I received my order of Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Flour. So far I’ve made just one loaf of bread, using my favorite brown bread recipe. The Bob’s Red Mill, loaf is on the right. The one on the left, I made with Tom Sawyer GF and Betty Crocker GF Flours mixed 1/2 and 1/2 as I usually do. Both were made with the same amount of flour, and leavening. The same process, everything. The texture is fine, it’s not crumbling, but it did not rise, and it does have that dreaded hole in the center, it’s just lacking something. It did not exchange 1 to 1 in this recipe. I will keep working on it, and when I get it down I’ll post the winning recipe!
Author: Janet Monk
Another New Gluten Free Flour
Well it looks like we have another G-Free Flour on the market. In July, Bob’s Red Mill came out with a new one. It does have xanthan gum in it. I don’t know all of the ingredients. But they are advertising it to exchange with wheat flour cup for cup in all recipes. I do have my doubts, but we will see. I have not found it in our area yet, but I do have it ordered. If any of you find it in the stores, please let me know!
Kitchen Tools and Gadgets
If you’re like me, I love kitchen tools, or utensils. I like to just browse the kitchen ware and see what they have that’s new. One of my favorites, and I’m sure if you have read the recipes I’ve put on here so far you’ll know this, it’s the triggered ice cream scoop. It comes in different sizes, but the one I use most holds about ¼ cup. It is just the right size to fill cupcake and muffin cups with batter. It makes for more even and uniform muffins and cupcakes. You might want to give it a try, it makes baking cupcakes go a lot faster!
Cocoa Caramel Cupcakes
TIP: Before you get started with the batter, first you must mix the flours. ( Since Pillsbury GF has xanthan gum already in it you do not need to add it.) In a large bowl add 2 boxes of Betty Crocker Gluten Free Rice Flour Blend ( it comes in 1 lb. boxes) and a 2 lb. package of Pillsbury Gluten Free Flour. Slowly whisk together until thoroughly blended. Store in an air tight container and label.
Cocoa Caramel Cupcakes
(This is a version of the Hershey’s chocolate cake recipe)
1 ¾ Cup Pillsbury GF Flour and Betty Crocker GF Rice Flour blend ( ½ & ½)
1 Cup Hot Water ( microwave about 1 minute)
1 Cup Milk ( for DF you may use Almond or Coconut milk)
1 Stick Melted Butter ( for DF Earth Balance works great)
2 Teaspoons Vanilla
2 Large Beaten Eggs
Mix flour and all liquids, and refrigerate overnight. ( Using this flour you must let it set for about 5 hours so that it isn’t gritty)
When you are ready to bake.
Preheat oven to 325*
In the food processor mix the rest of the ingredients.
2 Cups White Sugar
¾ Cup Hershey’s Cocoa
2 Teaspoons Gluten Free Baking Powder
1 ½ Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon Salt
Making sure all dry ingredients are mixed well, add the wet ingredients from the refrigerator. Blend well until there are no lumps left. Using a triggered ice cream scoop fill cups for cupcakes. Bake for 25 -30 minutes. Makes about 18 cupcakes. When cool, ice with caramel icing.
Caramel Icing
1 – 11oz. Package Kraft Caramels ( To make DF use DF caramels)
1 – 14 oz. Can Sweetened Condensed Milk ( make sure there are no additives, ingredients should read, Milk and Sugar) For Dairy Free you can substitute Coconut Cream.
Open can and pour into a large glass bowl. Unwrap all caramels and add to canned milk. Heat in microwave for about 1 minute 30 seconds. Stir will and reheat until all caramels are melted, about another 1 – 2 minutes. You can ice cupcakes while icing is still warm or you can wait and let it cool and thicken, so that you can swirl it around the cupcakes.
