October 31, 2009

Panettone (B&P#31)




I have a love - hate relationship with yeast. There are days when it works wonderfully for me. When all my tricks to get it to perform with gluten free flours are spot on.  Then there are days...where it doesn't matter what I do...it just sits there...leaden.

Unfortunately, I've been making mini panettone brick bats this week. I had to go out and buy more raisins, since I used up what I had. I ran out of small panettone wrappers making the different batches. Then last night, it worked...a panettone loaf worth eating.

These are my tips for working with yeast and gluten free flours:

- Use double the amount of yeast called for in a bread recipe

- The yeast rises better when it has a sugar to feed it

- Do all the shaping first and then allow the dough to rise

- Let the bread rise in a warm location

- Never use water or other liquid hotter than 115 degrees Fahrenheit

- Try not to bake bread on a rainy day

How was the panettone? Delicious! Rich and smooth on the tongue.  The touch of wine brought out the flavor of the fruit and peel. We enjoyed it with a cup of espresso for breakfast.

Recipe

Protein Content:
Original Content: 26.26 g
GF Content: 26.094 g


Sponge

13 g sweet rice flour (.78 g)
13 g arrowroot starch (.038 g)
15 g millet flour (1.725 g)
27 g white bean flour (5.805 g)
6 g chia seed meal (1.26 g)
30 g instant yeast
33 g cane sugar
120 ml milk

1. In a medium sized bowl, dump in the flours, meal, yeast and sugar, then stir together. Pour in the milk and stir again.

2. Place the sponge mixture in a warm location and allow to ferment for about 45 minutes.

Fruit Mixture

28 g candied orange peel
28 g candied lemon peel
28 g raisins
28 g golden raisins
2 g lemon zest, grated
2 g orange zest, grated
40 ml white wine, Riesling or Sauvignon Blanc

1. Dump all the ingredients in a container with a lid. Shake the mixture until it is throughly blended.

2.  Allow the mixture to sit for at least 45 minutes, but you can allow it to sit and soak longer. This can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator.

Final Dough

25 g brown rice flour (2.25 g)
20 g sweet rice flour (1.2 g)
20 g arrowroot starch (.06 g)
38 g almond meal (7.6 g)
25 g white bean flour (5.375 g)
4 g agar agar powder
6 g sea salt
fruit mixture (from above)
sponge mixture (from above)
51 g eggs
4 g glucose syrup
43 g butter, softened
30 ml agave syrup

Egg Wash

1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup milk
smidgeon sea salt

1. In a large bowl, dump in the flours, agar agar, salt and fruit mixture. Stir together, making sure that the fruit is blended throughout and not clumped together.

2. Add the sponge mixture, eggs, syrups and butter to the bowl. Stir together until it forms a soft ball. If the dough is still loose, add a little arrowroot starch until the dough forms a soft ball.

3. Grease and flour a panettone wrapper (1 large or 4 small). Take the panettone dough and place in the center of a sheet of parchment paper that has been sprinkled with arrowroot starch. Form the dough into a smooth ball and then place in the large panettone wrapper. Or divide into 4 equal pieces and place in the small wrappers.  Lightly brush the egg wash over the top of the dough. Then place the wrappers in a warm location so it/they can rise for 3 hours.

4. Place an oven proof bowl on the bottom shelf of the oven. Then preheat the oven to 385 degrees Fahrenheit/196 degrees Celsius. Brush the top of the dough with egg wash again. Next score the center of the dough with a small X and place a pat of butter in the center of the cut.

5. Place the wrapper(s) on a parchment covered cookie sheet and place in the oven.  Using a squirt bottle spritz water over the interior of the oven and on top of the bread.  Cook for 30 to 40 minutes for the large wrapper and 20 to 25 minutes for the small wrappers. Cool completely before serving.

October 27, 2009

Chocolate Macarons with Godiva Buttercream Filling




The October Daring Baker Challenge

The 2009 October Daring Baker's challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming's The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe. You can visit Ami at her blog, Baking Without Fear.

More than a few have suggested that French-style macaroons (called macarons in France) might supplant the cupcake. This may or may not come to pass, but the basic premise of the French macaroon is pretty damned tasty.  In the United States, the term “macaroon” generally refers to a cookie made primarily of coconut. But European macaroons are based on either ground almonds or almond paste, combined with sugar and egg whites. The texture can run from chewy, crunchy or a combination of the two.

Frequently, two macaroons are sandwiched together with ganache, buttercream or jam, which can cause the cookies to become more chewy. The flavor possibilities and combinations are nigh endless, allowing infinitely customizable permutations.

Ami tried quite a few different recipes and discovered that her favorite macaroon recipe comes from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern. They have given her the most consistent results and so, for everyone’s delectation, here is an adaptation of Ms. Fleming’s recipe.

