Tag Archives: Baking

Brownies, no doubt due to their high chocolate content, are generally loved by everyone. What is it about chocolate? Is it the ensuing relaxation from its high magnesium content, or just the mere addictive qualities attributed to chocolate? Probably, all of the above. The creative ways of using chocolate are endless.

There are also a hundred different ways of making brownies, gluten free or otherwise  – and we have a few options up our sleeves! Read More »

Who doesn’t dream of a really good old-fashioned chocolate chip cookie? The kind you used to make when you were a kid? This is a very easy and quite tasty recipe from Chef Sunshine Best of Your Safe Kitchen in Chicago, IL. Chef Sunshine presented this recipe at the 2008 Gluten Free Cooking Expo and it was loved by all.

Ingredients for Flour Blend:
3/4 cup white bean flour
3/4 cup tapioca flour
3/4 cup arrowroot flour

Ingredients for Cookies:
2 1/4 cups Flour Blend (above)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup shortening, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar Read More »

I have often wondered what percentage of people following the gluten-free diet actually make their own bread.  I tend to use mixes to make sweet breads, but I usually buy my gluten-free bread off the shelf, or from my favorite local gluten-free bakery Pure Knead.

Most of us know that gluten-free bread has come a long way in the last five years, so there are a number of great options to be purchased at local health foods stores that don’t contain artificial ingredients and have the taste and texture of wheat-based bread.

Still, there seems to be a rising percentage of people who prefer to make their own gluten-free bread. Some of my favorite gluten-free bread mixes to use are: Read More »

If you didn’t already know, Betty Crocker does gluten-free cake, cookie, and brownie mixes now. Actually, these have been around for a while, but I’m honestly not a fan of Betty Crocker. Or cake mixes in general for that matter. But if I have to use a cake mix, I’m more than likely not going to eat it, so I usually go for Duncan Hines if it’s on sale or Pillsbury, whichever is cheaper.

A few days ago I realized that February is half over and I hadn’t posted anything since January, so I decided to try out the box of Betty Crocker Gluten Free Devil’s Food cake mix that had been sitting in my pantry for many weeks. I bought it on sale to use for something, I forget what, that I obviously never used it for. I was also in the mood for something chocolate. And easy. Cupcakes made from a mix are

Thanksgiving can be the most depressing holiday for a celiac. It’s a whole day that centers around food. And no one wants to feel left out of the festivities. Part of being a celiac isn’t just the food, it’s the psychology of standing out in a crowd. I’ve found that I hate being pegged with the “special meal.” I want to fit in and eat the same food as everyone else. Thus, the most comforting thing for me is being invited to the home of someone who is aware of the simple steps that can be taken to make a gluten-free Thanksgiving that’s delicious for everyone.

It’s not necessarily about making gluten-free alternatives of “regular” food. It’s about finding regular food that happens to be gluten-free. You don’t need to spend a fortune at a specialty grocery store; most of Read More »

 
When I heard that Gluten Free Works were encouraging bloggers to contribute recipes for Halloween/Fall it set me to thinking about some apples that I needed to use up.  They had been given to me by a fellow gluten free friend on a recent visit and I wanted to do something with them other than make crumble.

The best kind of gift

 

I have an apple cake recipe that I always use but I wanted to try making smaller cakes, spiced with the flavours that invoke thoughts of Christmas/Thanksgiving and the warm flavours that we love to wrap ourselves in as the weather turns colder.

I have only recently discovered that my pressure cooker is the best thing to use when Read More »

Not One, Not Two, But Three Types of Ginger!

This delicious gluten-free cake has a warm spicy flavour from its three types of ginger – fresh, crystallised and dried. The flavour improves when the cake is kept for a few days, so it is great as a bake ahead treat.

This recipe is based on the Ginger Butter Cake in Williams-Sonoma “Essentials of baking” p 100.

140g crystallised ginger, minced
80ml Grand Marnier
250g gf flour (40%urid, 40% tapioca, 20% cornmeal)
3 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground ginger
185g unsalted butter, room temperature
150g icing sugar
1 tbsp golden or agave syrup
4 large eggs, at room temperature
Grated zest 1 orange Read More »

This is often how things work with me. I decide at some point that I want something. Pizza, cookies, a madeleine…and since I’m eating a gluten-free diet, I can’t always go to the store to buy it. Or, maybe I can but it’s not always good.

So it was, that day, when I really wanted a good biscotti. Believe it or not, I’ve never even made them, even with gluten! The next part of the journey began with finding the right recipe.

I wasn’t in the mood for lemon pecan or orange walnut. I didn’t want chocolate either. Cinnamon almond was coming to mind so that’s what I decided to Read More »

Recently I made a loaf of bread using a bag of Namaste Foods Gluten Free Bread Mix. I bought this on sale at some point, and it subsequently sat in the pantry for a while. I’m not sure how long, but there’s another 8 months to go until the use-by date, so I’m not worried. I like to have stuff like this on hand because sometimes I get in the mood to eat bread, and that usually means I have to make it myself. This time, I was also in desperate need of clearing out some pantry space, so making this mix was the easy answer.

This is the third loaf of gluten free bread I’ve made from a mix (Pamela’s and Bob’s Red Mill were the other ones I tried), and it did fairly well. It rose way more than I thought it would, but it was still heavy and moist the first day, only to very quickly dry out by the third day after baking.

The bread mix consists of a flour blend made from brown rice flour, Read More »