Soda-Bread Sandwich Loaf

This recipe is a better adaptation of my Gluten-Free Bannock from this site, proportions perfected for a 7-8" cast iron pan. I cut the loaf into 4 pieces and freeze it. Each warmed wedge is perfect for a sandwich with a semi-soft filling of veggies and cheese or tuna salad or hummus and tomatoes or veggie burgers and sprouts.

1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup amaranth flour
1/4 cup soy flour
1 tsp GF baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 tbsp whole flaxseeds
1 or 2 tbsp sesame seeds (optional)

3/4 cup buttermilk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp oil

Whisk flours, seeds, baking powder, and baking soda into a medium bowl. Make a well in the centre. In a separate bowl, beat egg and buttermilk. Stir into dry ingredients.

Heat oil in a 7 or 8"cast-iron skillet over low-medium heat (4/10 on my stove). Pour batter into pan. Cook, covered with a lightly greased pot lid, over low heat at least 12 minutes, until golden on the bottom and edges are reasonably well-set. Turn and cook until browned underneath, at least another 10 minutes.

A turning tip: This bread is quite tender and can be tricky to flip with just a spatula. Try sliding it, cooked side down, onto a smooth flat saucepan lid with a handle you can grip. Then bring the frying pan to meet the uncooked side of the bread on the pot lid.

Georgian Cheese-Stuffed Bread

We followed the recipes from Nigella Lawson's Georgian Feast in her book Feast for our Thanksgiving Day, and the cheese-stuffed bread was a huge hit. I thought I'd better write down the recipe adaptation before I forget what I did - but I haven't yet had a chance to convert the weights to cups. Sorry -- will do next time.

Serve with a simple salad of bitter greens, cucumbers, and green onions. I added lots of nasturtium blossoms, which are lovely and delicious. This recipe makes half the amount Nigella recommends for eight, but it is rich and will serve at least five or six people as a first course or brunch course. Four for a vegetarian main course.

2/3 cup milet flour
1/3 cup sorghum flour (next time, I'm planning to use amaranth instead)
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/3 potato starch
1/3 cup tapioca starch
1/3 cup soy flour
2 tsp xanthan gum
1 rounded tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup plain yogurt
1 egg
2 tbsp soft butter

100 g ricotta cheese
250 g feta cheese, crumbled
150 g mozzarella cheese, grated
1 small egg

In a large bowl, whisk together flours, xanthan gum, soda, and salt. Work in softened 2 tbsp butter. In a small bowl, beat the egg and yogurt. Beat egg mixture into flour mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate this until you are ready to assemble the bread.

Combine cheeses and small egg in a small bowl. Set aside until you are really, really ready to assemble the bread.

Sprinkle a 9" round cake pan with GF flour. Sprinkle a breadboard with a little bit more GF flour. Remove your dough from the fridge and cut the dough in half. Lightly knead half of the dough into a circle. Press it into the bottom and up the sides of the cake pan. Spread with the cheese mixture. Lightly knead the second half of the dough into a circle approximately 9" round. Set this on top of the cheese mixture with its edges overlapping the dough up the sides of the pan, and seal the edges of the dough all the way around the pan.

Preheat the oven to 425F. Bake the bread for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown but still very slightly doughy on the inside. Serve hot, in cheese-oozing wedges.

Carrot Loaf for Kids

I tried this recipe as yet another attempt to find another breakfast or mid-morning snack my almost-two-year-old would enjoy. Today's Parent is always a good source for kid-friendly recipes. I liked this loaf a lot -- and my daughter ate a whole piece. That's no guarantee she will ever eat it again, but it's a start!

1/3 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup amaranth flour
1/3 cup potato starch
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1 packed cup grated carrots (2 medium or 1 large carrot)
1/2 cup very well-drained crushed pineapple
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs

Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a loaf pan.

In a large bowl, whisk flours and starches with flaxseed meal, xanthan, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt.

In a medium bowl, whisk carrots, pineapple, yogurt, sugar, veg oil, and eggs until well-blended.

Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Stir until just combined. Pour into the greased loaf pan and bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the loaf tests clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan before turning out onto a rack to cool. Cool completely before slicing to serve. (Or, if serving warm, cut fat, not thin, slices, because the bread is delicate when hot.) This loaf is especially delicious spread with cream cheese.

Orange-Glazed Zucchini Loaf

It's almost fresh zucchini season, so it's definitely time to use up that last two cups of the frozen grated zucchini from last year's avalanche of zukes. While the zucchini seems to thaw to a puddle of green-flecked water, it bakes up fine and adds much-needed moisture to gluten-free concoctions. I recommend the cardamom in this recipe.

