My Buns Look Good Don't You Think?

It's grilling season and that means burgers! In our house that means turkey burgers, but whatever they're made of, grilled burgers demand buns. And I have a gluten-free recipe for them that is quite good!

I adapted this recipe from Bette Hagman's The Gluten-Free Gourmet Bakes Bread. Bette Hagman, as you may know, was one of the first people to write recipes for gluten-free food that actually tasted good. And I (and all gluten-free people) owe a great debt to the work she did and included in her cookbooks.

I mainly made changes to the amounts of things. And I deleted some ingredients I didn't find helpful. I think my flour recipe works better than her's does--it has more body and is a better texture. I consider this to be version 1 of my bun recipe. I will refine it and post more later.

Gluten-Free Hamburger Buns

Note: this recipe uses my gluten-free flour mix:

Jeanne's Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix (mix together and store in fridge):
1 1/4 C. brown rice flour
1 1/4 C. white rice flour
1 C. tapioca flour
1 C. sweet rice flour (also known as Mochiko)
2 scant tsp. xanthan gum

(you can also use the gluten-free flour mixture of your choice--just be sure it has xanthan gum in it. Or, you can add 1/4 tsp. xanthan gum per cup of gluten-free flour. If you use bean flour, it will add a bean taste to the buns)

Special equipment needed:
-Hamburger bun pan (I got mine at King Arthur Flour) or English muffin baking rings.
-For some reason, I can't find the bun pan on the web at the moment. You can either order the English muffin rings or make your own bun ring by placing rings of folded up aluminum foil on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Each ring should be 4" across and 1 1/2" deep. Make 6.

-heavy duty mixer (a hand mixer will do in a pinch)

Gluten-Free Hamburger Buns
makes 6 buns

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C Jeanne's Gluten-Free Flour Mix
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp agar-agar (or unflavored gelatin)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 TBL sugar
1 TBL active dry yeast (I use Red Star)
1 C warm water
1 tsp vinegar
1 egg
2 TBL vegetable oil

-Place your bun rings on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet and grease with vegetable oil and dust with tapioca flour or grease and flour your bun pan
-in a medium bowl whisk together flour mix, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt
-in a small bowl, dissolve sugar and agar-agar (or gelatin) in warm water. Then dissove yeast into this mixture. Set aside to proof (foam up)
-in a bowl of a mixer, briefly beat together vinegar, eggs, and vegetable oil
-add foamy yeast mixture, mix briefly
-add flour mixture--beat for 4 mins (until smooth)

-Spoon the batter into the prepared rings
-let rise in a warm place for 45 mins (until about double in bulk). I usually let it rise on top of the stove while it's preheating


-While the buns are rising, preheat the oven to 375 degrees

-When buns are double in bulk. . .

. . .Bake for 20 minutes--until tops are golden brown

-Carefully remove from oven and let cool for 10 mins. before removing from rings/pan. Cool on wire rack.

They will be light and fluffy--just like "regular" buns. I also found these to smell heavenly--just like a bun should!

Enjoy!

Gluten-Free Doughnuts!

June 5th was National Doughnut Day. Apparently, it's celebrated the first Friday in June. So many people were talking about, tweeting about, and eating doughnuts, that I got a huge craving for them. Of course, because I'm gluten-free, that means I had to make my own. And I did. And they were yum.

I have two gluten-free recipes in my repertoire--these are both for "cake" doughnuts--not the yeasted risen doughnuts. The Pumpkin Doughnut recipe is adapted from one that I found in our old school's recipe book, The Cooperative Kitchen. The Cake Doughnut recipe is adapted from one of my favorite gluten-free cookbooks: Cooking Gluten Free, by Karen Robertson. Robertson is a Seattle author who is gluten free and she "gets" the fact that gluten-free things need to taste good, not just be gluten-free.

