Pizza Crust Mix

I have always been pretty dead set against making mixes of flours.  However, we have not changed flours for at least 5 years now.  We also have several recipes that we regularly use.  SO, in addition to my Pancake Mix, I am now making a mix for the pizza dough.  We use it for pizza every other Friday and for hamburger buns on the off Fridays. Used enough to justify making a mix.  This amount of mix will make about 15 pizzas.

Pizza Crust

12 cup Rice Flour

6 cups Sorghum Flour

6 cups Tapioca Flour

6 cups Amaranth Flour

3/4 cup Gelatin

1/2 cup + 2 TBSP Guar Gum

4 TBSP Granulated Onion
2 TBSP Granulated Garlic

1/2 cup Italian Blend seasoning

4 TBSP tsp Baking Soda

2 TBSP Cream of Tartar

4 TBSP Salt

 

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl or bucket.  I use a 3 gallon bucket to mix in and then transfer it to a container that is about 2.5 gallons. But just as easily you could store it in the same bucket, it just makes it easier to make sure it is thoroughly mixed if you are transferring the mix.  I don't worry about how the ingredients, but I do mix together after every 2 or 3 additions.  Then give it a good mix together at the end.

To use the Mix:

2 cups Mix

2 TBSP Fresh Ground Flax

1  TBSP Oil

1/4 cup Egg Whites or 2 eggs

1.5 cups water

* * * *

OPTIONAL

2 tsp Yeast

2 TBSP Warm Water

1 TBSP Sugar

1) If you are going to use the yeast option, mix last 3 ingredients together first and set aside while you mix the dry ingredients together in another bowl and create a well in it too add the wet ingredients in.  DO NOT add dry wet ingredients to the dry ingredients until the yeast mixture is ready to use (if you are using the option).  

2) Add the wet ingredients give it a QUICK mix (I actually put all ingredients into my Ninja and blend it on the dough option for 30 seconds). 

3) Pour into a 16 in pizza pan.   

4) Bake 350 for 23. minutes.

Home-Made Bisquick Mix and Pancakes

In my humble opinion, regardless of your nutritional needs- there should be a minimal variation in cost.  It just doesn't seem right that just because you change the dominant grain, the price doubles or triples.  In a perfect world- right? Well, while the prices are high, I will still seek substitutions that are more economically sound for the wallet.  No offense Betty Crocker, but I can make an equivalent much cheaper...

Home-Made Bisquick Mix:

12 Cups Rice Flour

5 1/2 Cups Tapioca Starch

1/2 Cup + 2 TBSP Sugar

1/3 cup + 2/3 TSP Xanthan Gum

7 TBSP Baking Powder

2 TBSP + 1 1/2 TSP Baking Soda

2 1/2 TSP Salt

You'll need a 6 qt container to store it in and an even larger bowl to mix it all together in. I use the 2 gallon buckets that you can find in the painting section at Lowe's.  I measure out the ingredients first and then mix small amounts of each together til all the ingredients are combined.  You can use it for any recipe that you would usually use the Betty Crocker Gluten Free BisQuick for.

My Pancakes:

1 Cup mix

1 TBSP Sugar

3/4 TSP Pumpkin Spice (Spice mix containing Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Ginger, etc)

1 Cup Rice Milk

1 Egg

1) Mix dry ingredients in a bowl making a well in the middle.

2) Add egg and lightly mix with some of the dry ingredients before adding the Rice Milk.

3) Make the Pancakes and enjoy!  Serves 1 or 2.

Coconut Sugar Treats

Sunday is my baking day for many reasons.  I love to bake and it is a stress-less activity for me; AND it gets us prepared for our week.  I find if I bake 3 snack type items, I don't have to worry so much about if there is a quick snack available.  Most people can provide the snacks a typical child needs by going to the store.  Even in a gluten and dairy free diet you can, however, it costs soo much I find it more effective for our family to just make sure we set aside the time to make the bulk of our snacks at home. Also, by making them at home, I have full control over the ingredients I put in them.