Recipe
Yield: 6 to 10 dozen, depending on size

Notes:

1. It takes a little more time to get everything ready to bake, but it doesn't take very long to bake the macarons.

2. Egg whites must be at room temperature.

3. Silicone baking sheets (i.e. Silpat) work better than parchment paper for piping out the macarons.  However, if you chose to use parchment paper be very careful when you peel the paper off the back of the macarons.

4. You can make a stencil to pipe your macarons, so that they will all be the same size.

5. For 1 inch macarons, pipe out a 1/2 inch sized dollop of batter.  As they dry on the counter, the macaron batter will spread out to the 1 inch size.

6. Pipe out the macarons, before preheating the oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. It will allow the macarons to air dry for about 15 minutes before you start baking them.

7. Allow the macarons to completely cool, before trying to remove them from the pan.


Not taking into account the amount of time it takes for you to bring your egg whites to room temperature, the whole baking process, including making the batter, piping and baking will probably take you about an hour to an hour and a half. How long it takes to make your filling is dependent on what you choose to make.

Actual baking time: 12 minutes total, plus a few minutes to get your oven from 200°F to 375°F.

Equipment required:

Electric mixer, preferably a stand mixer with a whisk attachment
Rubber spatula
Baking sheets
Parchment paper or nonstick liners
Pastry bag (can be disposable)
Plain half-inch pastry bag tip
Sifter or sieve
If you don’t have a pastry bag and/or tips, you can use a Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off
Oven
Cooling rack
Thin-bladed spatula for removing the macaroons from the baking sheets
Food processor or nut grinder, if grinding your own nut


Ingredients

2 1/4 cups confectioners’ (icing) sugar (225 g, 8 oz.)
2 cups almond flour (190 g, 6.7 oz.)
2 Tb granulated sugar (25 g , 0.88 oz.)
5 egg whites, room temperature
1/4 tsp chocolate extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°F (93°C). Combine the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour in a medium bowl. If grinding your own nuts, combine nuts and a cup of confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a food processor and grind until nuts are very fine and powdery.

2. Beat the egg whites in the clean dry bowl of a stand mixer until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.

3. Sift a third of the almond flour mixture into the meringue and fold gently to combine. If you are planning on adding zest or other flavorings to the batter, now is the time. Sift in the remaining almond flour in two batches. Be gentle! Don’t overfold, but fully incorporate your ingredients.

4. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain half-inch tip (Ateco #806). You can also use a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off. It’s easiest to fill your bag if you stand it up in a tall glass and fold the top down before spooning in the batter.

5. Pipe one-inch-sized (2.5 cm) mounds of batter onto baking sheets lined with nonstick liners (or parchment paper).

6. Bake the macaroon for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and raise the temperature to 375°F (190°C). Once the oven is up to temperature, put the pans back in the oven and bake for an additional 7 to 8 minutes, or lightly colored.

7. Cool on a rack before filling.

Godiva Buttercream

1 stick butter, softened
1 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted
1 Tb milk or cream
1 oz dark chocolate, melted
1 1/2 tsp Godiva Chocolate Liquor


1. Place the butter into the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until creamy.  Add the milk, chocolate and liquor and blend.  Then slowly add the confectioner's sugar and beat until thoroughly incorporated.

2. Fill a pastry bag (using a plain tip) with the buttercream and pipe on the flat side of a macaron.

October 26, 2009

Baking & Pastry Project Week 16 - Holiday Breads




A couple of rich breads are on the schedule this week: Italian Panettone and German Gugelhopf. Both are laden with fruit and the Panettone has the addition of candied orange and lemon peel.


Schedule

Saturday - Panettone

Sunday - Gugelhopf


Shopping List

Brown Rice Flour (Fine or Superfine Grind)
Sweet Rice Flour (also called glutinous rice flour)
Arrowroot Starch
Almond Meal
High Protein Flours, such as: Soybean, White Bean, Black Bean
Whole Grain Flour, such as: Buckwheat, Millet, Sorghum, Quinoa, Teff
Instant Dry Yeast
Binding Agents, such as: Xanthan or Guar Gum, Chia Seed Meal, Agar Agar Powder
Candied Orange & Lemon Peel
Raisins & Golden Raisins
Glucose Syrup
Orange & Lemon Zest
Almonds


Resources

Flours & Binding Agents: Authentic Foods, Barry Farm, Bob's Red Mill
Instant Dry Yeast: Barry Farm
Agave Syrup: Wild Organics, Native Seeds
Nuts & Candied Peel: Barry Farm
Glucose Syrup: Amazon.com, Michaels (a craft store) or a Cake Decorating Store

Equipment

Panettone Wrapper - Fantes
8" Gugelhopf Pan - Fantes


What's Going On?

