Best Gluten-Free Cornbread Ever!

It's been a while since I've done any posting.  The past 12 months have been very tragic and traumatic for my family and I, but I wanted to get some recipes on here that people continually ask for.  One of those is my cornbread recipe.  This was a gluten recipe that I found somewhere years back and have modified so much that it does not resemble the original recipe at all!  I ALWAYS get compliments on it, the kids love it and many have asked for the recipe.  One friend even said it tasted just like his Grandma's!  Talk about the ultimate compliment.  The key to making this the BEST is using a cast iron skillet.  Preheating the skillet and oil make the edges crispy and delicious.  Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!  I'll try to post a picture next time I make it!

Ingredients:

2 cup gf flour*

1 cup organic yellow cornmeal

½ cup organic sugar

½ t salt

½ t xanthan gum

1 T baking powder

2 (farm fresh or cage-free) eggs

1 ½ cup organic milk**

½ cup vegetable oil + 2 T for pan

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).  Place cast iron skillet*** in oven to heat as oven preheats.  About 5 minutes before the oven reaches 400 degrees, add a couple tablespoons of oil to the skillet and return to oven until desired temperature is reached. 

2.  In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, xanthan gum and baking powder.  In a separate bowl, mix milk, egg and oil.  Stir wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until well combined.  Remove skillet from oven, twirling around to make sure oil has coated entire bottom, and pour batter into skillet. 

3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.

Notes:

*I make my own GF all purpose flour by combining 48oz of brown rice flour, 24oz potato starch and 24oz tapioca starch.  Mix well and store in an air tight container.

**I prefer to use sour milk.  You can make sour milk by simply mixing in a teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar to whatever milk you are using or use that milk that has started to go bad!  I have used cow, goat and almond milk, all with great success.  We prefer goat. 

***If you do not have a cast iron skillet, spray or lightly grease a 9 inch round cake pan and do not preheat the pan.

Click here for printable version: Printable Best GF Cornbread Ever!

Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie Brioche

I know most people are over their pumpkin pie cravings by now but for me, if it's cool outside, then it's still pumpkin baking time inside.  This is another recipe inspired by Healthy Bread in 5.  I made their Pumpkin Pie Brioche for the veggie co-op to rave reviews.  However, I had already gone gluten-free by that time and never got to taste it.  I determined that I would come up with a gluten-free version so I could see what all the hype was about.  I ended up making it 2 ways...a regular gf pumpkin pie brioche and a gf pumpkin pie brioche with candied pecans.  Yes...yes, I did say candied pecans and they are even better than you are imagining!  The regular makes great toast and even better french toast.  I also imagine it would make a really good bread pudding (I'm thinking with eggnog and rum).  The one with the candied pecans is great just by itself with a nice hot cup of tea, with cream and sugar, of course.

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie Brioche (adapted from Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day)

820 g or 6 1/2 Cups all purpose gf blend (or equal parts sorghum, tapioca*, potato)
2 T or 1/2 t yeast**
1 T kosher salt
2 T xanthan gum
3 t pumpkin pie spice (or 2 t cinnamon, 1 t ground ginger, 1 t nutmeg)
1 1/4 cup milk (I use almond) or water
3 T dry milk powder (if using water)
4 large eggs
1/2 to 1 cup sugar, honey, agave (depending on how sweet you want this)
3/4 cup neutral flavored oil or melted unsalted butter
1 15 oz can of pumpkin puree
Raw sugar for sprinkling on top

*If you use or have Expandex on hand, substitute 1/2 the tapioca for Expandex
**If you want this now, use 2T yeast and you'll have bread in a few hours.  If you prefer to do a slow rise, use 1/2 t yeast and let sit out overnight, then refrigerate for up to 5 days or bake immediately.

Whisk together your dry ingredients in the bowl of your stand mixer (flour, yeast, salt, xanthan gum, spices, sugar, if using, dry milk powder, if using). 

