Gluten Free Molasses Brown Bread Recipe

Here is the first attempt at chasing the best bread I made last week, you know the one, where I didn't write down the quantities of any of the ingredients... yeah that magical loaf. So I changed up a few things, mainly adding more molasses. The result was a bit sweeter than I intended, more like a brown bread (the thing New Englander's made in old soup cans in grade school) but sans can. This might be a bit of bragging, but this has now superseded any other bread I have made. ITS SO GOOD!

Molasses Brown Bread
1 package of yeast
3/4 cup warm water
1 tsp honey
3 tbsp molasses
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 egg
1 cup millet flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup potato starch
1/2 cup sweet rice flour
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp psyllium husk powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp cocoa
2 tbsp water (this was necessary cause the dough was looking dry)

1. Throw everything into a mixing bowl, with a paddle attachment, and start on slow.
2. Increase the speed to medium-high and mix for 3-5 minutes, scraping down the bowl at least once. (Everything should be very well incorporated and it should look like a stiff cake batter.)
3. Place it into a well greased loaf pan - smoothing out the top with either a rubber scraper or a damp finger.
4. Let it proof, double in size, in a warm spot for 1.5 hours.
5. Bake at 350F for 45-60 minutes.

The only thing I would do differently next time is maybe omit the honey and let it proof a little longer. It has a great crumb and didn't fall or anything, I just think it could be a little lighter.



Toasted with butter, yeah its ok to drool.

Tattoo

Question: What do you get when you combine a love of science + ink and stir in a nod to an autoimmune disorder?
Answer: This tattoo.

Thanks to Deb for sharing this!

Where to find it: gums, gluten free flours and odd ingredients

In the past few months, several people have asked me where to find _____ flour or ingredient. I am going to do my best to be both vague (where you MIGHT find something) and specific (where I have found said product). If you know of another awesome place, please share!

Agar agar	specialty food stores	Harvest, Whole Foods
almond flour	specialty food stores	Whole Foods
almond meal	specialty food stores	Trader Joes
arrowroot starch	specialty food stores	Christina in Inman, Whole Foods, Harvest
brown rice flour	specialty food stores	Harvest, Whole Foods
buckwheat flour (kasha)	specialty food stores	Harvest, Whole Foods
chick pea flour (gram flour)	speacilty food stores, Indian markets	Harvest, Whole Foods, Shalimar in Central Square
coconut flours	specialty food stores	Whole Foods
corn flour	specialty food stores, Portuguese & Brazillian Markets	Brazilian Market in Union Square, Portuguese market in Inman Square
corn meal	grocery stores	almost everywhere food is sold
corn starch	grocery store, Target, etc.	almost everywhere food is sold
flax seed meal	grocery store, specialty food stores	Harvest, Whole Foods, Trader Joes
guar gum	specialty food stores
manioc starch (toasted)	specialty food stores - Brazilian	Brazilian Market in Union Square
masa harina	grocery stores, Latin food stores	Market Basket, Harvest, Shaws, etc.
millet flour	specialty food stores	Harvest, Whole Foods
PAN (arepa flour)	specialty food stores, Columbian & Brazillian Markets	Brazilian Store in Union Square, Market Basket
potato starch	specialty food stores, Asian markets	Harvest, Whole Foods, Reliable Market in Union Square
psyllium husk	grocery store, specialty food stores	Harvest, Whole Foods, Drug Stores
sorghum flour	specialty food stores	Harvest, Whole Foods
sweet rice flour	specialty food stores, Asian markets	Reliable in Union Square, RIP - Super 88
tapioa starch	specialty food stores	Harvest, Whole Foods, Reliable Market in Union Square
teff flour	specialty food stores	Harvest
white rice flour	specialty food stores	Harvest, Whole Foods
xanthan gum	specialty food stores	Harvest, Whole Foods
yucca starch	specialty food stores - Brazilian	Brazilian Market in Union Square

New challenges

I have been rather uncharacteristically silent on this front and I thought it was about time to fess up. A lot of things have been going on, most of them really fantastic things (teaching, contributing to a book, selling more of the cookbook and thinking about new projects). I have also been feeling rather cruddy, you know that ugh, sluggish, I-am-tired-all-the-time-and-don't-know-why feeling that comes around when one is glutened, but its not gluten. So what gives?

