Gluten-Free Baking

Well, I am officially trying something new.  I think I have shared a bit about my oldest daughter and her stomach issues.  We had allergy testing done on her and discovered that she is definitely allergic to dairy, confirmed that she is allergic to pork as well as possibly being allergic or sensitive to many other foods.  She has decided to "go with her gut" and cut out a lot of different foods from her diet.  She is feeling SO MUCH BETTER, so she is very determined to be disciplined in this area.  She cut out dairy and mourned the loss of cheese. She also eliminated all meat, and eggs.  This helped a lot, but she realized that there was still something bothering her.  It seemed that her beloved bread was giving her stomach aches.  So, she decided to try cutting out gluten.

You may wonder what is left, what in the world DOES she eat.  Plenty of rice, fruit (fresh and dried) and veggies.  Back in November hubby and I decided to eat better and started to follow the Hallelujah Diet which is a plant based diet consisting of 85% raw food.  This fits very well with the way that Elizabeth has been eating already.  However, she has been complaining that she is craving crackers and bread.  Santa tried to buy her some for her stocking, but couldn't find a single store-bought gluten-free cracker that didn't have any dairy or eggs.  Store-bought gluten-free bread is ridiculously expensive and I have been told is not very tasty.  So, I decided that I had to find all the strange ingredients required and make my daughter some gluten-free goodies.

A friend who is going through the gluten-free thing with her son, told me about a book she found called Cooking for Isaiah.  In it, the author has a recipe for for a gluten-free all-purpose baking mix that she uses for all of her recipes (which are also dairy-free).  I decided to mix some up and create some crepes.  I suppose this was pretty adventurous since I have never done the gluten-free thing OR ever made crepes.  They were delicious!  We stuffed them with fresh apples, raisins, honey and cinnamon.  My only complaint was that they took forever to make.  That was only because I had one pan to make them in and had to do them one at a time.  That was a s-l-o-w process when cooking for a family of eight.  Next time we will stick with pancakes and put the fruit on top because I can get a couple of griddles going at once so we aren't cooking all morning.

Next I decided to tackle gluten-free bread.  I have shared before that I have been making bread for the past couple of years using the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day technique.  Their newest book includes several gluten-free recipes.  I picked one that the main ingredient was corn starch of all things.  Although the dough does not behave like traditional bread dough, the bread came out very good with a heavy yet springy texture.  My daughter was thrilled to have bread once again!  Next time I may try this recipe and compare it.

 Both of these recipes I used called for eggs.  My daughter has given these up too, so I had to get creative.  I remembered reading years ago in the Tightwad Gazette that you could substitute 1 tablespoon of soy flour plus 2 tablespoons of water for 1 egg in a recipe.  There it was done for frugality, I decided to try it for health restrictions.  It seemed to work just fine.  I have never tried the egg versions of these recipes to compare, but we were very satisfied with how things came out.  I think you can by a soy-based egg substitute, but I am sure it costs way more than this method.

So, I would have to say that my initial attempts at gluten-free baking have not scared me off.  I think I will continue to experiment with it.  The gluten-free ingredients are definitely more costly than wheat flour, so I will probably not bake like this for everyone in the house all the time.  I will have to come up with some sort of balance.  Perhaps I will try baking several things, cutting them into single serving sizes and freezing them. Then when we are eating something that my daughter can't have, we can pull something out of the freezer for her and thaw it in the microwave.

Pizza!

A couple of weeks ago, I talked about my favorite bread dough that I love to keep on hand in my fridge, the Olive Oil dough.  Not only does it make great bread, but it works fantastic for pizza crusts.  Now, I love making homemade pizza.  If you already have the dough on hand, it is a very quick meal to make.  The trickiest part, though, is making a decent crust.  There is definitely a trick to getting a nice crust.  You don't want it too thick or too thin.  Round is preferable and holes kind of ruin it.  I have to admit that I have struggled a bit with this.  I have made my share of no-so-pretty pizzas.  Fortunately, it is pizza and my kids don't really care what it looks like.

My usual method to make my crust is to whack off a hunk of dough, put it down on a floured counter, flour the top liberally and roll it out.  This usually results in a misshapen crust.  Then I saw somewhere how you can stretch the dough with your fists.  That definitely helps.  I also decide that I would try tossing it.  This is very entertaining for the kids, but you must make sure you don't accidentally drop it on the floor when you have witnesses [wink].  I found a great video that demonstrates how to make a pizza crust that I found very helpful.  Unfortunately, I can't find it now, but when in the process of searching online for it, I found quite a few other good ones.

Stretching the dough:


Here is a great instructional video on how to actually TOSS a pizza crust:


And here is what it looks like when you get fast:


Hopefully this has inspired your to make your own pizza. It is a fast, fun, and it can definitely be a cheap eat.

My Favorite Dough

Focaccia bread with rosemary, thyme, olive oil & sea salt.

I really love the green kind of dough that you keep in your wallet, but that is kinda hard to keep around and when I run out of it, I can't just make more.  So, my most favorite dough is a bread dough. It is yummy, useful, and I can make as much as I want without getting arrested.

