Wheat- and Corn-free Brownies

Remember that wheat and corn-free four flour bean mix recipe I posted a while back? Here's how I use this mix to make the tastiest brownies. I apologize for the lack of a photo - as soon as I make another batch, I'll get a pic and upload it.

When baking with wheat- and corn-free flours, I have the best results when I use stoneware baking pans. Mine are from The Pampered Chef, and are treasured components of my kitchen equipment.

Makes 16 large brownies

1 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1-1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1-1/2 cups four flour bean mix
1 cup chopped walnuts

1. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Use a medium saucepan on low heat to melt the butter and chocolate.
3. Remove from heat; stir in sugar.
4. Add eggs and vanilla beat lightly just until combined.
5. Stir in flour and nuts.
6. Spread batter in pan.
7. Bake in a 325-degree oven for 45 minutes. Cool. Cut into bars. Enjoy!

Gluten-free Naan - easy AND tasty!!!

Waaaay back in January, I posted a recipe for the flour mix we use to make pizza. I have great news, especially if you're a fan of Indian food. This flour mix works REALLY well for making naan, a tender, very tasty leavened flat bread.

finished naan, ready for devouring!

Here's how we did it, loosely based on Bette Hagman's Pita Bread recipe found on page 193 of The Gluten-free Gourmet Bakes Bread.

The following makes about 20 individual naan breads - enough for two adults, two teenagers, and a hungry naan-crazed 8 year old boy.

You'll need 1-2 cookie sheets, butter or margarine, waxed paper, and a sheet or two of baker's parchment paper if your cookie sheets are aluminum like mine. Use the butter or margarine to grease the cookie sheets. You will also need a pastry brush, about 1/2 cup of butter/margarine mixed with 1-2 Tbsp. minced or pressed garlic if you want garlic naan, or no garlic if you want plain naan, and a shaker of salt.

Dry ingredients - combine in bowl of heavy-duty mixer using paddle:
6 cups French bread/pizza mix <--I've been making mine without the egg replacer, and just upping the egg content in the wet ingredients - it's working well for us. 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. Almond meal or coconut flour
1-1/2 tsp. salt
4-1/2 Tbsp. sugar

Wet ingredients:

5 eggs

In a bowl, combine and set aside to foam:
2-1/1 Tbsp. dry yeast granules
1-1/2 cups warm (not hot) water
2 tsp. sugar

In another bowl, combine to melt shortening/coconut oil:
3/8 cup shortening or virgin coconut oil
3/4 cup hot water

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Add eggs, foamed yeast mixture, and melted shortening/coconut oil/water mixture to dry ingredients and blend. Set mixer on high speed and beat for 3-1/2 minutes.

While you're waiting for the naan dough to mix up, tear off a few sheets of waxed paper and grease them, using the butter or margarine. You'll want the waxed paper sheets to be about 20-24" long - big enough for you to lay on 3-4 naans to rise.

Once the dough is thoroughly mixed, grab 2 tsp. of butter/margarine and rub it all over your hands. The dough is very soft and sticky, which makes for a tender finished bread, but it's a mess to work with if your hands aren't adequately greased. I found that I needed to re-grease my hands before I started working with each new piece of dough.

Use a rubber spatula to scoop out a small handful of dough, about the size of a duck egg, and form it into a thick cylinder, about 5-6 inches long. Lay the dough cylinder onto a cookie sheet (or one of the pieces of greased waxed paper, once you fill up your cookie sheets) and gently pat it into a flat, elongated teardrop shape, about 10-12 inches long, and about 5-6 inches at the widest point. Continue forming individual naan breads until all the dough is used up. Allow naan to rise for about an hour.

naan, rising

Preheat oven to 450-500 degrees Fahrenheit.

Use the pastry brush to brush a thin layer of garlic butter over the top of each naan, and then sprinkle a bit of salt over the top of that. Bake naan for 5-7 minutes, watching carefully near the end of the baking period. You want the tops to be golden brown. Use a spatula to remove naan from cookie sheet to a piece of paper towel to cool.

I found that the greased waxed paper worked great for the rising naan - and you should be able to re-use the parchment paper for the whole batch - just (very carefully) flip the waxed paper over and the naan should come away from the waxed paper easily. You might also try picking up each individual naan bread and laying it onto the cookie sheet. Whichever method you use, don't forget to brush on the (garlic) butter and sprinkle the salt!

This naan is best enjoyed immediately (preferably with a big plate of rice & veggies masala) but can also be re-heated using a toaster set to the lowest setting.

Gluten-free WAFFLES!!!