I really have no idea, but after my corn-themed birthday party extravaganza I really felt like crap. I was wheezing, like when I was wee and had asthma, coughing and completely stuffed up and the lymph nodes on my neck were the size of pecans. So I am going to journey down a path that makes me sad, but realistically I think its time to reevaluated dairy and corn.


These were the delicious toffee almond crowns made by Steve Gisselbrecht for my birthday party. He swapped out the wheat flour for corn/arepa flour and they were amazingly good!

I am hoping that this is a quantity thing... sort of like other weird food things (when I eat pineapple or eggplant, half the time my gums swell up and itch, the other half the time its fine. I have been allergy tested for both and I am not allergic, just sort of sensitive).

In the past, I have noticed that if I don't eat dairy, I am less phlegmy and my tonsil stones disappear. Corn is something I hadn't really paid attention to, but inadvertently I had pretty much stopped eating most corn when I initially went gluten free. More recently I have been using corn starch a lot more, because swapping it out for some rice flour makes a less gritty product.

Part of me wants to stomp my foot and say, "THIS IS RIDICULOUS! I have already given up gluten and most soy, I should be able to eat whatever else is in my wake!!" And while that does sound like a reasonable battle-cry, its also stupid because I am the only one who is going to suffer if I feel like crap all day for eating something I feel entitled to eat.

So the plan of attack:
-limit corn intake
-eliminate/limit dairy intake

Things that are rad and helpful in this process:
So Delicious's Coconut Milk Creamer (for coffee, to get the day started)

In other news...
I made the best bread I have ever made ever! It had an amazing crumb, didn't fall or fall apart and tasted so so so good and REAL! I did it very haphazardly in the kitchen, sans notebook and I have no idea what quantities of anything went into it. Please see this week's themed project: TAKE BACK THE BREAD

Ingredients: honey, yeast, water, molasses, millet flour, almond meal, brown rice flour, potato starch, xanthan gum, psyllium husk, salt, egg, canola oil

I am actually pretty excited about this project.

Contact Food & Wine

Food & Wine magazine has an online recipe for Honey Spelt Bread that states "Good News Many people with celiac disease—an intolerance to gluten—can eat breads made with spelt flour. Lionel Vatinet sweetens his bread with local honey, which may benefit the immune system and help to combat allergies."

Not only is this wrong, it is dangerous. Spelt contains gluten and is NOT SAFE for persons with celiac disease or a gluten allergy.

Please consider emailing the Food & Wine web editors and tell them that this is not ok.

Please remove the inaccurate and information from Lionel Vatinet's online recipe for Honey Spelt Bread (http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/honey-spelt-bread)

Spelt contains gluten. Spelt is NOT safe for persons with gluten allergies or celiac disease.

Thanks to Delightfully Gluten Free for bringing this to everyone's attention.

Cook Food Every Day in the Boston Globe

Cook Food Every Day is in today's Boston Globe: Community cookbook with a heart!

Help for Haiti - donate a recipe

Lauren at Celiac Teen has an amazing idea. She is creating an online cookbook with proceeds benefiting one more organizations working to provide aid to persons in Haiti.

I am scrolling through old posts for some of my best recipes to forward along. Consider sending one or more her way!

Inspiration

I have been posting a lot of news items as of late, and while they are fun in their own sort of way, I realized that one of my favorite times of day is when I scroll through my RSS feed of food blogs for updates. My favorite are the posts riddled with food porn that makes me want to run home and try out a recipe, ok tinker with said recipe and see how it turns out.

Food blogs (non-discriminating against the gluten kind)

La Tartine Gourmande - this straddles the line because many of her recipes are gluten free, she even has a gluten free section! She has also been one of the rare few who has been able to not turn her amazing food blog into a mommy blog post delivery.

Smitten Kitchen - its just great all around, really approachable

Simple Recipes - the name says it all, they just happen to do it with great photography as well

The Pioneer Woman - there is a reason so many people like her! She breaks down the recipes into small steps and photographs each one of them, it rules.

