Saturday, March 31, 2018

Replacing Eggs In Baking

My go-to egg replacement solution:
 
In learning how to bake without eggs, I was frustrated for quite a while. I tried flax gel "eggs," flaxmeal, powdered egg replacers...they all had good points, but the results were not entirely pleasing to me. I'm not a fan of dense, heavy, un-risen muffins! Finally, I had that "aha!" moment.

Eggs are important in baking, not only for their viscosity, but for their fat content!

Most egg alternatives only address the issues of viscosity (texture) or liquid replacement.
In removing eggs, there is also a loss of saturated fat that affects the chemistry of baking.

Coconut oil is a good, healthy fat, with many health benefits. As a plant-based saturated fat, I thought it might make a good replacement for the fat from egg yolks. But how much should I use?

I tried a couple of tablespoons on my first attempt. It was interesting. The texture of the muffins I made showed me that I was definitely on the right track, but there were pools of oil left in the muffin tin! That was not very appetizing.

I did some research on the amount of saturated fat in the yolk of an average egg, converted the grams to ounces to teaspoons, and came up with an amount that seems to work. According to what I found, there is roughly one teaspoon of saturated fat per egg yolk.

In most of my baked goods now, I use a combination of unsweetened applesauce and melted coconut oil to replace the eggs. I have had good success with this in muffins and pancakes, and some cupcakes. It warrants further experimentation. ;)

For each egg, I use 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce + 1 teaspoon melted coconut oil

So far, this has worked well for me. In other recipes, where I use flaxmeal rather than applesauce, I still make sure to add that bit of melted coconut oil.

*I buy the single-serving cups of unsweetened applesauce and just keep them in my baking cupboard. I know it's cheaper to buy it in jars, but when I did that, I always ended up throwing out at least half of every jar. It just went moldy before I got through the whole jar. Using the little cups actually causes less waste for me. It's also handy since most of the recipes I make would have called for two eggs, and each cup of applesauce is the perfect amount for that.








Pancakes!

Or, more accurately: Pancakes, A Work In Progress. :)

Because I enjoy tinkering with recipes, trying new ideas or aiming for a better result, pretty much all of my recipes are works in progress. This one, though, truly deserves the title as I just started working with it this week.

I really love pancakes. They are a genuine comfort food for me; a guaranteed producer of happiness. Cupcakes are a happy food, but pancakes get bonus points for sheer homey comfort. I think that the recipe I started with came from my mom, which gives it a whole other level of comfort and delight.

These are fairly thin, moist pancakes, which is what I like. I'm not much into the big, thick, heavy, doughy (or dry) kind. Especially as I have gone through a journey of using less and less syrup, finally reaching the point where I skip it altogether, I need my pancakes to not be dry. If you prefer a thicker pancake, feel free to experiment with the amount of liquid. I'd be interested to hear how that works.

This is what I consider to be my basic pancake recipe. It has a hint of apple flavor, but to me it's just a tasty basic pancake.

Pancakes
Makes about 20, 4" pancakes

Dry ingredients:
In a large bowl, combine and whisk together well:
1 cup millet flour
1 cup tapioca starch
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 Tablespoon sugar (I tried using Inulin powder instead, and it worked well)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
(optional: 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon)

Wet ingredients:
In a separate bowl, combine and whisk: 
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup oil (I'm currently using a mild avocado oil as my neutral oil)
2 teaspoons melted coconut oil
3/4 - 1 cup alternative milk -start with 3/4 cup, only adding the rest of it's too thick for you
       (I use Coconut Dream unsweetened original shelf-stable milk)

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir or whisk until combined. Let sit while the griddle heats.
 Heat griddle to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

-I use an electric griddle. When I made these yesterday, I had heated the griddle to 375, but they were browning a little too quickly. I was concerned that the middles would not get cooked, so I lowered it to 350 and they did better.

-I have learned, with gluten-free things, to oil or spray the cooking surface for every batch. Sticking is a real issue. There is probably a more ideal option, but I just spray the griddle with standard cooking spray before every batch of pancakes, and it works well for me.

