is a limit to what a commercial kitchen can do.
We aren't independently wealthy and we don't have a chef who prepares our meals for us. We also don't buy large quantities of pre-made gluten free food because of its cost and there are often other things in the items that my wife is allergic to, such as soy. The cost for me is the sticker shock -- when you look at a SMALL box of gluten free crackers and they are over $5 you start asking yourself "how much do I really want these?" At the same time, convenience is nice. If you get home and want (say) a beef stew, which normally takes 3 hours to cook, you're out of luck.
Actually, you aren't out of luck. Here is the solution we have found: a pressure cooker.
Pressure cookers cook by sealing food inside an air tight vessel (the cooking pot), and, using heated steam, raising the internal pressure over that of the outside air. At those temperatures water boils at a higher temperature than normal. At seal level, and with an additional 15 pounds of pressure inside a pressure cooker, the steam temperature is about about 250F.
This doesn't sound like a really high temperature, since we cook in the oven at 350F, 450F, or even higher. But steam has a lot of energy, and steam under pressure cooks MUCH faster than the dry heat inside the oven.
Here is an example: To cook fresh broccoli, I used to steam it. Typically it took 5 minutes or so to bring some water to boil, then the broccoli steamed for 15 minutes or so. To cook broccoli in the pressure cooker, I place 1/4 cup of water in the pressure cooker, place the steaming rack into the cooker, add the broccoli, and seal it up. It takes 2 minutes or so to bring that tiny amount of water to a boil and raise the steam pressure inside the cooker. The broccoli cooks in 2.5-3 minutes from then, and you release the pressure, and serve.
20 minutes versus 5 minutes is a huge time savings.
For more information, the best reference I have found on pressure cookers is this one:
This book is not a set of recipes of the type 'Assemble the following ingredients. Place in pressure cooker. Cook.' It is far better than that. Instead, it gives you the tools to create your own recipes and cook the food you most want to eat. There ARE many excellent recipes in it, but it is also loaded with timing charts and background information on pressure cooking. It is the best book I have found, and Ms. Sass has several great blogs too, one of which can be found here: http://pressurecookingwithlornasass.wordpress.com/.
Pressure Perfect is a book for omnivores, though very useful to vegetarians. I'm not a vegetarian but have also found this book invaluable:
If you decide to take up pressure cooking, you have many choices for types of pressure cookers you can buy. Presto, a great American brand, makes stainless steel and aluminum pressure cookers, in various sizes, at a foundry in China. [I have one of the old ones, when their foundry was still in Wisconsin, and have no experience with the new ones]. Here's a convenient link:
My favorite brand of pressure cookers is made by Kuhn Rikon. They are more expensive, but I decided to splurge. I have a personal issue about only buying USA or first world produced items, especially if they are going to touch food, and my old Presto wouldn't work on my current stove. [Note: new Presto cookers will work on electric smoothtop stoves. My old one wouldn't.] I elected to buy one of these:
As I have mentioned, we tend to use our pressure cooker daily, and sometimes more than once daily. I'll even confess that I have more than one pressure cooker, and occasionally will use two or three simultaneously.
You can buy pressure cookers that go on your stove top, or ones that are electric and sit on a counter.
I'll talk about other quick gluten free recipes you can make in your pressure cooker in the near future.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Basic white bread, variation
Here's a variation of the Basic White Bread recipe for those who can have eggs and milk. It is a very similar recipe, but yields a more tender crumb.
Gluten Free White Bread (with egg)
Dry Ingredients:
5 ounces (3/4 cup) white rice flour
2 ounces (1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons) corn starch
1 ounce (3 tablespoons) tapioca starch
1 tablespoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon yeast
1 teaspoon baking powder
Wet Ingredients:
1 tablespoon oil added to a 2/3 cup measuring cup
Add 2 eggs to the same measuring cup
Fill the rest of the cup with water
1 container Gerber First Foods Baby Pears
Mix or sift the dry ingredients. Place the wet and dry ingredients in your bread machine in the order in which your instruction manual states. (For the Zojirushi, and most bread machines I have encountered, place the wet ingredients in the bread pan first, then put the dry ingredients on top of them).
Cook the bread on the 'Quick Bread' setting.
As you can see it is very similar to the other recipe, substituting egg for the gelatin.
See yesterday's post for other details on different bread machine variations.
Tomorrow, I'll take a break from baking and talk about pressure cooking.
Gluten Free White Bread (with egg)
Dry Ingredients:
5 ounces (3/4 cup) white rice flour
2 ounces (1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons) corn starch
1 ounce (3 tablespoons) tapioca starch
1 tablespoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon yeast
1 teaspoon baking powder
Wet Ingredients:
1 tablespoon oil added to a 2/3 cup measuring cup
Add 2 eggs to the same measuring cup
Fill the rest of the cup with water
1 container Gerber First Foods Baby Pears
Mix or sift the dry ingredients. Place the wet and dry ingredients in your bread machine in the order in which your instruction manual states. (For the Zojirushi, and most bread machines I have encountered, place the wet ingredients in the bread pan first, then put the dry ingredients on top of them).
