Gluten-Free Flatbread

Walt and I are trying to stay gluten-free.  Umm - I am trying to stay gluten-free and Walt is along for the ride because I'm the cook.  We are following South Beach Diet.  I noticed that I lost weight rapidly in the first phase, which eliminates all breads and starches, but started gaining when South Beach told us to start adding whole grain.  I also felt and looked bloated.  Lightbulb moment. "I think I may be sensitive to gluten".  However, some things just can't be eaten without some facsimile of bread.  Like Pulled Pork.  I was able to devise a sugar-free barbeque sauce, but you have to have it on a bun/bread/pita. 

Pinterest to the rescue.  I found this flatbread recipe Gluten-Free Flatbread.  It called for Gluten Free All Purpose Flour.  Every brand in the stores contain sugar.  Back to Pinterest.  I found this gluten-free flourmix.  It's good, but the coconut flour gives it a slightly coconutty flavor that doesn't work with Pulled Pork.  So I tried again and subbed Almond Meal for my Pulled Pork leftovers.  I'll be trying another version of gluten-free flour blend using garbanzo bean flour soon. Then I'll have an assortment of blends and will be able to pick the blend for the recipe.  The coconut flour version is perfect for sweets.

In using and revising this recipe, I found that 2 large eggs works better than the extra large egg plus egg white called for, and that almond meal is not as thirsty as coconut flour, so I had to decrease the liquid.  I also had best results using the convection feature on my oven. I tried baking one cookie sheet lined with a Silpat and the second on parchment paper. Using a Silpat caused the flatbread to be soggy in the middle.   Here's my current adaptation:

Gluten-Free Flatbread
2 cups Gluten Free Flour Blend (see below)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large eggs
1/4 cup unflavored, unsweetened milk (cow, almond, soy)
1/4 cup water

Place oven racks and 2 lowest positions. Preheat oven to 425F and use convection if available.
Combine dry ingredients.
Add oil, eggs and milk.
Slowly add warm water.  You want a soft, wet dough.
Use an ice cream scoop to portion out 6 scoops onto 2 parchment lined cookie sheets.
Use wet fingers to smooth each into thin 5" circles.
Bake 8 minutes for convection/10 minutes regular oven.
Remove from oven and flip each using a pancake turner.
Return to oven with the pan that was on the upper rack in the lower position.
Bake 8 minutes longer.
Remove to wire rack to cool.
Store at room temperature in a zip top bag.

These are flexible; you can hold the sandwiches like a taco. They are also very filling.

Gluten-Free Flour Blend
1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup GF certified oat flour
1 cup almond flour/meal
1 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

Combine in a zip top bag.

Gluten Free, Grain Free Pizza

 

 

Walt and I are having wonderful success on South Beach.  I'm down 28 lbs., Walt has lost 33!  The problem is, it restricts grain, and we're bread people.  Walt was missing pizza.  (I could do without pizza, since I almost always had a tummy-ache afterwards).  To satisfy our bread cravings, I looked for grain-free breads and found a recipe for Socca, a flatbread from France that uses garbanzo bean flour instead of wheat flour.  I had my doubts, but went to Woodman's, bought some Bob's Red Mill Garbanzo Bean Flour and gave it a try.

 

The method is entirely different from wheat crust - no yeast (!) and it's made from a watery batter.  Hint: Wipe up any spills, it dries like concrete!

 

Equal parts garbanzo bean flour and water plus salt, seasonings and olive oil are whisked together.  It's poured into two screaming hot skillets and baked for 20 minutes. That baked crust is very different.  Different can be yummy, too.

The toppings must be fully cooked before adding to the crust, because it's topped and then put under the broiler only long enough to melt the cheese.  I microwave the veggies with a little water in a covered dish. My pepperoni pizza below has Pastorelli brand sauce, thinly sliced onions, red bell pepper, turkey pepperoni and reduced fat cheese.



 

My Margherita pizza has my own white garlic cheese sauce, grape tomatoes, fresh basil leaves and reduced fat cheese.

 



The white garlic sauce is very easy to make from cream cheese, minced garlic, cottage cheese and parmesan cheese. Just whizz them together in a mini food processor (or stir in a bowl).

 

 



For the Crust
makes 2 10" crusts

1 1/2 cups garbanzo bean flour
1 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon + 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning blend
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
extra olive oil for the skillets

Whisk together.  Set aside while heating oven and skillets.

If your broiler is at the top of your oven, place one oven rack at the uppermost slot. Another rack should be on the middle slot. Place two 10" cast iron skillets in oven on the middle slot.  Preheat oven to 450F.  When oven and skillets are hot, remove and add 1 tablespoon olive oil to each skillet.  Swirl to coat bottom of skillets.

Add half of batter to each skillet.  Swirl to coat evenly - kinda like making a crepe. Put skillets back in oven and bake 20 minutes.

For the Toppings
While crusts are baking, slice and cook any toppings (except the cheese, natch).  I microwave sliced onion until limp; sweet peppers until just tender.  Pepperoni is already fully cooked, but if I make sausage pizza, I cook it thoroughly then drain very well on paper towels.

For the Red Sauce
We like canned Pastorelli pizza sauce or Sweet Baby Ray's barbeque sauce. 

White Garlic Cheese Sauce
2 Tablespoons cream cheese
2 Tablespoons cottage cheese
2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon minced garlic

Whizz together in mini food processor or stir together until the cottage cheese is smooth.

