Flatbread

I wanted to share this recipe I found for quick and easy flatbread, which also doubles as pizza dough


I needed something I could whip up quickly, for those times when I don't have the time to make a loaf of bread, or simply want something a little different. This is great, and I can totally see making this to have with dips, use as pizza dough, or use for sandwiches! It is firm but not brittle.

Here is the link  (Thank you Gluten Free Cooking School!)
Flatbread Recipe

Just to note a couple of simple changes I made:

-Instead of brown rice flour I used half white rice flour and half corn flour (I didn't have any BR flour)
-I used a large edged cookie sheet instead of 2 square pans
-Instead of oiling and dusting with flour, I oiled and dusted with cornmeal, for a bit of a crunch.

So many variations could be made with this recipe.
As I experiment I will post!

The "RUBY eats" Tribute Cracker

Ok, so I am a big fan of Chef Lynn Crawford's Toronto food shop "RUBYeats".  I was making crackers a few weeks ago with my handy-dandy word stamper, and my husband said "You should stamp the crackers with "Ruby Eats".  I agreed that it would be a perfect fit: gourmet, dramatic and delicious crackers, branded with a gourmet, innovative, local food shop. Here they are! The recipe has been previously posted. This version is Tarragon/Parmesan/Sea Salt.

 The stamped crackers prior to being cut

GF Pastry

This is one amazing pastry recipe. Really. I am so grateful to http://www.mennonitegirlscancook.ca/
This is their recipe, with a few small tweaks. Visit their site!

Julie's Mennonite Gluten Free Pastry

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup tapioca flour
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 cup potato starch (NOT potato flour)
• 1 cup sweet rice flour (find in asian supermarkets, also called glutinous rice flour)
• dash of sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• rounded teaspoon of guar gum 
• 1 cup butter (place in freezer 1/2 hr minimum before starting- I'll explain later!)
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar 
• 4 tbsp ice water
• sweet rice flour for rolling

METHOD

1. Blend well together the flours, guar gum, salt and sugar. (flours for gluten-free baking must be well-blended)

2. Cut in butter (*for this step,remove butter from freezer, and GRATE directly into flour mixture,tossing to coat with flour.. Work quickly so butter does not get too gummed up!)

3. Beat egg , add vinegar and ice-water.

4. Stir into flour mixture forming a ball. (Add a *little* more water if too dry)

5. Knead until you have a smooth soft ball.(* It will seem quite crumbly, but if you squeeze a handful and it holds together, it is ready. Lay out two sheets of plastic wrap. Place 1/2 dough on each. Press dough into a ball using the plastic wrap, until smooth and combined. Flatten each ball slightly into a fat "pancake". Try not to handle the dough too much, as you don't want to melt the shreds of butter- that is what makes the dough nice a flakey! )

6. Refrigerate dough for 1 hour or more to chill.

7. Roll out between plastic wrap dusted minimally with sweet rice flour.Peel off top layer of wax paper , flip over onto pie plate and then carefully peel off the other layer of wax paper and fit pastry into pie shell fluting edges -- for single crust pie or for double add filling and then top with top crust .

NOTE: I must also add that I could not remember whether or not to grease the pie plate, so I did. I highly recommend that you do the same! The bottom did not stick, held together beautifully, and had a really nice crunch. Enjoy!

It's been a while...

Yes, it has been a while. Truth is I haven't been doing much (any) cooking or baking lately, because I fractured (and had surgery on) my ankle 6 weeks ago.  You wouldn't think that a broken ankle would stop you cooking but, yes, it does! Not being able to weight-bear is full of challenges- I christen it flamingo cooking! Not only is it difficult to balance on one leg, the other one get TIRED!
However, for the occasion of my wonderful husband's birthday this past weekend, I muddled through, and made him a homemade, all from scratch, GF Apple Pie!
The pastry is AMAZING, and qualifies as great pastry, gluten or no.
Recipe to follow shortly!

Sesame Flax Crackers!

A new recipe for wonderful, crunchy, healthy Gluten Free crackers!

I began with a basic (non-GF) cracker recipe using flour, oil and water (for the ratios), and have put together a combo that is really great. You can play with the ingredients (as I always do!) and come up with your own combinations.
I made 3 batches:
1. My first batch was a little too thick, and I scored into squares.
2. My second batch, I sprinkled extra sesame seeds onto the dough once it was rolled to the right thickness, rolled them into the dough, then scored into long rectangles -much prettier!
3. For my third batch, I used one of my very favourite baking toys, but more on that later!

Sesame Flax Crackers

1 cup corn flour
1 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup flax meal (ground flax)
1/4 cup teff flour
1/4 cup quinoa flour
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (use freshly grated parmesan only- not the cheese "product" you find in the grocery stores).
1 tsp onion salt
1/2 tsp sea salt

1/3 cup olive oil
3/4 cup water

Combine the dry ingredients.
Make a well in the dry ingredients and add oil, and most of the water.
Mix together until you have a dough that will roll out. If you need to add more water, add 1 Tb at a time. The dough should not be sticky! If you find it is too sticky, knead in tapioca flour until the consistency is right.
Lay out sheet of parchment paper, the size of your baking sheet.
Divide the dough into 4.
Place 1/4 of dough onto parchment and roll. If needed, dust with more tapioca flour, but use sparingly!
Roll until dough is very thin, and covers most of parchment sheet. At this point I like to trim the edges using a pizza cutter to make a neat rectangle.
Sprinkle the dough with a layer of more sesame seeds, and gently roll them into the dough.
Score the dough width-wise into long rectangles- like the fancy ones you pay a fortune for at specialty food shops.
Leaving the dough on the parchment, place it on to your baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes in a 350* oven.
Watch closely- you don't want them to burn!
When you remove these from the oven, slide the parchment off your cookie sheet and allow to cool. Gently snap the crackers apart along the score lines.
Repeat!

As I said earlier, you can vary this in many ways- add different seeds, nuts, spices etc. I know I will be doing a rosemary-garlic combo next.
Just remember to keep your dry (flour/nut) ingredients to a total of 3 1/4 cups total to keep the ratios correct!

** To make vegan-friendly, substitute ground almonds (or walnuts or pecans) for the parmesan... you get the idea!

Asian markets...?

An interesting take on purchasing rice/tapioca flours etc from Asian markets.  I have not had a problem with them, but everyone should do their own research and do what feels comfortable for them.
http://www.celiac.com

Potato Croquettes Anyone?

Ahhh. Potatoes. Love love love.

Have we not all ended up with left over mashed potatoes? I took a page from my restaurant days and today made potato croquettes. Fancy, yes? Well, actually simple.
Mashed potato, shredded cheddar cheese (1 cup or so, depending on how much potato you have), salt and pepper, an egg, a bit of (gluten free) flour, an oven.
Thats it.

Combine above ingredients.
Place in a large plastic ziploc (or piping) bag.
Cut one corner off with sharp scissors.
Pipe onto parchment paper on baking sheet. (can omit parchment paper if you don't have any, but it does ensure easy removal, no sticking).
Bake at 425* in oven for about 15 minutes, then flip to brown on other side another 5-10 minutes.
That is it.
Serve with anything. Or nothing.
If you want these to look really fancy, use a piping bag attachment and do not flip. Spray with olive oil ( I use my re-fillable "Misto"), and remove from oven when golden brown.