Cook the bread on the 'Quick Bread' setting.
As you can see it is very similar to the other recipe, substituting egg for the gelatin.
See yesterday's post for other details on different bread machine variations.
Tomorrow, I'll take a break from baking and talk about pressure cooking.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Basic White Bread
Today I'm going to give you a recipe for basic white bread. The variation of today is free of as many potential allergens as I could will be cooked in a bread machine, and cooked in the Zojirushi bread machine that I have mentioned previously.
My wife eats this bread daily. Unlike many gluten free items, it has a nice consistency and texture, and even 'tastes like bread.' (For those of you on restricted diets, you know exactly what I mean!)
Measurement note: As I have previously stated, I measure using weights, on a scale, rather than by volume, using cup measures. Flour amounts are given in this recipe as a weight value, then with cup values in parenthesis.
Gluten Free White Bread
Dry Ingredients:
5 ounces (3/4 cup) white rice flour
2 ounces (1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons) corn starch
1 ounce (3 tablespoons) tapioca starch
1 tablespoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon yeast
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 scant tablespoon beef gelatin
Wet Ingredients:
1 tablespoon oil added to a 2/3 cup measuring cup
Fill the rest of the cup with water
1 container Gerber First Foods Baby Pears
Mix or sift the dry ingredients. Place the wet and dry ingredients in your bread machine in the order in which your instruction manual states. (For the Zojirushi, and most bread machines I have encountered, place the wet ingredients in the bread pan first, then put the dry ingredients on top of them).
Cook the bread on the 'Quick Bread' setting.
A note on bread machine cycles: The 'quick bread' setting on the Zojirushi has 1 'rise' and a bake setting. Gluten free flours do not need to rise, be punched down, and rise again, as there is no gluten to develop. (Indeed, this often makes them fall). So, look through your bread machine book to see if such a cycle exists - 1 'rise' and a bake cycle.
If it doesn't, check to see if your bread machine has a 'dough' setting and a 'bake only' setting. Doing the 'dough' setting and letting the dough rise for about 1 hour, then resetting the machine and baking should do it.
This is enough bread for a 1 pound loaf. As I have previously stated, gluten free flours don't have the ability to support their own weight that well, so making in smaller loaves yields better results.
This will keep for several days in the refrigerator, and it freezes well.
I have found that it is useful to make several batches of the dry ingredients, storing them in plastic food storage containers, and then simply making a loaf when needed.
Altitude note: I live at 5500 feet. I don't BELIEVE you will have any variation in results based on your altitude, but if you do, please let me know. If the results are not what you would like, I'd like to help you figure it out.
Spoon notes: If I have any readers outside of the USA: Here, a 'cup' is 8 liquid ounces. A teaspoon is 5ml, and a tablespoon is 15 ml.
My wife eats this bread daily. Unlike many gluten free items, it has a nice consistency and texture, and even 'tastes like bread.' (For those of you on restricted diets, you know exactly what I mean!)
Measurement note: As I have previously stated, I measure using weights, on a scale, rather than by volume, using cup measures. Flour amounts are given in this recipe as a weight value, then with cup values in parenthesis.
Gluten Free White Bread
Dry Ingredients:
5 ounces (3/4 cup) white rice flour
2 ounces (1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons) corn starch
1 ounce (3 tablespoons) tapioca starch
1 tablespoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon yeast
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 scant tablespoon beef gelatin
Wet Ingredients:
1 tablespoon oil added to a 2/3 cup measuring cup
Fill the rest of the cup with water
1 container Gerber First Foods Baby Pears
Mix or sift the dry ingredients. Place the wet and dry ingredients in your bread machine in the order in which your instruction manual states. (For the Zojirushi, and most bread machines I have encountered, place the wet ingredients in the bread pan first, then put the dry ingredients on top of them).
Cook the bread on the 'Quick Bread' setting.
A note on bread machine cycles: The 'quick bread' setting on the Zojirushi has 1 'rise' and a bake setting. Gluten free flours do not need to rise, be punched down, and rise again, as there is no gluten to develop. (Indeed, this often makes them fall). So, look through your bread machine book to see if such a cycle exists - 1 'rise' and a bake cycle.
If it doesn't, check to see if your bread machine has a 'dough' setting and a 'bake only' setting. Doing the 'dough' setting and letting the dough rise for about 1 hour, then resetting the machine and baking should do it.
This is enough bread for a 1 pound loaf. As I have previously stated, gluten free flours don't have the ability to support their own weight that well, so making in smaller loaves yields better results.
This will keep for several days in the refrigerator, and it freezes well.
