Sandwich Rounds – The Verdict Is In

This morning I quickly took care of a few things here in the office (still looks like a mess) because it is a cool morning I am being drawn into the kitchen.  As promised, I tried the sandwich rounds from Comfy Belly.  I made a half recipe to test them out and because if I am the only one eating them, I don’t need that many at a time.

The recipe calls for

2 1/2 Cups blanched almond flour (I used 1 1/4 Cups)

1 tsp. baking soda (1/2 tsp.)

1 Cup yogurt (or coconut milk, or other milk) (I used coconut milk but I bet yogurt would be great – I just didn’t have any)

1/4 Cup unsalted butter, melted (or ghee, coconut oil, or palm shortening) (I used butter this go round but may try with coconut oil next time)

3 large eggs (1 1/2 – or as close as I could get to that)

2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup (I used 1 tbs. honey but think I might try coconut syrup next time for a little less sweet taste)

1 tablespoon of toppings such as poppy seeds, sesame seeds – optional (I used a sprinkling of roasted sesame seeds)

Bake for 15 minutes (I baked mine for about 17 minutes for a little more golden color)

Now my verdict – They were extremely easy to make.  The rounds are light and fluffy and would work great for sandwiches or as a bun for a burger.  For me they were a little sweet so as I suggested I might substitute coconut syrup or use a little less honey.  I am even toying with the idea of adding some chia seeds or flax seeds to the batter.  I am going to make a sandwich using these rounds at lunch time.  Here are mine, what do you think?

Okay – back in the kitchen.  I need to make some scones and then I am going to try sunflower butter cookies if I have enough sunflower butter or another recipe I have.  I want to serve foods at my book launch party that reflect how I have had to eat and bake since becoming ill.  Cookies and bar cookies are the easiest and can serve many without slaving in the kitchen too long and require only a simple napkin.

 

Sandwich rounds

A month ago I came across a recipe for “sandwich rounds” from a blog called Comfy Belly.  The photos looked good

Photo from ComfyBelly.com

and the idea was intriguing.  My first impulse was that oh I can’t have those because they probably have yeast in them.  To my surprise and delight they do not and they are gluten-free.  They are made with ingredients that I currently have in my pantry and refrigerator.  I wanted to try them before but experimenting and baking when the outside temperature was 100 or higher was just not something I wanted to do.  When the temperatures drop, I am drawn into the kitchen with the desire to create something and don’t mind turning on the oven to experiment a little with a batch or two of something.  The temperature has cooled considerably today and if it stays this way tomorrow I am going to try making these Sandwich Rounds.  I will report back.  If any of you try these delicious looking sandwich rounds, please let me know what you think.

 

 

Gluten-free Muffins 2

I posted the Coconut Honey Blueberry Muffin recipe on November 12, 3012.  Since posting it on this site and another site I was asked if honey could be swapped for something else.  I thought about it and suggested agave or maple syrup but those also caused allergic symptoms to the reader.  I then suggested applesauce instead of honey.

I made the same recipe using 3 tbs. of unsweetened applesauce in place of 3 tbs. of honey.  I used organic whole milk as I did before.  The result was that the muffin was still moist and tasted like coconut but was not very sweet at all.  I am wondering if I were to use the coconut milk instead of whole milk if the muffins would be any sweeter.  There is room for experimentation on this.  All in all I think this is a good muffin recipe that can be adapted to work with various allergens.  Perhaps prune puree could be used (I would suggest a jar of prune baby food since only 3 tbs. is needed).  Perhaps cranberries could be added.  The ideas are endless.  As time allows I am going to do some more experimenting with the recipe and pass it on to the woman who writes the runfastmama blog.

If any of you try this recipe either in its original form or with a variation I would love to hear what you have used and the results.

Gluten Free Muffins

I have posted about gluten intolerance as well as included some gluten-free recipes.  Recently a fellow blogger posted a recipe for gluten-free muffins (Coconut Honey Blueberry Muffins).  I didn’t have any blueberries.  I really wanted to try the muffins and couldn’t wait to get blueberries.  I  made the honey muffins with blueberries and loved them.  My daughter and husband loved them as well.  They were sweet and had a wonderful coconut flavor.  The only thing I would change for me is the amount of honey ( I have a hard time with very sweet things including fresh blueberries on their own and even overly sweet apples).  These muffins are something I definitely would make again and this time I will be prepared and have  some fresh organic blueberries on hand to add to the mix.

Honey Muffins

• 3 Eggs
• 2 Tablespoons Butter, Melted
• 2 Tablespoons Coconut Milk or Whole Milk
• 3 Tablespoons Honey
• 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 Teaspoon Vanilla
• 1/4 Cup Sifted Coconut Flour
• 1/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
• Preheat Oven to 400F, bake for at least 15 minutes.  18 minutes if 6oz blueberries added

Put eggs in bowl and whisk.  Add, organic whole milk or coconut milk (I used whole milk because I was in too much of a hurry to open a can of coconut milk.), honey, salt and vanilla.  Stir in coconut flour and baking powder.  Add melted butter and blueberries if desired.

To learn more about my fellow blogger, visit her website.  Not only is she a woman with food allergies but she is a marathon runner.

http://runfastmama.com/2012/11/03/back-to-baking-coconut-honey-blueberry-muffins/

A quick note:  This recipe makes 6 muffins.

