French Bread from Julia Child

A February Daring Baker's Challenge

This month's challenge was thrilling and a little daunting, as we were making artisan style French Bread. To start us off our hostesses are Breadchick of The Sour Dough and Sara of I Like To Cook, selected the classic French bread recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, volume 2, by Julia Child and Simone Beck. My excitement was pretty high when I read that we were going to work on a recipe by Julia Child. I have to many fond memories of watching her cooking show on television as I was growing up and I was in the process of reading her autobiography, My Life in France, written with her grand nephew Paul Prud'Homme. However, I was a little daunted because gluten free bread making isn't quite the same as baking with gluten containing grains and it would be a challenge to get the dough to behave for the challenge.

I started off the challenge by doing a little research. I read Julia Child's Kitchen Wisdom and her book The Way To Cook, as both contain additional tips for making great French bread. Then I read and reread the recipe from "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" with all of Sara and Breadchick's helpful hints. Then I found several videos on making French Bread with Julia Child on PBS' website. In these video cuts, Julia is baking with Danielle Forestier, who at the time was the owner of a European-style bakery in Santa Barbara, California called Les Belles Miches and is now at The Feel Good Bakery in Alameda. Danielle is the first American to be awarded the title of Maitre Boulanger by the Chambre de Commerce in Paris. I felt ready to start the gluten bread making challenge.

Taking my own experience with baking gluten free bread into account, the first thing I did was to divide the original recipe in half. When I bake gluten free bread, one of the things I worry about is whether or not the yeast will become exhausted by the end of the first rise which results in a dense and gummy loaf of bread. So to increase the yeast's chances of success, I divide the recipe in half so it doesn't have as much work to do. I kept a tablespoon of agave syrup on hand to counteract the reaction between the fermenting yeast and the gluten free flours which can sometimes give the dough a sour taste that isn't the most pleasant. I added chia seed meal as the binding agent for the flours, since they are gluten free.

The recipe called for using floured towels on which to place the rising bread...well I have to confess...I didn't do it. I thought about it, but I vividly recalled the first time I tried to make gluten free French bread. Everything was going well, my dough was a great consistency just slightly tacky and not very sticky like most gluten free flour doughs tend to be. I floured up a towel, placed my dough on it and put it in a slightly warm spot to rise. When I returned and pulled out the loaf, it looked liked The Blob. The dough and the towel had become a single and cohesive unit, bonded by thread, flour and water into a living gooey thing. I tried out my best Edna Mode imitation and cried, "No towels! I will use parchment paper...flexible, easy to use and remove, dahling."

The dough went together well. The three risings of the bread went well, although it never achieved the height and loft that you can get with a gluten containing grain. It baked up beautifully, the first batch I made would only get slightly golden, but the second batch achieved a lovely golden look. To test out Julia's statement that the bread needs to rest for 2 to 3 hours, the first batch was a trio of fincelles (thin long loaves) and we cut one open right after it was removed from the oven. The lower half of the loaf was still slightly gummy...I thought the bread wasn't going to turn out at all. Then I cut into a loaf after 3 hours and the bread had the most wonderful texture, filled with lots of little air pockets and had the most divine taste. The second batch consisted of round rolls and discs for making pizza.

My family dived into the basket of bread slices and wiped out the first batch within a few minutes. My daughter declared that this was the best bread I had made since I started cooking gluten free. My husband and son merely wanted to know when I was going to make more as I had obviously not made enough the first time. The second batch of bread disappeared almost as quickly with pleas to make more again. What did I think? This is a truly satisfying loaf of gluten free bread, tastier and crunchier than any other gluten free loaf I have made to date. I want to try making this again, so I can try my hand at making a batard.

Recipe

1 package gluten free yeast
2 1/2 Tb warm water (100 degrees Fahrenheit)
1/2 cup fine brown rice flour
1/2 cup gluten free oat flour
1/2 cup arrowroot starch
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
2 tsp chia seed meal
1 1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup + 2 Tb water (70 degrees Fahrenheit)
If Needed: 1 - 1 1/2 Tb agave syrup

1. Step 1: In a small bowl, dump in the yeast and the 2 1/2 Tb of warm water (100 degrees Fahrenheit). Then let it liquefy completely while measuring out the other ingredients. Once the yeast is liquefied, pour it into the flour along with the salt and the rest of the water (1/2 cup + 2 Tb @ 70 degrees Fahrenheit).

