Vanilla Cupcakes

Here are the vanilla cupcakes the Maestro wanted for his birthday party. When I got ready to take the picture, Hildr wanted me to include her green fish.


The Maestro has needed cupcakes to take to birthday parties he had been invited to previously, but he has always asked for dark chocolate. For those I used an Amy Perry chocolate cake recipe, baked in muffin tins. Vanilla, now that poses a new challenge. Vanilla cupcakes are supposed to be white. Anyone who made Shauna's artisan bread recipe knows that sorghum-based baked goods don't always turn out white. My most recent muffin recipe uses some brown rice flour for firmness, which while not exactly dark, isn't white either. So, enter white rice flour into the equation...

As my starting point, I used the everyday cupcakes recipe from Better Homes and Gardens.

1/2 c shortening
1 3/4 c all purpose flour
1 c sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
3/4 c milk
1 tsp vanilla
Bake at 375° F for 20 minutes

As I said, I wanted a light color, and some firmness, so I used my 2:1 sorghum flour/tapioca mix, and combined it 2:1 with white rice flour. When I got the oven heated up, I found that I didn't have any eggs, and the dietician neighbor wasn't home, so I substituted a heaping Tablespoon of soy flour and a Tablespoon of water for the egg. I suspect that the actual egg substitute is supposed to be a heaping teaspoon of soy flour, but I couldn't remember so I decided to err on the side of over-kill.

Also, these need to be casein free, so no milk. I've decided recently to use water instead of soy milk in my baking. We don't always haev the same kind of soy milk and 8th Continent Vanilla gives very different results than Great Harvest Plain. Hildegard can't have soy, and water is cheaper than Rice Milk by a long shot. So water it is. It turns out that everything turns out fine. Riley took a Food Science class as an undergrad, and I think it was there that she was told that the main reason to use milk instead of water was to increase the protein content of your food. Sorghum has high protein anyway (better than quinoa, even) so the lack of milk isn't a problem.

This is what I ended up with:

1/2 c shortening
1 3/4 c GF mix*
1 tsp Xanthan gum
1 c sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 heaping Tbsp soy flour + 1 Tbsp water (instead of 1 egg )
3/4 c milk
1 tsp vanilla
*flour mix was 2:1 sorghum flour/tapioca starch, mixed 2:1 with white rice flour)

They tasted very good, especially with Pilsbury "Cream Cheese" (actally no dairy in it) frosting. They didn't raise very high, but the Maestro didn't care. I think that next time I would add more liquid. White rice flour seems to absorb some of the water, and the few times I've used it, the batter turns out very thick.

The Maestro had a great day. Here is a parting shot of him enjoying his favorite birthday gift, a plastic saxophone from the dollar store. His collection of real woodwind instruments is sorely lacking, so he enjoys toy instruments when he can get them.

"Made in a Facility that..."

Well, I have an unfortunate update on sorghum flour front.  We invited celiac faculty member and his family over for Pizza, and Riley went to the Indian Grocery to get more Jowar.  She came home with a stack of flour, took a closer look at the bag and saw the following: 

 

"Made in a Facility that processes Peanuts, Tree Nuts, Soy, Milk and Wheat." 

 

How long has that been there?  Was it always there?  My best guess is that I saw it when I started baking, and thought that it was close enough for now.  In the beginning, we were trying a lot of things, and weren't sure what we would end up using.  We still needed to find substitutes for bouillon, barbeque sauce and things like that.  So I put "Made in a facility that..." below "Food Starch - Modified" on the priority list of things to worry about.  I guess the warning was there the whole time and I never revisited the issue.  I have felt so much better not eating wheat that I stopped thinking about Jowar potentially being a problem.  And the Maestro is sooo much better than he had been...

 

This wouldn't be a problem, really, if it wasn't for Hildegard.  I warned her that my flour wasn't certified gluten-free before she ever ate anything I baked, but I know that if she had looked at the package, she would not have chosen to eat any of it.  Riley stewed for about a week before bringing me the phone and asking me to tell her that we'd been slowly poisoning her for the last semester.  Hildegard actually had a pretty good laugh about it.  I guess the time she sat down and ate six muffins, she felt a little funny, and she has occasionally gotten a small rash.  So it's not exactly "No Harm, No Foul", but we didn't almost kill her.

 

I can't give up Sorghum Flour, though, even if I have to give up the Indian Version of it.  Sorghum flour doesn't taste like beans.  It has more flavour than rice and less than Millet.  It is a pale yellow, and silky smooth.  It is a good weight when I mix it with some tapioca starch.  It has comparable protein to Quinoa.  It is everything I have wanted it to be, including inexpensive, except certified gluten-free.  I know Bob's Red Mill sells it, but I can't afford that.  More on that point in another post coming soon.

 

I emailed Twin Valley Mills, in Nebraska, to order some of theirs.  They sell it in a couple of sizes, and I think with shipping it comes out to 15 cents a pound more than what I am paying now.  For you it may be less, and they only process sorghum there.  This was just before Christmas, and they haven't gotten back to me yet.

