Focaccia (B&P42)

For the last three months, we've been living and working out of a temporary home in Michigan. My husband's on location contribution to a project here is nearing it's end. So, we've been trying to cram in all the Great Lakes tourist destinations that we can manage.

This past weekend, we headed off to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on Lake Michigan.  We had a lot of fun climbing hills, falling into the snow, banging up our knees, and taking pictures.  Then we headed off to the lakeshore to look for rocks and fossils, plus seeing the lighthouses. Last, we cruised the coastline of the Grand Traverse Bay and looked at all the different birds frolicking in the frigid water.

I do have to admit that our little trips have been a bit challenging to coordinate. When you travel with  kids, our dog and our various food issues, it can feel like a major war campaign just to go on a weekend getaway not to mention the two week vacation. We've been spoiled by the abundance of pet friendly hotels that are abundant on the eastern seaboard and in the south. Little did we realize that heading out into the forest lands of Michigan, that our hotel search would be more troublesome than our gluten free food planning.

I did use a couple of resources for this trip that proved to be pretty helpful, the Bed Bug Registry and Trip Advisor. I even used Google images to check for pictures of hotels, motels, plus bed & breakfast locations. After a great deal of searching, I located a family and pet friendly hotel in Traverse City, the Baymont Inn & Suites. It was a perfect lodging point for our trip and there were plenty of restaurants to try and negotiate a gluten free meal. 

If you come out to Michigan to visit the Great Lakes, be aware that many lodging locations and tourist destinations are closed for the winter. The National and State Parks are mostly open, but have limited accessibility due to heavy snowfall. If you are interested in cross country skiing, snow shoeing or snow mobiling these are great destinations. Otherwise, you'll need to wait until there is enough of a thaw to allow for easier access to the trails.

To get us on the road, I made a loaf of focaccia drizzled with olive oil. fresh oregano and dotted with Kalamata olives. It was the perfect type of road food, easy to handle and not messy to eat. Delicious!

Enjoy!

Recipe

Protein Content
Original Amount: 43.94 g
GF Amount: 43.302 g

Biga

15 g brown rice flour (1.35 g)
14 g sweet rice flour (0.84 g)
14 g arrowroot starch (0.042 g)
22 g almond meal (4.4 g)
20 g white bean flour (4.3 g)
1 g instant dry yeast (120 - 130 degrees F/48 - 54 degrees C)

50 ml water
10 ml agave sweet

Final Dough

50 g brown rice flour (4.5 g)
40 g sweet rice flour (2.4 g)
40 g arrowroot starch (0.12 g)
73 g almond meal (14.6 g)
50 g white bean flour (10.75 g)
6 g chia seed meal
4 g agar agar powder
12 g instant dry yeast
7 g sea salt
126 g biga (from above)
15 g agave syrup
23 g olive oil
135 ml water (120 - 130 degrees F/48 - 54 degrees C)
Optional Toppings: fresh herbs, olives, roasted tomato slices, sauteed garlic or onion slices.


Biga Directions


In a medium sized bowl, combine the flours, water, agave syrup and yeast. Mix together, making sure the mixture is smooth. Cover the mixture or transfer to a container and allow to ferment at 75 degrees F/24 degrees C for 18 to 24 hours. When the biga is ready to use, it will have risen and receded, yet also look bubbly.

Final Dough Directions
1. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients with the exception of the salt and yeast. Hold the salt out, so it can be added later in the mixing. Place the yeast into a small container, add the water and a little bit of the agave syrup. Stir to ensure the water mixes through the yeast. Allow the yeast to proof for 2 to 3 minutes.

2. Add the yeast mixture, biga, the rest of the agave syrup and blend together. Just before the dough comes together, sprinkle in the salt and then continue blending until a soft ball forms. Note: This dough should be a little looser than other types of doughs.

3. Place the dough in the center of a sheet of parchment paper that has been sprinkled with arrowroot starch. Gently pat the dough out into an 8-inch/20 cm circle and brush with olive oil. Slide the parchment paper onto a cookie sheet and place in a warm location to rise for 2 hours. Brush the focaccia with olive oil again and cover with your choice of toppings.

4. Place an oven proof bowl filled with water on the bottom shelf of the oven. Then place a baking stone on the top shelf. Preheat the oven to 460 degrees F/238 degrees C. Place the loaf in the oven and spray water over the oven box and the top of the loaf. Bake the loaf for 15 minutes. Prop the oven door open and continue to cook the bread for another 10 minutes. Remove the loaf and allow it to cool before serving.



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 follow me on Twitter and on Flickr.


Other Baking & Pastry Project Posts
Index of the Baking & Pastry Project

Baking & Pastry Week 21 - A Biga & A Sourdough Starter
Baking & Pastry Project #41 - Ciabatta (Biga)
Baking & Pastry Project #40 - Rosemary Bread (Biga)
Baking & Pastry Project Week 20 - More Bigas
Baking & Pastry Project #39 - Cracked Rice & Potato Bread (Biga)
Baking & Pastry Project #38 - Almond & White Bean Batard (Biga)
Baking & Pastry Project Week 19 - Bigas

Ciabatta (B&P41)

Like many people who love to cook, I've got a thing for cookbooks, especially old ones. I go through old bookstores, thrift shops and even the collections of my family and friends looking for old treasures.

A while back I checked out the cookery section at Project Gutenberg, but didn't find anything all that interesting. Time makes all the difference in the world, especially when transferring old books into a digital format. Yesterday, I was back at Project "G" oogling their selection and they do have some nice ones available in the cookery section of the bookshelf.  They have a variety of ways to download the books and some versions even have the images as well. I tested the Adobe EPUB and the Read Online formats and both worked very well.

There are some old gems in this collection like The Women's Institute of Cookery (vols. I - V), The White House Cookbook and The Cook's Decameron: A Study In Taste, Containing Over Two Hundred Recipes For Italian Dishes. There are quite a few interesting recipes to be found in this collection, especially one for Starvation Soup.  It's found in The Belgian Cookbook (1915), a  book of recipes provided by Belgian refugees of World War I.

With many old cookbooks, you will have to guess at the quantities required for a recipe. They might tell you to use an equal amount of almonds and sugar or use phrases like "...reckon the quantities as follows." These types of recipes give you the chance to really get a feel for the look, texture and taste of a baked good. Although, it can be frustrating sometimes when you have to try and figure out equal weights of eggs, butter, flour and sugar.

If you're looking for something really yummy to go with this very good loaf of ciabatta, check out a recipe for Roman Sauce from The Cook's Decameron. It calls for nutmeg, raisins, lemon, herbs, pine nuts or almonds, burnt sugar in an espagnole or brown sauce. For our dinner, I ended up choosing the classic tomato sauce with basil and garlic served it over brown rice pasta and meatballs. To finish it off, I served Chocolate and Drambuie Tiramisu, the latest Daring Baker Challenge recipe, along with a cup of organic Espresso. Delicious.

Enjoy!



Recipe

Protein Content
Original: 29.12 g
Gluten Free: 28.63 g

Biga

20 g brown rice flour (1.8 g)
15 g sweet rice flour (0.09 g)
15 g arrowroot starch (0.045 g)
20 g almond meal (4 g)
22 g white bean flour (4.73 g)
1 g instant dry yeast
50 ml water (120 - 130 degrees F/48 - 54 degrees C)

10 ml agave syrup

Final Dough

25 g brown rice flour (2.25 g)
22 g sweet rice flour (1.32 g)
20 g arrowroot starch (0.06 g)
30 g almond meal (6 g)
35 g white bean flour (7.525 g)
12 g instant dry yeast
6 g chia seed meal
4 g agar agar powder
7 g sea salt
126 g biga (from above)
130 ml water (120 - 130 degrees F/48 - 54 degrees C)
15 ml agave syrup

Biga Directions

In a medium sized bowl, combine the flours, water, agave syrup and yeast. Mix together, making sure the mixture is smooth. Cover the mixture or transfer to a container and allow to ferment at 75 degrees F/24 degrees C for 18 to 24 hours. When the biga is ready to use, it will have risen and receded, yet also look bubbly.

