Perfect Sandwich Bread

I have another bread recipe up on this blog, but I can't resist trying any new recipe that catches my fancy.   This one did, but of course I totally modified it and came up with my own mix of flours and grains.  Steve loves the texture of the whole millet and amaranth grains inside, and the dusting of teff grains on the top.  The kids say it has an amazing flavor and is yummy to eat even cold from the fridge (every other gluten/corn/dairy free bread I've ever made or eaten is honestly best either warm or toasted - so this is a HUGE plus).  My personal favorite features are how easy it is to whip up in my beautiful new KitchenAid and also how it slices perfectly without any crumbling! 

 

PERFECT SANDWICH BREAD

1 ½ cups sorghum flour

1 ½ cups millet flour

1 ½ cups tapioca starch

1 cup potato starch

½ cup amaranth or quinoa flour

½ cup brown rice flour

4 ½ tsp. guar gum

4 tsp. sea salt

2 Tbsp. + ½ tsp. active dry yeast

½ tsp. cream of tartar

4 Tbsp. pure cane sugar or raw sugar

3 cups warm water (I sub in 1 cup of bone broth)

½ cup grapeseed oil

2 tsp. apple cider vinegar

4 egg whites, beaten with a whisk

¼ cup whole millet

2 Tbsp. amaranth grains

2-3 tsp. teff grains for dusting tops (optional)

What the dough should look like.  Pretty mixer, huh?

Grease two bread pans (I use the tall ones from King ArthurFlour) and set aside.  Turn oven on to 200*.  Put an ovenproof bowl of warm water on the lower rack.  Combine dry ingredients in the bowl of a good stand mixer.  Whisk to combine.  Add oil, vinegar, egg whites, and warm water to the mixer as it runs on low speed.  Scrape down sides of bowl and turn mixer up to at least half speed and mix for 6-8 minutes until a semi-stiff dough has formed (may have to add ¼ cup more warm water, depending on humidity in the house).  Turn off the oven, leaving the water inside.   Divide dough between loaf pans, place in warm oven, and cover with a clean dish towel.  Let rise for 30 minutes.  Remove covered pans from oven to stove top to finish rising.  Remove water from oven. Preheat oven to 375*.  After 15 minutes, uncover pans,  and bake for about 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, bread sounds hollow when tapped, and/or when a meat thermometer inserted in center reads 200*.  The outside will form a nice brown crust.  Cool the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes.  Remove bread from pans and cool for another 10-15 minutes before cutting.  Cool completely before storing in a plastic bag.   Can be stored on counter top for 2-3 days, and in fridge for 10 days.  This bread freezes well.


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Book Review of "The Food Allergy Experience" by Ruchi Gupta M.D. and Denise Bunning

BOOK REVIEW OF “THE FOOD ALLERGY EXPERIENCE” BY Ruchi Gupta M.D. and Denise Bunning

“The Food Allergy Experience” is one of the best books I have read lately on the subject of living with food allergies.  After reading numerous excellent reviews on it, I picked up a copy off of Amazon and devoured it in less than 24 hours!  The authors are both parents of food allergic children of different ages, and Dr. Gupta is also a food allergy researcher and practicing pediatrician at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago.  Denise Bunning is co-founder of MOCHA(Mothers of Children Having Allergies), which is an allergy support group for food-allergic families in the Chicago suburbs.   

The book is arranged in four parts: THE BEGINNING, RELATIONSHIPS, SOCIAL WORLD, and EVERYDAY.  Each part has several smaller chapters that are arranged into practical, easy to read and digest tips from parents and doctors who live with allergies every day.  My husband can tell that the book is relevant and useful by the number of page tabs and hi-lights I put in the book as I read it.   Even though I’ve been dealing with my daughter’s food allergies for over 6 years now, I learned so much and connected with so much in this book.  There are many wonderful reminders, new ways to approach things like talking to parents and caregivers, and how to help your children learn to manage their allergies.  

The end of the book has a wonderful section of sixteen glorious pages full of resources for things such as national and international organizations, 504 plans, support groups, magazines, books, summer camps, travel resources, and related disease information.  It also contains sample letters to family and friends to help explain your child’s allergies, sample letters that school principals and teachers can use, and FARE’S Emergency Action Plan along with their website info (www.foodallergy.org).       I am co-founding a local allergy support group this fall, and this is the first book I plan to recommend to anyone who lives with food allergies or loves anyone with food allergies!

You can pick up your copy of the book, or preview it at www.foodallergyexperience.com,  or Amazon.com

Mandie - safe "Fudge" Pops

MANDIE-SAFE FUDGE POPS

These are the reason I made the Carob Syrup recipe in the first place - so that I could make "fudge pops" for Mandie like I was going to make for the boys.
For the carob "fudge" pops - Put 1-2 Tbsp. of Carob syrup into a small glass jar.  Add safe milk (for Mandie it is Living Harvest Hemp Milk or Pacific Hazelnut Milk), and shake to combine.  I pour mine into silicone molds, like these from Amazon.com and freeze for 24 hours.   This is what they look like when they are done... a very happy little girl!

 

For the boys, I simply chill a carton of Chocolate Coconut Milk in the fridge, then pour it into their molds.  We use separate colors for each child, so we avoid mistakes and cross contamination. A very simple, safe way to help the kids enjoy summer!