Gluten Free Recipes from Elana’s Pantry – Diary

Aug. 25, 2012

I decided to try one of the bread recipes from http://elanaspantry.com.  I had purchased some blanched almond flour after visiting her site.

The bread I made was the “simple bread” http://www.elanaspantry.com/simple-bread/.   The bread was moist when I cut my first slice and tasted good the next day when I toasted it for breakfast.   The only change to the recipe below is that I substituted the 1/2 tsp. of apple cider vinegar with 1/2 tsp. of lemon juice as I am avoiding fermented products.  I can’t tell you how the recipe tastes with the vinegar but it was good using the lemon juice.

Simple Bread

• 2 ½ cups blanched almond flour
• ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar
• ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1. In a large bowl, combine almond flour, salt and baking soda
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, then add agave and vinegar
3. Stir wet ingredients into dry
4. Scoop batter into a well greased 6.5 x 4 inch baby loaf pan
5. Bake at 300° for 45-55 minutes on bottom rack of oven; until a knife comes out clean
6. Cool and serve

Makes 1 loaf (about 12 slices)

I plan on trying another bread recipe and some of her cookie bar type recipes.  I will post my results and any variations that I might use here.

Yeast Free Bread Recipe Diary

Sat, Aug 4, 2012

Today I made the yeast free bread for the first time in a very long time.  For the flour I chose Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose Gluten Free Flour (garbanzo bean, potato starch, tapioca starch, white sorghum, fava bean).

I substituted Agave for the Sugar or Honey.  I used milk and oil in place of rice milk and melted  butter.  Because I wanted this to be used for breakfast I mixed 2 tsps. of cinnamon/sugar (more cinnamon than sugar) in with the flour.  The results are:  The bread tasted ok but still a little overpowering taste of garbanzo bean and the cinnamon flavor didn’t come through.  I sliced it and toasted it with butter and it was good.  I sliced it and tried French toast.  It took two tries.  The first time my slice was a little too thick.  I think the bread soaked up some of the egg mixture but probably could have used a little more milk in the mixture to help with absorption of a thicker bread.  NOTE:  If using the same exact ingredients I think I would put half the batter in the pan, add some cinnamon sugar (maybe 2 tbs.), add the rest of the batter and swirl with a knife.  I might like to try it using Bette Hagman’s Gluten free flour mixture which can be made by mixing 3 cup rice flour, 1 cup potato starch (not flour) and 1/2 cup tapioca starch.

Wheat Allergy/Gluten Intolerance

I realize that many individuals with food allergies have a definite wheat allergy.  For me the wheat allergy diagnosis back in 2000 along with being told to avoid barley and oats because of allergies and the possibility of molds, I found it very difficult to bake or buy breads and crackers.  To work around these limitations, I found myself baking gluten-free.  And I could not use corn products (corn starch, corn syrup, cornmeal or flour) because of a severe allergy on my test as well.

My first trip to a Health Food store out-of-town netted me with a gluten-free cookbook by Bette Hagman, rice flour, tapioca flour and potato starch (the three flours used to make her gluten-free flour mix) along with a few other ingredients for my first attempt.  In the beginning I was making gluten-free crackers, English muffins and  hamburger buns.  It was challenging but I was doing it.  Drat!  Then I realized that I wasn’t supposed to be using yeast!  That eliminated all three of these new-found recipes.

This realization drastically curtailed my bread and cracker baking.  I tried purchasing yeast free rice breads but they tasted like cardboard.  I read through yeast free cookbooks.  I wish I could tell you how many or which ones I read other than “Feast Without Yeast” (still available on Amazon) but that is the only one I can remember and I gave away everything I had when I moved into this house.  I do have a recipe that I used which was saved in my computer.  I don’t know where it came from but I did make substitutions.  This is more of a quick bread,  and for me, this bread was best when sliced and toasted.   Guar gum or Xanthum gum work as a binder.  Gelatin or Agar Agar (a form of sea weed used sometimes as a thickener in puddings) helps with moisture and bread texture.

YEAST FREE BREAD

2 cups of flour (1 cup brown rice, 2/3 cup potato flour, 1/2 cup tapioca flour)*

2 tsp. Guar Gum (Xanthum gum can be used if you don’t have a corn allergy)

2 tsp. Baking Powder

1/2 tsp. Gelatin or Agar Agar

1 tsp. Salt

3 tbs.sugar or honey (probably could use agave)

2 eggs or egg substitute

1 cup milk or rice milk (all though I am sure you might be able to use soy or almond milk)

1/2 cup melted butter or oil

Mix dry ingredients and liquid separately.  Combine and pour into greased loaf pan.  Bake at 375 degrees for 35 – 45 minutes.

*I do know that I tried different gluten-free flours including Garbanzo Bean  in  my original baking.  Optional/I have made this for my daughter adding cinnamon/sugar mixture and raisins.

On July 25th I posted an E-Z tortilla recipe and promised to try it again.  I apologize for not having tried it yet. I have been battling a sinus infection and haven’t had the desire to do much experimentation in the kitchen.   I am going to give it a try this weekend and let you know how easy it was for me to make.  I  may have some non-wheat flours in the cupboard that I can try it with.  I also plan to make this yeast-free bread again to use as breakfast toast  and I have been wondering how it would work in French Toast.

I would appreciate hearing of any successes you may have had with cooking/baking gluten-free.  If you have any cookbooks to recommend, please do so.