I have found that it is useful to make several batches of the dry ingredients, storing them in plastic food storage containers, and then simply making a loaf when needed.
Altitude note: I live at 5500 feet. I don't BELIEVE you will have any variation in results based on your altitude, but if you do, please let me know. If the results are not what you would like, I'd like to help you figure it out.
Spoon notes: If I have any readers outside of the USA: Here, a 'cup' is 8 liquid ounces. A teaspoon is 5ml, and a tablespoon is 15 ml.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
More ingredients
Sorry for no post yesterday -- my need to earn a living got in the way.
I realized that I had forgotten to write about another ingredient that I use all the time: pears.
Gluten free baked goods need extra moisture, and the structure of the baked good isn't really strong enough to hold the weight of a lot of fat. Additionally, since my wife cannot have any solid fats like butter, margarine, or shortening, we use a small amount of liquid oil and pear puree instead of extra fat.
This also lowers the fat content of the item, which is also good.
Typically I use Gerber Baby Pears. This link is for the organic pears:
Non organic versions are also available in the supermarket.
I realized that I had forgotten to write about another ingredient that I use all the time: pears.
Gluten free baked goods need extra moisture, and the structure of the baked good isn't really strong enough to hold the weight of a lot of fat. Additionally, since my wife cannot have any solid fats like butter, margarine, or shortening, we use a small amount of liquid oil and pear puree instead of extra fat.
This also lowers the fat content of the item, which is also good.
Typically I use Gerber Baby Pears. This link is for the organic pears:
Non organic versions are also available in the supermarket.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Kitchen Equipment
I will soon start to publish recipes and other tips but I thought that finishing laying the groundwork for 'how to do this gluten free stuff easily' would be best.
Regarding kitchen equipment:
Ordinary kitchen equipment suffices for most tasks in gluten free cooking and baking. Obviously, breads need bread pans, cakes need cake pans, and so on. One important caveat:
If you use the same pans for gluten and gluten free baking, you must make sure that ALL of the wheat flour is cleaned off before using them for gluten free batters.
Many people simply wipe their tins down with a paper towel. This will NOT get all of the gluten residue off of them. Don't make yourself sick, take extra care to scrub and dry. Or, have two sets of pans, one for gluten and one for gluten free. This is what we do.
If your kitchen is large enough, consider having a dedicated 'gluten free' counter. We have an "L" shaped kitchen and do just this - and I measure wheat flours out in the garage as small amounts in the air from sifting can settle into things and accidentally cause cross contamination.
The other item you might find useful is a kitchen scale. Here is why:
Most of the world weighs ingredients when cooking or baking. As per Elizabeth David in her book English Bread and Yeast Cookery, she speculates that Americans switched to our volume (cup) based measurements because, being pioneers, heavy items like a scale and weights couldn't be carried in a wagon.
Recipes for cakes, breads, cookies, pie crusts, are designed for flour that weighs approximately 4 ounces per cup. Wheat flour typically weighs about 4 ounces per cup. Yet, rice flour weighs about 6 ounces per cup. This means, when using cup measurements, if you substitute rice flour on a cup basis you will have FIFTY PERCENT MORE FLOUR in your cup than with ordinary white flour. This will give bad results in your recipes.
There are several kinds of scales you can buy. They range in price from a few dollars up to hundreds of dollars. This is the one that I use:
This particular scale is quite reasonably priced, weighs up to 11 pounds (5 kilograms), has tare function, will weigh in pounds/ounces, ounces, and grams. It is also accurate.
All recipes that I give will have weight and volume measures. So if you prefer to use cup measure, that will work too. I simply find that using the scale takes less time.
The other item I have only good things to say about is a bread machine. For making gluten free bread, the rising and baking environment can be 'finicky' sometimes. I find that using a bread machine yields excellent results.
As I have said previously, gluten free flours don't have the structure that developed gluten provides. This means that baked goods may sink in some cases. Typically using smaller pans for breads and cakes yields better results. I have also found that baking gluten free bread on a short cycle works well, as multiple risings are not necessary, in fact, can cause the bread to sink. This is the bread machine we use for gluten free flours:
It is not cheap, but I also find that I can either a) spend about $2 on ingredients for a loaf of bread and bake it in this bread machine, or spend $4.50-$5 on a loaf of bread. Sheer economics makes me like this.
In addition to bread and quick bread settings, with regular and firm crusts, there are also a bread, jam, and cake settings. When I provide bread machine recipes, this is the machine I have tested them in.
We have two bread machines: a gluten and a gluten free machine. If you may only have one machine BE SURE to wipe it out thoroughly between uses, and you probably will need 2 bread pans. I don't see how you could be sure of getting all the gluten out of one.
Tomorrow I'll actually write you a recipe!