Final Dough Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients with the exception of the salt and yeast. Hold the salt out, so it can be added later in the mixing. Place the yeast into a small container, add the water and a little bit of the agave syrup. Stir to ensure the water mixes through the yeast. Allow the yeast to proof for 2 to 3 minutes.

2. Add the yeast mixture, biga, the rest of the agave syrup and blend together. Just before the dough comes together, sprinkle in the salt and then continue blending until a soft ball forms. Note: This dough should be a little wetter or looser than other types of doughs.

3. Since this dough is looser, I made a foil frame so the bread would turn out the right shape. Take a long strip of aluminum foil and fold it lengthwise until it is 2 inches/5 cm wide. Fold up 1/2 inch/1.3cm from one long edge, but don't make a hard crease in the foil. Ease the foil around until the ends over lap and can rest one inside the other. Work the corners until the fold lays flat and you have a rounded edge rectangle. Let the sides ease out rather than be straight up and down. (See the picture above.) Gently line this frame with parchment paper, so you can reuse the frame for the ciabatta (the next B&P recipe).

4. Place the dough in the center of a sheet of parchment paper that has been sprinkled with arrowroot starch. Gently pat the dough out into the frame, but don't press it into the sides or corners. The loaf should still have rounded sides. Slide the frame onto a parchment paper covered cookie sheet and place in a warm location to rise for 2 hours.

5. Place an oven proof bowl filled with water on the bottom shelf of the oven. Then place a baking stone on the top shelf. Preheat the oven to 460 degrees F/238 degrees C. Place the loaf in the oven and spray water over the oven box and the top of the loaf. Bake the loaf for 25 minutes. Prop the oven door open and continue to cook the bread for another 10 minutes. Remove the loaf and allow it to cool before serving.

 
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 DVD's from my family for my birthday. 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 follow me on Twitter and on Flickr.


Other Baking & Pastry Project Posts

Baking & Pastry #40 - Rosemary Bread (Biga)
Baking & Pastry Week 20 - More Bigas
Baking & Pastry #39 - Cracked Rice & Potato Bread (Biga)
Baking & Pastry #38 - Almond & White Bean Batard (Biga)
Baking & Pastry Week 19 - Bigas

Cracked Rice & Potato Bread Made With A Biga (B&P39)

Baby Steps

When you first start baking gluten free, there is a steep learning curve while you learn the differences between baking with and without gluten. You take baby steps towards your goal of making edible gluten free food. Then you get the hang of it and you're making breads, cakes and cookies.

Later you want to spread your wings and try different recipes or convert a wheat recipe to gluten free. Once again, you're taking baby steps and discovering the joys and sorrows of gluten free baking. I felt so bad about the food I was wasting, I took a detour into learning how to compost. However, truthfully nothing takes all the sting out of having to throw out a baked good with a lot of expensive nut meal in it, not even knowing you're feeding the earth and it's critters.

Those baby steps are taking me towards my goal of baking artisan gluten free bread. They took me into the romance of my quest to a glorious crusty loaf of bread filled with cracked wild and brown rice and yukon gold potatoes. Utterly delicious...satisfying.

What do you need to enjoy this loaf? Maybe warm the loaf a little and add some butter. Better yet, grab a loved one and a bottle of red wine, then share the romance.

Enjoy!

Recipe

Protein Content
Original: 15.81 g
Gluten Free: 15.40 g


Biga

5 g brown rice flour (0.45 g)
2 g sweet rice flour (0.12 g)
2 g arrowroot starch (0.006 g)
2 g almond meal (0.4 g)
5 g white bean flour (1.075 g)
1 g instant dry yeast
10 ml agave syrup

Soaker

6 g cracked mixed brown rice varieties
6 - 8 ml water

Roasted Potatoes

65 g potatoes
olive oil, as needed
sea salt, as needed
cracked black pepper, as needed

Final Dough

16 g brown rice flour (1.44 g)
10 g sweet rice flour (0.6 g)
10 g arrowroot starch (0.03 g)
15 g almond meal (3 g)
15 g white bean flour (3.225 g)
________________________replaces the bread flour
10 g buckwheat flour (1.45 g)
10 g arrowroot starch (0.03 g)
15 g almond meal (3 g)
________________________replaces the whole wheat flour
3 g cocoa powder (0.57 g)
3 g arrowroot starch (0.009 g)
________________________replaces the medium rye flour
22 g instant dry yeast

55 g biga (from above)
65 g potatoes
74 g soaker (from above)
6 g chia seed meal
4 g agar agar powder
45 ml water (120 - 130 degrees F/48 - 54 degrees C)
15 ml agave syrup
3 g sea salt

Biga Directions

In a medium sized bowl, combine the flours, water, agave syrup and yeast. Mix together, making sure the mixture is smooth. Cover the mixture or transfer to a container and allow to ferment at 75 degrees F/24 degrees C for 18 to 24 hours.  When the biga is ready to use, it will have risen and receded, yet also look bubbly.


Soaker Directions

Place the assorted brown rice and wild rice mixture (Lundberg Family Farms) into a clean coffee grinder. Pulse until the the majority of the grains are cracked. Pour the cracked rice into a container and pour the water over it. Cover and set in the refrigerator to soak for 8 to 12 hours.


Roasted Potato Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 F/220 C. Place the cut potatoes in a cookie pan or a rectangular baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and using a spoon or your hands coat the potatoes with the oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bake  for 30 minutes, remove from the oven and stir the potatoes. Place back in the oven and bake for another 20 to 30 minutes or until the potatoes are soft. Allow to cool. Cut the potato wedges into bite size pieces.


Final Dough Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients with the exception of the salt and yeast.  Hold the salt out, so it can be added later in the mixing.  Place the yeast into a small container, add the water and a little bit of the agave syrup. Stir to ensure the water mixes through the yeast.  Allow the yeast to proof for 3 to 5 minutes.

2. Add the yeast mixture, biga, potatoes, soaker and the rest of the agave syrup and blend together. Just before the dough comes together, sprinkle in the salt and then continue blending until a soft ball forms. If the dough is still too soft, add arrowroot starch by the tablespoon (1 Tb/15 ml) until the dough firms up.

3. Place the dough in the center of a sheet of parchment paper that has been sprinkled with arrowroot starch. Gently roll the dough into a cylinder about 12 in/30 cm long. Gently curve the dough into a horseshoe shape. Take a sharp knife and slice down the center of the cylinder. Place two small slices of potato at the top of the horseshoe. Slide the parchment paper onto a cookie sheet and place in a warm location to rise for 2 hours.

4. Place an oven proof bowl filled with water on the bottom shelf of the oven. Then place a baking stone on the top shelf. Preheat the oven to 435 degrees F/224 degrees C. Place the loaf in the oven and spray water over the oven box and the top of the loaf. Bake the loaf for 45 minutes. Prop the oven door open and continue to cook the bread for another 10 minutes. Remove the loaf and allow it to cool before serving.

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 DVD's from my family for my birthday. 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 follow me on Twitter and on Flickr.


