Egg Free Adjustment

The past couple of weeks has been a time of adjustment in my kitchen: an adjustment to egg-free. For that change to happen, I needed a provoking insentive - afterall, I always felt sorry for folks that had to go egg free. We can't have gluten, milk, nuts or soy....but AT LEAST we could eat eggs.
Not any more.
The insentive for this change was provded by my husband being sick. Steven and Graeme had stopped eating eggs on their own over a year ago. It seemed they were mildly intollerent to them in large doses. Steven continued to have stomach problems and it took us a long time to connect it with eggs in baking. But now that he has tried eating egg-free, his stomach is feeling MUCH BETTER. I am on a campagn to change over my gluten-dairy-soy-nut-free recipes to also be egg-free. :) God must give grace, becuase what I dreaded isn't so bad! (So far!)
One of my first experiences was with cookies. I had several types turn out VERY WELL. In fact: beter then normal.
My next experience was with bread. That also turned out GREAT! I am shocked, amazed and thankful! I will be posting my new recipes over the next day or two. I hope they turn out as well for you as they have for me.
Jenny

Breadless Breakfast

Not only am I avoiding gluten, dairy, soy and nuts...but right now I am also having to avoid yeast, most sugar and simple carbohydrates. That makes breakfast a bit of a challenge!
Pictured is my current most favorite, satisfying breakfast: One fried egg (or poached), 1 piece bacon or ham or a little shredded chicken, stir fried vegetables (mix of whatever I have on hand and reheated from the night before to save time) with salsa on the side. So, even when the rest of the family is eating muffins, pancakes or toast, I am very satisfied with my delicious, filling breakfast.

For lunch I usually have a bowl of vegetable soup (homemade from leftovers with sliced vegetables and homemade broth added). Sometimes I have a flax wrap filled with raw or stirfied veggies and Dijon mustard.
My afternoon snack is usually fruit: an apple or an orange, grapefruit, or small smoothie.
Supper is whatever the family is eating...with some modifications. I eat little or none of the starch (potato, rice, whatever), a large helping of vegetables (steamed or stir fried) with a piece of meat the size of the palm of my hand. Since I have a very demanding sweet tooth :) I do usually have some dessert at supper: a cookie or a small piece of pie for example.

Eating this way has almost healed me of my long standing UT infection and the gas/bloating from too much yeast in my system. Plus I have more energy - a very welcomed bonus!

Flax Egg Replacer

If you have ever mixed flax with water, you know that if forms a thick, slippery goo. That mixture can be used as a substitute for eggs. I find that it works especially well in muffins. Flax is a source of good fatty acids and fiber: not a bad addition to any baking. Even though we can have eggs, I still add this flax mixture to gluten free bread to give it a lighter texture.

1/2 cup flax seed
2 cups water

-Grind the flax seed in the blender on high for about 1 minute.
-Add the water and continue to blend on high for anther 2 minutes. The mixture will be very thick and a stringy consistency similar to egg white.
-To substitute for eggs: mix 1/4 cup of flax mixture for 1 egg (1 cup of flax mixture for 4 eggs).

Cinnamon Roll Bread

I mentioned in the last post how I had been working with breads this last week. I used the Potato Bread from the last post to make a Cinnamon Roll Loaf that has received rave reviews by the family. It turned out soft and moist on the inside with a crusty outer crust. We always have a special brunch on Christmas morning and this year, I plan on serving this bread. :) It is, like most gluten free baking, best eaten fresh. Once it is a day old, warm in microwave.

First of all, I made a single loaf of potato bread, following the directions in this post. If you make the whole recipe, you will have two loaves: you can half the recipe to make one loaf...or you can make the whole recipe and have one plain loaf and one cinnamon roll loaf.

Next, I mixed the filling:
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup raisins
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp butter or margarine
1/4 cup rice flour
Use a fork to mix well and cut in the margarine.

Grease a pan to bake the bread in. I used a small oval roaster as it had a nice shape. If you use a loaf pan, use a large one - not the regular size as it will be too small.

Then lay out a tea towel that has a smooth grain (not waffled) and dust it liberally with tapioca starch.

Scrape the bread dough into a pile in the center of the tea towel. This is a very soft dough and it would be impossible to work with any other way.

With a spatula, spread the dough into a rectangle shape - about as wide as the length of your pan. I spread it about 3/4" thick. It may make it easier to keep dipping your spatula in water as you spread the dough to keep it from sticking.

Spread the cinnamon-sugar-raisin mixture over the dough, leaving about 2" at the end uncovered so it will seal after rolling the dough.

Now gently pick up the end of the towel opposite the end that you left the 2" plain. As you lift the towel, the dough will start rolling.

Keep lifting and rolling the dough until it is almost at the end. Then with one hand, pick up the bottom end of the towel, hold it over your greased pan and let the dough roll into the pan.

It should look something like this. I have made this bread three times and it rolled different every time - once tearing the dough a little... but in the end, it turned out fine and looked nice.

Let rise and bake according to the potato bread recipe instructions and ENJOY! The bread below was delicious, but the swirl was a little lopsided... my subsequent efforts turned out more even. ;) The last time I baked this, I iced the loaf which was nice.

Be sure to shake the tea towel outside to remove most of the starch before laundering. :)

Baked Rice Paper Spring Rolls

A friend sent me a link to this site and it looks GREAT! (A Gluten Free Day) One recipe of interest is the Baked Rice Paper Spring Rolls . They look wonderfully delicious!

I have bought the rice papers at Canadian Wholesale Club before, but I did not know how to use them. Now I do! :)

Hope you enjoy!

Hamberger "Bun" Solution

Anyone who has is forced to eat gluten free, has also been forced to be creative. One area that we have had to be creative in is sandwiches. In particular: hamburgers.

Now my husband really misses having a good old hamburger... you know, light bun, grilled paddy, pickles, lettuce, tomato, mushroom, onion, relish, mustard, ketchup... the works.

We have tried baking different kinds of buns, but none have really turned out how he likes them: light. We just have to face the fact that GF breads are denser and heavier than wheat breads. So we came up with another solution...

"The Pancake Burger"

OK, don't turn me off, I am serious! My husband says this tastes almost like a McDonald's burger - and that the pancakes are about as thick as a McDonald's hamburger bun, anyways. :)

So, now when we have a BBQ, we make up a batch of these little pancakes that just fit the hamburger paddies perfectly. They are tidy and easy to hold onto and make us feel like we are eating a real hamburger again.

By the way, this recipe makes fine breakfast pancakes, too. Since I avoid yeast, I keep some of these in the freezer to toast for lunch to eat with my chicken salad or whatever. They really are a solution for a lot of problems at our house! :)

BASIC PANCAKES

1 cups brown rice flour

1/2 cup tapioca starch

2 Tbsp glutenous rice flour* or instant mashed potato flakes*, optional

pinch of xanthan gum (less than 1/8 tsp)

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp oil

2 eggs

1 cup water or milk

METHOD:

-Put all dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk together.

- Add the oil, eggs and water all together and whisk until smooth.

-Pour onto a hot, greased griddle in small rounds. Turn when the edges appear dry and they are browned.

*The glutenous rice flour does NOT have gluten in it... it is just ground from a sticky rice. I get it in the oriental section in my grocery store.

*Make sure that the mashed potato flakes are gluten free.

The purpose of the glutenous rice flour or the potato flakes is it makes the pancakes more moist and gives them a nicer texture.