Regarding kitchen equipment:
Ordinary kitchen equipment suffices for most tasks in gluten free cooking and baking. Obviously, breads need bread pans, cakes need cake pans, and so on. One important caveat:
If you use the same pans for gluten and gluten free baking, you must make sure that ALL of the wheat flour is cleaned off before using them for gluten free batters.
Many people simply wipe their tins down with a paper towel. This will NOT get all of the gluten residue off of them. Don't make yourself sick, take extra care to scrub and dry. Or, have two sets of pans, one for gluten and one for gluten free. This is what we do.
If your kitchen is large enough, consider having a dedicated 'gluten free' counter. We have an "L" shaped kitchen and do just this - and I measure wheat flours out in the garage as small amounts in the air from sifting can settle into things and accidentally cause cross contamination.
The other item you might find useful is a kitchen scale. Here is why:
Most of the world weighs ingredients when cooking or baking. As per Elizabeth David in her book English Bread and Yeast Cookery, she speculates that Americans switched to our volume (cup) based measurements because, being pioneers, heavy items like a scale and weights couldn't be carried in a wagon.
Recipes for cakes, breads, cookies, pie crusts, are designed for flour that weighs approximately 4 ounces per cup. Wheat flour typically weighs about 4 ounces per cup. Yet, rice flour weighs about 6 ounces per cup. This means, when using cup measurements, if you substitute rice flour on a cup basis you will have FIFTY PERCENT MORE FLOUR in your cup than with ordinary white flour. This will give bad results in your recipes.
There are several kinds of scales you can buy. They range in price from a few dollars up to hundreds of dollars. This is the one that I use:
This particular scale is quite reasonably priced, weighs up to 11 pounds (5 kilograms), has tare function, will weigh in pounds/ounces, ounces, and grams. It is also accurate.
All recipes that I give will have weight and volume measures. So if you prefer to use cup measure, that will work too. I simply find that using the scale takes less time.
The other item I have only good things to say about is a bread machine. For making gluten free bread, the rising and baking environment can be 'finicky' sometimes. I find that using a bread machine yields excellent results.
As I have said previously, gluten free flours don't have the structure that developed gluten provides. This means that baked goods may sink in some cases. Typically using smaller pans for breads and cakes yields better results. I have also found that baking gluten free bread on a short cycle works well, as multiple risings are not necessary, in fact, can cause the bread to sink. This is the bread machine we use for gluten free flours:
It is not cheap, but I also find that I can either a) spend about $2 on ingredients for a loaf of bread and bake it in this bread machine, or spend $4.50-$5 on a loaf of bread. Sheer economics makes me like this.
In addition to bread and quick bread settings, with regular and firm crusts, there are also a bread, jam, and cake settings. When I provide bread machine recipes, this is the machine I have tested them in.
We have two bread machines: a gluten and a gluten free machine. If you may only have one machine BE SURE to wipe it out thoroughly between uses, and you probably will need 2 bread pans. I don't see how you could be sure of getting all the gluten out of one.
Tomorrow I'll actually write you a recipe!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Substituting for egg and dairy
As I have mentioned, my diet-challenged spouse also is unable to eat egg or dairy.
For gluten free cooking, this adds an extra dimension of challenge. In most gluten free recipe at least on egg is used to add extra 'stickiness to the dough. Dairy products such as milk, butter, or cream add richness and good 'mouth feel.'
Stickiness is needed in baking items such as breads (or even cakes and cookies) to hold everything together. Wheat has a protein called gluten which, when moistened and kneaded, gets very sticky and traps air bubbles. These air bubbles expand during baking and create the 'rise' that cakes and bread have. Since gluten free flour does not have this, other substances must be used to add 'stickiness.'
When I tried to find a substitute for eggs, first I started with commercial egg substitutes. Items such as 'Egg Beaters' are made from egg white so they are unsuitable for those with an egg allergy. Energ-G corporation (producers of a lot of gluten free items) make an excellent egg replacer:
This egg replacer, when mixed with water, is supposed to replace an egg in a baked good. It DOES work but I often found that the results were hit or miss.
Then I started to wonder: What gives an egg its stickness? I did some research and decided that it was protein, specifically, the protein in the egg white, that trapped air bubbles and helped baked goods to rise.
In looking around to find substitutes for this protein, I was limited by my wifes other allergens. Finally, it struck me: Gelatin.
Gelatin is high in protein and chemically very pure. A dietary sensitivity to pork ruled out ordinary supermarket gelatin, as the maker used both beef and pork gelatin. I have since found an excellent beef gelatin:
If you have religious restrictions on eating pork, this one is beef, and is Kosher. If you buy it in your local healthfood store: The company produces a beef gelatin and a pork gelatin. The containers are very similar. I know from experience that it is annoying to get home and discover you bought the wrong thing and have to go back to the store to exchange it.