I was a very lucky woman and received a copy of the Culinary Institute of America's Baking & Pastry book along with their culinary dvd's from my family for my birthday and our anniversary. After watching all the DVDs, I decided to work my way through the CIA's Baking and Pastry book - of course making it gluten free. There were so many skills that I wanted to develop and work on. I hope you will be interested in sharing my journey with me.


Other Baking & Pastry Project Posts

Index of the Baking & Pastry Project

Baking & Pastry Project #30 - Multigrain Bread With Pate Fermentee
Baking & Pastry Project #29 - White Bean Lean Bread With Pate Fermentee
Baking & Pastry Project Week 15 - Lean & Multigrain
Baking & Pastry Project #28 - Berliners
Baking & Pastry Project #27 - Yeast Raised Doughnuts
Baking & Pastry Project Week 14 - Doughnuts


Want More?

You can also follow me on Twitter, where I'm glutenagogo.

October 15, 2009

Multigrain Bread with Pate Fermentee (B&P30)



What could be better than a hearty and delicious teff multigrain roll? My kids would say a 15 inch gluten free pepperoni pizza. Well...they've got me there.  However, these are mighty tasty rolls with a lovely crisp crust.

You will need to do a little preplanning to fix this recipe. You will need 9 different grains along with flaxs eed and unsalted sunflower seeds to make the multigrain soaker.  I used chia seeds (salba), sesame seeds, whole plantago seeds (psyllium or Indian wheat), hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, quinoa, millet, teff, amaranth and teff.  If you want you can substitute black sesame seeds for the plantago seeds. Then you will need flax seeds (gold or brown) and unsalted sunflower seeds, in addition to the 9 seeds and grains.

Enjoy!


Recipe

Protein Content:
Original Content: 15.82 g
GF Content: 15.8 g

9 Grain Soaker (28 g)

3 g chia seeds (salba)
3 g whole plantago seeds (psyllium or Indian wheat)
3 g hemp seeds (shelled)
3 g sesame seeds
3 g pumpkin seeds
3 g kasha
3 g amaranth grain
3 g millet grain
3 g quinoa grain
3 g teff grain (brown or ivory)
4 g flax seeds (brown or golden)
6 g unsalted sunflower seeds
39 ml water, cold

Combine all the seeds, grains and water in a plastic container and cover with a lid. Soak at room temperature until the mixture has absorbed the water, approximately 8 to 12 hours.

Note: According to On Food And Cooking: The Science And Lore Of The Kitchen (2004) by Harold McGee, do not use sorghum in sprouting, because as the seed germinates, it produces a protective cyanide-generating system. It's found in the seed coating. (pg. 482)  I would recommend avoiding using sorghum in the soaker.

Dough

15 g brown rice flour (1.35 g)
11 g sweet rice flour (.66 g)
10 g arrowroot starch (.3 g)
22 g white bean flour (3.06 g)
__________________________replaces bread flour
12 g sesame seed meal (3.06 g)
24 g ivory teff flour (2.64 g)
24 g brown rice flour (2.16 g)
__________________________replaces wheat flour
24 g instant dry yeast
4 g sea salt
105 ml water
10 ml agave syrup
66 g pate fermentee
64 g 9-grain soaker

1. Place all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and blend together. In a medium sized bowl, pour in the water, agave syrup, pate fermentee and the 9 grain soaker, then stir. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients until it forms a soft ball.

2.  Place in the center of a sheet of parchment paper that has arrowroot starch sprinkled on it. Divide the dough into 8 balls.  Slice down the center with a sharp knife.  Slide the parchment paper onto a cookie sheet and set in a warm location and allow to rise for 1 hour. 

3.  Place a baking stone in the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F/232 degrees C.  Slide the parchment paper onto the baking stone and bake for 15 minutes.  Cool completely before serving.

Other Baking & Pastry Project Posts


Index of the Baking & Pastry Project

Baking & Pastry Project #29 - Lean Bread with Pate Fermentee
Baking & Pastry Project Week 15 - Lean & Multigrain
Baking & Pastry Project #28 - Berliners
Baking & Pastry Project #27 - Yeast Raised Doughnuts
Baking & Pastry Project Week 14 - Doughnuts


Want More?

You can also follow me on Twitter, where I'm glutenagogo.

October 13, 2009

White Bean Lean Bread With Pate Fermentee (B&P29)




This is a soft and moist loaf. The interior has a lovely texture and tastes great.  It hits divine status when toasted and topped with a dollop of apricot preserves.