 

Anyway, I left Riley stuck in the narrative with another full celiac coming over for pizza, and possibly contaminated flour.  She called me at work and I found this recipe by Carol Fenster, Ph.D. that calls for Brown rice and Tapioca, both of which we had.  This recipe won't work for Hildegard because it uses yeast as a flavoring.  I'm pretty sure that's the only reason to have it in there, because there isn't enough sugar to feed that much yeast, and she doesn't call for any rise time.  We ran out of Tapioca starch and used some corn starch for half of that, and I am not sure if we had gelatin or not.

 

We were really pleased with how it turned out.  It was a great crispy flat crust, just what Riley likes in a crust of that type.  The kids couldn't or didn't chew it, so we still need the soft crust I was working on, but it got us through the crisis at hand.  I'm not sure what six people she served that to, but I would plan on being able to share that much dough between the two of you.

 

Wheat-Free and Gluten-Free Pizza Crust recipe

1 tablespoon gluten-free dry yeast
2/3 cup brown rice flour or bean flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
2 tablespoons dry milk powder or non-dairy milk powder*
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin powder
1 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning
2/3 cup warm water (105 degrees F)
1/2 teaspoon sugar or 1/4 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

In medium bowl using regular beaters (not dough hooks), blend the yeast, flours, dry milk powder, xanthan gum, salt, gelatin powder, and Italian herb seasoning on low speed. Add warm water, sugar (or honey), olive oil, and vinegar. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. (If the mixer bounces around the bowl, the dough is too stiff. Add water if necessary, one tablespoon at a time, until dough does not resist beaters.) The dough will resemble soft bread dough. (You may also mix in bread machine on dough setting.)

Put mixture into 12-inch pizza pan or on baking sheet (for thin, crispy crust), 11 x 7-inch pan (for deep dish version) that has been coated with cooking spray. Liberally sprinkle rice flour onto dough, then press dough into pan, continuing to sprinkle dough with flour to prevent sticking to your hands. Make edges thicker to contain the toppings. Bake the pizza crust for 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Spread pizza crust with your favorite sauce and toppings. Bake for another 20-25 minutes or until top is nicely browned.

Serves 6.

Riley's Amaranth Muffins

Hildegard is flying home for the holidays today. Last night she and Riley went to a middle school Jazz concert with the Maestro, while Hildr and I stayed home to read stories about Fish. Before they left, Riley made some muffins with some Amaranth flour that Hildegard had ground.

This is our first experience with Amaranth. Reports have indicated that it is bitter, and requires a goodly amount of sugar. Why would anyone use a bitter flour, I wondered. It turns out that the best way is to use a little bit. This flour was ground fairly course, so it gave a bit of a crunch, like corn meal would. Riley used 1 and 1/4 c the standard 2:1 Sorghum Flour/Tapioca starch, adn 1/4 c Amaranth flour. Not very much. That is enough to provide a considerable flavour and texture without overwhelming either.

Saying something is "Nutty" is a bit over done, so I won't say that Amaranth has a Nutty flavour. I'll say it is dark and husky, and leave it to you to figure out what that means. The texture was quite firm, without being tough. Overall, the effect on texture appears to be similar to brown rice flour, but more so. I think a bit of amaranth is what my pizza crust needs.

Either that, or it was the extra egg, but I don't think so. She started with a different recipe than the one I usually use, and the extra egg appears to be the only difference aside from the changed flour mix. I will have to check this...

Whatever the reason, The Maestro ate 3 and a 1/2 of these for Breakfast this morning.

Riley's Amaranth Muffins

1 1/4 cup 2:1 Sorghum flour/Tapioca Starch
1/4 cup Amaranth Flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp xanthan fum
3 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
3 Tbsp oil
3 eggs
3/4 cup rice milk
1/4 tsp vanilla

GF Hamburger Buns

I was planning on having the house to myself tonight.  Riley was going to take the Maestro and Hildr to Nearby Competing University (NCU) today to visit some friends of ours who got a job there last year.  We are under a winter storm advisory, so she is not going until Saturday, if plans hold.

 

Right now it is raining, and the temperature 36 F, and steadily dropping.  They could have left early this morning and tried to outrun the ice, but Riley grew up in the Southwest, and doesn't drive peacefully in the precipitation.  By the time she got there, she'd have been so worn out from the tension of driving safe that she probably wouldn't have been driving safe.  And that doesn't even include time for having to stop at a MacDonald's play place (where the Maestro can't eat any food) so they can run.

 

We're supposed to get ice by this afternoon, followed by up to six inches of snow by the end of tomorrow.  Hopefully, things will be cleared by Saturday, and they can go then.

 

I mention all of this here because I was going to make GF Hamburger Buns tonight, using the GF yeast free pizza crust recipe  I talked about earlier.  Because the Maestro is GFCF, and can't eat cheese, I was going to make a big batch of dough, and have pizza tomorrow without him.