2. Stir the mixture together with a wooden spoon until the mixture forms a dough. Make sure all the little bits of flour and dough are gathered together into one ball. The dough should be sticky and not dry. If the mixture is too dry, add one tablespoon of water at a time until the bread is the right consistency. If the mixture is too moist, then add one tablespoon of flour at a time until the right consistency is reached.

3. Step 2: First Rising (3 - 5 hours at around 70 degrees Fahrenheit). Allow the bread to rise in a cool location, yet not drafty location until it has at least doubled in bulk. (I placed a bowl of water in the microwave and warmed it slightly. Then I removed the bowl of water and placed the bowl of dough in the microwave. Then I left it to rise. You can also use your oven after you have turned the oven on until the temperature rises to 75 - 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Then turn the oven off.)

4. Step 3: Deflating and the Second Rising (1 1/2 to 2 hours). Gather the dough together into the center of the bowl and gently deflate it. Gently shape the dough ball again and replace into the bowl. Return it to the location where it was rising. If you are using the oven or the microwave take the same steps in item 3 to warm the oven to 75 - 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

5. Step 4: Cutting and Resting the Dough. Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a sheet of parchment paper. Cut the dough into three equal pieces for slender loaves called fincelles or cut it into six pieces for small round rolls called petits pains. (See the full recipe at Breadchick's The Sour Dough for all the shape variations.) Take each cut piece of dough and flip it over onto the opposite end to fold the dough into two. Set the folded dough aside on the parchment paper for 5 minutes to allow it to rest. While the dough is resting, cut another sheet of parchment paper for the shaped bread to sit on for the third rising. If you are making long loaves make sure you cut a longer piece of parchment paper.

6. Step 5: Forming the loaves: To make the fincelle take a piece of the dough and place it in the center of the parchment paper. Lightly sprinkle flour over the dough so you can shape it without the dough sticking to your hands. Placing both sets of fingers on the dough, gently roll the dough ball back and forth until you have a long roll that is about 1/2 inch in diameter. To make the petits pains take the dough balls and gently roll them back and forth until the obtain a slight oval shape. Place the shaped loaf or roll on the parchment paper you are using for the bread to rise for the third time. Place the fincelle about 2 inches from one edge of the paper. After you shape the second loaf place it about 3 inches away from the first loaf. Then pull up the parchment paper in between the two loaves so that the loaves are in little troughs. Continue this pattern until all the loaves are formed.

7. Step 6: The Third and Final Rise: (1 1/2 - 2 1/2 hours at around 70 degrees Fahrenheit). Allow the loaves to rise in a cool location, yet not drafty location until it has at least doubled in bulk. If you need to raise the temperature of your rising location, follow the steps in item 2.

8. Step 7: Preheating the Oven and Shifting the Loaves: Place your baking stone or terra cotta baking tiles into the oven and preheat to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure the oven rack is in the upper third of the oven. Gently roll your loaves over on the parchment paper and line them back up so that you can make each loaf sit in a trough.

9. Step 8: Slashing the loaves: Each loaf is going to be slashed in several places for the decorative appearance of the bread. These are done with a razor blade or a very sharp knife that cuts through the bread at a depth of less than 1/2 inch. Start the cut at the middle of the blade and draw the knife towards you in one clean sweep. The blade should lie almost parallel to the surface of the dough. For the fincelle make 3 slashes and for the petits pains you can make one slash or a decorative cross.

10. Step 9: Baking - About 25 minutes for Fincelles and 15 minutes for Petits Pains: As soon as you have slashed the loaves, sprinkle the loaves with a fine spray of water or brush the water on. Then slide or lift the parchment paper onto the baking stone. Very carefully lift the parchment paper between each loaf so that they maintain their shape. Place a bowl of water into the oven on the bottom shelf. Place a heated stone into the water so that you will have steam for helping to make a crisp crust. Then lightly spray the interior of the oven with water. Set the timer for 25 minutes, when the timer reaches 3 minutes lightly spray the bread with water. Do this again at 6 minutes and 9 minutes. This helps the crust to brown and allows the yeast action to continue in the bread. Paint the bread lightly with cold water if you want the crust to shine.