Pillsbuy Gluten Free Flour: Continued
I think I may have it figured out! I mixed the Pillsbury GF Flour and the Betty Crocker GF half and half. Then used an old recipe that called for the same amount of liquid as flour, in fact 1/4 cup more. (I will post the recipe this week) Then mixed the liquids and flour and let it set for 5 hours so the flour could absorb all the liquids. That way it’s not so gritty. It also has to bake longer than the original recipe, but it did rise well. This flour is just going to have to be used in recipes with a lot of liquids.
Food Additives
McDonald’s, Burger King, Taco Bell And More Have Wood Pulp In Food
By Nadine DeNinno @nadinedeninnon.deninno@ibtimes.com on July 01 2014 10:40 AM
The entrance of this non-absorbable fiber into fast food ingredients has been stealthy, yet widespread: The compound can now be found in buns, cheeses, sauces, cakes, shakes, rolls, fries, onion rings, smoothies, meats—basically everything.
This product is marketed under a few different names;
, microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) or “powdered cellulose” , “methylcellulose, as components of their menu items. Or, in plain English, wood pulp. corncobs, wheat straw, barley straw, etc.
I did a little more research and found the patent process for the food additive, this is what I found:
22, A process as in claim wherein said lingo cellulosic comprised of sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, or nitric acid. material is wood, cotton, soy bean hulls, oat hulls, rice hulls,
A prOcess as in ‘laim wherein the concentration of 30 corn cobs, corn stalks, bagasse, wheat straw, barley straw, said acid solution is about 1 to 5% (wlw). oat straw, or sugar beet pulp.
Pillsbury GF Flour
Ok, I tried the Pillsbury Flour. Umm… not a fan yet. As you can see by the photo above, it just did not hold the rise, and it is not a smooth texture. I used my favorite recipe, but just as I’ve said before it is a different formulation, so it will take some work to get the right balance of oils, fats, and liquids to get a good loaf of bread. Pillsbury also uses Pea fiber, which might react more like Bob’s Red Mill flour. I’ll just have to work on it!
Gluten Free Real Food
Hello, my name is Janet Monk. If you want or need to learn how to cook Gluten Free, with REAL FOOD. Then you have come to the right place.
Ok I don’t want to get preachy. I just want everyone to be healthy and be able to enjoy food again. It’s not that hard to live a life of eating REAL FOOD!
With our food supply being bombarded with preservatives, chemicals, and fillers, it’s no wonder there is so much illness. So many children and grandchildren don’t know what real food taste like. All they know is boxed foods with so many preservatives and artificial flavors, that they don’t know the wonderful flavor of a real strawberry or peach. You can’t get full if you don’t have real food to fill you up, a yoga mat just won’t do it.
That’s what my Gluten Free Cook book, and this blog is all about. Real food! For some members of my family, that have Celiac Disease, it is to the point of life threatening if they do not eat Gluten Free Real Food. To others that don’t want the damage to your body, that preservatives and chemicals can cause, you will be interested to learn the tips and tricks that we have found make for delicious meals!
First Post
This is my very first post, so please pardon my mistakes.
In 2005 my mother was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, and she had both genetic markers. So that meant that either my sister or I both had it also, along with other family members. It also explained a lot of the health problems we have had over the years.
So we started learning how to cook Gluten Free. It was a pain at first, way back then, there wasn’t much to choose from. The recipes called for 4 or 5 different kind of flours and were extremely expensive, besides being difficult to follow. The flour was very gritty and just didn’t taste very good. Then a friend of mine, that had just been diagnosed right before my Mom, found a finer grind of flour called Tom Sawyer Gluten Free flour. That was a big help. Then other flours started showing up on the market , and started to make life a little easier. Anyway long story, short. I started to get the hang of it and figure out how to work with Gluten Free flours. This year after a lot of encouragement from friends and family I decided to write a Gluten Free Cook Book. So hopefully what I have learned I can pass on to others. There are so many tricks and technics that greatly improve the texture and taste, of Gluten Free…. you would have a hard time telling it apart from regular wheat flour foods. I am so looking forward to, sharing some recipes and tips with everyone that has to eat Gluten Free, and hearing from you!
Jan's Gluten Free