Gluten Free Scones Recipe

I haven't written about my adventures in gluten free baking in a while, probably because I haven't really been doing that much recently.  But, mom's been craving scones so off to the kitchen I went.  My mom is gluten free, and I've found that I feel better too when I avoid wheat (they do say there's a hereditary component).

I started with this original recipe on the King Arthur flour website.  But, of course, I can't leave well enough alone, I've got to start experimenting!  While I was in our local Safeway, I found this Almond Blend flour by Gluten Free Mama and decided to use that instead because almonds are such a good source of protein and good fats*, and the flour seems to yield a little sweeter taste for baked goods.  Then, I kept playing around with the butter (1 stick?!  yikes!) by taking away butter and adding apple sauce and plain yogurt instead (the scones did come out moister), and here's what I've come up with:

1 1/2 cups of Gluten Free Mama Almond Blend
1/4 cup corn flour (I use Red Mill Whole Grain Corn Flour)
1/4 sweet sorghum flour (Red Mill again)
1/8 cup sugar
1/8 cup maple syrup
2 tsp baking powder (gluten free)
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
sprinklings of ground nutmeg, cinnamon, and clove
 1/4 cup organic apple sauce
2 Tbsp regular plain yogurt
1-2 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts
1/2 cup dried canberries
2 large eggs
1/3 cup cold milk
1 tsp vanilla or another extract (orange works well too) (gluten free)


Preheat oven to 400F degrees. I have a non-stick scone pan with 8 slots but I've also used a mini-muffin tin, which yielded about 24 mini scones.  I don't grease the pan, but you might want to add a little oil or butter to prevent sticking.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, xanthan gum, salt, and spices.  Then, add the apple sauce, yogurt and butter and work the mixture til it's crumbly.  I usually start out using the whisk, then just start working it with my hands.  Mix in the nuts and dried fruit.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, maple syrup, and extract.  Add to the dry mixture, stirring until well blended.  The dough will be "cohesive and very sticky".  To me, it was kind of blended and lumpy, but it did have a stickiness to it, so you'll know when it feels right.

Drop the dough into the scone pan or baking tin (I used a big spoon to scoop up some dough and smooth it into the tin.  Let the scones just sit there for about 15 minutes (actually, this is usually when I preheat the oven, so while the oven is heating up, the scones are resting).

You can sprinkle the scones with a little sugar and/or cinnamon.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes (less if you are using the mini-muffin tin), til golden brown.  Let the scones sit outside the oven for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.  Mmmm, mmmmm!!

Eating Lots of Colors

Helen's book is available, and I hope you'll check it out.  She has come up with a really cute but educational book for children on nutrition and learning their fruits and vegetables.  Mom and Dad aren't going to get bored reading it to the kids either, and there's a chart in the back on which everyone can check off their food colors for the day.  Order directly from us and save 10%!!  www.manycreativegifts.com/body.php

This morning, I am experimenting with a gluten free summer squash bread!  I threw in some rhubarb too, so this should be quite interesting.  I've really got to step up the cookbooks so that we will be able to launch them this summer, and I am running out of summer!  Ok, better go insert that toothpick :-)

Fluffy Gluten-Free Bread

For those of you out there struggling with gluten allergy or intolerance, you probably are interested in the title of this post!  I've been searching around for a good bread recipe, one that mimics the lightness and fluffiness of regular bread.  Most gluten-free breads are pretty dense, and my mom's been pining for some decent bread.

I found a great site -- http://www.glutenfreecookingschool.com/archives/finally-really-good-sandwich-bread/ -- that had a recipe that I thought might work, but after reading some of the comments (like, it was too "yeast-y"), I played around with it a little bit to address the comments and to make use of the flours that I had on hand.  So, here's what I came up with:

1 package Fleischman's Rapid Rise Highly Active Yeast (I think next time I will use less than a package)
1 Tbsp agava syrup (plus, a little bit more; I think next time I will add 2 Tbsps)
1 1/2 c very warm water (I heated it on the oven until it felt uncomfortable on my pinkie, then turned it off and let it sit for maybe 30 secs, then added the yeast and agave syrup and let it sit and bubble)

1 1/2 c all purpose gluten-free flour
1/2 c brown rice flour
1/2 c sorghum flour
2 tsps xanthan gum
1 tsp salt (I might add a little more next time)
1 Tbsp dry milk
1/8 tsp baking powder

3 eggs
1 1/2 Tbsps grapeseed oil
1 1/2 tsps apple cider vinegar

I let everything come to room temperature.  First, I got the water, yeast, and agave mixture sitting aside and bubbling.  Then I mixed together the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl and set aside.  In a large bowl, I put in the eggs, oil, and vinegar and, with a handmixer, blended for less than a minute.  I then started to add the flour mixture into the egg mixture and beat some more until it seemed mixed but dry.  I turned the oven on to its lowest setting (which is "warm" on my oven, just below 200 degrees).  Then, I added any flour mixture left and then poured on the yeast mixture.  I then kept beating the ingredients, on the lowest speed, for about 5 minutes.  I poured the mixture into a greased Pyrex bread loaf pan (8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5 in.) and put it into the warm oven and let it rise in there until the bread had poofed up (about 30 to 40 minutes).  I then turned the temperature up to 350 degrees and let the bread bake until it looked golden brown (about 40 to 45 minutes).  I then turned off the oven and cracked the door open and let the bread sit in there for probably another 20 minutes at least.