My goal for today was not only to make the snacks, but also to really get to know the flexibility and effective uses of Coconut Sugar.  I used it in all the cookies posted in the picture- UN-Peanut Butter Cookies, Coconut Macaroons made with bananas instead of eggs, Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Bread.  It worked fabulously in all of these and I even had no problem with the yeast rising in my Bread.  There also was no noticeable compromise of flavor in these items, though the color was slightly darker than usual.  The color of the Coconut Macaroons was most noticeable, darkening just to the level of a pale-colored caramel. The Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies I am comfortable saying that their color was left unchanged and the bread was the color of your average whole wheat loaf.

SOO, many of you are probably wondering why I have ventured into Coconut sugar.  If you are curious about this, I recommend you read my previous post HERE- other than that, all I've got to say is its got more nutrients in it than many vitamin supplements and easier for your body to absorb too!

Baking with Honey, Agave Nectar and Maple Syrup

 

There are a lot of people who like to use Honey, Agave Nectar, Maple syrup, or other natural syrups as a substitute of sugar in their recipes.  They are wonderful substitutes, because of the natural nutrition they add to your food.  I always try to find RAW when ever possible, because the enzymes will still be in tact. If you have never substituted syrups for sugar in a recipe before, it is rather easy.

For starting, 1 cup of sugar is equivalent to:

• 1 cup of Honey - Reduce liquid by 1 TBSP

• 2/3 cup of Agave Nectar - Reduce liquid by 2 TBSP

• 1 cup of Maple Syrup - Reduce liquid by 3 TBSP

When you are using a heavier syrup, like honey or corn syrup, in a recipe that is supposed to have a light result,  add a 1/2 tsp Baking Soda per cup of syrups used.

When you use any syrup in place of granulated sugars (including brown, white, raw, etc) the baked goods tend to turn golden much faster, so you also want to turn the oven down 25 degrees.

Cheese Dip or Sauce Replacement

This can be used as a cheese sauce or dip replacement.  Add roasted green peppers and tomato (well drained) for an easy chip dip or use it as a cheese sauce over Broccoli, Cauliflower, or even Nachos!

Cheese Sauce Dip

 

4 egg yolks
1 TBSP freshly squeezed Lemon Juice

1/2 cup unsalted butter,  melted (1 stick)

1) Bring a pot of water to a boil as you whisk egg yolks and lemon juice together with a fork in a metal bowl.  

2) Over the pot of water continue whisking briskly with a fork until mixture thickens. Be careful not to let the mixture go up the sides or sit, because the yolks will scramble.

3) Slowly add melted butter as you continue whisking over the pot of water.

4) Remove from heat, set aside (still in the metal bowl) and add your uncooked macaroni elbows (about 12 oz) to the already boiling water.

 

Then:

1 1/2 TBSP Butter

1 TBSP + 1 tsp Cornstarch

1  cup Rice Milk 

  

5) Melt butter in a pan over the stove and then add the cornstarch and stir feverishly so no lumps can form.

6) After well mixed, add milk and stir constantly til it starts to thicken.  Remove from heat and add to the 1st mixture in the Metal bowl.

Then add:

3/4 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp White Pepper (you can use black if you don't mind the specks)

1/4 tsp Ground Anatto Seed (for color only; you can find this in the spice section)

You don't have to, but I recommend adding 1/4 cup pumpkin or butternut squash puree.  Mix well.  Makes about 2 cups.

Basic Pilsbury Refrigerator Dough Substitute (for sweet uses)

Pilsbury Style Refrigerator Dough

2/3 cup Rice Flour

1/3 cup Sorghum Flour

1/4 cup Vanilla Pudding (Jello brand sugar free- fat free is GFCF)

1 TBSP Potato Flour (flour, not starch)
2 TBSP Sugar

1/2 oz Gelatin (abt. 1 TBSP + 1 scant tsp)

2 1/2 tsp Guar Gum

1 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Baking Soda, rounded
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

*  *  *  *  

2 tsp Yeast**

1/2 TBSP sugar

2 TBSP Warm Water

*  *  *  *

2 TBSP Butter

2/3 cup Warm Rice Milk

1 TBSP Vegetable Oil 

2 eggs, Room Temperature

**If you prefer yeast free, leave out 2nd set of ingredients and use 2/3 cup of starter.  Make a note that starter adds a sourness to your baked goods (quite sharp compared to commercial sourdough bread) and will affect the final taste of baked goods.


