Gluten-Free Recipes

Gluten-Free Recipes - featuring Pumpkin for the Holidays

2007-11-12T12:16:00.000-05:00

In case you have just found this blog for the first time, it is here to help you find great Gluten-Free Recipes on the web. The above recipe can be found here: Gluten-Free Pumpkin Roll Recipe, just in time for the Thanksgiving Holiday season!

There are quite a few other nice holiday themed recipes there, including a gluten-free cornbread stuffing recipe and other desserts. Enjoy!

Newest glutenfree recipes - breads and more

2007-01-03T11:51:00.000-05:00

If you have not checked out our free recipes libary lately, you have missed some recent releases that are really worth checking out.

Some of the recent recipes include:

Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Brown Honey Bread (pictured above)
Gluten-Free DairyFree Pumpernickel
GlutenFree Spinach / Dill Dip (perfect with the pumpernickel)
GF Focacci Bread / Croutons
Gluten-Free Sesame Cookies
and a few other goodies!

Enjoy!

Gluten-Free Panettone Bread Recipe

2006-12-09T14:09:00.000-05:00

My daughter just finished creating a rather decent gluten-free Christmas Holiday bread in the style of traditional panetton bread. Here is a link to the gluten-free panettone bread recipe (as pictured above). It features orange/citrus flavors in a sweeter dough that has dried fruit and nuts in it. Enjoy!

Gluten Free Recipes library now online

2006-10-14T21:03:00.000-04:00

I finally have the public gluten free recipes section of my website up and running!

There are some good breads and pizza crust and other great recipes already there, and more will be coming soon. I really like the artisan style bread, and the egg bread. The stuffed mushrooms are another favorite too. In fact, if it is posted on the gluten free recipes library, chances are it is something I really like to eat.

My wife and I will be adding recipes on a regular basis when we have time. So, stay tuned and there will be plenty of celiac-friendly food recipes to choose from on there!

Gluten Free multi-grain bread

2006-09-18T14:10:00.002-04:00

A gluten free "multi-grain" bread marks my wife's first attempt at bread making (aside from dessert type breads), and I thought it was fairly good.

It is a soda-bread type recipe that uses Quinoa flour, Sorghum, Flax, and Rice Flours, and it is simple to make and bakes in a round 2-quart pyrex (oven safe) glass dish. It has some caraway seed (the seed that gives rye bread its flavor) plus sesame seeds and a bit of honey on top.

It's not "perfect", but maybe someone else will make it so. We'll work on this one some more I'm sure. I will soon place a picture of the final product on my main gluten free blog to give you an idea what it bakes up like. I will also post the recipe on my book site soon for anyone to try.

Gluten Free multi-grain bread

2006-09-18T14:10:00.001-04:00

Gluten Free multi-grain bread

2006-09-18T14:10:00.000-04:00

Good Eats with Alton Brown - recipe ideas

2006-09-13T19:25:00.000-04:00

I really enjoy watching the Food Network, and one of my favorite shows is the Good Eats with Alton Brown show. If you have not seen it, it is something totally different. Alton Brown is the scientist of chefs. His knowledge of food, and the underlying chemistry and science behind food and its preparation, is nothing short of amazing.

Today, he did a wonderful grilled Ahi Tuna show. This is a recipe that could easily be adapted to gluten-free status. Basically, he grill-seared these 2x4x4" blocks of fresh Ahi Tuna with a coating of 1/2 cup soy sauce (use GF Tamari instead), 1/2 cup honey (of your choosing), and 1/4 cup Wasabi powder. It looked absolutely wonderful and delicious.

Keep a watch for shows like this, since there are many recipes that can easily be adapted to become gluten free recipes.

Gluten Free Recipes - latest observations

2006-09-09T21:16:00.000-04:00

I have finally started frequenting a couple blog sites and forums that target the Celiac and gluten free and wheat free population. I spent a bit of time checking out the recipe discussions that blog and forum members have on a regular basis, and the feedback amazed me.

Many of the recipes I ran into were either "cop outs" (i.e., recipes that generally would not require gluten even in their "normal" variants), and if they weren't, they would make use of the gums (xanthan, guar, etc) to keep things together. I always find myself wondering if people try the recipe without the gums prior to adding them. Got me.

Over and over I would see people comment how the recipes they tried out produced crumbly or powdery foods, but they accept it as "OK" in general, because overwhelmingly many GF foods are just not that good. I found exceptions - where people raved about the quality of certain foods, most typically among recipes I consider cop-outs... leaving just a very few that people agreed were really breakthrough GF recipes. I saw a nice looking flax-seed bread (looked good - need to try it, and do it my own way since it used a TBSP of xanthan, which I avoid).

Well, I am launching a gluten-free recipes gallery where I plan to show off, with nice color photos, exactly what is possible with GF recipes - none of which use the gums. Initially it will focus on desserts, and mainly desserts that are in my new book. I don't wish to offend anyone by complaining about the quality of gluten free recipes that may really be good, but instead want to demonstrate that there really is hope for celiacs looking for gourmet-quality GF foods.

Simple gluten-free recipes - yes, they exist!