1 cup brown rice flour
3/4 cup amaranth flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp gelatin
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsp (rounded) baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cardamom or cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups grated zucchini
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup milk
3 eggs
2 tsp grated orange rind
1 cup chopped walnuts

Glaze:
1/4 cup gluten-free icing sugar
2 tsp orange juice

Line loaf pan with parchment paper or grease. Set aside.

Whisk together flours, sugar, baking powder and soda, cardamom, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together zucchini, butter, milk, eggs, and orange rind. Pour wet ingredients over flour mixture. Sprinkle with walnuts and stir just to combine. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350F until tests clean, about 1 hour. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes. Turn out on a rack to cool completely.

Combine icing sugar and orange juice to make glaze. Brush over hot loaf. Let cool.

Oatmeal Banana Bread

Here's a yummy moist banana oat bread you can add extras to, if you like -- dried cranberries, walnuts or pecans, or even chocolate chips. It is inspired by a recipe in Today's Parent magazine, which recommended the chocolate chips (perhaps unsurprisingly). I bet this could be made dairy-free very easily with soy milk -- though skip the baking soda in favour of extra baking powder in that case.

3/4 cup gluten-free (pure, uncontaminated) old-fashioned rolled oats
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/2 cup flaxseed meal
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp baking soda

2 medium overripe bananas, mashed
3 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup extras (nuts, dried fruit, or chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 9x5" loaf pan.

In a large bowl, whisk flours, starches, flaxseed meal, xanthan gum, sugar, baking powder and soda.

In a smaller bowl, whisk bananas, eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla.

Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients just until moistened throughout. Fold in extras. Bake at 350F for about 60 minutes, until a toothpick in the centre tests clean. Let cool in the pan a few minutes, then turn out on a rack to cool completely.

Cinnamon Rolls

I have been craving sweet, biscuity cinnamon rolls for two weeks and finally got time to make them today, with much success! The dough is mostly Rebecca Reilly's delicious scone recipe from Gluten-Free Baking, with adaptations and additions as needed. If you're the kind of person who glazes cinnamon rolls, then glaze away, but these rolls don't need a glaze.

[This recipe is much easier to deal with than the other cinnamon roll recipe on this site. By a long shot.]

3 tbsp butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup amaranth flour
1/2 cup sweet rice flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 cup potato starch
2 rounded tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup butter, cold
2 large eggs
1 tbsp liquid honey
1/2 cup whipping cream

First, blend softened butter, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.

Combine flours and starches with baking pwder, xanthan gum, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk until well blended. Cut in cold butter with a pastry blender or two knives until finely crumbed. Beat eggs, honey, and cream with a fork until well blended. Pour over crumbed mixture. Stir well, to make a well-mixed, moist but workable dough.

Turn out on a sheet of parchment or other pliable material that is well dusted with rice flour. Knead the dough 8 to 10 times. Pat out with fingers to a rectangle approximately 12" long and 9" to 10" wide, ensuring the dough is not too thin or weak at any point.

Crumble the reserved butter, sugar, and cinnamon mixture as best you can and sprinkle it over the dough as evenly as you can. Spread gently with fingers to ensure coverage, leaving one lengthwise edge uncovered so it will seal. Be careful not to tear dough. Roll the dough gently into a log lengthwise. Cut the 12" tube into approximately 16 pieces, 3/4" each. Set 2" apart on a parchment or silicone-lined baking sheet.

Bake at 400F for 10 to 12 minutes, until puffed outwards and golden on top.

Makes 16 rolls to serve with hot tea.

Banana Bread

This gluten-free recipe originally came from Canadian Living, but the version below is adapted to include more whole-grain gluten-free flours. A good way to use up over-ripe bananas!

3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup amaranth flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts (preferably walnuts or pecans)
1/2 cup flaxseed meal
2 ripe bananas
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
1 tsp cider vinegar
2 large eggs

Lightly grease one 9x5" loaf pan. In large bowl, whisk flours, baking powder and soda, xanthan, and salt. Stir in nuts and flaxseed meal. In separate bowl, mash bananas and whisk in brown sugar, melted butter, vinegar, and eggs. Pour over flour mixture and stir just to blend. Pour into prepared pan. Tap on counter to remove air bubbles. Bake at 350F about 50-55 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out on a rack to cool completely.

Makes one loaf.

Corn Fritters

These quick corn pancakes make a very quick breakfast side-dish or, surprisingly enough, a good vegetarian sandwich filling, with cheese, sprouts, tomatoes, and a spicy fruit chutney. If you like a stiffer and heavier dough for fritters, adding more flour is an option.

1 can (14 oz/400 ml) can creamed corn
1 large egg
1/4 cup amaranth flour
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1/2 tsp baking soda

Whisk egg into creamed corn until beaten. Stir in flours and flaxseed and baking soda until just mixed.