Note: both recipes use my gluten-free flour mix:

Jeanne's Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix (mix together and store in fridge):
1 1/4 C. brown rice flour
1 1/4 C. white rice flour
1 C. tapioca flour
1 C. sweet rice flour (also known as Mochiko)
2 scant tsp. xanthan gum

(you can also use the gluten-free flour mixture of your choice--just be sure it has xanthan gum in it. Or, you can add 1/4 tsp. xanthan gum per cup of gluten-free flour. If you use bean flour, it will add a bean taste to the doughnuts)

Special equipment needed:

-biscuit cutters--2 different sizes. I use 2 1/2 & 1 1/4" ones
-deep pan you can fry oil in
-candy thermometer you can use in oil


Gluten-Free Cake Doughnuts
adapted from Cooking Gluten-Free by Karen Robertson

Ingredients:
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 C milk
1/2 C sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 TBL butter, melted
1 3/4 C gluten-free flour mix
Vegetable oil for frying (I use Rice Bran oil)
Confectioners sugar, granulated sugar, or cinnamon mixed w/sugar for dusting

-Mix together egg, milk, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, salt, and butter in a medium bowl
-add flour (you may need incorporate it with your hands at end of mixing).
-cover and refrigerate for about an hour (to firm up dough)

-prepare to roll out the doughnuts. I use a Silpat mat to roll out the dough. You can also dust your cutting board with flour and cut out there. (I would use tapioca flour for this--it won't add graininess to the dough). You may need to use a little flour for the biscuit cutters so they don't stick to the dough.

-roll out the dough to 1/2" thickness (be sure it's not too thin)
-cut out doughnuts with bigger biscuit cutter and doughnut holes with smaller biscuit cutter. Or you can just use the smaller one and cut out a bunch of doughnut holes (because they are fun and easy to eat!).



-While you are cutting out the doughnuts, have the pan of oil on medium-high heat. I use a small saucepan and I do several batches. This is so I don't have to use a ton of oil. You need to have the oil deep enough that the doughnuts can cook be completely submerged and have oil all the way around them. Oil should be around 360 degrees

-Once doughnuts are cut out, test the oil. Drop a bit of extra dough into the oil to see if it fries. If it starts frying immediately, then the oil is ready.

-Carefully drop doughnuts and holes into oil. They should drop into the oil and start frying



-After a couple of minutes, they will rise to the surface


Turn them in the oil to make sure they are being cooked evenly. Cook until they are golden brown

-when they are golden brown, carefully take doughnuts out of oil and drain on a plate covered w/paper towels. The doughnuts won't have absorbed that much oil



-repeat the frying procedure until all the dough is used

-we like them as-is, but you can dust them with powdered sugar or granulated sugar, if you want. You can add a little cinnamon to the granulated sugar if you want cinnamon doughnuts.

Yum!

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Doughnuts
adapted from The Cooperative Kitchen, by the University Cooperative School

Ingredients
2 eggs, beaten
1 C sugar
2 TBL oil
1/2 C buttermilk
1 C pumpkin puree
4 C gluten-free flour mix
2 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger

-Mix together dry ingredients in a medium bowl
-Beat eggs and sugar together in a large bowl until fluffy
-mix together oil, buttermilk, and pumpkin puree, add to egg mixture
-add dry ingredients to egg mixture
-cover and put in refrigerator for 1 hour (or until dough is firm)

Follow frying and draining instructions for Cake Doughnuts. Again, we like them plain, but these are extra good dusted with cinnamon sugar.

Enjoy!

June in the Garden

If you go into the garden today, you're sure of a big surprise:



If you go into the garden today, you'd better go in disguise



For every rose there ever there was



Will gather there for certain because:



June is the time the garden looks so gorgeous.


