A Crumble of Scones

This is for Rechelle at My Sister's Farmhouse

Gluten-Free (Non-) 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
-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
tapioca flour to dip cutter into

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 (dipped into the tapioca flour before each cut) to cut out dough and put the rounds onto prepared baking sheet. It's important that you flour the cutter each time so it doesn't squish the sides of the dough--this allows the biscuit to rise as high as possible.
-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...

Enjoy!
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Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip/Chunk 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.
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Gluten-Free Chocolate Chunk 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.
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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
NOTE: I modified this on 8/12/09--I had forgotten to include the egg whites. Blush...

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)
3 egg whites

- 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, cider vinegar, and egg whites 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)
-lightly brush tops of loaves with olive oil (to make them get brown and crispy)
-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.
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If anyone makes this recipe, I would love any feedback you have.