Book of Yum

Unfortunately, although I planned to make these croissants for Thanksgiving at the in-laws in Colorado, it was difficult to acquire all the flours I needed. After cooking all day for Thanksgiving and stuffing myself with delicious Whole Foods Bakehouse Crust based pies, I thought my heart just might give out if I made an ultra-rich croissant recipe too soon. It was decided. I would make the croissants AFTER returning home. Only trouble? We seriously needed groceries and I didn’t have all the dairy required in the recipe. Oops. DH and I went shopping, and I posted an extension of the blogging event. (Sometimes it’s good to be the hostess, haha). I was all set. Then today, I was halfway through the recipe when I realized- we didn’t have any cream of tartar! Oh no! I went on an emergency run to Safeway, but by the time I got home I realized no matter how I rushed, I wouldn’t be able to take a photo in natural light for my post. Worse and worse!

I plugged on through, and made my recipe, only taking a few shortcuts (like tossing the dough in the freezer rather than refrigerator). The recipe worked well, although in my house, I did need to refrigerate the dough again lest it start getting all buttery and sticking to the parchment. I also do NOT like parchment paper with its propensity for creasing and sticking. Next time I think I’ll roll out a smaller amount in my beloved gallon ziploc bags with the side cut out… I think I’ll spend less time fiddling and cursing the paper.

The DH came home just as I was rolling up the dough into its final croissant shape. “Ooh, croissants,” he said enthusiastically. “Grrr…” I said, grumpily. (I did tell you I don’t have a lot of patience for rolling out dough, remember?) I made them all plain, with the exception of two that I filled with blackberry jam. Mmm, jam. When they were in the oven and the house started smelling like a fancy French bakery first thing in the morning, my mood improved. I watched them begin to brown… and couldn’t wait to get them out of the oven. The DH was delighted to have croissants for dinner (haha, I did have something healthier planned, but we just couldn’t help ourselves). The flakey dough was a work of art- and made all the rolling and sprinkling with butter worthwhile. Although I did feel some heart palpitations mid-bite due to that same butter… it’s distressing to feel your arteries clogging during a meal. (kidding, sort of.) The DH gave high marks to the flavor and flakiness of the crust, and said they tasted just like a croissant, albeit a somewhat flat one. (I need a little practice with the shaping and temperature- while I had some beauties that I photographed above, some were depressingly flat. I was rushing things towards the end- I think with a little more care of temperature and using different rolling materials, I could probably improve on the first batch.) Speaking of batches, I have three more batches of dough in the refrigerator. Whew. I wonder if I could freeze them and then move to refrigerator another day to make more? These are some might tasty gluten-free croissants, but my waistline will never recover from three batches following on Thanksgiving gluttony….

Trying this recipe myself gave me renewed respect for the awesome and adventurous Kate at Gluten-Free Gobsmacked. I always knew she had mad skills, but I didn’t realize how very PATIENT she was- or how very skilled as a pastry chef. Oh Kate, Kate, won’t you come bake for me sometime? I’ll make you any number of savory gluten-free delights, if only you will roll the pastry…

On a personal note, Kate and her DH are in the midst of adoption paperwork for their own little one… and she’s running an auction through ebay with a signed copy of The Gluten-Free Girl’s book. I hope you will consider supporting her and her DH’s efforts to add one more to their very special family.

Interested in seeing the other adoptions through the Adopt-a-gluten-free-blogger Event?
Here’s the Thanksgiving Edition Event Announcement with Recipe Links
(Roundup coming soon)

Want a decadent, buttery dough recipe that isn’t quite as much effort as croissants?
Try my Gluten-Free Apple or Plum Danish Braid Recipe
(I am SO making this for a Christmas treat. It’s DH’s favorite.)

Hope to see you next time as a participant in the next edition of the Adopt-a-gluten-free-blogger Event!

Drum roll, please! For the very first time, we are pleased to host our very first Book of Yum video introducing Carol Fenster’s new sorghum pie crust from her book 1,000 Gluten-Free Recipes. Some months ago, I was pleased to receive a review copy of Carol Fenster’s beautiful new, hardcover cookbook. The great thing about this book is that there are such an enormous range of recipes. It could really replace the old gluten-filled Better Homes and Garden cookbook as a single, classic gluten-free cookbook. It covers a wide variety of recipes including breakfast, quick breads, yeast breads, appetizers, salads, soups, sandwiches, wraps, pastas, grains and beans, fish and seafood, other meat bits, vegetables, cookies and bars, cakes and cupcakes, pies and pastries, and fruit and custard desserts. Whew. I’ve found tons of beautiful recipes in the book I’m looking forward to trying, but when trying to pick one for this review, I decided to try her pie crust since it was perfect for Thanksgiving, and also because we don’t have many pie crusts here at the Book of Yum. I was extremely impressed with how easy it was to work with the dough. I think it really might rival gluten pie crusts for workability. I almost felt like I could have swung it over my head like pizza dough! After making a pie crust to save for later, I decided at the last minute to use some as the dough for a savory Thai turnover. (Picture of Filling Here) This dough is undoubtedly great for sweet pie crusts, but it clashed with the salty and savory seasonings in the Thai filling. I also have mixed feelings on the flavor of sorghum in general, but the chemistry in this recipe is absolutely fabulous. I’ve never had such an easy time making pastry before!