(sung to the tune of Teddy Bear's Picnic)

A Crumble of Scones

This is for Rechelle at My Sister's Farmhouse

Gluten-Free Buttermilk Biscuits

Girlfriend has been home sick the past couple of days, and it's been raining like crazy. Spring illnesses usually present a nice excuse for us to hang out in the garden all day, reading and chatting. But, since it's been raining, we've been inside. Girlfriend has read all of the books in her current favorite series about a zillion times, I've read my magazines and Twitter til I can't stand it anymore, and we've watched eleventy million DVDs. Due to the latter activity, we've also debated the characteristics of different villains in Disney movies--e.g., Cruella de Vil from 101 Dalmatians vs. Madame Medusa from The Rescuers. The conclusion: Cruella is just selfish, while Medusa is truly mean. And we took a walk around the neighborhood.

Anyway, I've also been baking. Dorie Greenspan (you know she's one of my baking goddesses!) had a recipe in the Parade Magazine from last Sunday's newspaper for Buttermilk Biscuits. Of course, I had to adapt it right away to be gluten-free. Below is the result.

Note: instead of buttermilk I use milk mixed with vinegar. I've found that gluten-free flours don't allow the kind of rising that buttermilk gives to baked goods with wheat flour. So, these aren't really "buttermilk". But they are good and I think the flavor is just about the same as buttermilk biscuits.

Note: this recipe uses my gluten-free flour mix:
Jeanne's Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix (mix together and store in fridge):
1 1/4 C. brown rice flour
1 1/4 C. white rice flour
1 C. tapioca flour
1 C. sweet rice flour (also known as Mochiko)
2 scant tsp. xanthan gum

(you can also use the gluten-free flour mixture of your choice--just be sure it has xanthan gum in it. Or, you can add 1/4 tsp. xanthan gum per cup of gluten-free flour)


Gluten-Free (Non-)Buttermilk Biscuits
-adapted from recipe by Dorie Greenspan in Parade Magazine

Special equipment needed:
-2" biscuit cutter or rim of a glass
-Silpat mat (for rolling out dough)

Ingredients
-2 C. Jeanne's Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour Mix
-2 TBL. baking powder
-1/4 tsp. baking soda
-1 TBL sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
6 TBL cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3/4 C. cold milk with 2 TBL cider vinegar mixed in

Preheat oven to 425 degrees--let oven get nice and hot

-Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar together in a large bowl.
-drop butter pieces into flour mixture and cut them in with a pastry cutter (or rub it into the flour with your fingers) until it looks like sand mixed with pebbles (the larger bits are OK to leave--this adds to the flakiness)
-add the milk/vinegar mixture--mix with a large spoon for a couple of turns
-then use your hand to incorporate the milk the rest of the way. Only do this until just incorporated--don't handle the dough too much and try not to melt the butter--the cold butter is what makes the biscuits flaky

-turn out dough onto a Silpat mat or a surface sprinkled with tapicoa flour
-line a baking sheet with parchment paper
-lightly roll dough into a circle about 1/2" thick--don't press too hard, you don't want to squish the dough
-use the 2" biscuit cutter (or glass) to cut out dough and put the rounds onto prepared baking sheet
-keep regathering, rolling, and cutting the dough until you've used all the dough (I get about 10-11 rounds)



-Bake for 17-18 minutes (until light brown on top)



Take out of oven and let cool. These are delicious hot from the oven! I like them with a little unsalted butter...

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies, 2 Delicious Recipes

It's been major meeting/potluck/gathering season for me, and I always need some cookies to bring. When I think cookies, I usually think chocolate chip--they are my favorite cookie by far. I have a go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe that I've adapted to be gluten-free from one of my favorite cookbook authors, Ina Garten, aka The Barefoot Contessa (LOVE. HER.). I've been making it for years. I bring this to every event that requires food. And it always gets rave reviews--from gluten-free and non-gluten-free people alike. Her recipes are wonderful and every single one tastes delicious. Seriously, if you haven't tried any of her cookbooks, go out right now and get one--any one will do. Once you've tried one, I can almost guarantee that you will want her other ones. They are excellent.