Traditionally, this type of boule is pressed down the center with a rolling pin and then flipped over. It's allowed to rise and then flipped over to bake. I (following the directions) flipped my beautifully rounded boule and immediately realized I shouldn't have done it. Why you ask? Well, that prebaking flip literally beat the air bubbles out of the bread. Next the baking the bread cracked all along the press line and the edges. (See the picture above.) Reminded me of one of those mega disaster movies that were running this week on the Syfy Channel.

Essentially, when you bake gluten free bread you really have to nurture your yeast. You've got to make sure that you feed it with some sugar, agave syrup, rice syrup. This will enable those lovely air pockets to form. Next don't do anything that will pop those pockets like they were the flimsiest of bubbles. The directions for making this loaf, without the prebaking flip, are below.

Before you bake this loaf, make sure you stop by your local grocery store for a nice jar of apricot preserves. You might have to do some more strenuous exercising for the next few days to recover from the indulgence...It's that good.


Recipe

Protein Content:
Original Amount: 36.92 g
GF Amount: 36 g

Dough

45 g brown rice flour (4.5 g)
50 g sweet rice flour (3.0 g)
50 g arrowroot starch (0.15 g)
70 g almond meal (14 g)
7 g chia seed meal (1.47 g)
62 g white bean flour (13.33 g)
20 g instant dry yeast
7 g sea salt
4 g agar agar powder
85 g pate fermentee
283 ml water

Pate Fermentee

60 g brown rice flour (5.4 g)
30 g sweet rice flour (1.8 g)
30 g arrowroot starch (0.9 g)
52 g millet flour (5.98 g)
102 g white bean flour (21.93 g)
6 g chia seed meal
11 g instant dry yeast
6 g sea salt
32 ml agave syrup
223 ml water

Pate Fermentee

1. Place the dry ingredients in a large bowl and blend thoroughly. Pour the liquid ingredients in a medium bowl and stir together. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and blend. 

2. Measure out 85 g of pate fermentee and set aside for use in the main recipe.  The excess pate fermentee should be put in a lidded container and stored in the refrigerator until you want to use the rest. 

Note: If you would like to make the next recipe in the Baking & Pastry Project Multigrain Bread with Pate Fermentee you will need to save 66 g of the dough.  The rest can be baked into rolls or a small loaf of bread.  Rise and bake according to the instructions in this recipe.

Dough

1. Place the dry ingredients in a large bowl and blend thoroughly. Pour the liquid ingredients in a medium bowl and stir together. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and blend.

2.  On a sheet of parchment paper with arrowroot starch sprinkled on it, place the dough in the center.  Form into a round boule. Using your rolling pin press a line across the loaf that is 2" deep.  Slide the parchment paper onto a sheet pan and then place in a warm location to rise for 2 hours.

3.  Place an oven proof bowl with water in it on the bottom shelf of your oven. Place a baking stone on the upper shelf that is in the center of the upper third of your oven. Then preheat the oven to 460 degrees F/238 degrees C.  Slide the parchment paper with the bread onto the baking stone.  Squirt water on the bottom, sides and top of the oven with a spray bottle. Cook for 15 minutes and then place a wooden spoon in the door. Leaving the door ajar cook for another 10 minutes.  Cool on a rack before serving

October 11, 2009

Baking & Pastry Project Week 15 - Lean & Multigrain




This week I'm making a lean bread and a multigrain bread with pate fermentee.  You will only need to make one pate fermentee batch for both recipes.  The lean bread dough from the Baking & Pastry Project #1 is the recipe you will need to follow to make the pate fermentee.  Then use the left over pate fermentee to make a batch of rolls.



Schedule

Tuesday - Lean Bread with Pate Fermentee

Thursday - Multigrain Bread with Pate Fermentee


Shopping List


Brown Rice Flour (Fine or Superfine Grind)
Sweet Rice Flour (also called glutinous rice flour)
Arrowroot Starch
Almond Meal
High Protein Flours, such as: Soybean, White Bean, Black Bean
Whole Grain Flour, such as: Buckwheat, Millet, Sorghum, Quinoa, Teff
Instant Dry Yeast
Binding Agents, such as: Xanthan or Guar Gum, Chia Seed Meal, Agar Agar Powder
Variety of seeds and grains

Resources

Flours & Binding Agents: Authentic Foods, Barry Farm, Bob's Red Mill
Instant Dry Yeast: Barry Farm
Agave Syrup: Wild Organics, Native Seeds
Seeds & Grains: Barry Farm

Equipment

No special equipment is needed this week.


What's Going On?


I was a very lucky woman and received a copy of the Culinary Institute of America's Baking & Pastry book along with their culinary dvd's from my family for my birthday and our anniversary. After watching all the DVDs, I decided to work my way through the CIA's Baking and Pastry book - of course making it gluten free. There were so many skills that I wanted to develop and work on. I hope you will be interested in sharing my journey with me.