An egg has about 6 grams of protein in it. 1 tablespoon of gelatin has about 8 grams of protein in it. This is how you can substitute one egg:
Egg Substitute
2.5 teaspoons gelatin
1/4 cup (2 ounces) water
Typically I do NOT mix these items together as gelatin makes lumps unless mixed into hot water. I simply mix the gelatin in the dry ingredients, and add the water to the moist ingredients.
Milk is not as difficult to substitute as egg is, as there are many commercial dairy substitutes. Be aware, though, that something may be listed as 'Non Dairy' yet it still has dairy products in it. Many non dairy coffee creamers and dairy free cheeses have 'caseinate' in it. This is milk protein. If you are lactose intolerant, a casein should not give you problems (I am not a doctor. Please speak to your medical professional if you have any questions. Do not diagnose yourself from my comments.). But, if you are like me, and allergic to milk protein, you cannot use casein compounds.
Soy milk, rice milk, almond milk all come in casein free variations and are fine to use. My personal preference: I don't like soy milk, and find that rice milk does not cook like dairy milk does, though I do like its taste. Almond milk works best for me.
My current favorite almond milk is an unsweetened almond milk by Blue Diamond. It is only 40 calories per cup and I buy it at the supermarket in the refrigerator case. It also comes in a shelf stable, no refrigeration required until open, packaging.
I have made almond milk many times. It is very easy to to do, and can be very thrifty to make. Here is what I do:
Almond Milk
To make almond milk, you will need ground, blanched almonds. You can either blanch and grind them yourself, or you can buy ground blanched almonds. I have blanched and ground almonds and find the procedure time consuming and tedious (and as per my previous comment, we cook everything from scratch so one more step is not necessarily welcome. I find that Bob's Red Mill (again!) has a superior ground blanched almonds, which I receive on Amazon Subscribe and Save.
If any of my readers would like instructions on how to blanch and grind almonds, let me know and I'll post them.
Anyway, once you have ground blanched almonds the process is very simple. All you have to do is this:
Combine in a saucepan:
1/2 to 1 cup of ground, blanched almonds (depending on taste)
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 quart water
Bring to a simmer and simmer for 20 minutes. Don't wander off, because it can boil over quickly and/or scorch. I know this from experience! After 20 minutes or so, remove from heat and let cool. When cool, stir in 1 teaspoon of gluten free vanilla. Now, you have choices for how to serve it:
Tomorrow I'll discuss some common kitchen equipment that will make gluten free baking easier, in addition to the items you probably already have in your kitchen. They aren't absolutely necessary, just make the job a little easier.
For gluten free cooking, this adds an extra dimension of challenge. In most gluten free recipe at least on egg is used to add extra 'stickiness to the dough. Dairy products such as milk, butter, or cream add richness and good 'mouth feel.'
Stickiness is needed in baking items such as breads (or even cakes and cookies) to hold everything together. Wheat has a protein called gluten which, when moistened and kneaded, gets very sticky and traps air bubbles. These air bubbles expand during baking and create the 'rise' that cakes and bread have. Since gluten free flour does not have this, other substances must be used to add 'stickiness.'
When I tried to find a substitute for eggs, first I started with commercial egg substitutes. Items such as 'Egg Beaters' are made from egg white so they are unsuitable for those with an egg allergy. Energ-G corporation (producers of a lot of gluten free items) make an excellent egg replacer:
This egg replacer, when mixed with water, is supposed to replace an egg in a baked good. It DOES work but I often found that the results were hit or miss.
Then I started to wonder: What gives an egg its stickness? I did some research and decided that it was protein, specifically, the protein in the egg white, that trapped air bubbles and helped baked goods to rise.
In looking around to find substitutes for this protein, I was limited by my wifes other allergens. Finally, it struck me: Gelatin.
Gelatin is high in protein and chemically very pure. A dietary sensitivity to pork ruled out ordinary supermarket gelatin, as the maker used both beef and pork gelatin. I have since found an excellent beef gelatin:
If you have religious restrictions on eating pork, this one is beef, and is Kosher. If you buy it in your local healthfood store: The company produces a beef gelatin and a pork gelatin. The containers are very similar. I know from experience that it is annoying to get home and discover you bought the wrong thing and have to go back to the store to exchange it.
An egg has about 6 grams of protein in it. 1 tablespoon of gelatin has about 8 grams of protein in it. This is how you can substitute one egg:
Egg Substitute
2.5 teaspoons gelatin
1/4 cup (2 ounces) water
Typically I do NOT mix these items together as gelatin makes lumps unless mixed into hot water. I simply mix the gelatin in the dry ingredients, and add the water to the moist ingredients.
Milk is not as difficult to substitute as egg is, as there are many commercial dairy substitutes. Be aware, though, that something may be listed as 'Non Dairy' yet it still has dairy products in it. Many non dairy coffee creamers and dairy free cheeses have 'caseinate' in it. This is milk protein. If you are lactose intolerant, a casein should not give you problems (I am not a doctor. Please speak to your medical professional if you have any questions. Do not diagnose yourself from my comments.). But, if you are like me, and allergic to milk protein, you cannot use casein compounds.