Recently, I've become aware of another chocolate chip cookie recipe that called for my attention. I realize that I'm kind of late on this bandwagon. The inestimable David Leite adapted a chocolate chip recipe from chocolatier Jacques Torres and published the recipe in the New York Times in July 2008.

One of the main things about Leite's recipe is that the dough requires a 24-36 hour stay in the refrigerator for a long "hydration" time. This allows "the dough and the other ingredients to fully soak up the liquid--in this case, the eggs--in order to get a drier and firmer dough, which bakes to a better consistency." (that's a quote from Shirley O. Corriher, another of my favorite cookbook authors, from Leite's article on his cookies).

OK, so I adapted Leite's recipe, just to see. I was skeptical, because I'm loyal to Garten. And gluten-free stuff has a reputation for being dry and crumbly, so I was nervous about the "hydration" concept. Well, my fears were put to rest after making these cookies--they are delicious. I brought my version of this recipe to a meeting. At first everyone was disappointed that I had brought a different recipe. But, once they ate these, they were thrilled. And I was thrilled. They are more crunchy and more cake-y that Garten's cookies--which are lighter and more crispy. But both are very good! So, now I have two chocolate chip recipes in my repertoire that I love. How lucky I feel! Below are my gluten-free adaptations of each recipe.

Both recipes use my gluten-free flour mixture:

Jeanne's Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix (mix together and store in fridge):
1 1/4 C. brown rice flour
1 1/4 C. white rice flour
1 C. tapioca flour
1 C. sweet rice flour (also known as Mochiko)
2 scant tsp. xanthan gum

(you can also use the gluten-free flour mixture of your choice--just be sure it has xanthan gum in it. Or, you can add 1/4 tsp. xanthan gum per cup of gluten-free flour)


Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies #1
adapted from Barefoot Contessa Parties, by Ina Garten

Special tools:
-heavy duty stand mixer (this really is helpful, although you can use a hand mixer)

Ingredients
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 C. dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 C. granulated sugar
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 extra-large eggs at room temperature
2 C. Jeanne's Gluten-Free Flour mixture (or just regular flour for non-gf)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp coarse salt (like kosher salt)
24 oz. semisweet chocolate chips or chunks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

-cream butter and two sugars in the mixer with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy
-add vanilla, mixing to incorporate
-add eggs one at a time, mixing after each
-in a different bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt
-add flour mixture to butter mixture on low speed, mixing just enough to combine
-with a spoon, add chocolate

-line baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat mat
-drop dough by tablespoons onto baking sheet
-bake for 16 minutes

-cool slightly in pan and then carefully transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Makes at least 4 dozen--can be halved.


Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies, #2
adapted from David Leite's recipe, NYT July 9, 2008

Special tools:
-heavy duty stand mixer (again, hand mixer will do in a pinch)

Ingredients
2 C. Jeanne's Gluten-Free Flour mixture (or regular flour for non-gf)
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. coarse salt (like kosher salt)
1 1/4 sticks (10 TBL) unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 C. dark brown sugar
1/2 C. granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
12 oz. chocolate disks or feves (Valhrona makes these), at least 60% cacao content
Sea salt for sprinkling

-cream butter and two sugars together using a mixer with a paddle attachment until fluffy--at least 5 mins.
-add egg, mix to combine
-add vanilla, mix to combine
-in a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt
-add dry ingredients, mix just until combined
-add chocolate disks by hand, incorporate (try not to break the pieces)

-cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap against the dough, and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Can be refrigerated up to 72 hours (although I went away for several days and came back, made the cookies, and they tasted fine).

-when ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees
-line baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat mat
-scoop up dough into golf ball-sized amounts (this is hard because the dough will be hard and cold--I had to use a butter knife to carve out chunks of dough to work with. I then shaped these into balls with my hand).
-place on baking sheet
-press down each cookie a bit flatter with the bottom of a glass (not too flat, just so they're not ball-shaped)
-sprinkle each cookie with sea salt (at first I used flake-type sea salt--I found these to be a bit too salty, though other people liked them. Then I used coarse sea salt--again, a bit to salty for me. Then I used regular-grained sea salt--this tasted best to me).