-I use a 2 tablespoon cookie dough scoop (similar to an old-school ice cream scoop) for putting batter on the griddle. That way, they're of a reasonably consistent size. Besides, scooping is fun. :)

Oil or spray the griddle before each batch.
Scoop or pour batter onto the griddle. Cook for a couple of minutes on the first side, until the bubbles around the edges are popping and staying open. Flip, and cook for a few minutes on the other side, until they're a nice golden brown. Enjoy! :)

~This will probably double well. Just don't quite double the salt.

I like these with just a little "butter"- a.k.a. Earth Balance soy-free spread. I do keep real maple syrup on hand for my family. Another favorite pancake topper is apple butter.

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Biscuits!




I love biscuits! I mean, I really love biscuits!

They are a foundational comfort food for me- almost as necessary to my happiness as pancakes. :)

I am currently loving this adaptation. I'll make some today, to go with beef stew for dinner.

Baking Powder Biscuits
 ~makes about 10 biscuits.

~preheat oven to 400 degrees
~line your baking pan with parchment paper (not essential, but helpful)

Dry ingredients:
1 cup millet flour
1 cup arrowroot or tapioca starch
1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
1 Tablespoon baking powder (reduce to 2 Tablespoons if it's a new can)
1/2 teaspoon salt
~whisk all dry ingredients together well

Add:
1/2 cup Earth Balance soy-free "buttery sticks" 

(I take the "butter" straight from the refrigerator. Having it cold helps the biscuit texture.)
-OR- 

1/2 cup Spectrum palm kernel oil shortening with 1 to 2 teaspoons butter-flavored coconut oil
    

You can use a pastry blender to work the fat into the dry ingredients, but recently I've just been using my hands to break up the clumps and work them in. You don't want to overdo this- keeping the bits of fat cool is important to the finished product. Over-working with warm hands can cause the margarine/shortening to become too soft. You want the fat broken down into small bits and mostly combined with the dry ingredients, but having some of the margarine still in lumps is normal.

Liquid: 
two options-
1 cup plain vegan yogurt (I use SoDelicious plain-flavor coconut yogurt)
   (if using a small carton of yogurt, add a little coconut milk, to equal 3/4 cup or a little more)
-or-
less than 1 cup of alternative milk  (I use unsweetened,original-flavor coconut milk)
    A full cup will make the dough too wet. Start with about 2/3 cup and add more if needed.

Whichever you choose, use a fork to stir the liquid into the dry ingredients, just until combined.
Turn the dough out onto a cutting board or counter that you've dusted with millet flour and whichever starch you used. Knead the dough together lightly and pat it into a thick disk. Make sure there's plenty of flour under the dough, then roll it out gently. I like mine to be about 1/2-3/4" thick.


Shaping:
Sometimes, I do circles; sometimes squares.
(I've just gotten a new set of biscuit cutters! This poor little dull, dented cutter is gone.)  :)

For squares: trim the edges of the dough so it's a neat square or rectangle. Use a sharp knife or a bench scraper to cut it into small squares, or rectangles- whichever you prefer. Transfer them to the baking sheet.

For circles: use a round cutter that's nice and sharp. A dull cutter will mash the edges and they won't rise as much. Since gluten-free things don't rise like wheat products do, I try to give them some help to be the best they can be. :) Dipping the cutter into a bit of flour can make this part easier.

Whichever method you choose, gather up the scraps left from cutting, lightly knead them into a ball, pat out, roll and cut more biscuits. Keep doing this until all of the dough is used.

*Spacing the biscuits out will give more crunchy sides; putting them all together, with their sides touching, will give softer sides.

Bake for about 20 minutes, until they're cooked through and the bottoms are lightly golden brown.

If you leave them on the pan, the bottoms will continue to cook. As soon as they're out of the oven, move to a cooling rack or serving dish. I like to put mine in a serving bowl or basket, lined with a cloth napkin or "flour sack" dish towel.

The number of biscuits varies widely, depending on how thick you roll the dough, and what size and shape you cut.