11. Step 10: Cooling - 2 to 3 hours. Set the bread out in a basket or in a large bowl so that air can circulate around it. Although it will be just about more than your nose can take...you must wait at least 2 hours. Otherwise the bread will be a little gummy inside since it won't have time to compose itself after cooling completely. Enjoy!

Finish Fingers

When I told our children that I was going to make Finnish Fingers, they weren't overjoyed. They thought I was going to make Halloween party food that was shaped like real fingers. Not fans of spooky food, they started working on their best pleading skills to keep me from making the cookies. As soon as I could get a few words into a very one sided conversation, I began to make my case for trying out a new cookie recipe, one that didn't have anything to do with food masquerading as body parts. Once I described the cookies as a sweet confection decorated with chocolate toppings, they were far happier.

Finnish Fingers (Finska pinnar) are a traditional favorite not only in Finland, but throughout Scandinavia. Full of character and flavor, Finnish Fingers are an enjoyable to make and fun to eat. The recipe that I used came from "Things Swedish," by Mari Hemming (Albert Bonniers Forlag, 2001). I substituted vegetable shortening and coconut oil for the butter, used gluten free flours in place of the wheat and used chia seed meal as the binder. The glaze recipes came from the Fanny Farmer cookbook and are found on my post for Chocolate Chestnut Doughnuts.


Once they were ready to eat, my family moved in and by Friday there was one lone Turbinado sugar cookie left. Most of us thought they were delicious. My son preferred the ones with the crunchy sugar outside and my husband and I liked those with the chocolate glaze and almonds. My daughter decided she would rather eat the gluten free chocolate chip cookies that I made. This recipe made two dozen cookies, a nice size for having around or for saving out a few and freezing the rest. This recipe is a keeper as it's perfect for when you are in the mood for something very enjoyable and a little different.

This post was submitted to the monthly event, Does My Blog Look Good In This, hosted this month by Bake or Break.

Recipe

Cookie

7 Tb vegetable shortening
7 Tb coconut oil
1/2 cup cane sugar
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup chestnut flour *
1/2 cup sweet rice flour
1/4 cup + 1 Tb arrowroot starch
1/2 cup almond meal
2 tsp chia seed meal **
1/2 tsp almond extract

Toppings

Turbinado sugar
Sprinkelz
Chopped almonds
Chocolate Glaze
Vanilla Glaze

1. In the bowl to your mixer, cream the shortening and coconut oil. Then slowly add the cane sugar.

2. In a medium bowl, dump in the flours and meals. Then stir together.

3. Slowly add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture in the bowl of the mixer. Once blended. Plop in the almond extract and continue to blend.

4. Remove the bowl from the mixer and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes.

5. Line several cookie pans with parchment paper. Then place a sheet of parchment paper on the counter for a surface to roll the cookies.


6. Remove a scoop of dough and make a ball in your hands. Then slowly roll the ball on the counter until it forms a log that is the thickness of a finger and about 2 inches long. Then place the cookie on the cookie sheet. Repeat until all the cookies are formed.

7. For cookies covered in Turbinado sugar: Roll the uncooked cookie in the sugar and replace on the cookie sheet.

8. Then chill the cookies in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes. While the cookies are chilling, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

9. Remove the cookies from the refrigerator and place in the oven. Bake for 15-17 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to completely cool before decorating them. Makes 2 dozen cookies.

1o. For the Chocolate and Almond Cookies: Gently pick up a cookie and sprinkle chopped almonds on the parchment paper were the ends of the cookie had been resting. Then dip each end of the cookie in the chocolate glaze and allow the excess to drip off. Replace the cookie on the cookie sheet so that the chocolate ends are resting on top of the chopped almonds. Then sprinkle chopped almonds over the chocolate glazed tops of the cookies. Allow the chocolate to set before serving.

11. For Vanilla Glaze and Sprinkelz Cookies: Gently dip one end of the cookie into the vanilla glaze and allow the excess to drip off. Then roll the glazed end of the cookie into a bowl containing the Sprinkelz. Repeat this on the other end of the cookie. Once decorated, replace the cookie on the parchment paper. Allow the glaze to set before serving.