It came out very fluffy and breadlike, but it did have a little bit of a yeast-y smell and taste to it.  After it cooled some more, that dissipated a little bit, but next time, I'm going to try putting a little less yeast and a little more sweet and salt.  Mom liked it, so I felt like I really accomplished something (and, yes, the vest is still not yet done, but the right side is!)

Today's Thought:  If you have sensitivity to MSG, then xanthan gum might not be for you!  Apparently, the process of making xanthan gum releases acids similar to those in MSG, so a number of people can't tolerate xanthan gum.  Guar gum might be a substitute.

Facebook Follies

So, tomorrow is the webinar that I signed up for that is supposed to teach me how to create a proper Facebook page for MCG.  As much as I am liking FB less and less (I mean, every time I start to get used to their changes, they go and change everything again!), all the small business marketing tips I read say that you've just got to be on Facebook.  Ok, so I will give it a try...

Other than that, it's been a quiet week in terms of getting much done that's worth reporting to you about.  I did purchase all sorts of gluten-free flours today at the organic market down the street, so I'm gearing up to try out some bread experiments.  Mom's vest continues to languish, but this weekend, I can feel a breakthrough coming (at least I'm hoping so!)

Today's Thought:  Buckwheat is not wheat!  Buckwheat groats are actually fruit seeds that are related to rhubarb and sorrel.  They are high in manganese, magnesium, and dietary fiber, which all help with lowering high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and high blood sugars.  More detailed information about the health benefits of buckwheat can be found at http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=11

Baking Fever

So, yesterday, I just got the urge to bake a few things (that, and the fact that my husband was doing a lot of the urging :-).  My mom seems to have developed a gluten and wheat intolerance in the last few years, so I wanted to make something that she could enjoy as well.  I searched around for some gluten free, wheat free muffin recipes (I figured they would be the easiest thing to experiment with, before trying to make bread or other baked goods).  I found a great website, Elena's Pantry, that had a banana nut muffin recipe.  But, since I didn't have any walnuts and didn't want to use sugar, I decided to modify the recipe.  And, here's what I came up with:

Ingredients

2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 Gala apple, peeled, cored, and finely chopped
1 date, finely chopped
1/4 c grapeseed oil
1/4 c agave syrup
1 egg
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 to 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
a "pinch" of salt (about 1/4 tsp)
1/2 c all purpose gluten free flour
1/2 c brown rice flour

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium to large mixing bowl, mix together the bananas, apple, and date and mash some more with a potato masher.

Mix in the grapeseed oil, then the agave syrup, egg, and vanilla extract. 

Sprinkle the baking soda, xanthan gum, and salt over the mixture and mix together.

Add the flour, about 1/4 c at a time, gently mixing until all blended in.

Scoop about a Tbsp of mixture into each well of an oiled (with some more grapeseed oil) 24-miniature muffin tray.  Bake for about 15 minutes (until lightly browned; you can use the toothpick test too).


I have to say, they came out very tasty (even the husband approved, and he didn't know they were wheat and gluten free!).

I also pulled out the breadmaking machine that I bought years ago.  I hadn't realized that it had been so long since I had used it, but thankfully, I had cleaned and stored it properly because it was good to go.  When pouring in the ingredients to make an Herb Loaf, I realized I didn't have any dried milk and so I just added 2 Tbsps of liquid milk, but that seemed to do just fine.  Mmmm, mmmm, no suffering going on here during the Snowpocalyps II :-)

Today's Thought:  What is Xanthan Gum?  According to the packaging, it's made through fermentation of sucrose by the Xanthonomas campestris bacterium.  It's used in a lot of products (salad dressing, toothpaste, ice cream, even cosmetics) because it adds thickness and suspension to solid particles in liquids.  Xanthan gum is also used a lot in gluten-free baking as a substitute for the gluten found in wheat that must be omitted.  It gives dough or batter a "stickiness" that would otherwise be achieved with the gluten.  It can be a gastrointestinal irritant because it's so high in fiber, but if used in very small quantities (and a little does go a long way), it shouldn't be a problem.