1) Mix each set of ingredients in separate containers.  Making sure the dry group is in the largest bowl.  
2) When the yeast mixture has grown into a frothy airy mixture, combine all ingredients into the Large bowl.
3)  If you need to knead it into a ball for what you are using it for, use a plastic baggy over your hand or some saran wrap.
4) If you need to roll it out for whatever you may be using it for, it is best to roll it out between two sheets of saran wrap.
5) Let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes 
6) If you are making a stuffed or cinnamon roll style pastry, then bake 375 for 20-23 minutes.  Anything shorter than a cinnamon roll or un-stuffed will take less time. Check for done-ness by poking with a toothpick and checking that it comes out clean.  Golden brown is also a good indicator of done-ness.

Tips to Better Baked Goods

Had a friend comment to me that it should be rather easy to modify any recipe to fit a gluten free diet.  I was taken aback.  Easy??!!  No!!  Not really, in fact not at all!! Of course, when we first started the allergy free dieting, we had the same impression.  That is until the first few DOZEN loaves ended up in the trash.  It was a hard change.  There was not alot of information on the internet that had many GOOD recipes to offer or tips. AND there is no flour like wheat that has a protein with the same characteristics as gluten.  Gluten is so flexible and stretchable and makes for light and airy breads.  Not to mention taste, I mean try a loaf made of pure Garbanzo bean.  OH, GAG!!! The flavor is just not something that you seek.  Or perhaps straight buckwheat??  SAWDUST ANYONE??  Really, its that bad!! Now maybe if I was raised on the stuff I might feel differently about it, but I was not and my kids knew the 'better' life too, so we DO need to worry about how things taste for success with the way of life. 

After losing so many loaves, I took us down to a local Natural Food store and bought a teaspoon sized sample of every gluten free flour they had.  I walked out with about 10 samples.  My kids and I tasted every sample and chose several we liked.  I then built my recipes around those flours and bought a food storage with all the flours and every dough enhancer I could find. I am not sure any Gluten and Dairy Free person ever cared about flavor and texture so much as I do.  But I wanted my kids to eat, not just fake like they did. 

Because it really is not an easy task to modify a gluten free recipe and failure is highly likely at first, I thought I might write out what I have learned in writing my recipes.

1) Rule number one DO NOT substitute the flour called for in a recipe for only one type of gluten free flour.  I always use AT LEAST 4 different types of flours.  The more the types of flours the less distinct the flavor and the more 'normal' tasting the outcome.  For Dessert breads, use about 50% starches or lighter flours.  For a sandwich bread use 50% medium flours.  For a Whole Wheat type bread, use at least 25% heavier flours and minimal starch/lighter flours.

2) Always use spices that fit the baked good you are making.  Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, in sweet goods and breads; Onion powder, garlic, pepper, etc in items that are not meant to be sweet.  This brings the concentration of flavor to familiar items while distracting your senses from any new flavors.  Pudding is a good choice for sweet breads too.

3) NEVER pre-mix your flours.  You never know if a flour is not going to work for you, or has poor flavor, or if you might develop an allergy to it.  Once it is mixed, you cannot take it out; only throw it out.  I like being able to choose what flours go into my bread rather than being forced into using one I don't like the flavor of.

4) Always use dough enhancers unless you are intentionally trying to create a rock :o)  Dough enhancers can seriously lighten your loaf.  They won't create that airy pull-a-part soft dinner roll that Gluten creates, but it will at least make the goods better than what a 100% whole wheat flour could create.

5)  Don't like grittiness?  Let your dough set out over night (I used to do a few hours, but overnight is truly superior.  Thanks C.M.)