2006-08-14T22:42:00.000-04:00

So, I was reading yet another article about Celiac Disease and Gluten-Free Baking today, and just like so many times before, the persons that were interviewed in this article kept perpetuating the myths about gluten-free baking: 1) that it is difficult and requires special mixing of ingredients and such, 2) that it requires xanthan gum, guar gums, and the like, and 3) that packaged "GF flour mixes" are the answer to cooking GF items.

Well, I have news for all of you that believe these statements to be universally true: they are not. Perhaps in rare cases, but not generally. I bake all sorts of "difficult" recipes like gluten-free biscuits, gluten-free pizza crust, gluten free cake and tortes, gluten free cookies, brownies, biscotti, and a lot more without any added gums, without packaged (and expensive) flour mixes, and without mixing directions that are any different than most regular (wheat containing) recipes. I prove it (and guarantee it) in my new cookbook, which has been taste-tested on my entire neighborhood and even some personal chefs.

The main thing with gluten-free baking is getting the right balance of flours for each recipe. That is the key! This takes quite a bit of trial and error, and this is why I find those pre-mixed / pre-packaged "GF Flour Mixes" are not the right solution. Each recipe takes a different balance of flours to be just right. Granted, it took my wife and I hundreds and hundreds of attempts to perfect our cakes, cookies, and so forth - but the results are worth it. The end products taste just like the real thing -- in some cases better (since we have won baking contests with some of our gluten-free recipes).

Having access to a repertoire of gourmet dessert recipes is a great start at having a normal as a Celiac (especially if you miss all those cakes, cookies, pies, etc.). So, do not let articles convince you that GF recipes are out of your realm, difficult to produce, or require a whole lot of effort above and beyond what normal recipes do. Quality Gluten-Free Recipes are available.

Why all the added Gums in Gluten-Free foods?

2006-08-06T21:38:00.000-04:00

Have you read the labels on most Gluten-Free products? Better yet, how about the GF Recipes in most of the recipe books for the Celiac and Wheat-Free community? What is up with all these Gums in there -- Xanthan, Guar, and so on?

I understand that without Gluten in a recipe, it can be a bit challenging to reproduce the texture associated with the Gluten-containing original, but for the most part that is the limit of it: a challenge. My family has been baking gluten-free recipes for a couple years now, and we have only resorted to added gums once -- when we purchase our first GF baking book that used the stuff like everywhere, whether it added any value or not. And, fact is, most of what we tried to use in in (per the recipes in the books we tried) ended up just plain bad, regardless of added Gums. Fact is, if the recipe isn't any good without the gums, it probably will remain not very appealing even with the gums. Or, so is our experience.

So, we set out to bake all the "tough" recipes like Cakes, cookies, and even a few breads without using any added vegetable gums or thickeners, and through much trial and error, we achieved results that are as good (and in some cases better) than the gluten/wheat-containing counterparts.

So, where does this prevailing opinion about the "need" for adding all these gums to GF products come from? Perhaps it is "needed" in packaged commercial goods that must last indefinitely on the shelf (though, isn't that the job of preservatives and not gums?).

Baking with Sorghum Beer

2006-08-03T15:15:00.000-04:00

Why bake with Sorghum Beer? Simple,... it is the only thing the stuff tastes good enough for :)

In all honesty, I guess I am glad there is a Gluten-Free Beer on the market made from Sorghum, so that when I have a moment where I feel like having a beer, I can, without the worry of Celiac repercussions. But, I rarely get this desperate, as I find the taste quite sad and lacking flavor (oh, I so crave a good dark beer like a Guinness). I am not the only one that feels this way, as this link Lakefront Brewery's New Grist Sorghum Beer rating tells the whole story -- it rated only in the 9th (yes, NINTH) percentile overall.

Perhaps Lakefront will experiment with adding some flavor to another variation of Celiac Safe / Gluten-Free Beer in the future. I was thinking perhaps trying some Millet, Amaranth, or perhaps even Roasted Buckwheat in the mix. If only I had a way to try this out myself.

But, back to the point: baking with Gluten Free Sorghum Beer. It works QUITE nicely as a substitute in recipes that would otherwise call for beer. My wife came up with the most awesome gluten-free onion rings (beer battered) that you could imagine using this stuff and some GF flours. I could hardly believe it when I tried one -- they matched anything I have had at fairs, restaurants, and such in the past (yes, I am comparing to the "real" wheat-flour containing versions)! And, we tested them out on our neighbors who also agreed on the verdict. So good in fact are they that we put this recipe as a "bonus recipe" in our new cookbook we are publishing.

Bottom line: we found a great use for all that Sorghum Beer I had lying around for lack of desire to drink the stuff.

Gluten Free Dessert Recipe Book announced

2006-07-31T09:26:00.000-04:00

A new Gluten Free Dessert Cookbook has been announced, and this one promises to deliver some very high-quality Gourmet Desserts that will rival any desserts (even wheat and gluten-containing ones).

The publishers are promising complete satisfaction or money-back. And, it is a FULL-COLOR (yes, full color photos of each and every dessert recipe) cookbook, with each picture being a picture of the actual dessert baked per the actual recipe. No added gums in any recipes either! Check out the upcoming book here: http://www.suretalent-books.com/