baking without butter and wheat

Posted on August 7, 2013 by hilary924

i've been trying something a little new . . . gluten-free and/or vegan baking. this is partly because, well, i moved back to california. but also because my main baked goods audience has shrunk to the very lovely people who work for the somm.

and they HAVE to like my baking! it's a win win win.

just kidding.

i'd already gone down the gluten-free road for the yogi. and after having read about how terrible wheat is for you.

plus there are so many fun types of flour out there! i now own about 10 varieties taking up precious freezer space. right next to my highly glutenized leftover bagel dough. whee!

i do not yet have an opinion on what type of flours i like best. luckily, there are many wonderful bloggers who regularly share their wisdom. i've been spending time with gluten-free girl who has many great recipes and some really lovely writing on her blog. she has a great post on how to put together your own gluten-free flour blend. it doesn't require you to buy anything that sounds too crazy (xanthan gum? seriously? isn't avoiding words like that WHY we bake at home?).

almond and coconut were my gateway flours. who doesn't like almonds and coconut?

also, chocolate?

i pulled this recipe from the new york times, which also likes them some gluten-free girl. i skimped on the bananas – don't do that! add plenty of chocolate chips. almond, buckwheat and rice flour are the stars here, but next time i'd cut back on the buckwheat. you want something lighter to really let the chocolate and banana sing.

served warm out of the oven, these didn't immediately seem gluten-free. want a close up of that tender crumb?

pretty normal, right?

but do NOT give them to your vegan friends. there are eggs and buttermilk in there, the sneakers. plus, we've got something else for them.

there are a number of vegan alternatives for eggs. so much good learning, and i would especially like to thank the kind woman who saved me from myself in the tofu aisle at the food co-op.

yeah, i'll pause to let that sink in. caleeefornia!

the tofu you want, that tofu is not in the refrigerator section of the market. it's the shelf-stable stuff. but i went for the flax seed slurry substitution.

slurry! almost as good as shelf-stable tofu.

just mix one teaspoon ground flax or chia seeds with three tablespoons hot water for every egg you're replacing. let the slurry sit, then add to the batter.

ground flax seeds can be found in the oatmeal and hot cereals section, NOT with the various gluten-free flours and starches in the baking section.

are you writing this down?

also, skip the honey and use agave. skip the buttermilk or yogurt and use unsweetened vanilla almond milk.

double the blueberries. whip yourself up some blackberry jam.

have yourself a muffin fest.

Vegan & Gluten-Free Buckwheat Blueberry Poppyseed Muffins

Adapted to be vegan from the New York Times

180 grams (1 1/4 cups, approximately) buckwheat flour
100 grams (3/4 cup, approximately) gluten-free all-purpose flour mix or whole grain gluten-free mix*
10 grams (2 teaspoons) baking powder
5 grams (1 teaspoon) baking soda
3.5 grams (1/2 rounded teaspoon) salt
2 eggs or 2 teaspoon ground flax seeds mixed with 6 tablespoons hot water
125 grams (1/3 cup) agave syrup
360 grams (1 1/2 cups) unsweetened vanilla almond milk
75 grams (1/3 cup) canola or grape seed oil
5 grams (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract
2 cups blueberries
10 grams (1 tablespoon) poppy seeds (more to taste)

*For the gluten-free flour mix I used about 70 grams of a mix of teff, almond and rice flour and 30 grams of arrowroot starch.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees with the rack adjusted to the middle. Oil muffin tins. Sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl. Add any grainy bits remaining in the sifter to the bowl.

In a separate bowl combine ground flax seed and hot water. Stir and let sit for a minute. Beat in agave, almond milk, oil and vanilla extract. Whisk in the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Do not beat for too long; a few lumps are fine but make sure there is no flour sitting at the bottom of the bowl. Fold in the blueberries and poppy seeds.

Using a spoon or ice cream scoop, fill muffin cups to the top. Place in the oven and bake 20 to 25 minutes, until lightly browned and well risen. Remove from the heat and if the muffins come out of the tins easily, remove from the tins and allow to cool on a rack. If they don’t release easily, allow to cool and then remove from the tins.

Best served with some sort of butter product (that means Earth Balance for you vegans) and jam.

Yield: 12 muffins (1/3 cup muffin tins)

Advance preparation: These keep for a couple of days out of the refrigerator, for a few more days in the refrigerator, and for a few months in the freezer.

cranberry orange muffins

Posted on December 13, 2012 by hilary924

sometimes change is hard. sometimes change is really really hard. sometimes you're the one who gets to jump off the cliff, sometimes life gives you a nudge. or a shove.

finding a new favorite muffin recipe is not hard change. for close to ten years, i'd been a pretty strong proponent of a gem of a muffin recipe. really tender from sour cream, a sweet but not too sweet base that let pretty much any mix-in shine.

but i've been won away. by browned butter. and the best crumble topping. and you know how i feel about crumble.

my new muffin base is from the joy the baker cookbook. which you should buy if you love to bake. she has some real gems in there.

luckily, the power of the internets will also bring you the original recipe for free, over on shutterbean.

i've made the original blueberry version with much success here. but it is fall. i had some leftover cranberries. i wanted that tart burst of flavor, and a hit of wintery citrus.

let's be honest, i wanted to try out a new cranberry technique from cooks illustrated. because cranberries, like change, can be hard to manage. they can be too puckery, too bitter. they need a bit of care, especially if you are using fresh berries, not to overwhelm a bite, to leave you with the right balance of tart and sweet and juicy.

the solution is to roughly chop them and let them sit for a minute with a sprinkle of salt to draw out the bitter and a bit of powdered sugar to tame the sour.

if only solving life's imbalances were so easy!

the result is a true cranberry flavor, evenly distributed through your muffin. a bit of nutty depth from the browned butter. bright orangey citrus. and that crumble. picture perfect.