Other Baking & Pastry Project Posts


Baking & Pastry #38 - Almond & White Bean Batard (Biga)
Baking & Pastry Week 19 -  Bigas
Baking & Pastry #37 - Roasted Potato Basil Loaf (Poolish)
Baking & Pastry #36 - Almond & White Bead Epi Wreath (Poolish)
Baking & Pastry Week 18 - Poolishes

Almond White Bean Lean Loaf Made With A Biga (B&P38)

Quest, circa 1303, "a search for something" (esp. of judicial inquiries or hounds seeking game), from O.Fr. queste (Fr. quête), prop. "the act of seeking," from M.L. questa "search, inquiry," alteration of L. quæsitus, pp. of quærere "seek, gain, ask" (see query). Romance sense of "adventure undertaken by a knight" is attested from c.1384. The verb is first recorded c.1350.

Modern Language Association (MLA): "quest." Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper, Historian. 16 Feb. 2010. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/quest>.

Each morning, most of us rise, get dressed, guzzle down a cup of coffee or tea and begin our search. We seek income, food, housing, safety, love and more. Each of our quests might not be along the lines a romantic grand tradition, however each one is necessary.

Every day, my husband goes out and seeks to do his best for employer and his clients. Each day, I seek to do my best for my family, whether it is through loving my family, caring for our home, cooking nutritious gluten free food, meeting our Sheltie's canine needs and working on my own endeavors.

Currently at Gluten A Go Go, I seek to bake artisan gluten free bread, and blog my adventure. Each conversion of a bread recipe from the CIA's Baking and Pastry tome, is a new challenge. A new opportunity to find the best artisan gluten free bread, a loaf that is airy, nutritious and doesn't fall apart when you eat it.

My quest can be broken down into smaller pursuits. Each one providing me an opportunity for the thrill of victory, such as getting the yeast to rise or the bread not to crumble. Yet, each of pursuits has the opportunity to fail and each one has at various times. Sometimes these failures have been pretty spectacular and others not so much. Each time I fail, I try again. Although quite honestly I think these basic lean bread recipes have it in for me. I have to remake these recipes more than any of the others in my baking project. This version turned out beautifully and has a fabulous slightly fermented taste. It's reminiscent of ciabatta, a recipe that is coming soon.

I'm slowly working my way through Baking and Pastry. My life doesn't quite accomodate the speed that  Julie Powell was able to generate while cooking through, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. It took Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck, years to create Mastering the Art of French Cooking. They didn't give up. They kept seeking the best recipes. They kept cooking until they got it right.

I keep at my quest.  Some days, I find the romance (see my next bread, Cracked Rice and Roasted Potato Baguette). Other days...well...dadgum...if it could go wrong...it did.

At that point, I take a break and think on things. I work on my other pursuits, such as photography. I'm working on adding to my camera equipment, learning how to use it better and acting like bird paparazzi. I'm after a really nice image of a male cardinal and red hawk that are gracing the land around us.

Do you have a quest?

Protein Content

Biga:
Original: 11.05 g
Gluten Free: 12.23 g

Dough:
Original: 16.7 g
Gluten Free: 16.65 g

Biga

16 g brown rice flour (1.44 g)
16 g sweet rice flour (0.96 g)
16 g arrowroot starch (0.03 g)
19 g almond meal (4.32 g)
18 g white bean flour (4.08 g)
12 g instant dry yeast
50 ml water
15 ml agave syrup

Final Dough

22 g brown rice flour (1.98 g)
22 g sweet rice flour (1.32 g )
24 g arrowroot starch (0.07 g)
30 g almond meal (6 g)
28 g white bean flour (6.02 g)
6 g chia seed meal (1.26 g)
6 g sea salt
4 g agar agar powder
15 g instant dry yeast
126 g biga (from above)
20 ml agave syrup
128 ml water (120 - 130 degrees F/48 - 54 degrees C)

Biga Directions

In a medium sized bowl, combine the flours, water, agave syrup and yeast. Mix together, making sure the mixture is smooth. Cover the mixture or transfer to a container and allow to ferment at 75 degrees F/24 degrees C for 18 to 24 hours.  When the biga is ready to use, it will have risen and receded, yet also look bubbly.

Final Dough Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients with the exception of the salt.  Hold the salt out, so it can be added later in the mixing.  Add the biga, water and agave syrup and blend together, just before the dough comes together, sprinkle in the salt and then continue blending until a soft ball forms. If the dough is still too soft, add arrowroot starch by the tablespoon (1 Tb/15 ml) until the dough firms up.
2. Place the dough in the center of a sheet of parchment paper that has been sprinkled with arrowroot starch. Gently roll the dough into a cylinder about 10 in/25 cm long and taper the ends. Take a sharp knife and slice a cut across the center of the cylinder at a slight angle. Place matching cuts on either side of the center cut, so there are three cuts altogether. Slide the parchment paper onto a cookie sheet and place in a warm location to rise for 2 hours.
3. Place an oven proof bowl filled with water on the bottom shelf of the oven. Then place a baking stone on the top shelf. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F/232 degrees C. Place the loaf in the oven and spray water over the oven box and the top of the loaf. Bake the loaf for 30 minutes. Prop the oven door open and continue to cook the bread for another 10 minutes. Remove the loaf and allow it to cool before serving.
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 DVD's from my family for my birthday. 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 follow me on Twitter and on Flickr.


Other Baking & Pastry Project Posts

Baking & Pastry Week 18 - Poolishes
Baking & Pastry #34 - Almond Buckwheat BatardBaking & Pastry #33 - Stollen
Baking & Pastry Week 17 - A Sponge and a Poolish
Baking & Pastry #32 - Gugelhopf
Baking & Pastry #31 - Panettone

Almond White Bean Lean Loaf Made With A Poolish (B&P37)

I'm back on the baking trail now that my flours have all arrived. Last week, I was on the hunt for flours when my order went the opposite direction from me. It put a real crimp in my making the January Daring Bakers Challenge. So, I decided to maximize my chances of getting an order by picking 3 different vendors to order from. I was able to get enough flour in to finish the DB Challenge fortunately. However it wasn't enough to go back to baking bread. All the flours finally came in and I've got bread on the menu for today.

It's a truly lovely loaf of Almond White Bean Bread - a lean dough that is egg and dairy free. It has a wonderful flavor that is great as toast with scrambled eggs, a dollop of strawberry jelly or simply for eating plain.

This picture is from the first set I made in early morning light. I was waiting for later in the day, for a second set, when the light would be brighter and warmer through the patio doors. The dining area contains my photo studio in our temporary home, so I got things ready and then went off to take a shower. When I was finished getting ready, I discovered my son in his search for something to eat with his scrambled eggs had absconded with the loaf. A good portion was already gone and my daughter was digging into it to add to her breakfast plate. By the time the afternoon light came around, there wasn't enough of the loaf left to take another picture.

What's coming up next in my bread baking adventure? Bigas...another method of pre-ferment, which was used by Italian bakers. The biga will add a more complex flavor and larger air pockets. Well...I'm hopeful about the larger air holes, because you've got to keep on your positive thinking cap when you bake gluten free bread.  First up will be the basic lean bread, Almond White Bean.Then I'm making a Cracked Rice and Potato Loaf that has the addition of whole grains of rice in it.

If you haven't tried many of the alternative flours, but you'd like to give some of them a try. Check out my latest article for the Daring Kitchen called "Playing With Alternative Flours."  It might help you over the hurdle and into trying out an alternative flour that will add a different flavor, texture or nutrition to your food.


