Recipes from the Gluten Free Class

Last Thursday was my first time to teach gluten free baking and luckily it went well with 14 people in attendance.  A very special thank you to NW Veg for their support getting the word out about the class!

Gluten free flours include amaranth, millet, quinoa, rice, tapioca, almond, hazelnut, corn, oat,  coconut, garbanzo, fava and white bean.  Not all flours are made in a dedicated gluten free facility, so you may want to double check that with the company which produces it.  It is best to use a combination of flours for best results.  A starch such as Potato, Corn or Arrowroot should also be added to help hold together the baked goods.  Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum is also added to help with the texture and rise of the baked good.

The first recipe I made was my Vanilla Almond Sugar Cookies.  These cookies used the newer to the gluten free world Organic Coconut Flour which is a unique flour not like any other.  It has about 6g of Fiber in just 2 Tb of flour.  That is a lot!  It also means it absorbs water more than most flours so it can't just be substituted for other flours.  

Here are the other two recipes I demonstrated-

Gluten Free Biscuits

1/2 cup White Rice Flour

1 cup Millet Flour

1 cup Tapioca Flour

2 Tb Sugar 

1 tsp Xanthan Gum

1 Tb Baking Powder

1/4 tsp Sea Salt

1/2 cup Soy Margarine

1 cup Soy Milk

2 tsp Lemon Juice

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Measure out the soy milk and add the lemon juice; set aside.  Combine the dry ingredients.  Cut the margarine into the flour mixture until it resembles small peas.  Stir in soy milk mixture to form a soft dough.  Place dough on top of wax paper and press to 1/2 to 1 inch (depending on how high you want them).  Cut with a 2-inch biscuit cutter and place on a greased baking sheet.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Makes 12 biscuits.

Sunlight Yellow Cake

1 1/2 cups Organic Unrefined Sugar

1/2 cup Soy Margarine

1/2 cup Silken Tofu, blended

1 1/3 cups Soy Milk

1 1/3 cups Sorghum Flour

3/4 cup Sweet White Rice Flour

1/4 cup Potato Starch

2 tsp Guar Gum

1 Tb Baking Powder

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp Salt

Cream together the sugar and margarine.  Add the tofu, soy milk and vanilla and blend to combine.  In a separate bowl, mix together the flouts, salt and baking powder.  Using a whisk to blend ingredients works well.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet blend until just combined.  Pout into 2 greased 9-inch round baking pans.  Bakes at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes, or until middle of top springs back when lightly touched.

* For both recipes, a different milk alternative such as rice or almond milk can substitute for the soy milk.  You could use Spectrum Shortening instead of the margarine which is non-hydrogenated and made from palm oil.  The sugar in the recipe is for taste and can be omitted to cut down on sugar.

If you were at the class and I promised you some information, please remind me.  If anyone had any questions about gluten free, don't hesitate to ask!

Thanks to Chris for the photos from the class.