Orange Cranberry Muffins

Adapted from Joy the Baker's Browned Butter Blueberry Muffins. Makes about 12 muffins.

Muffins:

7 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups fresh cranberries
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoons salt, plus a bit more
1 orange worth of zest

Crumble Topping:

3 tablespoons cold butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
Dash of salt

Directions

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees, and put liners into your muffin tin – this recipe will make around a dozen regular muffins.

To brown the butter, melt it in a pot on the stove and then let it keep going until the white foam mostly goes away and the butter becomes a warm brown color with little black specks. Just keep a good eye on it because it will turn from brown to burned pretty quickly. It will smell nutty and fantastic once it's done, and then you need to take it off the heat and pour into a heat-safe bowl to keep it from continuing to cook.

Roughly chop your cranberries and place in a small bowl. Sprinkle with salt and powdered sugar, stir and leave to sit on counter while you get your batter together.

In a medium bowl, whisk your milk, eggs and vanilla. Add the butter when it is a little cool, but hasn't hardened. Whisk to mix.

In a larger bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Zest your orange and add that in. Add butter mixture, and gently stir just intil batter comes together. Add cranberries and fold gently to combine. Divide the batter among the muffin cups.

To make the crumble, combine all ingredients in a bowl and use your fingers to smush together. Don't worry about fully working butter into the dry ingredients, you want it crumbly! Sprinkle a healthy serving of crumble over the muffins – it makes plenty!

Bake for 18-20 minutes until the edges start to turn golden and when you insert a skewer into the center, it comes out clean.

Delicious warm with salted butter, but they will keep for a couple of days in a tupperware container. They're so good, you think that they'll get gobbled up. But as someone who has sat at the bottom of the cliff with that tupperware container, I know you'll thank your lucky stars.

strawberry coconut scones

Posted on July 14, 2011 by hilary924

summer means strawberries, right? check out these bad boys.

i do have a confession. i bought these strawberries at the tarjay. and we are just on the wrong side of strawberry season. they looked so red and yummy. but check out the inside:

yeah. sadness. but nothing that can't be solved by sugar and butter. into scones they go!

scones are one of those baked goods that people have very particular feelings about. and by that, i mean extreme animosity towards scones sold by certain omnipresent coffee shops with green signage. i have no such prejudices against dessert masquerading as a breakfast item.

these scones, however, may also cause some heart burn. they aren't super flakey or biscuity. although they have just the right hint of sweetness for proper breakfast food. and they are profoundly cakey and soft in texture. this, i think, is because they don't have buttermilk? i really like me a tangy buttermilk scone. i know you can make buttermilk out of regular milk. but i didn't. i just made these:

what? i forgot to mention my last minute brilliant idea to add coconut? toasted coconut. makes everything better. let's get started. lazy scones for subpar strawberries. aren't you glad you kept scrolling?

chop your strawberries. weigh your dry ingredients.

add cold, cold butter (another victory . . . someday i'll remember to presoften butter, someday). get your hands in there until it looks like this.

then eggs, then milk (whole if you've got it!) and STRAWBERRIES. don't they look so much better all chopped up?

no, you can still tell. sigh.

ah, but this is much better.

and better. milk wash action shot!

coconut. pre-toasted.

yum.

what are you talking about a missing scone? there's no missing scone. just go make these already.

Strawberry Coconut Scones

Largely based on this recipe from Gourmet

2 1/2 cup or 10 5/8 oz all purpose flour
1/4 cup or 1 3/4 oz white sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, chopped in largish chunks
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup whole milk, plus a little extra for the wash
1 cup chopped strawberries
1/4 cup shredded coconut, give or take

Preheat your oven to 425°F. If you don't have lovely silpat, grease up your baking sheet.

Whisk together your dry ingredients – flour through salt. Add the butter and mix in with your fingers until it looks like coarse meal. Stir in eggs and 1/4 cup milk until just combined, then carefully fold in strawberries.

Flour your work surface. If you want big scones, dump out all your dough. If you're taking it to work, like I did, start with half the dough. Knead lightly and shape into a round. Use your rolling pin if you like thinner scone. Cut into slices, like pie. Or pizza!

Transfer your scones to the baking sheet. Brush with milk. Sprinkle with coconut! Or turbinado sugar! Whatever your heart desires.

Bake about 10-12 minutes for smaller scones, or closer to 15 for larger. Eat warm with salted butter straight off the baking sheet. Best the same day.

Manchego's Kitchen

it's his kitchen. i just cook here.

Tag Archives: breakfast

baking without butter and wheat

cranberry orange muffins

strawberry coconut scones