One of my most favorite foods EVER is waffles. I'm not sure why - maybe it's because the little square holes hold butter and syrup so nicely, and then again, maybe it's the fabulous contrast between crusty outside and light and fluffy inside. The original version of this recipe is in Bette Hagman's book, The Gluten-free Gourmet. I've changed it up a bit, and I always try to make lots of extra waffles, so we can freeze some for "instant breakfasts."

3 cups Four Flour Bean Mix (or you can use 1-1/2 cups rice flour + 3/4 cup garbanzo bean flour + 3/4 cup potato starch flour)
3/4 tsp. salt
8 tsp. baking powder
1-1/2 tbsp. sugar
5 eggs
3/8 cup vegetable oil
2-1/4 cups milk or nondairy liquid

Measure dry ingredients, mix together, and set aside. Pre-heat waffle iron.

Beat eggs, oil, and milk in a mixing bowl. Add dry ingredients and fold in gently with spoon. Don't overbeat.

Bake on waffle iron and serve.

To freeze, place a single layer of cooked waffles on a rack and place in freezer. Once frozen, waffles may be stored in a freezer zip-seal bag. To re-heat, pop waffles in the toaster.

Lemon Bars! (yes, no wheat, no corn, ALL good!)

Now that you've made up a batch of Four Flour Bean Mix and a batch of corn-free baking powder, you're all set to make Lemon Bars. Enjoy!

Lemon Squares, from Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook [Recipe doubled. CH]

12 tablespoons butter or margarine

½ teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups of Four Flour Bean Mix plus 1-1/2 teaspoons guar gum

4 eggs

1-1/2 cups sugar

4 tablespoons Four Flour Bean Mix

½ teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel

6 tablespoons lemon juice

½ teaspoon baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9” x 13” baking pan.
2. Beat butter for 30 seconds; add the ½ cup sugar and the ½ teaspoon salt, beating till fluffy. Stir in the 2 cups of flour. Pat dough onto bottom of pan. Bake in a 350° oven for 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, beat eggs; add remaining 1-1/2 cups sugar, 4 tablespoons flour, lemon peel, lemon juice, and baking powder. Beat 3 minutes or till slightly thickened. Pour over baked layer.
4. Bake in a 350° oven 25 to 30 minutes longer or till light golden brown around edges and center is set. Cool. Cut into squares. Makes 32.

Wheat- & Corn-Free Pancakes!!!

3.15.11 EDIT: Added picture of pancakes, cooking up on the griddle. Yep. They were delicious!

Happy Saturday!

No, I didn't forget. I'm finishing up those mixed media paper art charms - they are thisclosetodone - just need to seal them, then I'll post pics and how-to's as fast as I can.

In the meantime, I'll keep posting my favorite wheat- and corn-free recipes.

Following is the BEST recipe for wheat- and corn-free pancakes I've found - from Special Diet Celebrations, by Carol Fenster. (I found Special Diet Celebrations at our local library - when I checked on Amazon for the book just now, it appears that the second edition has been renamed Gluten-Free Celebrations: Memorable Meals without Wheat - and couldn't find the book under either title on Carol's main website, though she has a number of other books on gluten-free cooking.)

GF BEST Pancakes

• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups plain or vanilla yogurt
• 1 cup garfava flour
• ½ cup potato starch
• ½ cup tapioca flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 4 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 4 tsp vanilla (omit this if you’re using vanilla yogurt)
• 2 tbsp cooking oil

Whisk egg and yogurt in bowl. Add remaining ingredients and blend, just until mixed. Cook over medium heat.

* You can also replace the garfava flour, potato starch & tapioca flour with 2 cups of the Four Flour Bean Mix.

Pizza Crust recipe (wheat/corn/gluten-free)

Today's post will enable you to make PIZZA without wheat or corn! Both of the following recipes are from Bette Hagman's book, The Gluten-free Gourmet Bakes Bread. The first recipe is for French Bread/Pizza Mix; once you have this mixed up, it's a snap to prepare delicious pizza at home. As always, I've made a few modifications to the recipes to suit our family's needs as follows:

• use guar gum in place of xanthan gum (xanthan gum is produced using corn products, not OK for us)
• omit egg replacer in dry mix, substitute with an extra egg in the wet ingredients

French Bread/Pizza Mix, p. 190, The Gluten-Free Gourmet Bakes Bread, Bette Hagman

makes 12 cups of mix

• 7 cups white rice flour
• 5 cups tapioca flour
• ¼ cup guar gum (I found the best price on this at Barry Farms)
• 1 ounce unflavored gelatin (I buy gelatin in big cans at Cash & Carry, you can also use 4 7-gram packets)
• ¼ cup egg replacer (you can delete this ingredient and add an extra egg per single crust to the wet ingredients)
• ½ cup sugar

Stir together well or place in a plastic bag and tumble. (I use a plastic 1 gallon juice container.) Store on your pantry shelf, no need to refrigerate.