Soy milk, rice milk, almond milk all come in casein free variations and are fine to use. My personal preference: I don't like soy milk, and find that rice milk does not cook like dairy milk does, though I do like its taste. Almond milk works best for me.
My current favorite almond milk is an unsweetened almond milk by Blue Diamond. It is only 40 calories per cup and I buy it at the supermarket in the refrigerator case. It also comes in a shelf stable, no refrigeration required until open, packaging.
I have made almond milk many times. It is very easy to to do, and can be very thrifty to make. Here is what I do:
Almond Milk
To make almond milk, you will need ground, blanched almonds. You can either blanch and grind them yourself, or you can buy ground blanched almonds. I have blanched and ground almonds and find the procedure time consuming and tedious (and as per my previous comment, we cook everything from scratch so one more step is not necessarily welcome. I find that Bob's Red Mill (again!) has a superior ground blanched almonds, which I receive on Amazon Subscribe and Save.
If any of my readers would like instructions on how to blanch and grind almonds, let me know and I'll post them.
Anyway, once you have ground blanched almonds the process is very simple. All you have to do is this:
Combine in a saucepan:
1/2 to 1 cup of ground, blanched almonds (depending on taste)
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 quart water
Bring to a simmer and simmer for 20 minutes. Don't wander off, because it can boil over quickly and/or scorch. I know this from experience! After 20 minutes or so, remove from heat and let cool. When cool, stir in 1 teaspoon of gluten free vanilla. Now, you have choices for how to serve it:
- Refrigerate and use as is (it is a little lumpy which is not so good in tea or coffee, but fine in baked goods)
- Whiz it in the food processor or blender then strain
- Strain
Tomorrow I'll discuss some common kitchen equipment that will make gluten free baking easier, in addition to the items you probably already have in your kitchen. They aren't absolutely necessary, just make the job a little easier.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Ingredients
When I cook and bake gluten free, I use gluten free ingredients.
This might sound obvious, but it isn't. As I may have mentioned, in some flour mills and other food processing plants, items with and without gluten are processed in the same plant. This means that you might get cross contamination between your gluten free item, and other items with gluten. The cross contamination may happen from wheat flour left on a machine, or just from flour in the air.
Usually on the label an allergy warning is made that reads something like this:
"This item is produced in a facility that also processes wheat, milk, tree nuts, and peanuts."
It does not mean that the item is contaminated, it just means that it was made in an environment that may not be gluten free.
When I buy my gluten free items, I buy mine from makers who produced certified gluten free items.
For gluten free flours, I tend to buy Bob's Red Mill Brand. Not only do they have a gluten free facility (as per their website, http://www.bobsredmill.com/ ), their products are top notch. As far as I know, they test their gluten free flours with an ELISA test to check for the 'bad' proteins, as well as having a gluten free facility.
I make primary use of White Rice Flour, Tapioca Starch, and Corn Starch. I have found that amazon.com is a good place to buy these grocery items, as you can enter their 'subscribe and save' program where, with regular deliveries (as infrequently as every six months) you are given 15% off their price. I do this for a number of things, like flours, loose tea, and others.
Bob's Red Mill White Rice Flour may be found here:
Certainly you can also get Brown Rice Flour. Many folks like brown rice flour as it adds healthy fiber to the diet.
I have found that gluten free items made without egg do not rise as high made with brown rice flour. This may be because of a characteristic of the flour itself; when a whole grain like brown rice is ground, its flour is "sharper" than that of a partial grain (like white rice) because the ground bran has sharper edges.
It is also a personal preference thing for my wife. We both love brown rice eaten as a grain, but less so when eaten as a flour. Totally and utterly personal taste, and your milage may vary.
I do know that Bob's Red Mill makes a great Brown Rice Flour product as well. It may be found from amazon.com as well.
The other flour I use is corn starch. There are a number of options for corn starch as well. Ordinary Argo Corn Starch, which may be found in the supermarket, is gluten free, or so the company assured me some time back. We do use it and have had no unpleasant side effects.
Bob's Red Mill also makes a corn starch which is top notch.
The third flour I use is Tapioca Starch. The only tapioca starch I ever use is also a Bob's Red Mill product. My local supermarket only has tapioca pearls (or whatever they call them) for making Tapioca pudding. Since we make everything from scratch alrady, grinding tapioca pearls into flour seemed like too much work.
Here is a link to Bob's Red Mill Tapioca Starch
Again, this item is available through Amazon subscribe and save. [Can you tell I'm a real happy customer of Amazon subscribe and save?]
There are many suppliers for these items other than amazon.com, including Bob's Red Mill themselves.