Recipe

Protein Content
Original: 33.8 g
Gluten Free: 33.44 g


Poolish

22 g brown rice flour (1.98 g)
22 g sweet rice flour (1.32 g)
22 g arrowroot starch (.06 g)
34 g almond meal (6.8 g)
28 g white bean flour (6.45 g)
12 g instant dry yeast
131 ml water
15 ml agave syrup

Final Dough

10 g brown rice flour (.09 g)
22 g sweet rice flour (1.32 g)
22 g arrowroot starch (.06 g)
35 g almond meal (7 g)
16 g buckwheat flour (2.32 g)
25 g white bean flour (5.37 g)
________________________replaces durum flour
22 g  brown rice flour (1.98 g)
22 g sweet rice flour (1.32 g)
22 g arrowroot starch (.06 g)
30 g almond meal (6 g)
28 g white bean flour (6.02 g)
6 g chia seed meal (1.26 g)
________________________replaces bread flour
15 g instant dry yeast
10 g sea salt
4 g agar agar powder
135 ml water (120 - 130 degrees F)
10 ml agave syrup

Directions for Poolish

Pour all the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl and blend together. Then add the water and agave syrup and stir until incorporated. Set the bowl in a warm location to rise for 30 minutes.
 
Directions for Final Dough

1. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and stir together. Add the poolish, water and agave syrup and blend together until a soft ball forms.  If the dough is still too soft, add arrowroot starch by the tablespoon (1 Tb/15 ml) until the dough firms up.

2. Place the dough in the center of a sheet of parchment paper that has been sprinkled with arrowroot starch.  Gently roll the dough into a cylinder about 10 in/25 cm long and taper the ends. Take a sharp knife and slice a an arcing cut in the center of the cylinder at an angle.  Slide the parchment paper onto a cookie sheet and place in a warm location to rise for 2 hours.

3. Place an oven proof bowl filled with water on the bottom shelf of the oven.  Then place a baking stone on the top shelf. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F/246 degrees C. Place the loaf in the oven and spray water over the oven box and the top of the loaf.  Bake the loaf for 20 minutes. Prop the oven door open and continue to cook the bread for another 10 minutes.  Remove the loaf and allow it to cool before serving.

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 DVD's from my family for my birthday. 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 follow me on Twitter and on Flickr.


Other Baking & Pastry Project Posts

Baking & Pastry #36 - Roasted Potato & Basil Loaf
Baking & Pastry #35 - Almond White Bean Epi Wreath
Baking & Pastry Week 18 - Poolishes
Baking & Pastry #34 - Almond Buckwheat Batard
Baking & Pastry #33 - Stollen
Baking & Pastry Week 17 - A Sponge and a Poolish

Roasted Potato & Basil Loaf (B&P36)

With my family engaged in the the movie, The Basilisk King, a made for the Syfy channel production, it appeared to be the perfect opportunity to finish this post. I've been hunting and pecking my way through it for the last two weeks, as my typing skills have been put on the sidelines. I had a close encounter with the tip of one of my Shun knives, while I was chopping vegetables. The tip of my finger took the brunt of this little accident and thankfully, it's still intact.

Food production has continued around my house, due to these little doo-hickies called first aid or finger cots. In other words, it's a condom for your finger. It seals off your finger, with it's lovely bandage and antibiotic ointment, from the food you're preparing. They are perfect for ensuring food safety.  I picked up a box of 20 in assorted sizes from Meijer for about $1.50. So, outfitting your first aid kit with these won't dent the budget.

Most people keep a small selection of bandages and antibiotic ointment in their medicine cabinets. If you do a lot of cooking you should consider adding a few things to your home first aid supplies. Pick up some finger cots, finger tip and knuckle bandages, iodine swabs, burn ointment and some burn free pain relieving gel. If you can find them, a few Medi-Burn bandages would be good to have on hand. Since most kitchen accidents tend to be cuts or burns, adding some of these things to your home kit should keep you covered.

Once you've had that accident or you just want a wonderfully hearty loaf of bread to eat with your soup, try out this roasted potato and basil loaf.  I thought it was best when it was warm, but my daughter preferred it cold with a swath of peanut butter covering it.

Enjoy!

Recipe

Protein Content:
Original Amount - 25.35 g
Gluten Free Amount - 25.321 g

Poolish

10 g brown rice flour (0.9 g)
10 g sweet rice flour (0.6 g)
10 g arrowroot starch (0.03 g)
15 g almond meal (3 g)
15 g white bean flour (3.22 g)
12 g instant dry yeast
135 ml water
20 ml agave syrup

Roasted Potatoes

126 g potatoes, cut in quarters
olive oil, as needed
2 - 3 g fresh basil, chopped
2 g garlic, chopped
sea salt, as needed
cracked black pepper, as needed

Final Dough

23 g brown rice flour (2.07 g)
22 g sweet rice flour (1.32 g)
22 g arrowroot starch (0.06 g)
34 g almond meal (6.8 g)
34 g white meal flour (7.31 g)
8 g buckwheat flour (1.16 g)
8 g arrowroot starch (0.02 g)
12 g almond meal (2.4 g)
12 g instant yeast
9 g sugar
6 g sea salt
6 g chia seed meal
4 g agar agar powder
120 g poolish
6 ml water
15 ml agave syrup
9 g butter, softened

Directions for Potatoes

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F/220 C. Place the cut potatoes in a cookie pan or a rectangular baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and using a spoon or your hands coat the potatoes with the oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bake  for 30 minutes, remove from the oven and stir the potatoes. Place back in the oven and bake for another 20 to 30 minutes or until the potatoes are soft. Allow to cool.

2. Cut the potato wedges into bite size pieces. Preheat a skillet on the stove top. Drizzle in a small amount of olive oil, then allow the oil to warm. Put the garlic into the skillet and allow it to cook for about 30 seconds or until blonde in color.  Sweep the garlic around so it doesn't burn. Add the potatoes and basil to the pan.  Continue to sweep around for a about a minute so the flavors are incorporated.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool.


Directions for Poolish

Pour all the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl and blend together. Then add the water and agave syrup and stir until incorporated. Set the bowl in a warm location to rise for 40 minutes.
 
Directions for Final Dough

1. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and stir together. Add the poolish, water and agave syrup and blend together until a soft ball forms.  If the dough is still too soft, add arrowroot starch by the tablespoon (1 Tb/15 ml) until the dough firms up.

2. Place the dough in the center of a sheet of parchment paper that has been sprinkled with arrowroot starch.  Gently shape the dough into a ball. Take a sharp knife and cut a double swirl shape in the center of the dough. Slide the parchment paper onto a cookie sheet and place in a warm location to rise for 1 1/2 hours.

3. Place an oven proof bowl filled with water on the bottom shelf of the oven.  Then place a baking stone on the top shelf. Preheat the oven to 435 degrees F/223 degrees C. Place the loaf in the oven and spray water over the oven box and the top of the loaf.  Bake the loaf for 30 to 40 minutes. Prop the oven door open and continue to cook the bread for another 10 minutes.  Remove the loaf and allow it to cool before serving.


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 DVD's from my family for my birthday. 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 follow me on Twitter and on Flickr.


Other Baking & Pastry Project Posts

Baking & Pastry Week 18 - Poolishes
Baking & Pastry #34 - Almond Buckwheat Batard
Baking & Pastry #33 - Stollen
Baking & Pastry Week 17 - A Sponge and a Poolish
Baking & Pastry #32 - Gugelhopf
Baking & Pastry #31 - Panettone

Almond & White Bean Epi Wreath (B&P35)

Winter has barely started and we've got quite a bit of snow on the ground. Every afternoon, I'm outside with the kids and the dog. One day it's a snowball fight, the next day they are battling their way up the hill only to slide back down.

