Book of Yum

We had our most recent Celiac Bay Area Support Group Potluck this last August second, and as usual, everyone really outdid themselves. The hostess selected a BBQ theme for the event, so we had grilled bits, non-veg and some really superb thin, crispy stalks of asparagus, grilled red onion slices, and grilled peppers, along with potato salad, a lovely salad with tiny, sweet grapes, fruit and pickled veggies, a refreshing bean vinaigrette salad and some exotic slow-simmered fruits. Meanwhile, I made Bette Hagman’s wonderful rapid rise gluten-free french bread recipe and some fresh basil dipping oil, as well as a little dish of julienned fresh basil with halved sweet grape tomatoes in olive oil. I also made my favorite fresh lime soda, but there was lovely mint lemonade and a wide variety of wine for people to enjoy.

I loved all the savory dishes, but dessert time was especially fun, as we had all sorts of exotic fare from gluten-free cream puffs to allergy-free (egg-free, bean-free, soy-free, dairy-free etc) chocolate wacky cake and an absolutely divine allergy-free brandied apple cake. I was ecstatic over the cream puffs, as I’d only had them once before (in my life!) and I wasn’t the only one. I think everyone enjoyed them. The only problem with fluffy bread bits filled with ooey, gooey custard filling and topped with luscious chocolate frosting? You end up wearing as much filling and frosting as you ate- or maybe that’s just me. You can see the big ol’ mess I made on the left. But the recipe, the recipe was divine, and I was so thrilled that one of our members went to all the trouble to make them. Hurrah for ambitious gluten-free bakers! The recipe was based on Melonie Katz’ recipe for cream puffs from the SillyYaks message board through Yahoo, and then variations of filling recipes found online. I’m eager to make them myself. I will be contacting Melonie to see if she’ll let me share them with you on here. I’ll test the recipe with my own luxurious filling, and hopefully you’ll be seeing my version at the Book of Yum soon. In the meantime, feast your eyes on them above.

But I also really appreciated the allergy-friendly recipe for brandied apple cake that our master bakers, V and H, brought to the party. This allergen-free (but not taste-free) cake was gobbled up by those with special allergies as well as by the simply gluten-free folks. As one of our party commented “I think I like cakes with brandy.” Me too! This is my version of V and H’s excellent recipe. I would like to do some experiments in the future- maybe add a little more liquid ingredients (one half cup applesauce?) in addition to my dry brandied apples. Also a teaspoon or two of xanthan gum might make it less crumbly. Quinoa adds its own stamp to this cake, but you could also try it without for a lighter flavor. I have to admit, the powdered sugar V and H added really took it to a whole new level. Too bad we didn’t have any powdered sugar in the house… but that shouldn’t stop you from adding some. Trust me, it’s worth the sugar guilt. I would strongly recommend you visit V and H’s GF Recipe Web Page to check out their tasty recipes- there are tons of yummy gems in there, including their Simply Amazing Easy Cranberry Pie Recipe that I blogged about in October.

Isn’t it wonderful having gluten-free friends with such great kitchen voodoo? The meals I enjoy at these support group potlucks are always worlds better than most restaurant offerings- and certainly there’s way more variety and imagination present! If you haven’t tried joining a gluten-free support group, why not look into it? You may find, as I did, that there’s a whole community right outside your door that can understand better than anyone else the joys of GF online shopping, the best and worst of the latest gluten free products, and the highs and lows of the gluten-free lifestyle.