6)  Usually bigger is better, but with Gluten Free breads, it is the opposite!!  I just RE-learned this lesson a couple weeks ago (yes, I forgot for a brief time, but quickly remembered when my toddler toddled a pre-sliced bagged loaf off the counter).  Big bread means less crust and more crumbs, so save your self the headache or perhaps backache.  Smaller bread stays together a lot better.  I use a commercial hamburger bun pan for regular sandwich bread.  

7)  Did you know that a Gluten Free Diet tends to be more calorie dense??  It truly is!  But think about it, less air and more rock to the breads, not to mention the items we add to alter the natural flavor.  So yes, be careful with your portions and what you put into your breads.  This is one of the reasons you will see lots of vegetables in my breads, over the fruits.  Fruits usually have upper of 2 times the calories as vegetables.  Likewise, vegetables are good fillers in bread, because they are less calorie dense than flour is.  (Knowing this you might want to be careful with using pudding liberally in your sweet breads.) 

8)  Gluten Free breads need more 'glue', truly in need of anything that can help it stay together.  Vegetable purees do wonderfully, fruits too (especially banana or applesauce), eggs, flax, gelatin, guar or xanthan gum.  Typically if a recipe calls for 2 eggs I will add 3 in my gluten free items.

9) 1/4 cup of flax in a recipe for a 9" loaf has equivalent nutrients to a 9" whole wheat loaf.  (Need I say more)

Cream of Chicken Soup

Cream Soup Substitute

This recipe is a very flexible recipe and can be used in any recipe that is calling for a cream soup.  Depending on the type of cream soup you are needing you can change the broth.  Chicken broth for cream of chicken soup, Beef broth for things like my Beef Stroganoff, Vegetable or Mushroom broth for cream of mushroom soup.  There literally are no limits for this recipe and it will open up a variety of possibilities for your gluten and dairy free cooking abilities.


2 TBSP Starch (Arrowroot, Potato, Corn, Tapioca)
2 TBSP Rice Flour
2 TBSP Potato Flour
2 cups Broth
2 TBSP Non-Dairy Sour Cream
1-2 TBSP Chicken Bouillon/Herb OX (If your broth is already seasoned/salted, you likely won't need this)

Put tapioca, rice flour, and 1 cup broth in a ziploc baggy, seal it and mix.  When no lumps are present put it in a small pot with the other cup of broth and turn stove on high. While continuously stirring, sprinkle in the potato flour. Keep stirring.  When mixture has some bubbling from boiling, turn down to medium-low. Stir until thickening begins.  When the mixture begins to thicken remove from stove and continue stirring until uniformly thick.  Add Bouillon and Sour Cream according to the taste desired.

Yeast Free Bread Starter

There are not too many ways out there to make your bread rise.  You can probably count the ways on your fingers.  When I heard a fellow Gluten Free friend used predominantly quick breads because of a yeast allergy, I decided I was going to find a suitable method to put a rise back in Gluten and Yeast Free breads.  After all, Gluten Free breads can sure use a lift!

I learned all I could about yeast free starters.  I learned alot of very interesting information.  They are very healthy.  Did you know that Dry Yeast is acidic, but the yeast free starter is alkaline?  People whose bodies are an acidic environment bread disease and illness, like Cancer. An alkaline body is healthy and disease cannot thrive there.  Yeast free starters also flourish with natural probiotics and enzymes which assist in digestion and help the immune system.  The most important piece of information I read was any grain could be used to make it. Which meant IT COULD be Gluten Free.


Every Gluten free post had a very complex recipe for making their starter and most of them required multiple ingredients and most required milk ingredients.  I could not believe the extra stress and work that these individuals went through to get their 'starters'.  After reading their posts, I felt like it would likely be a long haul.

After learning, I sought out to make one.  I used Oatmeal first and it was a flop.  FLAT out.  Did. Not. Work. Simply put!  I thought it did not work because oatmeal loses some of its natural qualities once it is rolled (the hull falls off), hence not TRULY a 'whole' grain. I chose not to try any starches, because they are starches; no protein. So is it really a whole grain?.  I felt since starch is only a piece of say, wheat or sorghum, it would likely flop just as bad as the oatmeal. I also used my oven, which could have been too warm and prevented it from growing.   So my second attempt I tried Sorghum on the counter while in a sub zero climate outside.  BEAUTIFUL!!  And EASY!  Seriously, all you need is a place free of drafts, a container, water, and some whole grain flour.