* Chestnut flour: You can purchase chestnut flour at your local Whole Foods, Glutenfree.com and the Glutenfreemall.com

** Chia Seed: You can purchase chia seed from Native Seeds/SEARCH. Then I grind them in my coffee grinder to make a meal that works as a binder in place of xanthan or guar gum.

Kronans Kaka (The Crown's Reward)

We were recently given a copy of the book, "Things Swedish," by Mari Hemming (Albert Bonniers Forlag, 2001) that had a few recipes that I wanted to try making for us. The first recipe I tried was Swedish meatballs and they turned out so well my family has been talking about them ever since. Then there were cookie, cinnamon bun and cake recipes that were tantalizing me, however it was the Kronans kaka ( The Crown's Reward) was enticing me into the kitchen.

Made with almonds, potatoes, sugar and butter, Kronans kaka sounded delightfully rich. However, I would need to change out a few problem ingredients for those that don't get our allergies going. I switched out the potatoes for Jersey sweet potatoes, halved the required butter with vegetable shortening and replaced the sugar with agave syrup. Next I added some psyllium (plantago) seed meal to hold the cake together.

Mild in flavor, the Jersey sweet potato is less sweet than orange fleshed sweet potatoes and their flesh is drier. They share the same nutrient profile as the orange fleshed varieties making then high in calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K and betaine. The yellow fleshed Jersey sweet potato worked beautifully in this recipe and kept the cake mild in flavor.

My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed this cake and had a slice for breakfast over the weekend. My children weren't fond of the dark crust that this cake developed while baking, but enjoyed it once I removed the crust for them. This cake tasted the best several days after I made it, when all the flavors had fully melded together. This recipe is a keeper and destined to be made again soon.

This recipe is being submitted to the Gluten Free Teatime Treats baking event hosted by Naomi of Straight Into Bed Cakefree and Dried.

Recipe

Cake

1 cup (150 g) ground almonds
1 cup (150 g) butter or 1/2 cup butter & 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
2/3 cup agave syrup or 3/4 cup cane sugar
4 eggs
2/3 cup Jersey sweet potatoes (yellow fleshed), baked & mashed
2 Tb psyllium (plantago) seed meal

Almond Glaze

1/8 tsp almond extract
1 cup (200 ml) powdered sugar
1 - 2 Tb almond milk

1. Line an 8 inch spring form pan with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. In a medium bowl, stir butter, vegetable shortening until creamed. Slowly add the agave syrup and stir together.

3. Plop in one egg yolk at a time and stir well. Then dump in the almond meal, psyllium seed meal and mashed potatoes.

4. Whisk the egg whites until they hold a firm peak and then gently fold them into the cake mixture.

5. Spread mixture in the springform pan. Bake in lower part of the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. Note: The cake will be slightly sticky. Allow to cool before glazing the top.

6. In a small bowl, dump in the powdered sugar, almond extract and almond milk. Stir together and work out any clumps of powdered sugar with the back of the spoon. Then spread the glaze on the top of the cake and sprinkle with chopped almonds. Serves 8.

Chocolate Chestnut Doughnuts

My children have been asking me for quite some time to try my hand at making doughnuts. I have to admit, I've been resisting their requests. I was feeling pretty rusty with my frying skills and the fried ravioli appetizer that went horribly wrong popped vividly into my mind (think smoke, burning food, panicked dog, crying toddler). However, my children are quite persistent and have developed some wicked negotiating skills. It wasn't long before I was relenting under the combined weight of their arguments.

With my fate sealed, I chose the Old Fashioned Chocolate Doughnut recipe from my Fanny Farmer cookbook. I was just praying that Fanny's recipe would save the day. Loaded with cocoa powder and relying on baking powder to give them a bit of loft, this sounded like something that could work for my first foray into making gluten free doughnuts. Then I selected a Creamy Chocolate Frosting and a Vanilla Glaze recipe to finish off these delectable little delights.

Doughnut frying novice that I am, I managed to burn the first batch of doughnuts. Thankfully, it was easy to modify my timing on flipping the doughnuts over and the following batches were saved from having a dense carbon coating. After they drained and cooled down, I dipped half of the doughnuts into a boiled chocolate frosting and the rest into a light vanilla glaze.