Combine liquid ingredients (eggs, honey, if using, oil) with the pumpkin puree and slowly pour into the dry ingredients.  Mix with stand mixer with paddle attachment until all ingredients are thoroughly combined.  Cover (not air tight) and allow dough to rest for 2 hours if using 2T yeast or for 8-12 hours if using 1/2 t yeast.

When you are ready to bake, grease an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch nonstick loaf pan (or how ever many loaves you are making.  I usually do all my baking at once to save on electricity as the baked loaves freeze well, just pre-slice.)  Measure out 1.5lbs of dough into each pan.  Smooth out the top of each loaf and cover and allow to rest for 90 minutes, if using refrigerated dough, or 40 minutes if using fresh dough.  (I put mine in the microwave with a steaming cup of water.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Just before baking, sprinkle the top of each loaf with the raw sugar.  Bake for 40 to 50 minutes.  The loaf is done when caramel brown and firm.  Remove from oven and allow to sit in pan for 10 minutes (really...don't try to take it out earlier.  Set your timer for 10 minutes and then when it goes off, remove your bread, right then, don't get distracted and forget.  Too soon or too late and you will have a hard time getting that bread out!) then remove to a rack.  Allow to cool before slicing and eating.

**Variation**  Pumpkin Pie Brioche with Candied Pecans

To make the candied pecans, in a nonstick saucepan heat 3 T butter, 1/2 t cinnamon, 1/2 C sugar and 1 C of chopped pecans over medium heat for about 8 min until thick and bubbly. Spread out on a silicone mat or piece of parchment and cool in the fridge. Once cool, separate into little pieces and divide into 3 equal batches (I usually weigh out the whole batch and then divide equally).  If you don't use this all at once, store in the fridge or freezer (just don't eat it all before you bake the rest of your dough!)

When your dough is ready, measure out .75lbs of dough into the pan.  Take 1/2 of one of the batches and sprinkle on dough.  Gently press down then put in the other .75lbs of dough.  Sprinkle the other 1/2 of the batch on top, then press and cover with dough.  Most of the candy should be under the dough.  I usually do not add additional sugar to the top of the loaf when I bake it.

The Taco Spot...A great Little Eatery in Charleston, SC offering gluten-free options

Yesterday, a couple of the kiddos and I had the opportunity to check out The Taco Spot (http://www.thetacospot.com/westashley.html).  I had read online that they offered gluten-free fare and their prices weren't too exorbitant, we had a field trip, then a haircut and were leaving at 7:30am in the morning and I wasn't up to packing a lunch, so we went.  We were NOT disappointed.  The kids just got your run of the mill, seasoned ground beef in a cruchy corn shell.  They enjoyed it but it wasn't anything special.  My son actually missed having a little grease drip out (yuck!).  I, on the other hand, got the grouper fish taco with soy aioli.  I have never gotten a fish taco at a restaurant before (I have made them at home with fried fish) so this was me going out on a limb!  I'm not usually adventurous.  The fish was baked and so tender and succulent, I could have eaten a whole pan of that fish by myself!  No fishy taste whatsoever.  I made the kids try a bite and they couldn't believe it was fish.  Scrumptious!  The individuals who worked there were very helpful as far as my gluten concerns and there doesn't really seem to be much margin for cross contamination since they do not fry any wheat products in their oil and each taco is prepared on a fresh sheet of paper. We really enjoyed our experience at The Taco Spot and will definitely be returning.  They have a couple tacos I'm dying to try!  They also use local produce from a farm I happen to know does not use chemicals, all a plus, and a good reason why you should go grab a taco from the The Taco Spot right now!