Drop 1 1/2 to 2 tbsp of dough onto a hot, lightly greased griddle. Cook over medium heat, turning once, until golden brown and well set. Serve with chutney, as a savoury, or with maple syrup or molasses, as a sweet breakfast.

Makes about 12 smallish (2 1/2" to 3") pancakes (about 3 servings).

Amaranth-Blueberry Pancakes

July got away from me with no recipe postings, due to regular summer busy-ness, a new baby in my sister's family, and a bout of hot summer weather that kept me out of the kitchen.

These amaranth pancakes were a hit with my baby, who liked sinking her new teeth into the dense and chewy little cakes. Halved fresh raspberries would be a nice substitute for blueberries. Leftovers are best reheated in the microwave. They do not do well in the toaster, unless you like a lot more crunch to your pancakes than I do.

1/2 cup amaranth flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup potato starch flour
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1/2 tsp baking soda
sprinkle of salt

2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tsp oil

1/2 cup blueberries

In a medium bowl, whisk flours and starches, baking soda, and salt.
In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, and oil until well blended.
Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients, just to combine. Fold in blueberries.

Spoon by the generous, dolloppy tablespoonful onto a hot, lightly greased griddle. Turn once, after set on one side.

Makes about 12 smallish (2 1/2-3") pancakes.

Gluten-Free Tortillas (Wraps)

I love the texture and flavour of amaranth flour and so should not have been so surprised to discover that it makes chewy, flexible tortillas.

My mother is the queen of burritos and has been looking for a wrapper that the celiacs in the family could eat. I think this may just do the trick! This small batch is enough to make two large, burrito-stuffable tortillas or three smaller (10 cm) tortillas to wrap around a sandwich filling or to eat as fajitas. So far, I've only eaten these warm, so I'm not sure how they work with cool fillings.

2/3 cup amaranth flour
1/4 cup water
sprinkle of salt

Combine amaranth flour, water, and salt, mixing well until the dough can be formed into a dense, slightly sticky ball. Form into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Allow to sit for 30 minutes.

Divide into two or three balls. Place each between two sheets of plastic wrap (sprinkling with a little rice flour, if necessary). Roll until tortilla-thin. Gently peel away plastic wrap from each side.

Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Lightly grease with a mist of vegetable oil. Cook the tortillas one at a time, just until each side bubbles slightly and the bubbles brown (30 seconds to 1 minute per side).

Stack tortillas on a warm platter and stuff while warm and soft.

These reheat nicely in the microwave with a warm sandwich filling.

Makes 3 (10cm) or 2 slightly larger tortillas.

Gluten-Free Crepes

These turn out beautifully. No one will know they are gluten-free -- if secrecy about celiac happens to be your thing. They can be used for supper or for dessert and extras store well in the refrigerator.

1/3 cup rice flour
1/4 cup potato starch
2 tbsp tapioca starch
1/4 tsp salt
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups 2% milk

Whisk flours with salt in a medium bowl or cup with a pouring spout. Whisk eggs and milk until well combined. Stir wet ingredients into flours and refrigerate batter at least 1 hour.

Remove from the refrigerator and whisk batter again very thoroughly. (Flours will have settled lumpishly to the bottom.)

Grease a crêpe pan with butter over medium heat. When butter has fizzed and the bubbles have subsided, pour a scant 1/4 cup batter into the pan. Tilt pan to cover evenly. Cook until set, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Flip and cook lightly (30 seconds) on the other side. Stir the batter well from the bottom before cooking each crêpe, as flours will settle again swiftly.

Makes 10 to 12 thin crêpes.

Gluten-Free Herbed Popovers

These popovers are delicious soaker-uppers of gravy at supper, or you can make them without the herbs and serve them with butter and jam for breakfast. They freeze very well, but reheat them in the oven, not the microwave.

How big you make them and how long you cook them will affect whether they are light and dry throughout or a bit more dense and custardy on the inside. The instructions below tend to the custardy.

1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup potato starch flour
2/3 cup brown rice flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp each fresh rosemary, chives, and parsley, chopped (optional)
1/2 tsp black pepper (optional, if using herbs)
4 large eggs

Preheat oven to 450F. Butter muffin tins well for 10 popovers.

Boil water and butter in a small saucepan. In a small bowl, mix flours and salt well. Add to the boiling mixture in the saucepan, all at once, and stir rapidly until the mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat, scrape into a bowl, and allow to cool slightly (5 minutes).

Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating very well after each. Put one goose-egg-sized lump of dough in each prepared muffin tin.

Bake at 450F for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350F. Check popovers for doneness after ten more minutes.