Other Baking & Pastry Project Posts


Baking & Pastry Project #28 - Berliners
Baking & Pastry Project #27 - Yeast Raised Doughnuts
Baking & Pastry Project Week 14 - Doughnuts
Baking & Pastry Project #26 - Pita
Baking & Pastry Project #25 - Naan
Baking & Pastry Project Week 13 - Flatbreads
Baking & Pastry Project #24 - Lavosh
Baking & Pastry Project #23 - Pizza
Baking & Pastry Project Week 12 - Pizza & Crackers
Baking & Pastry Project #22 - Soft Pretzels
Baking & Pastry Project #21 - Crescia al Formaggio
Baking & Pastry Project Week 11 - Parmesan & Pretzels


Want More?


You can also follow me on Twitter, where I'm glutenagogo.

October 10, 2009

Lime Curd Berliners (B&P28)




The Berliner is a rich cake style doughnut filled with your choice of jelly or curd. These doughnuts were part of our "Mo-down" extravaganza.

Since filled doughnuts are only enjoyed by the adults at my house, I used one of our favorites lime curd. However, you could use your favorite jelly instead. Jam or preserves don't work as well if you use an injector pastry tip.

These were delicious and got rave reviews from the adult judges at the "Mo-down." The kid judges elected not to participate in this event, since they don't like filled doughnuts.  My husband and I had never had a cake style filled doughnut, but my parents had in years past. They shared a wide variety of memories of filled old-fashioned type doughnuts from their various neighborhood bakeries where they grew up.

Give these Berliners a shot, you'll thoroughly enjoy them.


Recipe

Equipment Needed:  cookie sheet, jelly injector tip, pastry bag, 2 1/2 inch cake ring (optional)


Protein Content:
Original Content: 32.5 g
GF Content: 32.627 g

Yield: 8 to 9 filled doughnuts

40 g brown rice flour (3.6 g)
36 g sweet rice flour (2.16 g)
34 g arrowroot starch (.102 g)
53 g almond meal (10.6 g)
40 g millet flour (6.095 g)
7 g chia seed meal (1.47 g)
40 g white bean flour (8.6 g)
8 g agar agar powder
22 g instant dry yeast
50 g cane sugar
pinch sea salt
3 g grated lemon zest
120 ml whole milk
37 g butter, soft
49 g egg (approx.1 lg egg)
14 g egg yolk (approx. 1 egg yolk)
4 ml vanilla extract
3 ml agave syrup

jelly or curd, for filling
hot oil, for frying
cane sugar, for dipping
powdered sugar, for topping

1. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and stir. In a medium bowl, pour in all the liquid ingredients and blend together. Slowly add the liquid ingredients to the dry and stir together.  Dough should form into a slightly soft ball.

2. Place the dough ball in the center of a sheet of parchment paper sprinkled with arrowroot starch. Divide the dough into 8 or 9 pieces of equal size. Shape each piece of dough into a round ball and then press lightly with your palm to flatten slightly. Transfer to another sheet of parchment paper that has arrowroot starch sprinkled on it. Continue until all pieces of dough have been shaped.  Place the dough in a warm location and allow to rise for 2 hours.

3. Preheat the oil to 350 degrees F/177 degrees C. Transfer a few of the Berliners at a time into the oil. Cook each side about 1 minutes or until golden brown.  The 2nd side might take 30 seconds or so longer to cook.

4. Lift the Berliners out of the oil with a spider or slotted spatula.  Allow the excess oil to drain off before placing on a paper towel lined cookie pan.

5. Put an injector tip on a pastry bag and fill with jelly or curd. When the Berliners are cool enough to handle, inject 1 oz/28 g of jelly or curd. Dip both sides of the Berliner into cane sugar and then sift confectioner's sugar over them.

Other Baking & Pastry Project Posts


Baking & Pastry Project #27 - Yeast Raised Doughnuts
Baking & Pastry Project Week 14 - Doughnuts
Baking & Pastry Project #26 - Pita
Baking & Pastry Project #25 - Naan
Baking & Pastry Project Week 13 - Flatbreads
Baking & Pastry Project #24 - Lavosh
Baking & Pastry Project #23 - Pizza
Baking & Pastry Project Week 12 - Pizza & Crackers
Baking & Pastry Project #22 - Soft Pretzels
Baking & Pastry Project #21 - Crescia al Formaggio
Baking & Pastry Project Week 11 - Parmesan & Pretzels


Want More?


You can also follow me on Twitter, where I'm glutenagogo.

October 6, 2009

Almond & Millet Yeast Raised Doughnuts (B&P27)




I'm drooling.

I want doughnuts.

They were sooooo good...

Delicious cake style doughnuts with a sheer fondant glaze with a variety of toppings are on the menu for today.