Flourless Chocolate Cake

About a month ago, some friends were fixing us dinner and I wanted to take a dessert (mostly so I could make sure my kids would have a dessert they could eat).  I turned to my 1000 Gluten Free Recipes by Carol Fenster (1000 Gluten Free Recipes) and found a recipe for a Flourless Chocolate Cake.  I followed the recipe, increasing it by 1/4 since I was using a 9-inch springform pan instead of 8-inch.  I made up a batch of fresh whipped cream and assembled by squeezing out a pretty dollop of whipped cream from the corner of a ziplock bag onto the top of each slice and placing a fresh raspberry in the middle of the whipped cream.  As you can imagine, it was a huge success.  My dad, who is about as far from gluten-free as you can get, loved it.  So did my hubby, who is not completely on board.  This is a decadent, delicious and beautiful dessert but actually pretty easy to make. 

You can find the recipe here: Fenster Chocolate Cake or in the book, which is definitely worth buying.

Here's a picture though by the time I got the shot, this was the last lone piece and all the delicious accessories were eaten up.  I couldn't keep my kids out of the whipped cream.  It may not look pretty, but trust me, this is one you want to try!

Don't forget to check out Carol Fenster's website at: http://carolfenstercooks.com/

Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour Blends...Which is the best?

Being new to gluten-free, I am still getting my feet wet with gluten free baking and testing the waters of which gluten-free blend is the best for baking and just anything, really.  I thought I would try to gather some of the different blends together in one place and do a comparison and possibly get opinions on what works best for others.  These are blends that I would and do use personally due to flour availability, ease of making, and best results.  Here's what I've come up with so far...

Ahern's All Purpose Blend (from www.glutenfreegirl.com)

 200 grams superfine brown rice flour
150 grams sorghum flour
50 grams potato flour
250 grams sweet rice flour
150 grams potato starch
100 grams arrowroot powder
100 grams cornstarch

This was from 2010...lately I'm seeing that she is using equal amounts of sorghum, sweet rice and potato starch.

Carol Fenster's Sorghum Blend (from www.carolfenstercooks.com)
1 ½ cups sorghum flour (or brown rice flour)
1 ½ cups potato starch (not potato flour) or cornstarch
1 cup tapioca flour/starch


Artisan Gluten-Free Flour Blend (from noglutennoproblem.blogspot.com)
1 1/4 cups (156g) brown rice flour
3/4 cup (88g) sorghum flour
2/3 cup (90g) cornstarch
1/4 cup (37g) potato starch
1 tbsp + 1 tsp (14g) potato flour
1 tsp (3g) xanthan gum

Gluten Free All Purpose Flour Mix (from www.glutenfreecookingschool.com)

3 parts brown rice flour
3 parts corn starch
2 parts soy, sorghum or garflava flour
1 part masa harina

Allergen-Free Cuisine Gluten Free Flour Mix (from www.cybelepascal.com)
4 cups superfine brown rice flour
1 1/3 cups potato starch (not potato flour)
2/3 cup tapioca flour (also called tapioca starch)

I've only tried 3 of these so far (Cybele's, Carol's and GF Cooking School).  I am going to try a single recipe with each blend and post back with my results.  I'm off to bake...  

Update: May 2014

 

Earthmama's Gluten Free Flour Mix 
Okay, since the days of mixing up these flour blends, I've gotten lazy.  I don't want to use more than 3 flours.  It's just too much work!  So, nowadays, I keep it simple.  I mix:

48oz of Bob's Organic Brown Rice Flour
24oz of Bob's Potato Starch 
24oz Tapioca Flour

Looking back now, this is the same combo as Cybele uses, just not quite the same ratio.  I just take the whole bag and dump them in my big container.  Much easier than measuring out or weighing cups.  I used to order all my flours through Amazon.  With the subscribe and save, the prices were dramatically lower than you would pay at a store.  However, they have taken most Bob's Red Mill items off subscribe and save.  Now I find a better price at Vitacost, who also has a set and save program and you don't have to order as many at a time.  This blend works well as an even exchange for AP wheat flour.  Depending on the recipe, you may need more or less.  I don't even add xanthan gum for pancakes but do for cornbread and biscuits.     
 