 

We'll see how this weekend goes.  Hopefully, I can get those done next week.

 

Needless to say, our short-sleeved yard work of last week is done, and I didn't ride my bike to work this mroning.

Sturdy Muffins

A problem that I have had with muffins is having them go soggy before I am ready for them to. The addition of some rice flour seems to fix that right up. I am using 2:1 Jowar/Tapioca flour as my go to flour these days, so I typically mix that 2:1 with brown rice flour, or divide it roughly along those lines. In the following recipe, which started with 1 2/3 cup flour, I went with 1:0.66, just to make the math easier.

Sturdy Apricot-spice Muffins

1 c 2:1 Jowar/Tapioca Flour Mix

½ c Brown Rice Flour

¼ c Soy Flour

¼ c sugar

2 ½ tsp baking powder

¾ tsp salt

1 tsp xanthan gum

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

dash cloves

2 eggs

1 c milk or soy milk

1/3 c vegetable oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

(optional)

½ c chopped apricots

¼ chopped nuts

UPDATE: I accidently had baking powder listed twice. The second one should have been xanthan gum

Bread Vairations

I have been playing with my bread machine recipe a bit. It turns out that any deviation I can think of ruins the loaf. Somehow, 2c Jowar to 1.5 c Brown rice flour is the magic ratio.

I have tried some white rice instead of brown, some potato starch, more Jowar with less brown rice, and molasses instead of sugar. Nothing I have tried has led to a loaf even close to the original recipe. Magic, I tell you.

I've been working on job applications a lot the past couple of weeks. When my bread doesn't rise, I have to slice it really thin, and eat it anyway if I want any bread because I've had no time to make things over. I feel bad about not getting Muffins made for Hildegard more often, but not much I can to about that.

Muffin Mess

I have come to a sad realization about my muffins. They don’t freeze well. Using potato starch means that I need to use less Xanthan gum, otherwise they retain too much moisture and come out mushy.

Reducing the amount of Xanthan gum causes them to fall apart when they are frozen. They still make good mush with sugar and milk on them, but as far as frozen muffins go they are completely unacceptable. I am sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.

I can look into some tapioca flour; that worked well in the waffles. I can try some kuzu starch instead of Xanthan gum. I have recently been alerted to some benefits of using some rice flour in with Jowar or Sorghum flour for improving structural integrity. I’ll post an update when I have a (partially) acceptable solution figured out.

Two Notes

I’m cleaning my desk and came across a paper with some notes on it. I need to post this so I don’t lose it again. If blogger has it, I know where I can find it again.

From the Gluten-Free Goddess , Karina writes that simulating a baking mix, she uses:
2 cups of flour
1 scant tsp baking powder
½ scant tsp baking soda
¼ scant tsp xanthan gum

From Glutan-a-Go-Go, Sheltie Girl uses Kuzu starch instead of xanthan gum.
1 ½ tsp in 1 Tbsp water for a cookie recipe
1 tsp in melted butter in sweet potato bread.

Hildr's Chewy Morning Waffles

Yesterday I got to take Hildr in for her 15 month check-up, and they gave her three shots. She was very sad about this, as you might imagine, but we made it through without the kicking and fighting that the Maestro would have done. Like him, however, she had to pull off the bandages immediately after the nurse left. She didn’t stop whimpering until she had them off and thrown in the trash. I think throwing them away was cathartic.

She was pretty cheerful all day, but didn’t sleep well. She woke up early this morning with a low fever and wanted to lay in bed with us. She has been doing this a lot lately. Whoever gets her out of her crib is instructed firmly to take her back to bed, and if one of us gets up before she is ready, she lets us know that we aren’t dismissed yet. She likes to roll around meowing like a cat, and hide under the blankets.

Because she woke up early, I got to make waffles. Hildegard gave us some waffles the other day, and Riley realized that she likes her waffles more chewy than I had been making them. I started out using a 2:1 Jowar:Cornstarch. Then I switched to 3:1 Jowar:Potato starch and dropped to half the Xanthan Gum, which made them more crispy, and got rid of the corn flavour the Riley didn’t like. To make them more chewy, I thought I could finally try the jowar/Tapioca mix I’d wanted to investigate. I started with 2:1 and they turned out great. Riley thinks that this is just how she likes her waffles, for now anyway…

Hildr’s Chewy Morning Waffles

2 eggs (separated)
¼ cup corn oil
1 ½ cup milk
2 T sugar
½ t salt
1 ¾ cup sorghum/starch mix*
4 t baking powder
1 t Xanthan gum

* 2:1 Jowar (Sorghum flour)/Tapioca Starch

Oh, one other note. I think our waffle baker is dying after about ten years of service. I think that might have something to do with how long they take to cook. I reduced the soy milk to 1 ½ cups from 1 ¾ cups in previous versions. I think this helps compensate.