Seasoned Pizza Crust, p. 191, The Gluten-Free Gourmet Bakes Bread, Bette Hagman

To freeze for later use, bake for the first 10 minutes, coo, then wrap and freeze. To use, thaw completely, then top and bake.

CH Note: We use stoneware pizza pans for the best results – otherwise, the crust turns out soggy and limp. I got our stoneware from The Pampered Chef.

For 1 crust:

Dry Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups French Bread/Pizza M
• 3 tbsp. dry milk powder
• ¾ tsp. Italian seasoning
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2-1/2 tsp. dry yeast granules

Wet Ingredients

• 1 egg (2 eggs if you omitted the egg replacer in the dry mix)
• 1-1/2 tbsp. olive or vegetable oil
• ½ tsp. apple cider vinegar
• ½ cup + 1 tbsp. warm water

Preheat oven to 400°F (375°F if using stoneware pan). Lightly grease baking sheet.

Blend dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Place wet ingredients in bowl of heavy-duty mixer and blend. Turn the mixer to low and add the flour mix. Beat on high for 3-1/2 minutes.

Spoon dough onto prepared pan, and spread to within ½ inch of pan edges. Dough is really sticky and will be a challenge to work with initially.

Let crust rise about 10 minutes, then bake for 10-15 minutes while you prepare pizza toppings. Top crust with sauce, cheese, and additional toppings. Bake again for about 25 minutes. Lift crust with a spatula to see if it’s golden and done.

More Gluten-free & Corn-free tricks and tips

Here are two quick recipes to help you with cooking without wheat and corn. I rely heavily on both of these recipes.

The first is my tweaked-for-no-corn version of Bette Hagman's fabulous Four Flour Bean Mix. Add 3/4 tsp. of guar gum (or xanthan gum, if you don't have issues with corn) to each cup of this flour mix, and you'll be able to use this in most recipes calling for wheat flour. I've had great success using this flour mix to make oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, lemon bars that are (cue hallelujah chorus) simply divine, and tasty quick biscuits to go with soup. Check this blog in the near future for these, and more, yummy recipes.


Four Flour Bean Mix, makes 9 cups

• 2 cups garbanzo flour (you can also use the more expensive garfava flour) - available from Barry Farm and from Bob's Red Mill
• 1 cup sorghum flour - also available from Barry Farm and from Bob's Red Mill
• 4-1/2 cups tapioca starch - I buy this at our local Asian grocery, also available from Barry Farm and Bob's Red Mill
• 1-1/2 cups potato starch - Another item I buy at our Asian grocery, also available from Barry Farm and Bob's Red Mill
• 7 teaspoons guar gum - as a slacker mom, I add in the guar gum when I make up the flour mix, so I don't have to remember to add it when I'm working with a recipe. Barry Farm and Bob's Red Mill both carry guar gum.

Combine all ingredients, mixing well. I use a clean and dry 1-gallon pitcher (with the lid on!!!) to blend my flour mix - I hold the lid on with one hand, and shake, rattle, and roll that pitcher until everything looks seriously mixed up. Store flour mix in a 1 gallon zip-seal bag in the cupboard.

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The second recipe is for no-corn-starch baking powder, an essential ingredient in the bread recipe I posted yesterday, as well as many others, including the aforementioned tasty quick biscuits. I found this recipe in The Allergy Self-Help Cookbook, written by Marjorie Hurt Jones, R.N.

No Corn Starch Baking Powder
The original version of this recipe makes 2 tablespoons - not nearly enough to have on hand for making up bread mixes, lots and lots of biscuits, and a few batches of cookies - so I tweaked it to make lots. Also - the original recipe calls for arrowroot flour - which is expensive compared to tapioca starch, so I just use tapioca starch instead, with pleasing results.

• 1/4 cup cream of tartar (I get mine from Cash & Carry, our local restaurant supply store - Barry Farm carries it as well.)
• 1/4 cup tapioca starch
• 1/8 cup baking soda

A couple of caveats for this recipe:

• ALWAYS use fresh baking soda
• sift your ingredients well - two times through the sifter should be adequate
• store the finished baking powder in an airtight jar in the cupboard (I use a recycled jam jar & lid)

Wanna make more baking powder? The ratio is 2 parts cream of tartar, 2 parts tapioca starch, and 1 part baking soda.

• 1/2 cup cream of tartar
• 1/2 cup tapioca starch
• 1/4 cup baking soda