Yesterday in my post, I included a link to a recipe for bread using the "5 Minutes a Day" technique.  That is a basic dough for making a crusty European style bread like a French baguette.  It is wonderful!  When it is fresh, the loaves from this have an amazing crispy crust with a neat texture on the inside.  However, if you are planning on keeping this for a day, it definitely loses something.  Also, it is not as ideal to make sandwiches, especially for little ones.  They struggle with that tougher crust. 

After feeling confident with the basic dough technique, I began experimenting with various other dough in the book.  We discovered that everyone LOVES challah bread which is enriched with eggs, butter, and honey.  When we are feeling rather decadent, we will make up some brioche which is enriched with LOTS of eggs, butter and honey.  I was still however searching for a simple everyday dough that my family loved.  That's when I discovered olive oil dough.  It is categorized as a dough for making flatbread and focaccia bread or pizzas.  There are several recipes in the "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day" book that it can be used in, but it is never discussed as a stand-alone bread.

For our first experiments with this dough, we made focaccia bread (like in the photo).  I rolled it out like a pizza crust, drizzled olive on it and added rosemary, thyme and a bit of French grey sea salt.  It was love at first bite!  We started making this more frequently because not only is it yummy, but it is super fast to make because it is thin and doesn't require much time to rise.

One day I decided to try to use the dough to make a regular loaf of bread.  It turned out beautifully.  It has a finer texture than the basic European style bread and a nice soft crust.  It works wonderfully for sandwiches.  Over time I have also used this dough for, pizza, calzones, rolls, dinner braids with various fillings, and breadsticks, along with countless numbers of basic loaves that got devoured right out of the oven by my family.  (It is hard to tell a group of hungry folks to wait until the bread cools after they have just been smelling it baking.)

Here's how I make it:

OLIVE OIL Bread Dough

3 cups warm water
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 T. yeast
1 1/2 T. kosher (course) salt
1 T. sugar
6 1/2 cups bread flour

Mix all of the ingredients together in a large container.  My favorite type is a commercial cold food storage container like this one.  It is just the right size, fits nicely in my fridge and has a lid that just sits on top without snapping tight which is what you need to avoid a messy explosion of yeasty gasses.  Let this rise on the counter 2 or 3 hours.  Then it is ready to use, but will be less sticky if placed in the refrigerator for a while first.  This makes 4 pounds of dough and will keep 10-14 days this way.  Because we can go through a lot of bread, I usually will divide the dough in half and form 2 large loaves.  I let these rise 1 1/2 - 2 hours and then I bake them at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes. 

Another recipe for using this wonderful dough can be found here:  Sweet Provençal Flatbread with Anise Seeds.  I haven't tried this, but it looks delish.

Let me know if you give this a whirl and what you do with it.  Next, I will share with a favorite pizza that I use this dough to make.  It's a fun, fancy gourmet type, but simple to throw together.

Our Daily Bread

Various snapshots of bread that I have made over the past couple of years. 

I have a confession to make...I am one of those women.  I homeschool my kids and I bake my own bread.  I know.  You all want to roll your eyes in disgust.  But I wasn't always like this.  I have been married for over 22 years and it has only been the last two or three during which this strange bread-baking phenomenon has occurred.  Before that, through the years, I had made several attempts to bake bread which had resulted in doorstops.  I affectionately had called them "brick-bread."  Imagine a loaf no more than an inch and a half high and dense enough to break a toe if dropped.  I had decided that baking bread was an impossibility for me.  My parents thoughtfully gave me a bread machine one year.  That was wonderful!  For the first time ever, I was able to produce an edible loaf of bread in my kitchen.  Sheepishly, I have to admit, I had my share of failures even with the machine, but with practice, I prevailed and could consistently churn out yummy loaves.

A few years ago, I got the bug to start baking all of our bread.  It was healthier and saved money.  Every morning I would diligently measure ingredients into my bread maker and we would have fresh bread.  Then, just as we were totally hooked on this, tragedy struck. My bread maker quit working!  I didn't have money in my budget to replace it either.  Faced with the option of returning to store bought bread, I decided that this was the time to master the art of bread making from scratch.  With determination, I began to read about bread making techniques and actually figured it out. I made bread!  (Imagine me yelling this just like Tom Hanks yelled "I made fire!" in Castaway when he finally succeeded.)

So, I began a new ritual.  I would get up early, measure out my ingredients, mix them, and knead them (and knead them....and knead them....) and set the dough to rise.  A couple hours later I would punch the dough down, form loaves and let this rise again.  Then I could bake it.  It took at least half a day of babysitting the dough and working with it.  It took longer if I was busy and didn't get back to it right away.  But when you smell that bread baking to perfection in the oven, it is all worth it.  Oh that smell!  I was a lot of work, though, and my family can devour a 2 pound loaf of bread at one meal.

