Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Double (and) Nothing

I don't think I could say enough how much I'm in awe of the gluten-free chefs and foodies out there. I mean, these people not only have a need to cook for themselves in a safe and nutritionally sound manner, but they have a true passion to share what they cook, eat and live with the world who reads their words. In fact, I cannot commend and thank enough all the bloggers out there who share their personal stories, trials and tribulations as well as the foods that comfort them. It takes real courage to so openly display your life, and it takes a true writer to spin each story into something far from a self-pitying rant - a readable, relatable account of what we can generally take for granted each day.

This isn't to say that the rest of the blogging community at large is any less deserving of praise - any well-written work should be valued regardless of the backstory of the author. But for those of us who do cope with food-related allergies, intolerances and diseases everyday, finding a journal that we can reliably read, understand, navigate and (most importantly) relate to is paramount. There are so many out there that I won't even begin to list them - but I'm sure you'll find more than enough inspiration and help by searching.

It was a simple search string for a rather complicated issue that led me to this recipe on Wheat Free Bread Recipes. If you follow my Twitter feed occasionally, you may have noticed two topics that I've brought up in recent weeks - helping out a young adult with celiac disease (and assorted allergies), and the fact that making anything with "standard" wheat or spelt flour left my skin and eyes itching and burning to the point where I would resort to an anti-allergy medication to stop it. I already know that eating wheat is not a great idea on my front, since it tends to lead to a fair bit of GI upset, but the trouble arsing from the flour in the air really...well... troubled me. I'm a baker at heart, after all - take away my flour and you take away my soul!

Or so I thought. Luckily, I was as wrong as I was melodramatic. Sure, the choice to exclude the allergenic ingredients of wheat, corn, brassicae, mushrooms, strawberries and dairy from my kitchen for the well-being of my client did not make for your standard experience while baking, but it wasn't exactly a slog through the valley of despair either. Rather, it was refreshing to dust off my baking "mitts" and try something new and totally unusual for me in both ingredients and method! The thrill of pulling that perfectly baked loaf out of the oven after a series of rather odd preparation instructions was akin to winning the baker's lottery - and the fact that the bread not only looked good but tasted good was the proverbial icing on the cake. Hey, if you've had your "usual" hypoallergenic food (cardboard and wallpaper paste, anyone?) you'll understand how precious that complexity of flavour is.

I'm sending this sleeper success to Susan's event YeastSpotting at Wild Yeast.

Gluten-Free Double Quinoa Bread
Makes 1 loaf (16 slices) or 16 "rolls" in muffin tins
1 1/2 cups GF all-purpose flour (mixture of garbanzo bean, potato starch, tapioca flour, white sorghum flour and fava bean flour)
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup quinoa flour
1/4 cup El Peto Whole Grain Cream of Brown Rice Cereal
3 tbsp soy protein powder
6 tbsp soy milk powder
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
2 tbsp chia seed
2 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tbsp instant yeast
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 1/2 cups unsweetened soy milk
1 tsp brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp fine salt
1/4 cup quinoa, soaked 8 hours in cool water and drained

  1. Spray 8 x 4 inch loaf pan with "safe" nonstick spray.
  2. In a large bowl, combine flours, rice cereal, protein powder, soy milk powder, flaxseed, chia seed, cream of tartar, baking soda and yeast, stirring well.
  3. In a pot, combine water and tapioca flour, whisking smooth.
  4. Bring to a boil and cook 1-2 minutes, until thick. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.
  5. In another bowl, beat together soy milk, sugar, egg and salt until frothy.
  6. Beat in the tapioca mixture, then mix the whole thing into the dry ingredients.
  7. Add the quinoa and beat smooth.
  8. Scrape into the prepared pan or 16 sprayed muffin cups.
  9. Cover and set aside for 15 minutes.
  10. Preheat oven to 400F. Bake loaf 45 minutes, tenting with foil after 25 minutes. If making rolls in the muffin tins, bake 25-30 minutes.
Per one 1/16th of the loaf
Calories 135.2
Total Fat 3.2 g
Cholesterol 13.3 mg
Sodium 57.8 mg
Potassium 95.1 mg
Total Carbohydrate 23.0 g
Dietary Fiber 3.0 g
Sugars 1.9 g
Protein 6.4 g

Vitamin A 3.2 %
Vitamin B-12 7.1 %
Vitamin B-6 1.3 %
Vitamin C 0.3 %
Vitamin D 1.3 %
Vitamin E 0.2 %
Calcium 4.6 %
Copper 2.9 %
Folate 2.2 %
Iron 8.9 %
Magnesium 3.2 %
Manganese 2.5 %
Niacin 0.4 %
Pantothenic Acid 1.6 %
Phosphorus 5.8 %
Riboflavin 7.0 %
Selenium 3.0 %
Thiamin 1.3 %
Zinc 1.4 %

1 comment :

  1. Well done, Sarah! This loaf looks hearty and supernutrious. Just the kind of bread you want to wake up to as we head into autumn.

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Thanks for the feedback!