-Bake for 17 minutes (they will look underdone, but they're not).

-cool slightly on sheet, then transfer to wire cooling rack.

-These are best eaten warm from the oven. When they are cooled and have been sitting around for a few hours, they get harder and harder--more like a store-bought cookie. Still yummy, but not as sublime as the just-out-of-the-oven cookies.

Gluten-Free French Bread a la Four Chickens

Happy May Day! It's wonderful in Seattle today--sunny, warm (70s), a slight breeze. It's actually way too nice to be in the kitchen, but I just wanted to give you the recipe for French bread I've been working on. I've been baking loaves upon loaves of this, tweeking the recipe, trying to make it the best tasting/best texture I can.

I started with other recipes that I found online for gluten-free French bread, most notably those by the Gluten Free Girl and The Gluten-Free Homemaker. I also read up on classic French bread in the Baking With Julia book by Dorie Greenspan and Julia Child. And, I referred to Shirley O. Corriher's book Cookwise for insights into the science of French bread (I know she has a new book, Bakewise, which I can't wait to read).

I discovered that one of the keys to a crispy crust is a humid oven. I used a pan of water placed on the oven floor and spritzed the oven with water to create humidity during baking.

So, here it is! Let me know what you think.

Gluten-Free French Bread

Special tools needed:
-heavy duty stand mixer (or a hand mixer will work in a pinch);
-French bread pan (this really is helpful--keeps the loaves in the proper shape)

-extra pan for water in the oven (I use an 8"x8" glass pan)
-water spritzer bottle

Ingredients
1 C. sorghum flour
1 C. brown rice flour
1 C. tapioca flour
2 tsp. xanthan gum
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 TBL sugar
2 TBL active dry yeast (I use Red Star)
1 C. warm water (warm but not hot to touch)
1 TBL olive oil
1 tsp. vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar)

- in mixer place flours, xanthan gum, and salt. Mix to combine.
- in a small bowl, dissolve sugar and then add and dissolve yeast--wait a few minutes for the yeast to foam (this means that it's working and starts the rising process)
-add olive oil and cider vinegar to the dry ingredients. Add yeast mixture to dry ingredients
-mix slowly to combine
-turn mixer to high and mix for 3 minutes or so
-spoon dough onto the French bread pan in two equal amounts
-shape dough into baguette oblongs
-slash top of each loaf with 3 slashes with a sharp knife or razor blade


-lightly rest a piece of aluminum foil over all (not touching the loaves)

-turn on oven to 400 degrees
-place pan with dough on top of stove (I do this so they're in a warm environment)
-let rise for about 30 mins or so (until they are double-ish in bulk)


-while you're waiting for the dough to rise, boil a pan's worth of water
-once dough has risen for 30 mins, place water in an oven-proof pan


-place pan of water on the floor of your oven
-spray oven with a spritz or two of water from spray bottle
-wait for another 5 minutes to let the oven get humid (necessary for a crisp crust)
-uncover and place bread pan in the oven

-bake for 30 minutes--until brown


-cool for a few minutes

This bread is best eaten hot or warm--as soon as possible after baking. It's got a nice crispy crust and my family found it to be delicious! I like it best when I tear off pieces with my hand rather than cutting it with a knife.



If you want to go totally crazy, you can make a version of Pain au Chocolate by shoving some chocolate, like chocolate chips, into the middle of a piece of warm bread and eat it that way. Yum....

Store whole loaf on counter in the open and uncovered (covering softens crust). If you have a bread box, that would be fine. Cover any partially eaten loaves by placing a piece of aluminum foil at open end (not over the whole loaf). May be frozen.


If anyone makes this recipe, I would love any feedback you have.