So...if you use a cutter that's about 2" in diameter, and your dough is about 1/2" thick, you'll probably get around 10 biscuits from this recipe. You can easily double this recipe, just don't quite double the salt.

**Quicker version- Drop Biscuits: add a little more milk, 3/4 cup or a little more, to make a soft, wet dough. Scoop globs of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. They'll be rough and craggy, and that's just how they should be. Bake for 12-15 minutes. When I make drop biscuits, I get closer to a dozen.

**our older daughter is corn-free, so I change the recipe when she's home. There are recipes for mixing up your own corn-free baking powder, so that's what I do. I also switch from xanthan gum (which can be derived from corn) to guar gum. I think guar gum makes things more "gummy" so I'll also add just a little bit of coconut flour to balance it out. Coconut flour is very drying. In this size of recipe, I'd probably use maybe a teaspoon of coconut flour.
Yum! Beef stew, with white sweet potatoes in place of potatoes, these allergen-free biscuits, and roasted Brussels Sprouts! So, so good! :)




Where do my recipes come from?

I'm posting early, this week. I'll be gone on Friday, and didn't want to skip posting. :)

Where do I get my recipes and ideas? They come from various sources. Often, when I have an idea for something I'd like to try, I do an internet search for recipes. I'll print off several that look likely, take elements from each, and come up with what I think will work for me. Other times, I use resources closer to home.

Cybele Pascal's book, The Allergen-free Baker's Handbook, was an absolute God-send for me, as I began to explore this food world. Other gluten-free cookbooks were not as helpful, as they often relied heavily on eggs, dairy or almond flour- none of which work for me.

I can no longer use Cybele's flour mix, so I've moved further into developing my own recipes, but I often use hers as a springboard. I don't feel right just putting a recipe out there without acknowledging that, back in the beginning, the inspiration was hers.

I also use my mom's recipes, family favorites that I adapt to fit my parameters. It makes me happy to go back to using these much-loved recipes. :)

My current biscuit recipe is based on both Cybele's and my mom's biscuit recipes. I looked to them both for general amounts, then adapted that to fit what works for me.

Someday, when I learn how to organize my posts into categories, the recipe heading will be "Works in Progress," because that's what all of my recipes are. They are in an ongoing state of experimentation and development. :)

Friday, March 16, 2018

The first Friday Recipe...Grain-free Porridge

After doing research online, I put together elements of several different recipes to make something that I thought would work for me. Most use some form of almonds, which I can't eat, so I made it with hazelnut meal instead. This is what I tried this week, and I like it! Yay! :D

===================

Grain-Free Porridge
     (makes about 1 1/4 cups ~ One good serving, for me)
1/2 cup hazelnut meal
1/3 cup coconut shreds
1 Tablespoon flaxseed meal
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 cup of alternative milk
(coconut oil~ see notes)
Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Heat the milk until it starts to steam. Pour it over the
porridge mix and stir well. Let it sit for several minutes, stir again, and enjoy! :)

===================

*The first time, I added about 1 teaspoon of coconut oil to the warm porridge, which was tasty
and added some good, healthy plant fats to my day.
*I tried adding a teaspoon of hemp hearts, which was also good. 
*I'm currently using sweetened shredded coconut as that's all I can get here. Once I have a chance to go out of town, where there are more options, I'll try it with unsweetened.
*I have tried it with both coconut and hemp milks, and liked it both ways.
     Coconut Dream unsweetened original shelf-stable coconut milk
     Pacific unsweetened vanilla hemp milk
*This would probably be good with fruit, like blueberries or chunks of apple or pear.
*If I were using apple or pear, I'd probably try a little ground ginger with it, too.
*My favorite cinnamon is Korintje cinnamon from Penzeys spice company: penzeys.com
     One way I help myself deal with my limits is by treating myself to a few special things.
     This cinnamon is one of them. :)  Good olives are another. :)
*Several recipes recommended the inclusion of coconut, to give it a "chew" similar to oats. I'm glad I followed their advice. It makes a good difference in the texture.
*This experiment has started me pondering on the subject of granola...maybe this porridge mix could lead to a granola that works for me! :)

Breakfast Dilemma

Breakfast food- so very good. I have so many delicious, life-long favorites.