In addition to the flours, I make sure my other ingredients are also gluten free. Other ingredients include:
The Frontier alcohol free vanilla uses glycerin for a carrier for the vanilla 'flavor.' (It is real vanilla, but only vanilla extracted with alcohol can be called 'vanilla extract.')
Frontier also makes a top notch line of herbs and spices, which you can find in your local store or from their website, http://www.frontiercoop.com .
That's probably enough for today. Tomorrow, I'll discuss substitutes for milk and egg.
This might sound obvious, but it isn't. As I may have mentioned, in some flour mills and other food processing plants, items with and without gluten are processed in the same plant. This means that you might get cross contamination between your gluten free item, and other items with gluten. The cross contamination may happen from wheat flour left on a machine, or just from flour in the air.
Usually on the label an allergy warning is made that reads something like this:
"This item is produced in a facility that also processes wheat, milk, tree nuts, and peanuts."
It does not mean that the item is contaminated, it just means that it was made in an environment that may not be gluten free.
When I buy my gluten free items, I buy mine from makers who produced certified gluten free items.
For gluten free flours, I tend to buy Bob's Red Mill Brand. Not only do they have a gluten free facility (as per their website, http://www.bobsredmill.com/ ), their products are top notch. As far as I know, they test their gluten free flours with an ELISA test to check for the 'bad' proteins, as well as having a gluten free facility.
I make primary use of White Rice Flour, Tapioca Starch, and Corn Starch. I have found that amazon.com is a good place to buy these grocery items, as you can enter their 'subscribe and save' program where, with regular deliveries (as infrequently as every six months) you are given 15% off their price. I do this for a number of things, like flours, loose tea, and others.
Bob's Red Mill White Rice Flour may be found here:
Certainly you can also get Brown Rice Flour. Many folks like brown rice flour as it adds healthy fiber to the diet.
I have found that gluten free items made without egg do not rise as high made with brown rice flour. This may be because of a characteristic of the flour itself; when a whole grain like brown rice is ground, its flour is "sharper" than that of a partial grain (like white rice) because the ground bran has sharper edges.
It is also a personal preference thing for my wife. We both love brown rice eaten as a grain, but less so when eaten as a flour. Totally and utterly personal taste, and your milage may vary.
I do know that Bob's Red Mill makes a great Brown Rice Flour product as well. It may be found from amazon.com as well.
The other flour I use is corn starch. There are a number of options for corn starch as well. Ordinary Argo Corn Starch, which may be found in the supermarket, is gluten free, or so the company assured me some time back. We do use it and have had no unpleasant side effects.
Bob's Red Mill also makes a corn starch which is top notch.
The third flour I use is Tapioca Starch. The only tapioca starch I ever use is also a Bob's Red Mill product. My local supermarket only has tapioca pearls (or whatever they call them) for making Tapioca pudding. Since we make everything from scratch alrady, grinding tapioca pearls into flour seemed like too much work.
Here is a link to Bob's Red Mill Tapioca Starch
Again, this item is available through Amazon subscribe and save. [Can you tell I'm a real happy customer of Amazon subscribe and save?]
There are many suppliers for these items other than amazon.com, including Bob's Red Mill themselves.
In addition to the flours, I make sure my other ingredients are also gluten free. Other ingredients include:
- Baking Powder
- Vanilla and other extracts
- Nuts and other items that I use.
The Frontier alcohol free vanilla uses glycerin for a carrier for the vanilla 'flavor.' (It is real vanilla, but only vanilla extracted with alcohol can be called 'vanilla extract.')
Frontier also makes a top notch line of herbs and spices, which you can find in your local store or from their website, http://www.frontiercoop.com .
That's probably enough for today. Tomorrow, I'll discuss substitutes for milk and egg.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Other allergens
Today I wanted to talk about other allergens.
For many people I have met over the years who are gluten free, they have additional food sensitivities. I have some theories about why this happens:
For many people I have met over the years who are gluten free, they have additional food sensitivities. I have some theories about why this happens:
- There could be a genetic component to gluten sensitivity that includes sensitivities to other items
- Cross breeding techniques could have put genes from one species into another
- Continuous exposure to an inflammation causing irritation like gluten puts the immune system into overdrive, which causes other allergens eventually.
- Dairy in all forms
- Egg
- Soy
- Alcohols, even when they come from non-gluten sources such as sugar cane
- Fowl such as chicken and turkey
- Pork
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
What is gluten anyway?
If you are gluten intolerant, you’re told to avoid gluten. Simple, right? But what is gluten? Gluten is a protein that exists naturally in grains such as wheat, barley, rye, and variants such as triticale (a variant of rye) and spelt (an ancient form of wheat).
Many nutritional consultants tell people with celiac disease that they may eat “ancient grains” such as spelt. Some ‘ancient grains’ are gluten free, but NOT spelt. Again, I am not a doctor, but the experience of my very-sensitive-to-gluten celiac wife says that spelt contains gluten. She is sufficiently sensitive that a mere hint of gluten contamination induces symptoms (even when unknown contamination occurs, which rules out psycho-somatic symptoms).