David Lebovitz - yes, the man knows his ice cream, but his posts are also fun and sometimes savory

Bitten - I cannot hate him forever for not including Indian Pudding in his big book

$5 Dinners - for a while, one of her kids had to eat gluten free, so there are a ton of cheap recipe ideas

Nose To Tail At Home - Game, offal, weird cuts and using the whole beast cooking

Hunter, Angler, Gardener, Cook - yeah, it rules

This is Why I am Always Broke - great for cheap eats in Boston

Boston Locavores - new blog devoted to keeping it local in the 617

The Food Money - for Boston-based food stuff

Cake Wrecks - I did a very small stint as a professional cake decorator, this brings me endless joy

Gluten free blogs

Book of Yum - reviews and recipes

Celiac Chicks - its turned into a NYC guide to restuarants and events that are gluten-free, but their older posts have some great recipes too

Elana's Pantry - this woman loves almonds, so I think we could be friends for life

Gluten A Go Go - uses the most interesting combinations of flours I have seen

Gluten Free Food Reviews - mostly packaged items

Gluten Free Gobsmacked - recipes and product reviews

Gluten Free Mommy - not too fussy, but often interesting combinations

Gluten-Free Fun - the best source for gluten-free items in the news, events and happenings

Gluten-Free Girl - did not love the book, do like the blog, though its dairy heavy

Glutenus Minimus After Dark - this is the woman behind the amazing gluten free pizza dough at Zing Pizza and the amazing cookies at the Porter Square Book Cafe

Hey, That Tastes Good! - I still want to make the sauerkraut latkes!

Gluten Free Goddess - tons of veg and vegan recipes

A Life of Sugar and Spice - new to me, but a great sense of honesty and playfulness

The Essential Gluten Free Blog - this is run by Triumph, the dining card people, great for news and packaging information

What other awesome blogs am I missing? (Consider it your birthday present to me.)

Nathan's Hot Dogs Now Gluten Free

I have a funny/embarrassing story about thinking I was eating a Nathan's Hot Dog at a party two years ago and spitting it out in front of 20+ people. I can now party like the best of them because Nathan's has change their formula and are now gluten free!

Celiac Diease and Yeast

Here is some old research that I just came across: a possible link between Candidiasis (yeast) and Celiac Disease.

The article is a summary and interpretation of a 2003 paper in Lancet by Dr. Nieuwenhuizen.*

The part that gets me interested is [scroll down for the punch line]:

"Now we come to what to me is the most interesting of the recent research regarding celiac. It seems fitting that the research again comes from Holland , where celiac disease was first linked to diet. Dr. Nieuwenhuizen, from the research group TNO Nutrition and Food Research, published a paper in the June, 2003, Lancet. He links celiac disease with Candida albicans. Dr. Nieuwenhuizen, knowing the actual sequence of proteins which trigger celiac disease from the published work of other scientists, had searched the databases available to him through TNO to see if the same sequence existed in other places. It turns out the identical sequence of proteins occur in the cell walls of Candida albicans. [15]

These Candida gluten-like proteins turn out to be the yeast's "hypha-specific surface protein" nicknamed Hwp1. This is the yeast's version of Velcro and allows it to attach and hang onto the endomysium in the wall of the intestine. It is also targeted by transglutaminase, the enzyme which acts on the gluten protein and serves as a target for immune antibodies. Candida species which don't have this Hwp1 protein can't attach themselves to the digestive tract. [16]

If Candida can trigger the same chemical and immunological reactions as wheat gluten do we can imagine a number of interesting implications.
First, in people with celiac disease, symptoms usually get better rapidly when they eliminate gluten from their diet. This isn't always the case. Even without gluten some people continue to have symptoms. They may have intestinal Candidiasis. The Candida in their gut may be acting like gluten and continues triggering symptoms."

*Original article citation:
Is Candida albicans a trigger in the onset of coeliac disease?
The Lancet, Volume 361, Issue 9375, Pages 2152-2154, 21 June 2003

French Onion Dip

Its not fair to call this a recipe just yet, but an impromptu desire for chips and dip spurred me to attempt to make a gluten free version of french onion dip this weekend. French onion dip - the kind made with a packet of Knorr soup mix and a tub of sour cream - is the food of my youth. Birthday parties, holidays, any time people were invited over the house, there was dip. (My hands-down favorite was the Leek flavor, but that is another project.)