Doctoring the Crust
When the crusts are done, remove from the oven and wrap a towel around the skillet handles to remind you that they're screaming hot.  Turn the oven off and the broiler on High. 

Spread crusts with a small amount of sauce - 2 tablespoons or less.  Add pre-cooked toppings and cheese.  Sprinkle with additional Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, whatever you like.  I like Lawry's Seasoned Salt.  Place under broiler until cheese melts.  Let it brown as much as you enjoy.

Remove from broiler onto sturdy cooling racks (or your stove grates).  Using a thin metal spatula, loosen crust and slide out onto a cutting board.  Let rest a couple minutes before slicing.

Serve with cold beer or soda.

 

Unexpected Bonus 1 - NO more Pizza tummy-aches for me!

Unexpected Bonus 2 - cast iron skillets get very well seasoned!

 

What do you do when you have lots of leftover sauce?  Using two tablespoons per pizza, the 16 oz. can of sauce goes a long way.  It will go bad in the fridge before I can use it all. So I froze it in an ice cube tray from the dollar store,  popped out the frozen cubes and put them in a zip top bag. On Pizza

 

Night, I pull out a couple of cubes and zap them in the microwave to thaw.  Each cube is about 1 1/2 tablespoons sauce.

What do you put on your pizza?



New Favorite Bread Machine Recipe

This recipe makes 2 loaves of a moist, richly flavored, very high rising bread with a soft texture.  I adapted a recipe found at food.com to better fit my tastes (read that as richer and moister).  The recipe calls it Challah.  Trust me - it's not challah.  But it has a very pleasant faintly eggy flavor.

I like to prepare the dough in my bread machine, then form it into loaves, let it rise again and bake it in the oven.  This recipe originally called for it to be baked in the machine, thereby making one large loaf.  I found that it overflowed the pan when baked in the bread machine.  I solved that by forming into 2 loaves and baking in my oven.  I also like the texture and flavor better.  I think that bread baked in the bread machine has a slight steamed flavor.  It may just be my machine, or it may just be me.  Try it either way.

Bread Machine Challah
3/4 cup warm water
1 egg, at room temperature
2 egg yolks, at room temperature
3 tablespoons butter, cut into pats
3 cups bread flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

Add ingredients to your bread machine in order suggested by the manufacturer.  If you can't find them, place wet ingredients in machine: water, egg, egg yolks and butter.
In a bowl, combine dry ingredients: flour, sugar, salt and yeast.  Stir to combine.
Add to machine on top of wet ingredients; don't stir.  Set the machine to dough cycle, 2 lb. loaf and start the machine.
Peek inside to be sure the blade is moving the ingredients about.  Set a timer for 5 minutes.
When the timer goes off, use a spatula to scrape in any flour that isn't mixed into the dough.  It will not look like dough.  It should look too wet, but not soupy. If it looks soupy, add up to 2 tablespoons additional flour. If the dough looks a little dry (very firm ball of dough wrapped around the dough blade) add additional water - up to 2 tablespoons.
Don't agonize over it, neither will kill the bread.  Not enough flour and the bread will be flat and dense.  Too much flour and it will be dry and tough.  Either way it's edible.  Remember that's what bread pudding, bread crumbs and french toast are for.  Keep making bread and within 3 or 4 runs you will figure out how it's supposed to look when it first is mixed.  Then it's easy-peasy from then on out.
It should take somewhere around and hour and 30 minutes to 2 hours before the dough is ready - so take note of when you need to be home and be SURE to be there.
Spray 2 loaf pans with cooking oil. Spray 2 pieces of plastic wrap with oil and set aside.
When the machine sounds it's end of cycle beep, beep, beep - flour your clean dry counter top and dump out the dough.  Fish out the paddle and put it aside to wash.  Remove your rings to a safe place and flour your hands.  Pat out air bubbles in the dough. and form it into a flat rough rectangle.  Being mindful of your counter top, cut the dough into two equal pieces.  Roll one piece like a jelly roll starting at a short side.  Pinch the ends and tuck them under; place seam side down in pan.  Repeat with the other piece of dough.
Cover each pan with a piece of prepared plastic wrap and set in warm spot to rise.  Allow to rise until it is about 1" above the top of the pan, about 45 minutes.  After 30 minutes, start preheating your oven to 350F, so it's ready when the dough is ready.
Remove plastic wrap and place into preheated oven.  Bake 30 - 40 minutes or until tops are browned and loaves sound hollow when you knock on them.
Turn out onto a wire rack and allow to come to room temperature before slicing.  I slice one loaf and place it into a gallon size zip top bag and store it at room temperature.  The second loaf is also cooled to room temperature, then placed, unsliced in a zip top bag and frozen until needed.

Baking

 

The bread I like runs $4.00 a loaf at the grocery store.  It's much cheaper to make my own.  I found this recipe  Angel Bread at Recipezaar.com last year and have been making my own bread ever since.  Since the recipe makes 2 loaves, and my husband and I only eat one loaf a week, I often form some of the dough into hamburger buns or dinner rolls. 

The recipe uses the dough cycle of the bread machine, but you can make it in a mixer with a dough hook or knead it by hand.  I find I get the best results with a couple of tricks:

• warming the egg (still in the shell) in hot tap water while I measure out the dry ingredients
• combining all dry ingredients with a whisk, including the yeast, before adding it to the wet ingredients in the bread machine

• checking the dough consistency after the machine runs for 5 minutes (this needed a couple more tablespoons of flour).

In 90 minutes, I have perfect dough ready to be formed into loaves.