I was pretty pleased with myself on Saturday morning, decked out in my apron and pajamas, eating my own gluten free chocolate doughnuts. They had a dense cocoa flavor that wasn't too sweet. The texture was like cake and held together nicely in your hand without falling apart. My husband and I thought they were pretty good, although my children would have preferred a sweeter doughnut. Their favorite part was the much sweeter chocolate frosting.

This recipe is being submitted to Tartelette & Peabody's Time to Make the Doughnuts Baking Event. Stop by their sites after February 12th to see a round up of all the submissions.

Recipe

Doughnuts

1/2 cup almond milk
1/2 cup cane sugar or 1/3 cup agave syrup
1 egg, beaten
1 Tb melted butter or vegetable shortening
3 tsp baking powder
pinch nutmeg
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp chia seed meal
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup chestnut flour
1/2 cup arrowroot starch
1/4 cup sweet rice flour

1. In a large bowl, dump in all the dry ingredients and stir together.

2. In a medium bowl, pour in the almond milk, agave syrup (if you are using it instead of cane sugar), butter and egg. Stir together.

3. Pour the liquid ingredients slowly into the large bowl holding the dry ingredients. Then stir together. If the mixture is too dry, add one tablespoon full of almond milk at a time until the dough is the right consistency. It should hold together and stay together when rolled into a ball.

4. Divide the dough in half and place one part on a piece of parchment paper. Cover the dough with another piece of parchment paper and roll out until the dough is about 1/2 inch thick. Place the rolled dough sandwiched in between the parchment paper in the refrigerator to cool for at least 1 hour.

5. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and using the cutter press out the doughnuts. Make sure to save the centers, so you can make doughnut holes. Place the cut doughnuts and holes on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Continue until you have cut doughnuts out of all the dough.

6. In a heavy sauce pan pour in enough oil so that it is at least 1 to 2 inches deep. (I used my electric wok to fry the doughnuts.) Place your frying thermometer on the side of the pan and bring up the temperature of the oil until it reaches 360 degrees Fahrenheit.

7. Fry 3 to 4 of the doughnuts at a time. Use a chopstick to flip them over to cook the other side. Keep an eye on them as they cook quickly and will burn if left on one side too long. Use a slotted spoon or a spider to remove the doughnuts from the oil. Place them on a paper towel lined pan to drain. Allow to cool fully before frosting.

8. Dip one side of the doughnuts into the chocolate frosting and set on a parchment paper lined pan to dry. For the glazed doughnuts, dip one side into the mixture and then flip them over. Use chopsticks to stand up the doughnut to roll the side of the doughnut through the glaze. Set the glazed doughnut on the parchment paper to dry.




Chocolate Frosting

2 ounces semi sweet chocolate grated
1 cup cane sugar
3 Tb cornstarch
1 Tb butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp sea salt
1 cup water

1. In a medium bowl, dump in the sugar and cornstarch.

2. In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, bring the water to a boil. Once it is boiling, dump in the chocolate and stir. Then pour in the sugar and the cornstarch. Constantly stir the mixture over the heat until it is thick and smooth. Then remove the pan from the heat.

3. Dump in the butter, vanilla and salt and beat well.


Vanilla Glaze

1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 Tb water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. In a small bowl, dump in the powdered sugar, water and vanilla extract. Stir together and using the back of the spoon press out any of powdered sugar that is still clumped together.

2. Once the mixture is smooth it is ready for the doughnuts.

Fudge Pielets - A Heart for Your Valentine

Almost 9 years ago on Valentine's Day, I was on bed rest and we were waiting the birth of our lovely little girl. While the doctor had given me kitchen privileges to go grab something, I couldn't stand and cook a lovely dinner for us. Nor could I go out to a restaurant and share a special meal together with my love. My sister-in-law were taking care of our son during the day, since I couldn't be up and on my feet.

Undaunted by our challenges, my husband went to the Whole Foods near his office and ordered a Valentine's Meal for us. Next he picked up flowers, a movie and our son from my brother's house and headed for home. There was salmon, a salad of wild greens, asparagus and a decadent chocolate dessert. For our son there were chicken tenders, carrots, potatoes and a little vanilla ice cream. After dinner we watched the movie and delighted in being together. It was a wonderful Valentine's Day, being together with the ones I love while we waited for our little one to come. Our tiny strawberry haired girl arrived five weeks later, just in time for our anniversary.

