Monday, July 26, 2010

Gluten Free - Dairy Free white (rice) bread

This recipe has made me so happy at the thought of being able to have a sandwich again! It has been a long time! It does have a slighty 'rice flour' taste, but it's better than nothing and I'm going to do some experimenting with other flours and see how it goes.

Gluten-free breads need only one rising. Make sure the ingredients are well mixed by hand or with a mixmaster dough hook. Guar gum (412) or xanthan gum (415) from health food stores replace the function of gluten in baked goods. Choose xanthan gum if diarrhoea is a problem.


Dry ingredients
3 cups (375 g) rice flour
½ cup maize cornflour
2/3 tblsp guar gum or xanthan gum
2 tblsp sugar
1 teasp salt
2 teasp yeast

Wet ingredients
300 ml lukewarm water (at blood heat, not hot)
2 tblsp oil
2 eggs

Add yeast and sugar to lukewarm water. Mix together remaining dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix together remaining wet ingredients in a small bowl and add yeast mixture. Tip the wet ingredients into the dry ones and mix really well. If mixing by hand, turn out on a rice-floured board and knead briefly until you have a firm, elastic dough.

the yeast mixture...

the wet ingredients...

in the mixmaster, using the dough hook... I found this didn't mix as it would normal wheat bread so opted to knead by hand after this inital mix...


Put into a loaf tin (eg for date loaves) or the bread pan of your breadmaker. If using an old breadmaker, leave out the kneading tool. Otherwise, program the breadmaker to skip the kneading phase. Squash down well to remove air bubbles, and smooth the top.


Allow to rise for 30 minutes.


Bake in a 200°C oven for 30 minutes or bake in breadmaker as for a normal loaf..



This is a slightly heavier loaf than normal white bread, but unlike some gluten free loaves, slices really thin for sandwiches, and makes good toast. Freezes well (slice before freezing)

And look slices of bread! lol


This recipe is from the Failsafe newsletter By Sue Dengate

Friday, July 23, 2010

Lemon & Lime Walnut Cake - first prize winner!!

I entered this cake into the Royal Darwin Show this week and found out today I won first prize! $30 cash prize  :)  You have to try it even if you are not gluten intolerant - it's delicious!!

I apologise that I forgot to take photos this time as I was making but I'm sure I'll make it again soon, lol!

straight out of the oven...


and ready to deliver to the show...
 


Lemon & Lime Walnut Cake
gluten free, dairy free


A rich & moist, naturally gluten free cake, delicious topped with a simple white icing made flavoured with the juice from the citrus fruit.

4 eggs, separated
1 lemon
1 lime
1 cup caster sugar
4 cups of ground walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 150C. Grease and line with baking paper a 20cm round tin, and set aside.

2. Using an electric beater, beat the egg yolks and the sugar until light and fluffy.

3. Grate the rind of the lemon and most of the rind of the lime (to taste) into the egg mixture and stir.

4. In a clean separate bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold about half the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture, then add the walnuts and stir until combined. Fold the remaining egg whites into the mixture carefully.

5. Pour mixture into prepared tin and bake for 45-50 minutes until firm and golden in colour. Allow to cool in tin for 30 minutes before turning out onto wire rack.

Please let me know what you think!

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

gluten free damper recipe

I've been making this very simple bread substitue for lunches the last few weeks... it's so easy, no extended kneading, no yeast, no waiting for it to rise... just mix, a quick knead and shape and into the oven for half hour and yummo, fresh bread! And for someone with gluten intolerance, let me tell you - this is heaven!


This quantity makes a medium sized damper - I shape mine into a kind of french stick shape to make it quicker to cook through. Just multiply the quantities for a larger loaf, but be aware that it is best eaten fresh from the oven. Without preservatives it tends to go rock hard pretty quickly!

Basic Damper Recipe
* 1 cup of gluten free raising flour (but again I use plain and 1 tsp of baking powder per cup)
* 1  extra tsp of GF baking powder
* 1/2 cup milk (I use lactose free milk - you could even use water if you like)
* 1tbs honey or golden syrup
* pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 180C. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and pour out onto floured surface (or non-stick kneading mat, this is what I use - it's sensational) Simply knead for a couple of minutes until mix comes together and then shape into  desired shape. Brush with extra milk or melted butter and place on paper lined tray and bake for around 30 minutes until brown.

ready to go in oven...


and out of the oven (cut in half)... yum. yep I know it's pretty 'doughy' looking, which it is, that's the disadvantage of gluten free baking... without the gluten things can get pretty heavy. but in my opinion, it's better than nothing and I've really been enjoying have some preservative free bread on which to spread some honey! ENJOY!


Recipe adapted from 4 Ingredients Gluten Free by Kim McCosker & Rachael Bermingham

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

welcome!

Hello bloggers and welcome to my new blog!

You may well be wondering why I'm starting yet another blog... and the reason is this... a whole new passion! and that passion is for cooking, I just just can't get enough of it right now. It is always something I have loved to do, especially baking, but since adopting a gluten free diet in late 2009 and more recently a lactose free one as well, it has become a neccesary part of my life, and one I just love! I thoroughly enjoy hunting down new recipes to try and adpating old favourites and have decided I really wanted to share what I'm discovering. And that is really tasty and healthy food, much the way food is meant to be, before such inventions as food additives etc etc.

Speaking of food additives (and I could go on and one here but I won't unless you want me to, lol) I have spent the last few months researching food additives and their uses in this country and quite frankly I am appalled at what is allowed to be used in our food, things we buy everyday as a nation thinking we are doing the right thing by our families health. It is all a marketing ploy!!! Well they've lost me as a customer let me tell you... there are so many additives that are KNOWN by food standards to cause various and serious problems but they are still allowed to be used, I now read every single label before it goes in my trolley, and carry with me this book each time I shop to look up any suspect items. This has all had a huge impact (very positive) on my childrens behaviour and that's got to be good! It really is incredible how many colours for example are used in margarines, ice-creams etc etc. For example... I now ONLY buy Nuttelex spread and Peters Original Ice-cream - no exceptions.

ANYWAY, lol.... here is my first little share with you... recipe for Gluten Free Patty Cakes (if you don't require GF they work just as well with ordinary flour)



* 125g butter, softened (I use Nuttelex so to be Dairy free)
* 3/4 cup caster sugar
* 3 free range eggs
* 2 cups gluten free self raising flour (I actually always use plain flour and add 1 teaspoon of GF baking powder per cup to the mix - saves me buying different flours)

Preheat oven to 160C. Combine ingredients with 1/4 water in a bowl. Beat with electric mixer until nice and smooth. Use a teaspoon to spoon into a 24 hole mini muffin try lined with patty cases and bake for 20 mins.

Cool on wire rack and once cool you can ice as desired. I do a basic white icing which is simply 1 cup icing sugar, 1 tbs of nuttelex and enough milk to mix (usually about 2 tbs). Super yum and the kids will love them and you too! Our last batch of around 30 lasted less than 48 hours!!

Recipe adapted from 4 Ingredients Gluten Free by Kim McCosker & Rachael Bermingham


So let me know what you think and feel free to put in any requests! Any recipe I post will always be something I have tested. ENJOY!