As a family, we did what we call a "Mo-down" like the "Throwdown's with Bobby Flay." This is where I, as Mom, bake off against a favorite food item.  My doughnut "Mo-Down" was between me and Thomas' Donuts on Front Beach Road in Panama City Beach, Florida.  Our kids chose my contenders from favorite or one-time favorite food items.

The kids and I haven't had many doughntus since we've had to go gluten free. I've only made gluten free idoughnuts once and those were the ones I made last year for Tartelette's Blog Event. So, it's been awhile and they were more than ready for me to crank up the grease and get cooking. This recipe makes doughnuts which are like old fashioned or cake styles, rather than the beautifully puffy ones called "glazed" by places such as Dunkin' Donuts or Krispy Kreme.

We headed out to Thomas' and picked up a variety of doughnuts. When we got home, we broke out the wheat and gluten free doughnuts and set up the plates for the judges.  My husband was the tie breaker vote, while the kids and my parents were the judges. Our voting system is simple, something along the lines of what was used in the Coliseum...thumbs up or thumbs down. As a contender, you get a swirl of hope and doom as you watch them eat. It's nothing like facing a lion or gladiator, but you do sit on pins and needles while you wait for their verdict. The result? The kids - two thumbs down, because they weren't like the puffy doughnuts. My parents - two thumbs up, because they loved the flavor and they like cake style doughnuts. The tie breaker - a thumbs up, because he like the flavor and the crunchiness of the gluten free doughnuts.

So, I held my own against a beautiful and classic wheat cake doughnut. Pheew!

Now I just need to figure out how to make a puffy glazed doughnut.


Recipe

Total Protein Content:
Original Content: 34.70 g
GF Content: 34.79 g

Equipment Needed: Doughnut Cutter, Deep-Fat/Candy Thermometer, Stock Pot or Deep-Fat Fryer, Cookie Sheets, Cake Rack, Bowls.

Doughnut Dough

30 g brown rice flour (2.7 g)
25 g sweet rice flour (1.5 g)
25 g arrowroot flour (.075 g)
48 g almond meal (9.6 g)
36 g millet flour (5.52 g)
18 g white bean flour (3.87 g)
6 g chia seed meal (1.26 g)
_______________________replaces the bread flour

30 g brown rice flour (2.7 g)
20 g sweet rice flour (1.2 g)
24 g arrowroot starch (0.07 g)
20 g almond meal (4 g)
20 g millet flour (2.3 g)
_______________________replaces the pastry flour

22 g instant dry yeast
8 g agar agar powder
50 g sugar
19 g non-fat dry milk
6 g baking powder
5 g sea salt
pinch nutmeg, ground
4 ml agave syrup
160 ml water
49 g egg
58 g emulsified shortening
Oil for frying
Toppings for Doughnuts: sprinkles, confectioner's sugar, vanilla sugar, fondant glaze

Fondant Glaze

1 g gelatin
15 ml water
28 g corn syrup
2 g glycerin
225 g confectioner's sugar

1.  In a large bowl, place all the dry ingredients and blend well. In a medium sized bowl, pour all the liquid ingredients and stir together. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until a soft ball forms.

2. On a sheet of parchment paper with arrowroot starch sprinkled on it.  Place the dough in the center of the parchment paper and pat it out until it is 1/2 inch/1 cm thick. Dust the surface of the dough with arrowroot starch and dip the cutter into the arrowroot starch. Then cut out the doughnuts, using a spatula to pick them up. Place on a cookie sheet covered with a piece of parchment paper sprinkled with arrowroot. Continue until all the dough has been formed into doughnuts.  Place in a warm location to rise for about 1 1/2 hours.

4. Fondant: Place the water in a pot and warm. Pour the gelatin in the water and melt. Remove from the heat and then add the corn syrup and glycerin. Place the confectioner's sugar into a bowl and slowly pour the gelatin mixture into the sugar. Stir until the sugar is thoroughly blended with the gelatin mixture. It should the consistency of a glaze. Set aside for glazing the doughnuts after cooking.

5. Heat the oil to 350 degrees F/177 degrees C. Line a cookie pan with paper towels. Place a few doughnuts at a time into the oil and cook for 2 minutes. Turn the doughnuts over and cook for another minute or until it has a golden color.  Lift the doughnuts out of the oil with a spider or slotted spatula, allow the oil to drain off before placing on the paper towels. While cooking the doughnuts, keep an eye on the temperature of the oil. 

6. Roll the warm doughnuts in the confectioner's or vanilla sugar or dip in warm fondant glaze. If you want sprinkle the fondant glazed doughnuts with sprinkles. Place the fondant dipped doughnuts on a paper towel lined cookie sheet with a cake rack, so the excess glaze can drip off. Garnish the just glazed doughnuts with sprinkles, coconut or decorating sugar.