When I first saw this month’s Daring Baker challenge, I have to admit I felt some trepidation. After all, I’d never tried anything as complex as making a gluten-free “Danish Braid,” and to be honest, except for the braid part, I wasn’t quite sure what it was. Was a danish bread like yeast bread? Or was it more like pastry? Should I substitute chebe and hope for the best? It turned out that danish bread is a cross between yeast bread and pastry. According to the challenge, “Danish dough is in the family of butter-laminated or layered doughs.” Puff pastry is the most extreme example of laminated dough, but “danish dough is sweet and is yeast-leavened, however, whereas puff pastry is not.” Our challengers said that while Danish dough wasn’t as difficult as puff pastry, the process of making it was delicate, and it was “a great starting place to begin to learn about laminated doughs in general.” Whew. Well, I sat out the last event due to a schedule conflict, but this recipe sounded appealing, if a little daunting. The trick would just be making it gluten-free. Luckily, the new Daring Bakers site has a forum for alternative bakers (both vegan and/or gluten-free) and I was able to read about the experiments of my peers. Many of their flour combinations sounded promising, but I was most drawn to Jeanine’s millet blend. I don’t do very well with millet, so when testing the recipe I tried one batch with teff flour, and another with quinoa flour. I liked both versions, but the teff is better if you like a brown “nutty” flavor, and the quinoa is better if you like a sweeter brown flour. The quinoa especially complimented the cinnamon apple filling, but ieither one was quite tasty. I was impressed to find the dough quite workable, although the layer of butter (Beurrage) tended too ooze out and make a mess. I rolled it out inside ziploc plastic bags and wrapped it up in saran wrap for chilling sessions, and that helped contain things somewhat. Also, I sprinkled my keynote flour (teff or quinoa) on the buttery parts as I rolled it out and that helped contained things somewhat. I was most excited when I rolled out the dough the last time and found that I had a dough that I could actually braid. It helped that I had rolled it out on parchment paper and was able to keep the dough on the parchment when I put it in the oven.

One of the fun parts of making any danish is deciding on a filling. Really, the possibilities are limitless. Here at our house, we are big fans of a traditional apple filling, and it compliments the cardamom dough so beautifully it was hard to resist. But, since I decided to make this recipe twice (in the interest of science, mind you), I felt that I really ought to experiment the second time around. Don’t get me wrong- I still made half of the second version apple ’cause it’s so darned good. But, I was also inspired by a recent Foodgawk sighting of Tartelette’s Plum and Rosemary Sugar tartelettes to try making half with a plum filling with rosemary sugar sprinkle. It was quite fortuitous really, since the only fruit I had in the house was apple and fresh plum, and I grow my own rosemary on the balcony! I also experimented with the lamination technique. An egg was was nice, although it ended up in extra eggs (No worries, I used them in a late-night omelet for the DH), but I wanted to try the dough sprinkled with seasoned sugar. For the apple danish, I was inspired by my Father-in-Law’s GF Norwegian Christmas Bread Recipe to sprinkle the dough with two parts sugar to one part cinnamon. I sprinkled the plum filling with Tartelette’s rosemary sugar. One note, though- wait until right before you are going to sprinkle the dough with sugar to combine them, as the moisture from the rosemary will cause the sugar to clump up a bit. Also, plums contain a lot of moisture, so you may want to drain them after slicing before using them as filling. I noticed that the plum mixture was fairly liquidy. The apple filling was also rather liquid according to the original recipe, so I added cornstarch and it was perfect.

When I brought the pastry over to DH for taste testing, he was enthused- and then he tasted the melty, sweet apple danish. To my surprise and delight, he loved it, and said he’d give it a “9.5 out of 10″ which is the highest rating he’s ever given out. The combination of cardamom pastry and cinnamon sugar made him think of Christmas, and he was completely enamored with the flaky, light dough. “I wouldn’t know it was gluten-free if you didn’t tell me,” he said, and I was thrilled. At last, a pastry that passed the glutenoid test! Of course, I absolutely loved the decadent and flaky pastry. The plum filling and rosemary sugar was a novel flavor combination, and went well with the pastry, although I might leave out the cardamom in the dough next time. The apple filling with fresh vanilla seeds was absolutely divine, especially with the cinnamon sugar topping and with extra apples.

This treat tastes the best the first day you make it, like most baked goods, but you can also refresh it by putting it in a toaster oven for ten minutes and letting it cool to room temperature the next day or even the third day. You know, almost every month when I see the Daring Baking Challenge I have to ask, “Wow, how am I going to do that with gluten-free flour?” Luckily I’m not on my own anymore, as I have my fellow alternative daring bakers to get suggestions from and learn from. Not only am I learning from my peers, but the recipes themselves turns out to be a huge learning experience. So far I’ve learned how to make a double layer cake, how to make (dairy-free) chocolate cheesecake pops, and how to make a gluten-free braid danish inspired by the best of Viennese cuisine. I can’t wait to see what we learn how to make next month!