If you read ingredients on a package of food from the supermarket and do not see a gluten containing ingredient this does not mean it is gluten free. In some instances, machinery in food processing plants may be floured in order to prevent items from sticking, or if gluten containing grain is being processed in the same facility as a gluten free grain, it may contaminate the gluten free item. When buying any prepackaged food or other items, it is often necessary to find out what type of environment the product was produced in. We had to stop eating a delicious rice cookie years ago, as it was produced in a factory that also produced gluten containing foods. We also had to stop using a gluten free flour mix, as the producer did not have a separate gluten free area, but instead ‘ran a batch through’ the processing line and discarded it, believing that this would clean the machinery. Perhaps it would be sufficient if not overly sensitive to gluten, but not if a serious sensitivity exists.
Since gluten exists in many grains such as wheat and barley, many alcoholic beverages such as beer are not advised. Some gluten free beers exist [though not being a drinker, I’m not sure what they are]. Additionally, some rums are made only with sugar, and thus are gluten free. Inquiring of the manufacturer is the best option as what may be gluten free today, may not be gluten free tomorrow.
A number of gluten free grains exist:
· Rice
· Corn
· Tapioca [starch]
· Potato [starch]
· Millet
There are other ancient grains such as Quinoa that are also gluten free.
Tomorrow, I’ll start talking about things you can make with these items, and about handling other allergies.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
What are the symptoms?
Today I am going to talk about the symptoms of gluten intolerance, as a prep for getting into how to live with it and even thrive.
Before I do this I am going to type my disclaimer:
I am not a doctor. I have no medical training at all. If you are concerned that you might have gluten intolerance, please see a physician that specializes in such matters. I make no claims to diagnose, treat, cure, or otherwise change your health in any way shape or form. On this blog I am discussing what my wife and I have discovered through more than two decades of experimentation. Your own conditions may be different, may or may not include gluten intolerance.
Now, for what I do know.
From what I can gather, folks describe gluten intolerance in the following way:
1. An allergy to wheat: I’m positive you can have an allergy to wheat. As I understand it, an allergy happens when you get exposed to a protein that causes your body to produce excess of a type of chemical called a histamine. The histamines are what causes allergy symptoms; that’s why allergy medications are called anti-histamines.
2. Gluten intolerance: This is a non specific catch-all name for folks who have trouble digesting items with gluten in it. I have no doubt that such things exist but the more common problem is:
3. Celiac Disease: This is an inherited autoimmune condition affecting more than 1% of the people of the USA. Most individuals with Celiac Disease are undiagnosed.
It is my belief that, by and large, most folks with problems using gluten have celiac disease. I say this because celiac disease, according to my doctor, is drastically undiagnosed in the USA.
So what is Celiac Disease?
In normal digestion, you eat food, chew it up, swallow it. Your stomach then secretes acid that helps to digest the food. It moves on from the stomach to the small intestine, where many nutrients are absorbed, then from the small intestine to the large intestine, where more nutrients and excess water are absorbed, then eliminated.
If someone has celiac disease and eats gluten, the gluten causes an inflammation of the small intestine. The small intestine is not just a tube; its inside is covered with small protrusions called villi that help to absorb nutrients from the food. If a person with celiac disease eats gluten, then the small intestine becomes inflamed, the villi get damaged, and nutrients cannot be fully absorbed.
Folks who have celiac and eat gluten often have a large number of unpleasant side effects:
· Diarrhea: Since your intestine gets damaged by gluten, you cannot absorb food properly.
· Damage to the small intestine: The inflammation caused by consuming gluten causes damage to the small intestine
· “Leaky gut:” I find this referred to less in literature than I used to. The idea here is that if your gut is damaged by gluten, it will ‘leak’ undigested protein into the blood stream.
· Flatulence: Much like diarrhea this comes from improperly digested food.
· Refux: Acid reflux, or GERD, often occurs with celiac disease
· Painful elimination/bloating: In addition to everything else, it is often hard to eliminate foods when you have celiac disease and eat gluten.
Because you aren’t absorbing your food properly, there are longer term problems that can come from eating gluten when you shouldn’t. Malabsorbtion of vitamins and minerals can lead to various deficiencies. These lead to many problems such as:
· Anemia
· Night blindness
· Growth problems (among celiac children, “Failure to thrive” is a classic symptom)
· Rickets (in children)
· Osteopenia/Osteoporosis (in adults)
· Poor blood clotting
· Skin problems
· Cancers
For further information, please see the following:
1. Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org) has an excellent article on Celiac Disease
2. The very best reference book I have seen on the topic of Celiac Disease so far is Celiac Disease: A Hidden Epidemic by Peter H. R. Green M.D. and Rory Jones. It can be bought from amazon through the link on this page.
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