Other Baking & Pastry Project Posts


Baking & Pastry Project #26 - Pita
Baking & Pastry Project #25 - Naan
Baking & Pastry Project Week 13 - Flatbreads
Baking & Pastry Project #24 - Lavosh
Baking & Pastry Project #23 - Pizza
Baking & Pastry Project Week 12 - Pizza & Crackers
Baking & Pastry Project #22 - Soft Pretzels
Baking & Pastry Project #21 - Crescia al Formaggio
Baking & Pastry Project Week 11 - Parmesan & Pretzels

 
Want More?

You can also follow me on Twitter, where I'm glutenagogo.

October 4, 2009

Baking & Pastry Project Week 14 - Doughnuts



It's doughnut week! I've been busy making yeast raised doughnuts and berliners.

There are a couple of unique food items on the ingredient list this week.  The first is emulsified shortening, which absorbs more sugar and liquid than does regular shortening. Cakes and frosting will also have a finer smoother texture. When you shop for it you can find it under the brand names Alphine Hi-Ratio Shortening or Sweetex.


The second item is glycerin. It is used in the recipe for the fondant icing. The glycerin softens the fondant and it also adds a nice sheen.

Have fun and don't eat too many!


Schedule

Tuesday - Yeast Raised Doughnuts

Thursday - Berliners


Shopping List


Brown Rice Flour (Fine or Superfine Grind)
Sweet Rice Flour (also called glutinous rice flour)
Arrowroot Starch
Almond Meal
High Protein Flours, such as: Soybean, White Bean, Black Bean
Whole Grain Flour, such as: Buckwheat, Millet, Sorghum, Quinoa, Teff
Instant Dry Yeast
Binding Agents, such as: Xanthan or Guar Gum, Chia Seed Meal, Agar Agar Powder
Non-fat dry milk
Ground nutmeg
Emulsified shortening
Glycerin
Corn Syrup


Resources

Flours & Binding Agents: Authentic Foods, Barry Farm, Bob's Red Mill
Instant Dry Yeast: Barry Farm
Agave Syrup: Wild Organics, Native Seeds
Non-Fat Dry Milk: Barry Farm
Emulsified Shortening: Amazon.com
Glycerin: Kerekes, Wilton



Equipment

Stock Pot, Dutch Oven, Wok or Deep Fat Fryer
Doughnut Cutter
Bismark Pastry Tip

Thermometer


What's Going On?


I was a very lucky woman and received a copy of the Culinary Institute of America's Baking & Pastry book along with their culinary dvd's from my family for my birthday and our anniversary. After watching all the DVDs, I decided to work my way through the CIA's Baking and Pastry book - of course making it gluten free. There were so many skills that I wanted to develop and work on. I hope you will be interested in sharing my journey with me.


Want More?


You can also follow me on Twitter, where I'm glutenagogo.


Other Baking & Pastry Project Posts


Baking & Pastry Project #26 - Pita
Baking & Pastry Project #25 - Naan
Baking & Pastry Project Week 13 - Flatbreads
Baking & Pastry Project #24 - Lavosh
Baking & Pastry Project #23 - Pizza
Baking & Pastry Project Week 12 - Pizza & Crackers
Baking & Pastry Project #22 - Soft Pretzels
Baking & Pastry Project #21 - Crescia al Formaggio
Baking & Pastry Project Week 11 - Parmesan & Pretzels

October 3, 2009

Teff & Montina Pita (B&P26)



Baking & Pastry Project #26 - Teff & Montina Pita


With this recipe, I wanted to work with a flour I haven't used in a while - Montina. It's a type of perennial Indian ricegrass that grows wild from Southern Manitoba to the hills of Southern California. It's a wonderful flour that is high in protein and fiber.


It's a fabulous flour that goes in a wide variety of baked goods.  I enjoy using it in anything that has chocolate as it provides an additional layer of rich flavor. My children particularly enjoy chocolate chip cookies with Montina flour.


The flour blend for the pita rounds, is like a earthy whole wheat. It is a bit darker in color and tastes delicious. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed these, but they were a bit too strong in flavor for our kids.


Recipe

Protein Content: 
Original Content: 29.64g
GF Content: 28.80 g

10 g Montina flour (0.7 g)
10 g brown rice flour (0.9 g)
20 g sweet rice flour (1.2 g)
20 g arrowroot starch (0.3 g)
48 g white bean flour (10.32 g)
6 g chia seed meal (1.26 g)
__________________________replaces the bread flour

12 g cocoa powder (3.23 g)
53 g ivory teff flour (5.83 g)
44 g millet flour (5.06 g)
__________________________replaces the wheat flour

20 g instant dry yeast
5 g sea salt
4 g sugar
4 g agar agar powder
190 ml water
12 g olive oil
25 ml agave syrup

1. Place all the dry ingredients into a large bowl and stir. Pour all the liquid ingredients into a medium sized bowl. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and blend thoroughly.