Yeast Free Starter

To start:

1 cup Sorghum Flour (or other whole grain flour)

1 cup water

1 container (I use a quart sized canning jar, you could also use a 1 gallon ziploc bag)

**Do not use any metal components (jar lid is OK), metal will kill it.

1) Combine ingredients in your container and set in non drafty/warm area in your kitchen (not in stove). It needs to breath, so if you are using a lidded container, leave it slightly open.  I just don't twist my jar lid all the way shut.  If you are using a peanut butter or mayo jar, poke a hole in the lid. Mix every 12 hours (I just gently shake mine in its jar.  If you choose to do this, make sure you close the lid all the way before shaking). 

2) At the end of its first 24 hours, you need to feed it.  Pour out half (or put half in another container to have two times as much, or give away to a friend once alive).  Feed the starter by adding 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup water. Mix well and let sit, stirring every 12 hours.

3) At the end of 48 hours it may appear spongy and smell yeasty or beery.  This is great! you are live. Live or not, we need to feed it again.  So again, pour out half and add 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup water.  Mix well and set aside, stirring every 12 hours.

4) After feeding it one time while it is 'alive', you can leave it on the counter. On day 5 of being alive, you can refrigerate it to prevent it from 'growing' anymore, use it in a bread, or just feed it. If refrigerating it, feed it only 1/2 cup flour and a 1/2 cup water.  If using it in a bread, feed it 1 cup of each before adding it to your bread to replenish what you use. 
5) IF YOU HAVE DIFFICULTY starting the starter, then add the juice of 1 or 2 fresh grapes to the water and flour.  Don't put the grape in it, it will likely mold.

- At day 5 You don't have to dump out half anymore unless you don't want that much.  It is strong enough now, that it will hold through its feedings.

- On day 10 it is ready to be used in an Amish Friendship Bread.

- At one point, the sponginess appearance will go away and you will feel like you killed it.  Keep it, more than likely you did not kill it.  After about 12-24 hours you will see swamp-like bubbling has replaced the sponginess.

- It is VERY hard to kill this stuff.  The only thing that can kill it is a high temperature.  Like the temperature of the oven when you bake it in your bread.  So even if you forgot to feed it, it is more than likely still alive, so just feed it when you remember to.

- Just keep mine on the counter and use it every 5 days for regular breads.  This way I don't have to worry about a faulty rise from a dough that was too cold.
-The smell will vary.  I notice it smells more yeasty after doing a feeding for Amish Bread, because of the sugar used.  While when I use it for regular bread and do not feed with any sugar the smell is not so much a yeasty smell.  If the smell gets too strong for you, then pour out the liquid that forms on the top and replace with an equal amount of water.  I just started to do this.  On the same day I am going to feed the starter and use it for bread, I will change the liquid before feeding.

Sweetened Condensed Milk Substitute

There are so many wonderful things that require sweetened condensed milk.  For example fudge in the American culture and Tres Leches cake in the Mexican culture.  So we really needed a substitute for Sweetened Condensed milk if living Dairy free was going to be successful.  The flour I chose to use this time is rice flour, but I have used Cornstarch in the past.  I have also used combinations of tapioca and rice flour too. You might want to think twice before using only tapioca just because it has that strange gooey and slimy finished product- you know what I mean?


Sweetened Condensed Milk:

2 TBSP Butter

1 1/2 TBSP Rice Flour

1 1/4  cup Rice Milk

1/2 cup White Sugar 

  

1) Melt butter in a pan over the stove and then add the flour and stir feverishly so no lumps can form.

2) After well mixed, add milk in small amounts and then stir constantly til it starts to thicken. 

3) Add sugar and bring to a boil constantly stirring.  Turn off stove and let cool completely.

*Makes about 1 1/4 cups.  If there is a slight difference in what you need to what you have, add syrup or honey to make up the difference.