Since that time, we celebrate Valentine's Day at home. We select a menu from a local restaurant or Whole Foods and bring our meal home. Sometimes, I make our dessert and other times we buy something rich and full of chocolate from a local pastry shop. As the kids have gotten older, they have been put in charge of our activities while my husband and I take care of dinner.

For my loved ones this year, I wanted to share with them a dessert my mother made when I was younger. It was a recipe was from her friend Evelyn for a sweet concoction called Fudge Pie, that she served either with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. It was an intensely sweet dessert that I wanted adapt to be less sugary and tweak to be gluten free. For a special touch, I used mini cookie cutters to cut out hearts for my loved ones.

Everyone loved the little hearts and were delighted that the dessert wasn't as sweet as the first ones I made. My husband and I enjoyed our little hearts plain, but our children had them adorning a small bowl of vanilla ice cream. They were a heavenly little bite of chocolate to round off a wonderful meal.

I'm also submitting this recipe to the A Heart for Your Valentine event hosted by Zorra at 1x Umruhren Bitte.

Recipe

2 ounces semi sweet chocolate
6 Tb butter
2 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup cane sugar
1 Tb arrowroot starch
1 Tb sweet rice flour
2 Tb brown rice flour
1 1/2 tsp chia seed meal
pinch sea salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Line an 8 x 8 cake pan with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. In a medium sauce pan, drop in the butter and chocolate. Melt together on low heat, stirring to make sure the chocolate doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.

3. Once melted together, dump in the sugar and stir. Stir for a few minutes until the chocolate is incorporated. Remove from the heat.

4. In a small bowl, plop in the flours, chia seed meal and the salt. Stir together.

5. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the top of the melted chocolate and stir together.

6. Add the egg to the sauce pan and stir until incorporated.

7. Pour the mixture into the cake pan and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool before serving.

Swedish Meatballs

Several weeks ago, my husband brought home a beautiful book, "Things Swedish," by Mari Hemming (Albert Bonniers Forlag, 2001). Wrapped in ribbon and tied with a beautiful bow, my children and I were unable to resist it. We opened the book and began to look at all the fabulous photographs by Dan Tobin Smith. Each page is an insight into the culture and people of Sweden, through it's images and stories. Interspersed throughout the book are the foods of Sweden, such as cinnamon buns, oatmeal biscuits, Kronans kaka (The Crown's Reward), semla and Swedish meatballs.

When we asked my husband where he had gotten the book, he said it had been given to him by Ingegerd, a new member his firm's global team. She had come to New York to meet the team and learn about their practice. She gave each person she met with a copy of "Things Swedish."

After going through it the second time, pages with scrumptious recipes were book marked. Then we passed the book around so that each of us could vote on which recipe they wanted to try making first. There wasn't any contest, as the Swedish meatballs won with four votes...well five if we counted our Sheltie.

As I began browning the meatballs, one by one they all wandered back into the kitchen. Everyone was checking out what was in the skillet, except for our Sheltie. She was occupied with keeping one of my feet pinned to the floor under her body...just letting me know she's there and ready to devote herself to taste testing. I finished the meatballs off in the oven and then served them up for a late dinner.

The meatballs were rich and flavorful. The allspice was a perfect enhancement to the flavor of the bison. We enjoyed the meatballs so much, I'm sure they will become a regular on our family menu. Warm and hearty this meal was perfect for a chilly winter evening.

Thank you Ingegerd for a lovely book and a wonderful meal.

Recipe

1 lb (454 grams) ground bison (buffalo)
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup + 2 Tb (150 ml) rice milk
1 egg
10 Tbs gluten free cracker or bread crumbs
1 - 2 tsp sea salt
1 - 2 pinches allspice
Oil or butter for frying

1. In a large bowl, dump in the rice milk, cracker crumbs and spices and allow to soak for a few minutes.

2. In the skillet, plop in the onions and brown on low heat.

3. Add the ground bison and egg to the large bowl. Mix until throughly blended.

4. Using a tablespoon scoop out some of the meat mixture. With wet hands, roll the meat into a ball. Place into the skillet to fry.

5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. As the finish browning, place them in a oven proof dish to finish cooking. Or lower the heat and finish cooking them in the skillet.