Tag: Glutenfree

Bake Me Some (Savory) Pies

IMG_6515As much as I love pies, I wish I’d be baking them more often. They are easy, fast and beautiful and don’t always just mean dessert. In fact, this savory Purple Yam and Goat Cheese Pie is very easy to make, looks divine and tastes even better. And it’s great in a gluten free crust, too. Come and cook with us!

Baking pies isn’t as hard as one might think. We have written about basic pie crusts before and there are plenty of ready-to-mix options if you are experimenting with the glutenfree variety. The mix I use is Bob’s Red Mill Glutefree Pie Crust and includes a few different flours, starches as well as xanthan gum. I got it from my friend Michelle and am super pleased. The dough holds together, is just the right amount of flakey and also neutral in taste apart from the sweet flavor of baked butter. The directions for this gluten free mix – as for pie crusts in general – are straight forward and it yielded three pie crusts (you can always freeze a shell or two for later use). Key is to use cold butter, work fast and let the dough rest in the fridge before rolling it out. Trust me, getting your hands a little dirty with flour, butter and iced water feels great and how often do we get finger-deep into making our food these days. You can literally feel your accomplishment!

In fact, as my older son likes to say, pies are little more than sophisticated delivery devices for yummy fillings. And they do make every meal look a little more “put-together”. Over the years I’ve baked plenty of fruit and custard pies, but am increasingly intrigued by the savory kinds such as the Brie and Tomato Tart I shared before or this week’s Purple Yam and Goat Cheese Pie. The combination comes together beautifully and tastes great with a refreshing baby green leaf salad in a tangy dressing. Hope you give it a try. Come and cook with us!

Purple Yam and Goat Cheese Pie

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Make Space for Quinoa Pizza Crusts

_DSC0619It usually happens in one of two ways. Either, a recipe jumps at me out of a cook book or magazine and I go home with the urge to immediately experiment with it, or it grows on me over time until I finally try it. Quinoa pizza falls into this latter category. I’ve heard of it, I’ve seen it, I meant to try it, but when my friend Karyn praised it, I just had to see what the hype was all about. And boy, do I understand it now. And if you give this quinoa pizza crust a try, so will you. Come and cook with us!

The recipe seems easy enough if a little time consuming as the quinoa needs to soak for about 8 hours. So we prepare it in the morning if we want pizza for dinner. After the soak, the quinoa gets blended with water, spices and herbs until it forms a pancake batter. Pour it, bake it, top it and you have yourself a delicious gluten free pizza that surprisingly doesn’t really taste like quinoa at all.

Next up will be cauliflower pizza crusts. In the meantime, let me know what you think of the quinoa option. We love it. Come and cook with us!

Quinoa Pizza Crust

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Make the Most of Flavor Flours

IMG_0408What do teff, sorghum and buckwheat have in common? They are all non-wheat flours that along with whole and ancient grains, coconut flour and nut flours can be used to make delicious baked goods. And who better to teach us how to make the most of these flavor flours than Alice Medrich, a James Beard award-winning author who has won more cookbook-of-the-year awards and best in the dessert and baking category awards than any other author. Her newest book, Flavor Flours, is a great addition to anyone interested in upping their game in non-wheat baking. Come and cook with us!

Jessica gave me this book and I’ve been so thankful for it. Actually, my boys have been even more thrilled about it being so prolifically tested. When I initially leafed through the pages, I couldn’t stop visualizing all these wonderful creations. I have been baking with different flours – my GF sourdough is based on a variety of different whole grains, flours, starches and seeds – but in this book Mendrich succeeds in taking the specific characteristic of each flour to its advantage and making it a recipe’s “hero ingredient” instead of a wheat replacement.

It’s hard to pick a favorite flavor flour. I love teff and you all know about my infatuation with buckwheat. What I love about this book is that it gives detailed insights on how different flours react in recipes depending on how finely they have been milled and how they are being processed. It’s an intriguing book if you’d like to learn more about baking with non-wheat alternatives.

So far, we have baked delectable Bittersweet Teff Brownies, moist Dark and Spicy Pumpkin Loafs with buckwheat and a glorious Coconut Key Lime Tart. But there is so much more. There are Buckwheat Linzer Cookies, Simple Scones, Lemon Cream Roulade, Panforte Nero and Walnut and Buckwheat Crackers. And there are plenty of sponge, chiffon and layer cakes. For now, let’s start things simply with Medrich’s satisfying Banana Muffins with sorghum. Come and cook with us!

Banana Muffins with Sorghum

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