I started out by caramelizing 2 onions in a pan with some canola oil. I let it go long and slow, till they were all soft and medium brown. Then I threw in 1 clove of chopped garlic and sauteed it around till it started becoming fragrant. I turned the heat up and added in wheat free tamari and Worcestershire sauce (how much, I don't know, several glugs - see my need to make this again and measure). The sauces were jumping around the pan and evaporating way too quickly, so I threw in a 1/3 cup of water and allowed the entire thing to simmer until almost all of the liquid was evaporated. I then removed the mixture from the pan, and allowed it to cool for about 30 minutes in the fridge. Then I stirred it into a half tub of sour cream and PRESTO CHANGO - DIP!

It was as good as any French Onion Dip I had ever had! The flavor could have been a little more intense, more salt and garlic is needed. That aside it was devoured with the help of some Cape Cod Potato Chips.

Cookbooks for Sale - cross-blog posting at its best

Cookbooks for Sale @ Draw Drawings Every Day

Itching to get out of the house and see some art and perhaps pick up a cookbook? Come check out this amazing event, part of Snow Project. With over 30 local artists contributing, its going to be amazing - plus there will be live music, and its free!
Cookbooks will be for sale too!


Draw Drawings Every Day - Art Opening
This Saturday
January 9, 2010
Washington St. Art Center
321 Washington St.
Somerville, MA
6-10pm
DJ B-Train, mR. id, and DJ Blue Wizard

Washington Street Arts Center

RSVP for the event on Facebook

Egg whites = better gluten free bread

A new study, profiled by bakeryandsnacks.com, is giving me some new ideas for baked goods:

Egg foam may enhance gluten-free sourdoughs

What I want to know is when did they add the eggs? To the starter or later in the mixing process?

Gluten free options at Burger King

Fast food is not really my thing, well, I love street food - especially tacos, so maybe I should clarify by saying I don't like American chain fast food. That aside, Burger King rolled out their Gluten-Sensitive List that highlights gluten-free menu options.

While I am not running out to have it my way, its good to know in case I am stuck in airport sans options.

Shared by way of Gluten-Free Fun.

A pill, a shot or a hookworm?!

Here is an LA Times story that highlights three ideas aimed at dealing with managing celiac disease: "New hope for Celiac suffers?"

"The results have not been published, but when the Phase II trial was over and the patients were offered a medication that would kill the parasites, they all opted to keep their hookworms."

Random aside:
Back in September, my friend Mike sent me this little blurb: Parasites are facinating
A google reader chat ensued and I was actually thinking... hmmm could this be worth trying to do? Let's be honest, I was working in a bakery when I was diagnosed and yes, I keep a this-is-what-I-would-eat-immediately-if-I-could-eat-gluten-again running mental list. (Maybe its not healthy, and I try to stay pretty positive here, but honesty is important too. I have dreams of B&R baguettes and I cannot hide it.)

The $3000 price tag deterred me, oh well that and the idea of inviting a parasite into my body, to chill, eat my food and whatnot, but now I am thinking about this again.

Surprises from Celiac Disease - in Scientific American

Its one of the more accessible scientific articles I have read. Not anything new, but interesting, especially if you are into info on leaky guts and leaky gut syndrome.

Surprises from Celiac Disease.Full Text Available By: Fasano, Alessio. Scientific American, Aug2009, Vol. 301 Issue 2, p54-61, 8p; (AN 42873975)

"We need to talk up this disease"

"Against the Grain," by David Craig, in Columbia Magazine, is one of the better written articles I have seen. It profiles Dr. Peter Green, who wrote the book Celiac Disease: A Hidden Epidemic and who heads up Columbia's Celiac Disease Center.

Celiac disease is "hip"?

I am shaking my head and really unable to even think of something witty to respond to this.