But then, when you take out everything made from wheat, all eggs and dairy, and cured meats... there's not much left!

Breakfast went from being one of my favorite parts of the day to a source of discouragement and frustration. And grief. The idea of a life without cinnamon rolls, pumpkin cinnamon-chip muffins, fruit-topped waffles...yes, this makes me sad. I try not to think about it.

I really try to adopt the Pollyanna approach to life: playing the "Glad Game." I'd rather look for what is still good than to spend too much time dwelling on what is lost.

The most common suggestion for alternative breakfasts is *smoothies*

I used to make smoothies often, as a quick, protein-rich breakfast on school mornings. Peanut butter-banana was our go-to.

Now, I can't eat peanut butter or bananas, so that just leaves milk. Somehow, I think that just running alternative milk in the blender won't magically change it into anything but bubbly milk.  ;)

Most people do smoothies with things like yogurt, greens, fruit, nut butters, and protein powders.

I can have one kind of coconut yogurt (good pro-biotics, zero protein), but my body panics if I give it raw greens, I have to be careful of fruit, have a tentative relationship with the one or two nut butters that work for me, and have yet to find a protein powder that actually fits my parameters.

I have been on a several-year journey with gluten-free baking. Cybele Pascal's book, "The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook," has been very helpful to me. Her flour mix is mostly rice flour and potato starch, and since potatoes and rice have recently left my diet, I've needed to adapt yet again.

I've been having success with the things I've figured out, and will share recipes in the near future. I do still have concerns about the glycemic impact of baked goods, even with flours that are supposed to cause less of a spike in blood sugar. But as I often say, "I have to eat something!"

Our sweet daughter Heather, working out her own food challenges, has been looking for ideas to help me. She recently tried a grain-free porridge, which gave me a new direction to explore. A new idea is such an exciting thing, in my restricted world! :)

As my very first Friday recipe, my next post will be the recipe I tried this week.



What a weird name for a blog!

I can see how this title is not the obvious first choice for a blog about food, but there's a story behind it and it makes me smile.

Often, when I get into a conversation about the limits on my diet, the other person ends up asking, "What can you eat?!" If my husband is standing there, he'll often answer, "Sticks and twigs!" It puts a welcome spin of humor on the conversation. :)

Having a limited food world gets very tedious, so it's nice to have reasons to smile.

I'd had other ideas for a name for this blog, names that were cute and catchy...but they were all taken. Then I thought of using my husband's comeback, and I smiled. That clinched it.

What will this blog be like?...
-I tend to be overly wordy, but I will try to keep my posts short and to-the-point. ;)
-I have energy-related health issues (Adrenal Fatigue), so I will need to do this in a way that doesn't compromise the balance of my well-being. It will be relaxed, and I won't post every day.
-I hope to post one recipe each Friday~ something to try on the weekend.
-There will be posts sometimes on my thoughts and the journey I've been on with my health.
-Maybe we'll talk about books sometimes, or my favorite Bible verses. We'll see. :)

**It won't be perfect. :) As a recovering perfectionist, I still fight the "battle of the mind" over needing things to be faultlessly ideal (which I've never, not once, achieved). What a death trap! If I wait until I can make this blog fit my ultimate vision of all it ought to be, it will never happen! This first post has been sitting, unfinished, for months, while that uptight part of my brain wrung its hands over how to have all of the things just right. What a waste. I've told that part of my brain to have a nice cup of tea and go take a nap. She must be exhausted. ;) I'm just going to do it, and learn as I go.

One of my favorite new quotes (I heard it from the Lazy Genius @ thelazygeniuscollective.com - and she got it from The Nesting Place http://thenester.com/ ) ....

"It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful." Isn't that just a breath of fresh air??!!!

My name is Kristie. Welcome to Sticks and Twigs. It won't be perfect, but I think it will be good. :)