Carob Syrup

I found a wonderful recipe for homemade chocolate syrup the other day, and decided to modify it for Mandie, so that she could enjoy "carob milk" when the boys are drinking chocolate milk.  When it was finished I poured it into a clean glass maple syrup container.  It has stored wonderfully in the fridge, and Mandie's loving having carob milk once or twice a day!

CAROB SYRUP

1 cup cane sugar

¼ cup carob powder

1 cup water

¼ tsp. homemade vanilla extract

1/8 tsp. sea salt

¼ tsp. baking soda

Pour water in to a small saucepan and whisk in carob until dissolved.  Heat over medium heat, adding sugar and continuing to whisk.  KEEP WHISKING and watching the pot as it heats, as it boils over very easily.   Once mixture is boiling, turn heat to medium-low and whisk for 10-12 minutes until mixture is reduced and thickened.  Remove from heat, add salt and vanilla.  After 3 minutes whisk in baking soda.  It will foam quite a bit, but whisk until mixed and let cool.  Whisk once again, and pour into a glass jar (old maple syrup jars work well) and store in the fridge.  Use 1 Tbsp. syrup per 8 oz of hemp or hazelnut milk.   It also works wonderfully poured into freeze pop molds and frozen.  Mandie LOVES it!!!




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PUMPKIN WAFFLES

PUMPKIN WAFFLES

Makes 7 servings, 4 small waffles each

Cooking spray

6 eggs

6 egg whites

½ cup brown sugar or coconut sugar

5 ¼ cups warm water

1 ½ cups canned pumpkin

6 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup sorghum flour

1 cup brown rice flour

1 cup millet flour

6 tsp. grain free/aluminum free baking powder

3 tsp. baking soda

¾ tsp. sea salt

4 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. ground cloves

OPTIONAL: add 1 cup of chopped pecans, walnuts, Enjoy Life mini chips, or Sunmaid dried cranberries

Pre-heat waffle maker according to directions.  Spray grates of waffle maker with nonstick cooking spray.   Combine egg and egg whites.  Add sugar, water, pumpkin, and vanilla.  In a separate bowl, whisk together flours, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Add dry ingredients to wet and whisk until smooth.  Add optional ingredients if desired.  Pour batter in waffle maker according to directions, being careful not to overfill.  Cook for about 4-6 minutes, or until waffle is cooked through and outside is crisp.  Repeat with remaining batter, making sure to coat grates with cooking spray before each batch.  Keep warm in a warm oven, or serve immediately.  Very good with Breakfast Sausage Patties and pure maple syrup.

 We have been looking for an amazing waffle recipe, and came up with this one after some trial and error.  With chocolate chips added, it is almost exactly like my Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins.  Needless to say this was a HUGE hit with my family!  I don't mix any optional add ins with the batter so that I can add Sunmaid Cape Cod Dried Cranberries or pecans to hers, and Enjoy Life Mini Chips and pecans to ours.   Steve wants me to make caramel sauce and turn these into Belgian style waffles using my Dairy Free Whipped Topping.  

Linked to  Weelend Whatever #77

Strawberry Pie

 Steve has been really craving Strawberry Pie lately, so last night I looked up the recipe (after he was wonderful enough to buy me 6 quarts of fresh berries!) and a pie crust recipe - and tonight I swallowed my fear of gluten free pie crust - and made the pie.  Of course I made it Mandie-safe - aside from the whipped topping.   It was a huge hit!  Everyone is eagerly awaiting the second slice tomorrow night!   The only thing I'd do differently next time is to cook the glaze a bit longer so it gets thicker.  As you can see, it was still a bit thin.   

STRAWBERRY PIE

2 quarts of strawberries, sliced

1 baked gluten-free pie crust*

1 cup water

¾ cup Pure Cane Sugar

1 Tbsp. tapioca or potato starch

Fill the baked pie crust with sliced berries until no more will fit.  Chill the full crust in the fridge for at least an hour.  Save the remaining strawberries.   At the end of the hour, put the berries in a medium saucepan with a cup of water.  Cook 4-6 minutes, til the berries are soft.  Put the water and berries in a mixer or food processor, and blend until smooth.  Pour back into saucepan, and whisk in ¾ cup of sugar and 1 Tbsp. of tapioca starch.  Cook on low until sugar and starch dissolve and mixture thickens.  Pour hot glaze over the cooled berries in the pie crust.  Chill for another hour, and serve plain or with Coconut Whipped Topping**.

*SUPER EASY GLUTEN FREE PIE CRUST

½ cup lard (may use shortening)

1 ½ cups brown rice flour

4 Tbsp. cold water

Preheat oven to 400* F.  Cut shortening into flour until crumbly using pastry cutter or a fork. Add water.  Work dough with hands until it’s soft and you can form into a ball.  Place dough into an 8” or 9” pie pan, and press it up the sides.  This works best using your fingers.  Using a fork, prick the bottom of the crust about 2 dozen or so times, to let air escape.   Place crust in oven and bake 12-16 minutes, or until edges start to turn golden brown.  Set on a wire rack and fill with strawberries.

** DAIRY FREE WHIPPED TOPPING

1 can full fat coconut milk, chilled in fridge 24 hours

2-3 Tbsp. pure cane sugar or pure maple syrup

1-2 tsp. vanilla or almond extract

Chill milk in fridge for 24 hours.  Chill metal bowl and wire whisk of mixer in freezer for 2-3 hours.  Combine milk with sugar & extracts and whip until creamy. Use in place of whipped topping.    

Stores well in fridge.