Our dog is always in the middle of the action chasing any flying snow. She plays a mean game of snowball, but she plays as shortstop. Her mission is to jump up and stop the balls before they can hit anyone. 

It's been so cold, we bought her some Muttluks for her feet. She hasn't gotten used to them yet. Poor thing just minces around until she can manage to shake one of them off her feet.

For us, cold days require a bowl of soup served with a crusty roll. After spending a few hours in the cold, there is nothing better to warm your body back up. Well, hugging the radiator works really well too.

This is a wonderful loaf of bread, that smells heavenly while it's baking. It has a crackly crust that snaps nicely when you break apart the leaves. If you don't have any soup, warm your bread and serve it with a variety of cheeses. Delicious.


Recipe
Yield: 1 1-lb epi wreath

Protein Content:
Original Amount: 28.34 g
Gluten Free Amount: 29.708 g

Poolish

16 g brown rice flour (1.44 g)
16 g sweet rice flour (0.96 g)
16 g arrowroot starch (0.03 g)
19 g almond meal (4.32 g)
18 g white bean flour (4.085 g)
12 g instant yeast
90 ml water (115 to 120 deg F/46 to 49 deg C)
15 ml agave syrup

Dough

25 g brown rice flour (2.25 g)
25 g sweet rice flour (1.5 g)
24 g arrowroot starch (0.3 g)
30 g almond meal (7.2 g)
28 g white bean flour (6.02 g)
6 g sea salt
6 g chia seed meal
4 g agar agar powder
130 g poolish
30 ml agave syrup
60 ml water (115 to 120 deg F/46 to 49 deg C)

Directions for Poolish


Pour all the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl and blend together. Then add the water and agave syrup and stir until incorporated. Set the bowl in a warm location to rise for 30 minutes.

Directions for Final Dough

1. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and stir together. Add the poolish, water and agave syrup and blend together until a soft ball forms.
2. Place the dough in the center of a sheet of parchment paper that has been sprinkled with arrowroot starch. Gently roll the dough into a cylinder about 15 in/38 cm long. Gently ease the ends of the dough together into a circle. Press the ends of the dough together. Take scissors or a sharp knife and holding them at a 45 degree angle, make diagonal cuts down the center of the ring.  Place each cut piece to the side as you cut it. Then place a parallel slice on either side of the center cut. Slide the parchment paper onto a cookie sheet and place in a warm location to rise for 1 1/2 hours.

3. Place an oven proof bowl filled with water on the bottom shelf of the oven. Then place a baking stone on the top shelf. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F/246 degrees C. Slide the loaf on the parchment paper onto the baking stone. Thenspray water over the oven box and the top of the loaf. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes. Prop the oven door open and continue to cook the bread for another 5 minutes. Remove the loaf and allow it to cool before serving.

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 DVD's from my family for my birthday. 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 follow me on Twitter and on Flickr.


Other Baking & Pastry Project Posts

Baking & Pastry Week 18 - Poolishes
Baking & Pastry #34 - Almond Buckwheat Batard
Baking & Pastry #33 - Stollen
Baking & Pastry Week 17 - A Sponge and a Poolish
Baking & Pastry #32 - Gugelhopf
Baking & Pastry #31 - Panettone

Almond Buckwheat Batard with Poolish (B&P#34)

Fresh bread can be sheer torture. It's the aroma while baking, the crackle of the crust or the delicious flavor when you bite into your slice. I like the loaves that get a bit toasty in the oven. Those loaves are a joy to tear into once they've cooled.

This is one of those loaves. It never made it to toast for breakfast or sandwiches for lunch. We divided it amongst the four of us and slowly devoured it.

This is a wonderful flour combination. When baked the flavor is very reminescent of a stone ground wheat loaf or at least how I remembered it tasting. My husband, who can glutenize, thought the flavor was evocative of a wheat loaf that was baked in a brick oven. Oh, my heart was skipping with that comment...that's high praise. I hugged the sweetness of his compliment to me. He knew that my first attempt with buckwheat and tepary beans tasted like old musty beans.

Enjoy!

Recipe

Protein Content:
Original Content: 50.7 g
GF Content: 49.18 g

Poolish

45 g Almond Meal (9 g)
50 g Buckwheat flour (7.25 g)
35 g Arrowroot Starch (0.105 g)___________replacement for whole wheat flour
15 g Instant Dry Yeast
15 ml Agave Syrup
180 ml Water (120 - 130 deg F/49 - 54 deg C)

Final Dough

20 g Brown Rice Flour (1.8 g)
25 g Sweet Rice Flour (1.5 g)
25 g Arrowroot Starch (0.3 g)
54 g White Bean Flour (11.61 g)
6 g Chia Seed Meal (1.26 g)______________replacement for bread flour
45 g Almond Meal (9 g)
50 g Buckwheat Flour (7.25 g)
35 g Arrowroot Starch (0.105 g)___________replacement for whole wheat flour
4 g Agar Agar Powder
15 g Instant Dry Yeast
10 g Sea Salt
254 g Poolish (above)
90 ml Water (120 - 130 deg F/49 - 54 deg C)
15 ml Agave Syrup


Directions for Poolish

Pour all the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl and blend together. Then add the water and agave syrup and stir until incorporated. Set the bowl in a warm location to rise for 40 minutes.
 
Directions for Final Dough

1. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and stir together. Add the poolish, water and agave syrup and blend together until a soft ball forms.  If the dough is still too soft, add arrowroot starch by the tablespoon (1 Tb/15 ml) until the dough firms up.

2. Place the dough in the center of a sheet of parchment paper that has been sprinkled with arrowroot starch.  Gently roll the dough into a cylinder about 10 in/25 cm long and taper the ends. Take a sharp knife and slice a cut in the center of the cylinder at an angle.  Then place a parallel slice on either side of the center cut. Slide the parchment paper onto a cookie sheet and place in a warm location to rise for 1 1/2 hours.

3. Place an oven proof bowl filled with water on the bottom shelf of the oven.  Then place a baking stone on the top shelf. Preheat the oven to 470 degrees F/243 degrees C. Place the loaf in the oven and spray water over the oven box and the top of the loaf.  Bake the loaf for 25 minutes. Prop the oven door open and continue to cook the bread for another 10 minutes.  Remove the loaf and allow it to cool before serving.

Rosemary Quinoa Black Bean Rolls (B&P-4)

Baking & Pastry Project #4 - Rosemary Quinoa Black Bean Rolls

My second challenge this week is the recipe for Durum Rosemary Dough (page 132) for the Baking & Pastry Project using the Culinary Institute of America's Baking & Pastry book.

The beauty of baking gluten free is the infinite variety of options when it comes to selecting flours. Each one is unique in nutrition, flavor and texture. When I figure out which flours will work for the recipe, I make up little bowls the chosen mixture and start taste testing. For example, when I selected quinoa and black bean flour the flavor was strong and a little too much for the rosemary. I experimented with adding more rosemary or a touch of agave syrup and found that the sweetener was the perfect choice to mellow the mixture.

It is a high protein bread that calls for durum wheat flour that has 13 percent protein for 100 grams of flour, as compared to 12 percent protein for bread flour. This recipe contains both types of flour, the first series of gluten free flours are to replace the durum flour and the second set (after the line) are to replace the bread flour.

The protein amounts of each flour follow in parenthesis. The total amount of protein for the original durum rosemary bread was 33.02 grams (per 100 g flour) as compared to 33.41 grams of gluten free flour (per 100 g flour).