2. On a piece of parchment paper sprinkled with arrowroot starch, divide the dough into 6 pieces of equal size. Beginning with the first piece of dough, press it out into a round shape that are about 7 inches/18 cm in diameter. Continue with the other pieces of dough in the order that they were divided. Use arrowroot starch as needed to work the dough. Place the parchment paper on a cookie sheet, then relocate it to a warm location and allow the pita dough to rise for 30 minutes.

3. Place a baking stone into the oven and preheat the oven to 500 degrees F/260 degrees C. Slide the parchment paper with the pita rounds onto the baking stone. Bake for 3 to 4 minutes, so that the pita rounds are puffed, but not browned.  Cool before serving.

Other Posts in the Baking & Pastry Project

Index of Baking & Pastry Project Posts

Baking & Pastry Project #24 - Lavosh
Baking & Pastry Project #23 - Pizza
Baking & Pastry Project Week 12 - Pizza & Crackers
Baking & Pastry Project #22 - Soft Pretzels
Baking & Pastry Project #21 - Crescia al Formaggio
Baking & Pastry Project Week 11 - Parmesan & Pretzels
Baking & Pastry Project #20 - Craquelin
Baking & Pastry Project #19 - Brioche
Baking & Pastry Project Week 10 - Brioches

October 1, 2009

Millet & Sunflower Naan (B&P25)



Baking & Pastry Project #25 - Millet & Sunflower Naan

The drums are here! A beautiful glossy black with the look of an old Ludwig set, they are so classy my son speechless. They arrived by UPS a mere thirty minutes before his music teacher arrived. When Jared arrived we broke open the boxes, then spent the next hour setting things up and tuned.

My brother is an awesome guy. He put new heads and mutes on the drums, sent new tuning keys and a pack of drum sticks. He told my son, "Have fun and shred some wood!"

We're going to rearrange the living room to create a music area with the drums, piano and guitar. Then it's time to pick up some drum mutes or lightening rods so that after sundown he can still practice.

It's not just that we want to be a good neighbors, it's trying to head off trouble before it starts. One of our neighbor's has an irritation meter that is set far below average. Once she gets started, then she's off and running for years on end. It makes you want to put up some alien defense shields, so she doesn't have the opportunity to say, "Take me to your leader!"

I served the naan along with assorted meats and cheeses for dinner. Delightfully buttery and creamy from the sunflower meal, the naan went beautifully with a smear of ricotta and a marinated olive. It got high marks from my family for eat alone deliciousness.

Recipe

Protein Content:
Original Amount: 23.283 g
GF Amount: 22.085 g

5 g brown rice flour (.35 g)
25 g sweet rice flour (2.125 g)
25 g arrowroot starch (0.075 g)
59 g millet  flour (6.785 g)
85 g sunflower seed meal (12.75 g)
23 g instant dry yeast
14 g sugar
4 g sea salt
4 g agar agar powder
6 g chia seed meal
90 ml water
10 ml agave syrup
29 g clarified butter

29 g plain yogurt
29 g eggs
Topping: clarified butter and seeds of your choice

1. Place the dry ingredients into a large bowl and stir together.  Then pour all the liquid ingredients into a medium sized bowl and blend thoroughly. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until a nice ball forms.

2. On a sheet of parchment paper sprinkled with arrowroot starch, divide the dough into 5 or 6 balls of equal size. Starting with the first ball, press out onto the parchment paper into a tear drop shape. Continue with the second ball and so on until all the dough is shaped. Place the parchment paper onto a cookie sheet and relocate to a warm location. Allow the dough to rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

3. Place a baking stone into the oven and preheat to 425 degrees Fahrenheit/218 degrees Celsius. Brush the naan with clarified butter and sprinkle with your choice of seeds. Place the parchment paper onto the baking stone.  Cook for 10 minutes or until puffed.  Cool completely before serving.


Other Posts in the Baking & Pastry Project

Index of Baking & Pastry Project Posts


Baking & Pastry Project #24 - Lavosh
Baking & Pastry Project #23 - Pizza
Baking & Pastry Project Week 12 - Pizza & Crackers
Baking & Pastry Project #22 - Soft Pretzels
Baking & Pastry Project #21 - Crescia al Formaggio
Baking & Pastry Project Week 11 - Parmesan & Pretzels
Baking & Pastry Project #20 - Craquelin
Baking & Pastry Project #19 - Brioche
Baking & Pastry Project Week 10 - Brioches