Now about the video. A friend of mine recently got a new video camera and some video editing software. He suggested we do a video for the Book of Yum so he could play with his software. I decided that Carol’s pastry would be the perfect special, video-worthy subject, and one weekend afternoon he and his wife came over to do this fun video. In retrospect, I would NOT wear an apron. Let’s face it, I look like a little muffin. But I was thinking flour all over my dark blue dress wouldn’t be great, so there you have it. It’s a bit goofy, but what the heck. I thought I’d post it for Thanksgiving. Hope you enjoy! Please be kind… lol.

Want to see more recipes from Carol Fenster’s 1,000 Gluten-Free Recipes cookbook?
Celiac Chicks Reviewed and posted her new fabulous pizza crust
Food Writer for Delish reviewed and posted Carol’s Sorghum Blend, Buttermilk Pancakes and Green Chile Cheese Bread Recipes

Reviews:
GFCF Mommy’s review of the cookbook
Eating out Loud’s Review of the Cookbook
Gluten Free Steve’s Review of the Cookbook

Carol Fenster’s Sorghum Pie Crust Recipe Dessert  Alternative Grains  American

Ingredients 1 cup Carol’s Sorghum Blend* 3/4 cup tapioca flour 1/2 cup sweet rice flour 3 tbsp. sugar, divided 1 tsp. xanthan gum (or 2 with no guar gum) 1 tsp guar gum (or 2 with no xanthan) 1/2 tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. baking soda 1/2 cup shortening, such as Crisco or Spectrum Vegetable, or Buttery sticks such as Earth Balance 1/2 cup 1% milk (soy, rice, potato, nut, or cow) 1 tsp. vinegar or lemon juice Directions 1) Place the sorghum blend, tapioca flour, sweet rice flour, 2 tbsp. sugar, xanthan gum, guar gum, salt, baking soda, and shortening in a food processor and process until crumbly. Add the milk and vinegar and process until the dough forms a ball. If it doesn’t form a ball, use a spatula to break up the dough into pieces and process again, scraping down sides if necessary. Remove the dough from the food processor and knead with your hands uyntil smooth. Shape the dough into your two 1-inch-thick disks, wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour. 2) Massage a disk of dough between your hands until it is warm and pliable, making the crust easier to handle. With a rolling pin, roll to a 10-inch circle between 2 pieces of heavy-duty plastic wrap. Move the rolling pin from the center of the dough to the outer edge, moving around the circle in clockwise fashion to assure uniform thickness. 3) Remove the top plastic wrap and invert the crust, centering it over a 9-inch nonstick (gray) pie pan. Remove the remaining plastic wrap and press into place. Trim the edges to an even overhang all around the pan. Shape a decorative edge around rim of pan if you are making a single-crust pie. If not, leave the over-hang in place. 4)For Double-Crust filled pie, follow steps 1,2, and 3. Add filling as directed in your recipe. Roll remaining disk of dough to a 10-inch circle, invert, and center on the filled crust. Do not remove the top plastic wrap until the dough is centered. Trim the top crust to the same over-hang as bottom crust. Press the two crusts together and shape a decorative edge around rim of pan. Freeze 15 min. Sprinkle with remaining tablespoon of sugar. Prick the top crust several times with a fork to allow the steam to escape. Place the pan on a nonstick baking sheet. 5) Place a rack in the bottom position and another in the middle position of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375F. Bake 15 min. to brown bottom crust. Move to middle position and bake 25 to 35 minutes more or until the top crust is nicely browned. Cover loosely with foil if the edges brown too much. Cool completely on a wire rack before cutting. Notes Sorghum Blend: 1 1/2 cup sorghum flour 1 1/2 cup potato starch/ corn starch 1 cup tapioca flour

Rating:  10 Original Source:  Carol Fenster’s 1,000 gluten free Recipes. Printed WITH PERMISSION. Thank you Carol’s publishers! Please do not replicate anywhere without THEIR permission. Recipe ID:  1326 Added:  November 25, 2008 Last Modified:  November 25, 2008