This bread has a great crust and holds together very well when you bite into it. The flavors blended together beautifully. It's great warm from the oven with a pat of butter, but it's also nice with a chunk of aged gouda. My daughter wouldn't give it a try, but her brother thought it was quite tasty. He decided to have it along with some left overs...pizza and chinese. This from the guy who believes there is really only one flavor of ice cream worth eating - vanilla. Go figure.


Recipe
Yield: 6 rolls

50 g brown rice flour (5.3 g)
40 g sweet rice flour (8.24 g)
48 g arrowroot starch (7.2 g)
50 g black bean flour (4 g)
-----
54 g quinoa flour (8.64 g)
12 g arrowroot starch (.03 g)
5 g instant dry yeast
5 g sea salt
2 g agar agar powder
5 g chia seed meal
1 g fresh rosemary, minced
5 ml agave syrup
180 - 200 ml water


1. In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients and stir making sure the ingredients are thoroughly blended. Pour in the agave syrup and the water mixing until combined.


2. On a sheet of parchment paper sprinkle some sweet rice flour and turn out the bread dough. Roll into a log shape and divide into 6 equal pieces. Then roll them gently between your palms to around them and place on the parchment paper. When all the rolls are shaped, take a sharp knife and score the center of each roll with a straight line. Cover the rolls and allow to rise until doubled, approximately 1 hour.


3. Preheat the oven to 460 degrees Fahrenheit. If you have a baking stone, place it in the oven at the same time on a shelf in the top third of the oven. Gather an oven proof bowl that can hold water, a stone or brick, and a squirt bottle filled with water for steaming your bread. Allow the stone or brick to warm in the oven.


4. Remove the stone or brick from the oven and slide the parchment paper with the rolls onto the baking stone. Place the water bowl on a shelf in the bottom third of the oven. Then place the brick or stone into the pan of water. Squirt the sides of the oven with water and the top of the bread. Bake for 3 minutes then squirt the sides of the oven and top of bread with water. Then continue to bake for another 17 minutes. Prop open the door of the oven and allow the bread to cook for 10 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven, then let the bread cool about 1 ½ hours before cutting.



Notes:

1. All ingredients can be purchased from Barry Farm.

2. Kitchen tools or pans can be purchased from Amazon.com, Fantes, Sur La Table, and Williams Sonoma.



Other Baking & Pastry Project Posts:


Baking & Pastry Project #3 - Whole Grain Bread
Baking & Pastry Project - Week 2
Baking & Pastry Project #2 - Bagels
Baking & Pastry Project #1 - Lean White Bread
Baking & Pastry Project - Week 1

Buckwheat Anasazi Bean Batard (B&P-3)

Baking & Pastry Project #3 - Buckwheat Anasazi Bean Batard

It is amazing how dependent I am on my computer, back up drives, wireless network cards and routers. When parts die, I grind to a halt. Last night my husband got everything fixed.

Then we got side tracked by the videos from week 1 of this season's Britain's Got Talent. It's a fun show with so many talented folks competing.

This week's first recipe from the Baking & Pastry Project using the Culinary Institute of America's Baking & Pastry book is for Whole Wheat Bread (page 130) and the shaping exercise is the batard (page 197). It is a high protein bread that calls for high gluten flour that has 14 percent protein for 100 grams of flour, as compared to 12 percent protein for bread flour. This recipe contains both types of flour, the first series of gluten free flours are to replace the bread flour and the second set (after the line) are to replace the whole wheat flour. The protein amounts of each flour follow in parenthesis. The total amount of protein for the original whole wheat bread was 36.79 grams (per 100 g flour) as compared to 36.47 grams of gluten free flour (per 100 g flour). The agave syrup was added to take the slightly harsh after taste away from the dough.

The dough shaped up beautifully and had a fabulous crust after it was baked. The flavor is a little stronger, but it makes fabulous sandwiches and seasoned croutons.

Recipe

32 g brown rice flour (2.88 g)

30 g sweet rice flour (1.8 g)

30 g arrowroot starch (0.3 g)

78 g Anasazi bean flour (17.16 g)

------

100 g buckwheat flour (14.3 g)

13 g arrowroot starch (0.03 g)

6 g chia seed meal

2 g agar agar powder

5 g instant dry yeast

5 g sea salt

210 ml - 260 ml water

2 ml agave syrup

1. In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients and stir making sure the ingredients are thoroughly blended. Pour in the agave syrup and the water mixing until combined.

2. On a sheet of parchment paper sprinkle some sweet rice flour and turn out the bread dough. Shape into a batard shape and using a sharp knife slice length wise down the center of the dough. Place onto a french bread loaf pan, cover the dough and allow to rise for 45 minutes.

3. Preheat the oven to 460 degrees Fahrenheit. If you have a baking stone, place it in the oven at the same time on a shelf in the top third of the oven. Gather an oven proof bowl that can hold water, a stone or brick, and a squirt bottle filled with water for steaming your bread. Allow the stone or brick to warm in the oven.

4. Remove the stone or brick from the oven and slide the parchment paper with the batard onto the baking stone. Place the water bowl on a shelf in the bottom third of the oven. Then place the brick or stone into the pan of water. Squirt the sides of the oven with water and the top of the bread. Bake for 3 minutes then squirt the sides of the oven and top of bread with water. Then continue to bake for another 17 minutes. Prop open the door of the oven and allow the bread to cook for 10 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven, then let the bread cool about 1 ½ hours before cutting.

Notes:

1. All ingredients can be purchased from Barry Farm.

2. Kitchen tools or pans can be purchased from Amazon.com, Fantes, Sur La Table, and Williams Sonoma.

Other Baking & Pastry Project Posts:

Baking & Pastry Project - Week 2
Baking & Pastry Project #2 - Bagels
Baking & Pastry Project #1 - Lean White Bread
Baking & Pastry Project - Week 1

Baking & Pastry Project Week 2 - Batards & Rolls

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.

This week I'm making a Whole Grain Bread and what sounds like a mouth watering Rosemary Bread using a blend of high protein flours.

Due to the Easter holiday weekend, I'm a little off my original schedule (Sun/Tues/Thur). This week, my bread postings will be on Wednesday and Friday. Next week I'll be back to the original schedule.

You can follow my adventure daily on Twitter, where I'm glutenagogo.

Schedule for the Week of April 12th:

Wednesday - Whole Wheat Lean Dough & Bread (page 131)

Friday – Durum Rosemary Dough & Bread (page 132)

Shopping List

Brown Rice Flour (Fine or Superfine grind)

Sweet Rice Flour (also called glutinous rice flour)

Arrowroot Starch

High Protein Flours such as: Soybean, White Bean, Quinoa, Millet, Sorghum

Whole Grain Flour such as: Buckwheat, Millet, Sorghum, Quinoa, Amaranth, Teff

Instant Dry Yeast

Sea Salt

Binding Agents such as: Xanthan gum, Guar Gum, Chia Seed Meal, Agar Agar Powder

Fresh Rosemary

Resources

Flours & Binding Agents:Authentic Foods, Barry Farm, Bob's Red Mill

Instant Dry Yeast:Barry Farm

Equipment

Kitchen Scale

Measuring Cup (with fluid ounces or mL)

Baking Sheets

Digital Thermometer

Parchment Paper

Baking Stone

French Bread Baking Pan

Other Messages in the Baking & Pastry Project

Baking & Pastry Project #2 - Bagels

Baking & Pastry Project #1 - Lean White Bread

Baking & Pastry Project - Week 1

Mung Bean Pumpkin Seed Bagels (B&P2)

Baking & Pastry Project #2 - Mung Bean & Pumpkin Seed Bagels

Bagels call for high protein flour that has 14 percent protein, compared to 12 percent protein found in bread flour. To convert this recipe, I started horsing around with my Excel spreadsheet to get the flour mixture right. I wanted to try making the bagels using a different combination of flours than I had used with the Lean White Bread. Plus, I wanted to minimize any of the potential down sides to using bean flours (i.e. bitterness).