This process continued for quite some time.  Then I discovered the the best technique EVER for making bread.  Seriously, it is revolutionary.  I was reading a blog that referred to the book, "Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day."  I was intrigued and decided to see if my local library had it.  It did so I checked it out.  The book spells out a process of mixing up ingredients for 4 pounds of bread dough all at once in a big container, letting it sit on the counter to rise, and placing it in the refrigerator.  When you want bread, you whack off a hunk, form a loaf, let it rise and bake it.  Do you notice what is missing from this process.  Think about it; I'll give you a minute...NO KNEADING.  None!  It also saves time because you make a lot of dough at once and then can use it to make a fresh loaf each day. And the bread is flipping fantastic.  I can tell you, once I tried this technique, I won't ever go back to the long, tiring process that I was doing before.

Are you intrigued?  The recipe and process for making the basic bread dough in the book is available online here:  Back to Basics ~ tips and techniques to create a great loaf in 5 minutes a day.  It may look a bit long and daunting at first, but I assure you, once you understand the process it is SO simple. 

I now own the book and the newest version, "Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day."  I bake 2 large 2 pound loaves of bread at least every other day, sometimes even daily.  I can manage this even when we are at our busiest.  My point is, that if baking bread is something you desire to do, you can, too.  I highly recommend giving this a try.


I will have to do a post on what has become my "go-to" bread dough from this book.  I try to keep some on hand at all times and use it in a variety of ways.  Stay tuned for that.

Ahhhhh...the smell of fresh baked bread

There really is nothing like the smell of bread baking. It is a delightful, homey smell. I have been baking almost all of our bread we eat at home from scratch for over a year. There have been a few times when life has gotten harried and I broke down for a while and bought store-made bread, but the allure of the fresh home-baked stuff is strong and I always come back to making my own.

Bread making can be a very time consuming process. I did all the kneading and rising and punching down. Making a loaf of bread would take at least half of a day. Then I discovered a book that I must say is nothing short of revolutionary. It is called Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. In it, the authors spell out a method for bread making that requires little more time than it takes to mix together a handful of ingredients. After mixing (not kneading), you allow the dough to rise an then refrigerate it. When you want fresh bread, all you have to do is pull off a hunk, form a loaf, let it rise and bake. Easy-peasy!

One of the bread recipes in the book is brioche. I got a brioche pan for Christmas so I can now make an official "Brioche a Tete." I feel so French! Brioche bread is full of eggs and butter and is almost cake-like and so yummy. There are lots of things you can do with it. If you want the recipe and some inspiration, check out this article.

Homemade bread doesn't have to be hard and it is definitely worth giving a try.

Baking Lessons: Homemade Bread

I started trying to teach the kids to bake bread. Fortunately, it went a little better for us than the Swedish Chef. They learned how to create a "sponge", but then we ran short on time and I ended up finishing the dough and kneading it in the mixer real quick because we had to leave. I guess we will just take this one step at a time. We will be baking again on Friday and I plan to let them do some kneading. That's the fun part - watching it come alive in your hands!

Here is the basic recipe we have been using:

WHEAT BREAD

6 cups flour (I use 4 cups whole wheat and 2 cups bread flour) - divided
2 cups warm water (110 degrees F)
3 tsp. yeast
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup honey
3 tsp. salt

Mix together 2 cups flour, water, and yeast. Let this sit about 10 minutes or until it gets bubbly and "spongey." (This is the sponge.)

Mix in remaining ingredients and knead until the dough becomes springy and elastic. It is hard to describe when the dough is right. You should be able to stretch the dough into a thin "windowpane" when you are done. I usually use the dough hook on my kitchenaid mixer and knead for about 10 minutes. It can also be done by hand, but it will take a bit longer.

Form dough into a ball and place in a large bowl covered with plastic wrap to rise. It needs to double in size which will take several hours.

Scrape risen dough from bowl onto a floured surface. Deflate it and press out air bubbles. Use a knife and divide dough in two. Form loaves and place into greased loaf pans. Cover and allow rise again.

After dough has nearly doubled in size bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes. When the bread it done, the loaf will sound hollow when tapped on the bottom and it will be golden brown.

Let cool in pans fo 5-10 minutes, then remove to cooling rack and let cool fully before cutting if you can wait that long. We usually lose control from the smell and cut it while it is still hot. The slices aren't as pretty, but there is nothing like eating a slice of steamy, hot bread.

Enjoy!

A little scrappin'

I finally managed to sneak in a little scrappin' time this morning and I did this silly page.

Journaling reads:

Yes, I confess...I am having a torrid love affair. It is so hot and steamy, so delicious that I can’t bear to give it up. The amazing thing is that Barry doesn’t even seem to mind. In fact, he has encouraged it. So who is this “Ned”? He can often be found checking out the contents of my fridge and I do feed him often. But what I love about him most is his amazing talent at baking bread. Yes, Ned is my homemade wild yeast (sourdough) bread starter. Am I crazy for giving such a thing a name? Perhaps, but I have heard that explorers in the Klondike would sleep with their starters to keep them warm. At least I haven’t gone that far...yet.

Credits for the page can be found here.

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