New Year, New Pantry

I moved into my new apartment in the middle of September, but finding a home for everything is an ongoing process. The only cupboard in the entire place is a built in china cabinet of sorts, with all the shelves pitched forward. I lined them all with no-slip grip contact paper (the kind that has holes in it and looks like waffles) so that the glasses wouldn't come flying out each time it was opened. The bottom shelf became the perfect locations for the spices:

They go three rows back... I like spices.

The pantry area however, has been a disaster. In cleaning things out, I found half used zip-locked bags of sweet rice flour, 3 of them. Not to mention other "interesting" purchases that got buried. A trip to the dollar store and $20, I came home with flip-top containers and a resolve to create order. Here it is, the overly-labeled new pantry:

Bookshelf got co-opted into being a cup/mug/bowl/pot stand and I came home the other day to a new, larger set of hooks, the new home of the pans:


I added to my collection of Ball jars for flours, but rearranged them to work better for the quantities I now buy.


Sweet rice flour and millet flour were upgraded to plastic, flip-top containers:


I had enough to take care of cereals, nuts, dried fruits and other snacks as well.


I had totally forgotten that I had a bag of cream of rice and coconut flour in the house. I am excited about using these and hopefully baking more in the new year.

Gluten: What You Don't Know Might Kill You in the Huffington Post

"Another study comparing the blood of 10,000 people from 50 years ago to 10,000 people today found that the incidences of full-blown celiac disease increased by 400 percent (elevated TTG antibodies) during that time period. (ii) If we saw a 400 percent increase in heart disease or cancer, this would be headline news. But we hear almost nothing about this."

Mark Hyman's Gluten: What You Don't Know Might Kill You,
Huffington Post
January 2, 2010

Overall, I think the article toes the line of giving a lot of good information to people who might be suffering from a gluten-related problem without exacerbating hypochondria.

Gluten Free Pizza

I don't know of a better way to ring in the new year than with a pizza party. Its hard to believe, but I have yet to make my own gf pizza from scratch, and with a few new gluten free cookbooks in hand, I figured there was no better time to try. This recipe is a combination of three different recipes:

Quick Rice Flour Pizza Dough in Jacqueline Mallorca's Gluten-Free Italian
Deep Dish & Thin Crust Pizza Dough in Kelli & Peter Bronski's Artisanal Gluten-Free Cooking
Pizza Base in Darina Allen & Rosemary Kearney's Healthy Gluten-Free Cooking

I would like to experiment a little bit more with this recipe, but its a first attempt and turned out way better than I could have asked for. Pre-baking the crust before adding the toppings is key.

Gluten Free Pizza
1/2 cup warm water
1 tbsp. sugar
1 packet yeast
2/3 cup corn starch
2/3 cup sweet rice flour
1/3 cup potato starch
1/3 cup millet flour
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. xanthan gum
1 egg
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
plus 1/4 cup olive oil for spreading the dough

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the warm water, sugar and yeast. Let sit for 5 minutes or until the yeast proofs and is frothy.
2. In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and mix.
3. In another bowl, combine the egg, 1 tbsp olive oil and apple cider vinegar and mix.
4. Using a paddle attachment, mix the yeast mixture. On a low speed, slowly alternate adding the dry and egg mixture into the yeast mixture.
5. Scrape down the bowl and then turn the mixer on high and beat the dough for 5 minutes until there are no lumps. (The mixture is going to appear like a sticky cake batter)
6. On a jellyroll pan or close-bottom pizza pan, spread 1/4 cup of olive oil over the bottom and up the sides.
7. Place the dough in the middle of the pan. Cover your hand in oil and slowly spread the dough towards the edge of the pan. (This dough is really really sticky, so keep your hand well greased)
8. Preheat the oven to 450F.
9. Allow the dough to proof (almost double in size) while the oven heats.
10. Place it in the oven for 8-10 minutes if the dough has proofed to be 1/2"+, less time for a thinner crust.
11. Once the dough is golden brown, pull it from the oven and let it cool.
12. Top the dough with sauce, cheese, toppings and return it to the 450F oven for 5-10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.

Cut and enjoy.

The edges were crunchy, the dough had a bit of chew to it and it didn't fall apart!!!
Gluten eaters went back for seconds and one even said "if you didn't tell me, I wouldn't have known it was gluten free."
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!