Taking a long review of my listing of protein contents, I noticed that mung beans have a protein content of 20 g per 100g of flour and the flour was a beautiful minty green. It was the color that made me think of pistachios and pumpkin seeds. That led me to thinking about salmonella outbreaks. No surprise that I ended up selecting pumpkin seeds to help offset any potential bitterness from the bean flour and to provide the extra protein the mixture needed. Besides, I figured that might not be too many people out there harboring year old pistachios in their freezer...mumble...mumble...unlike me.

Next to consider was the choice of binder, in other words what is going to hold this gluten free bagel together when I go to boil or cut it. The problem is that if you use too much of any one binder, you tend to get gummy bread that makes you think of a bad jelly candy. Many commercial foods that use binders (i.e. gums) tend to use more than one since they work better together. For example, the pint of Green & Black's Vanilla Ice Cream I have in my freezer uses two gums, locust bean gum and guar gum. I chose chia seed meal and agar agar powder since each works a little differently. The bagels just need a little extra binding, so I chose not to cook the agar agar and used the powder.

"Sorghum malt syrup," you say, "What in the heck is that?" Well, it's the syrup that's made from boiling down the juice from the unmalted grain (rather than from squeezed sorghum canes) until it reaches a lovely amber color. Sorghum malt syrup is made from white sorghum and contains the proteins and amino acids needed to feed the yeast. It's the perfect thing to perk up bread, but also for making gluten free beer...maybe I should try a little side project in home brewing.

Glorious green dough is what came from the mung bean flour and pumpkin seed meal. Minty green like new leaf shoots and perfect for a St. Patrick's Day celebration, although I'm a little late for this year. Better yet, they retained their lovely green color through boiling and baking. Yep, they survived the boiling and maintained their shape. An added bonus was the glaze added to the bagels by the sorghum syrup water and it keeps the toppings on the bagel.

Hands down my family loved the bagels. No bean flavors to mar their enjoyment and my son (a no topping, no filling kind of guy) worked his way through several of these quite happily. He's almost 13 and while he eats like there is no tomorrow, he's no push over. He's not about to inhale anything that doesn't taste good. Yeah, the inhaling food thing makes me wonder too. Can he really taste his food? Hmmm...maybe it's the nose and taste buds combo that does it. Anyway, you've got his word on it - these taste good.

Recipe
Yield: 6 bagels

Note: You will need to grind your own pumpkin seed, chia seed meal and mung bean flour. You can use a coffee grinder, just make sure to sift your pumpkin seed meal and mung bean flour prior to using so as to remove any larger bits. You can purchase sorghum malt syrup from Midwest Home Brewing Supplies in a smaller 3.3lb container. All the flours, pumpkin seeds, mung beans, chia seeds, agar agar powder, salt and instant dry yeast from Barry Farm.


72 g brown rice flour(7.26 g protein)
60 g sweet rice flour (6 g protein)
60 g arrowroot starch (2.79 g protein)
50 g pumpkin seed meal, sifted (12 g protein)
40 g mung bean flour, sifted (12 g protein)
6 g chia seed meal
2 g agar agar powder
4 g instant dry yeast
5 g sea salt
2 g sorghum malt syrup
1 ml agave syrup
200 - 220 ml water

Water Bath

113 g sorghum malt syrup, for 2.5 gal water (227 g for 5 gal water)

Toppings

sesame seeds
pumpkin seeds

1. In a large bowl, pour in all the dry ingredients and stir together. Add the sorghum malt syrup and water into the bowl and mix together. Lay out a sheet of parchment paper and sprinkle with sweet rice flour. Dump the dough in the middle of the sheet and then shape into a rectangle. Divide the rectangle into 6 equal strips. Then roll each strip out and join the ends. Roll the ends together to attach them. Lay out another sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with sweet rice flour and lay the finished bagels on the parchment paper. Once you are finished shaping the bagels, place the baking sheet into the refrigerator and retard over night.

2. Fill a stock pot with water and pour in the malt syrup. Place on a burner and set it to boil. If you have a baking stone, place it in the oven and then preheat it to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Set out a sheet of parchment paper in your work area and near it set a bowl of ice water and your bagel toppings.

3. Once the water is boiling, place the bagels in the water and allow them to cook for 1 minute, but don't allow them to touch. Lift each bagel out of the water, place into the ice water for about 3 seconds. Allow the water to drain off before placing on the parchment paper. Sprinkle with toppings and allow to air dry for a couple of minutes. Then slide the parchment paper with the bagels on it onto the baking stone. Cook for 10 to 13 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the bagels to cool before slicing and serving.

Related Posts

Baking & Pastry Project #1 - Lean White Bread
Baking & Pastry Project Introduction - Week #1

Other Bagels from Gluten Free Bloggers

Bagels from Ginger Lemon Girl
Bagels & Lox from Gluten Free Girl
Bagels & Foccacia from I Am Gluten Free

Lavosh With Tepary Bean & Mustard Green Relish

A Daring Baker's September Challenge

This month we are making Daring Bakers history as our September challenge is vegan and/or gluten free. For the first time ever, the torch has been passed to « Alternative » Daring Bakers : Natalie from Gluten A Go Go, and co-host Shel, of Musings From the Fishbowl. We wanted to make something savory this month, and we chose the recipe for Lavash Crackers from Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice (pp 178 - 180).

Here's a simple formula for making snappy Armenian-style crackers, perfect for breadbaskets, company and kids...It is similar to the many other Middle Eastern and Northern African flatbreads known by different names, such as mankoush or mannaeesh (Lebanese), barbari (Iranian), khoubiz or khobz (Arabian), aiysh (Egyptian), kesret and mella (Tunisian), pide or pita (Turkish), and pideh (Armenian). The main difference between these breads is either how thick or thin the dough is rolled out, or the type of oven in which they are baked (or on which they are baked, as many of these breads are cooked on stones or red-hot pans with a convex surface)...

The key to a crisp lavash,...is to roll out the dough paper-thin. The sheet can be cut into crackers in advance or snapped into shards after baking. The shards make a nice presentation when arranged in baskets.

* The key to crispy crackers is rolling out the dough as thinly as possible. We noticed that the crackers turned out better if you divide the dough in half before rolling. You’ll roll out the dough as per the directions, decorate and cook the crackers in two batches.

Lavosh Recipe

Makes 1 sheet pan of crackers

* 1 1/2 cups (6.75 oz) gluten free flour blend (If you use a blend without xanthan gum, add 1 tsp xanthan or guar gum to the recipe) or 1/2 cup brown rice flour, 1/2 cup millet flour, 1/2 cup arrowroot starch, 1 tsp chia seed meal
* 1/2 tsp (.13 oz) salt
* 1/2 tsp (.055 oz) instant yeast
* 1 Tb (.75 oz) agave syrup or sugar
* 1 Tb (.5 oz) vegetable oil
* 1/3 to 1/2 cup + 2 Tb (3 to 4 oz) water, at room temperature
* Poppy seeds, sesame seeds, paprika, cumin seeds, caraway seeds, or kosher salt for toppings

1. In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, salt yeast, agave, oil, and just enough water to bring everything together into a ball. You may not need the full 1/2 cup + 2 Tb of water, but be prepared to use it all if needed.