Gluten-Free Caprese Tartlets

While the kids and I were at Costco the other day, we saw some fresh mozzarella which got me jonesing for Caprese salad.  This is NOT the time of year for that, I know, and I am all about eating seasonally and locally but I couldn't help myself.  I bought some tomatoes and the cheese and headed home with visions of Caprese tartlets dancing in my head.  I first saw Caprese tartlets on Melissa D'Arabian's show on the Food Network.  I happened to have some hemp bread in the freezer (which was not white bread but it worked) and some basil from my garden that I had frozen for just such an occasion.  I found that if you freeze fresh herbs from the garden, they may not look pretty but they retain their flavor.  There is just no comparison between fresh basil and dried.  They don't even taste like the same plant to me!  Anyways, here's the recipe with the slight variation for gluten-free.  This would make a great appetizer but we just ate it for dinner along with a salad.  Please excuse the presentation in my picture.  My 6 year old was waiting her for food so I was a bit rushed. 
Check out the original recipe and comments here:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/melissa-darabian/caprese-tartlets-recipe/index.html.

Gluten-Free Caprese Tartlets (Recipe Courtesy Melissa D'Arabian)  

Total Time: 23 min  Prep: 10 min  Cook: 13 min Yield: 4 servings (2 tartlets per serving)

Ingredients

• 8 slices gluten-free white bread (I used gf hemp bread)
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 4 ounces fresh mozzarella (approximately 2-inch ball), thinly sliced
• Balsamic vinegar, for drizzling, optional
• 8 fresh basil leaves

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Using a biscuit or cookie cutter, cut out a piece of bread to fit in the bottom of the muffin tin.  Brush both sides of the bread with olive oil. Press the slices in the muffin tin, to form tartlet shells. Set aside.

In a small bowl, using a fork to combine, mix together the cream cheese, garlic powder, dried basil, salt, and pepper until smooth and creamy. Drop about a teaspoon of the cream cheese into the bottom of each muffin tin. Bake the tartlets until golden and crusty, 12 to 13 minutes.

Meanwhile, liberally salt the tomato slices. Once the tartlet shells are golden, remove them from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Place a slice of mozzarella on top of the cream cheese, then layer on a tomato slice or two. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste and a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, if using. Garnish with basil.

Taco Bell Crunchy Taco's are NOT Gluten-Free

Nor do they claim to be.  Guess I should have checked here http://www.tacobell.com/nutrition/allergens before going there!  I thought "meat, cheese, lettuce, corn tortilla...these should be okay."  Wrong!

I guess as you have probably already guessed, I had a couple crunchy taco's yesterday and spent the afternoon sicker than sick.  It seems the further I get from my gluten days, the sicker gluten is making me (when I accidentally ingest it).  Gone are the days when I thought I might cheat to have a slice of pizza.  It is just not worth it.  Yesterday, I ate my tacos, came home and suddenly had a case of (what I thought was) pink-eye.  I immediately put colloidal silver in it (which works great for pink-eye) and laid down.  I fell into this sort of weird sleep where I was in and out and just felt kind of out of it.  When I woke up, I felt like I was going to throw out (as my dear little daughter used to say).  I gulped down an Emergen-C and later took a ginger, a couple milk thistle and some digestive enzymes.  I slept horribly last night, waking up often, which I do not normally do.  Even this morning my stomach is still churning and crampy.

Taco, you definitely were not worth it!  I would like to mention here that we actually very rarely eat out.  We rarely ate out before going gluten-free, so even more so now.  But yesterday my floors were being refinished and I didn't have time to pack us something to eat before we left because I was trying to get everything up and out of the way.  I spent my "gluten-drunk" afternoon sleeping it off in my camper where my little girls and I ended up spending the night (floor fumes).  Not my best day, but now I know and you do too!

Update: 2 days later and I still have that "just been run over by a Mac truck" feeling.  I'm having pains in my legs, fuzzy head and stomach woes.  I once questioned whether a little gluten could really make you "that" sick.  Well, now I know...it makes you THAT sick!  I will definitely be exercising more caution in regards to what goes in my mouth!