2. For Gluten Free Cracker Dough: The dough should be firmer than French bread dough, but not quite as firm as bagel dough (what I call medium-firm dough), and slightly tacky. Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

3. Ferment at room temperature for 90 minutes, or until the dough doubles in size. (You can also retard the dough overnight in the refrigerator immediately after kneading or mixing).

4. For Gluten Free Cracker Dough: Lay out two sheets of parchment paper. Divide the cracker dough in half and then sandwich the dough between the two sheets of parchment. Roll out the dough until it is a paper thin sheet about 15 inches by 12 inches. Slowly peel away the top layer of parchment paper. Then set the bottom layer of parchment paper with the cracker dough on it onto a baking sheet.

5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit with the oven rack on the middle shelf. Mist the top of the dough with water and sprinkle a covering of seeds or spices on the dough (such as alternating rows of poppy seeds, sesame seeds, paprika, cumin seeds, caraway seeds, kosher or pretzel salt, etc.) Be careful with spices and salt - a little goes a long way. If you want to precut the cracker, use a pizza cutter (rolling blade) and cut diamonds or rectangles in the dough. You do not need to separate the pieces, as they will snap apart after baking. If you want to make shards, bake the sheet of dough without cutting it first.

5. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crackers begin to brown evenly across the top (the time will depend on how thinly and evenly you rolled the dough).

6. When the crackers are baked, remove the pan from the oven and let them cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. You can then snap them apart or snap off shards and serve.

RECIPE - Recipe Reference: The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering The Art of Extraordinary Bread, by Peter Reinhart. Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, CA. Copyright 2001. ISBN-10: 1-58008-268-8, ISBN-13: 978-158008-268-6.

Tepary Bean & Mustard Green Relish Recipe

1 cup cooked brown tepary beans
1/2 cup mustard greens, finely sliced
1/2 shallot, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tb sesame seeds
1 Tb olive oil

Place all ingredients in a medium sized bowl and stir together. Serve with crackers.

Chestnut Pumpkin Danish

A June Daring Baker's Challenge

This month's challenge was hosted by the lovely Kelly of Sass & Veracity and the fabulous Ben from What's Cookin'?. They selected the "Danish Braid" from Sherry Yard's "Secret of Baking". Kelly and Ben chose for us to make danishes for a variety of reasons, one of them would allow us as Daring Bakers to get creative with our fillings and the shapes of our braids.

Pumpkin is a favorite flavor in my house, attaining a level of popularity that out shines any fruit including apple. When I started contemplating what flavors to use, my kids wanted to know what was wrong with using pumpkin. Absolutely nothing, I assured them, so pumpkin it is.

The dough was easy to make and worked very well with all the changes I made to make it gluten and dairy free. The finished dough turned out flaky and flavorful as well. I made a braid and several smaller pinwheel danishes with the dough, but the pinwheels were devoured by my eager family when they first came out of the oven.

This was a wonderful challenge for a gluten free baker with learning to make laminated dough and then make different shapes with the dough. My family loved the danish, everything from the crisp flaky dough to the pumpkin custard filling. I served it on Father's Day for breakfast and we almost ate the entire danish at one sitting. Simply delicious.

Thanks Kelly and Ben for a great challenge!

Recipe

Dough

½ cup brown rice flour
½ cup chestnut flour
¼ cup + 1 Tb arrowroot starch
¼ cup + 2 Tb sweet rice flour
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp chia seed meal
½ tsp pectin powder
1 pkg dry active yeast
¼ cup + 2 Tb almond milk
Pinch monocalcium phosphate powder *
3 Tb cane sugar
1 Tb chestnut spread **
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 egg, chilled & beaten

Shortening Block

1/3 cup vegetable shortening
2 Tb coconut oil
2 Tb sweet rice flour

Dough

1. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flours, salt, chia seed meal and pectin. Stir and make sure the chia seed meal and pectin are thoroughly incorporated through out the flours.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine the yeast, almond milk and calcium powder. Start mixing on low speed. Slowly add the sugar, vanilla extract, chestnut spread and egg. Continue mixing and slowly add the dry ingredients into the bowl. If the dough is sticky add a tablespoon of flour.

3. Transfer the dough to a sheet of parchment paper and wrap it. Then place it in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Shortening Block

1. In a mixing bowl, dump in the vegetable shortening, coconut oil and flour. Beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape the sides down and beat for 1 more minute.

2. Transfer the shortening mixture to a small bowl. Leave at room temperature.

Layering the Dough & Shortening Block

1. Once the dough has chilled for 30 minutes, turn it out on a parchment paper covered surface. Sprinkle with flour and then cover with parchment paper. Roll out the dough into a rectangle that is ¼ inch thick. If the dough is sticky, keep sprinkling it with flour. After it is rolled out, slightly score the dough into thirds. Spread some of the shortening block on the middle and right thirds of the dough. Fold the left side into the center and then the right side on top of the left side. Wrap in the parchment paper and place in the freezer for 30 minutes. This is the end of the first turn.

2. Remove from the freezer and rotate the dough. Repeat the above steps and place back in the freezer to chill for 30 minutes. This is the end of the second turn. Repeat the same for the third and fourth turns.

3. Once the fourth turn has been completed, leave the dough in the freezer for at least 5 hours or overnight. The dough is now ready to be used. If you aren’t going to use it within 24 hours, roll out the dough until it is about 1 inch in thickness. Then wrap it in plastic wrap and place back in the freezer. Danish dough will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Making the Braid

1. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. On another sheet of parchment paper, sprinkle it with some flour and then lay down the Danish dough. Sprinkle the top with flour and cover with parchment paper. Roll out into a rectangle that is ¼ inch thick. If the dough seems elastic and shrinks back when rolled, let it rest for a few minutes and then roll again. Place the dough on the baking sheet.

2. Along one long side of the pastry make parallel, 3 - 4 inch long cuts with a knife or rolling pastry wheel, each about 1 inch apart. Repeat on the other side, making sure to line up the cuts with those you’ve already made.

3. Spoon the filling in the center of the rectangle. Starting with the top and bottom flaps, fold down the top flap over the filling to cover it. Then, fold the bottom flap up to cover the filling. This helps to keep the braid net and to hold in the filling. Begin folding the cut side strips of dough over the filling, alternating first left, then right, left, right, until finished. Trim any excess dough and tuck in the ends.

Chestnut Pumpkin Danish Filling

2/3 cup canned pumpkin
1 egg
½ cup brown sugar
1 tsp chia seed meal
¼ cup arrowroot starch
½ tsp vanilla extract

1. Combine all the ingredients in a medium sized saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the mixture has thickened.

2. Spoon the mixture down the center of the danish dough.

3. Store in the refrigerator in a sealed container if you are not planning to use the filling right away.

Chestnut Glaze

1 Tb chestnut spread

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 Tb almond milk

1. Place the ingredients in a small bowl and stir together. Work the mixture with the back of a spoon to work out any lumps that might remain.

2. Pour over the top of the warm danish.

Proofing and Baking

1. Set the baking sheet with the Danish on it in a warm location. Cover the Danish and allow it to rise for 2 hours or until it has doubled in volume.

2. Near the end of the time the bread needs to rise, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Position a rack in the center of the oven.

3. Bake the Danish for 10 minutes then rotate the pan so that the side of the braid previously in the back of the oven is now in the front. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake about 15 – 20 minutes more or until it is golden brown.

4. Cool and serve the braid either warm from the oven or at room temperature. The cooled braid can be wrapped and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or freeze for 1 month.

* The monocalcium phosphate powder is part of the Pomona’s Universal Pectin package.

** Chestnut Spread is by Clement Faugier (crème de marrons de l’ardeche).