When done to your liking, remove from oven and prick each popover with a fork to release steam. Turn out of the pan and serve right away.

Gluten-Free Cornbread (Johnnycake)

You may use 2 cups cornmeal instead of the amaranth flour/corn flour/cornmeal combination, but if you do, the cornbread will be a bit grittier, and you’ll have to be more careful testing for doneness to make sure the centre is cooked through — cornmeal won’t cling to a toothpick like wheat flour will, and it’s easy to think the bread is done before it really is.

It is definitely worth separating the eggs to give the bread a bit of lightness.

If you like cornbread as a savory, this is also delicious if you leave out the sugar and grate in some zesty cheese or some diced pickled jalapeno peppers -- or both.

1 cup cornmeal (medium “normal” cornmeal)
1/2 cup corn flour (like fine cornmeal)
1/2 cup amaranth flour
1/4 cup flaxseed meal (optional)
2 tbsp potato starch
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder

2 eggs, separated

1 tsp xanthan gum
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 400F. Grease an 8” square baking pan.

In a large bowl, stir together corn flour, cornmeal, flaxseed, potato starch, sugar, and baking powder. In a medium bowl, beat egg whites until stiff but not dry.

In a small bowl, beat together egg yolks, xanthan gum, buttermilk, baking soda, and vegetable oil. Combine dry ingredients with wet ingredients. Stir until just moistened. Fold in beaten egg whites. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake at 400F for 20 to 25 minutes, until the cornbread tests done in the centre and in any cracks on its surface.

Makes 9 pieces. In Canada, johnnycake is traditionally served with butter and maple syrup or molasses.

Gluten-Free Pizza Crust

This pizza crust has a nice crispness to the edges and a satisfying chewy denseness to the parts under the toppings. It is not like the light and airy wheat-based crusts I used to make, but I like it anyway. My true love likes it enough that when I made him his own wheat-based crust, he forgot and ate my gluten-free pizza instead. I forgave him, eventually, but stopped bothering to make him a special crust and stopped bothering to keep any wheat flour in the house at all.

A single recipe will make a fairly thin (less than 1/2") crust in a 9 x 12" rectangle that yields six slices. I usually make two pizzas at the same time so I can freeze the leftovers, but when I do this, I mix the two crusts in two separate bowls. This could just be superstition on my part, but it also could help ensure two equally nice, evenly mixed crusts. Anyway, it seems to ward off waste and other disasters. Besides that, the dough is soft and sticky enough that I would hate to have mix up twice as much. I have little patience with unclogging my mixer's beaters when they get full of gluten-free dough.

Really, this crust is better than I'm making it sound so far. And the cooked version doesn't taste as much like beans as you think it will when you smell the dough.

1 pkg (1 tbsp) yeast
1/3 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup chick pea flour
1/3 cup corn flour (like fine cornmeal)
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp gelatin powder
1 cup warm regular milk (110F) or soy milk
1 tsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
a handful of cornmeal

Preheat oven to 400F.

Blend dry ingredients in a large bowl. Set aside.

In a small, warm bowl, sprinkle yeast over warm milk and sugar and set aside until frothy. Add vinegar and oil and combine with dry ingredients. Beat on high speed of an electric mixer for 3 minutes or until tired of unclogging the beaters.

Add additional warm water, about 1 tbsp at a time, if you like a softer dough. (Softer dough will rise a bit more but may be harder to spread on the pan.) The dough should resemble soft bread dough.

Grease a baking pan by brushing on olive oil. Sprinkle on a handful of cornmeal. Spread the dough on the cornmeal to make a 9x12” rectangle with slightly thicker edges. (Dampen your fingers or spatula with water or lightly grease them with oil to make the spreading and shaping easier.) Allow to rise 30 minutes, or until slightly puffed.

Top the pizza and bake for 20 minutes at 400F. Or, for a crispier crust, bake the crust 10 minutes alone before adding toppings, then add toppings and bake another minutes, or until nicely crisp and browned.

Our favourite toppings are these, applied to the crust in the following order:

a small amount of pizza sauce (absolutely no more than half a small can)
a sprinkling of herbs -- especially oregano, basil, and crushed fennel seeds
a sprinkling of freshly grated parmesan
a few slices gluten-free pepperoni
a slice or two of cooked bacon
a quarter of a red onion, diced
half a red pepper, diced
half a can of artichoke hearts, drained and cut into sixths
four big mushrooms, sliced
lots of grated mozzarella

Gluten-Free Bannock

This recipe recreates the flavour of my grandmothers' soda bread, and it is ready in just 20 minutes. It makes a flat, circular loaf that can be cut into wedges and sliced open for sandwiches. It is especially delicious with hummus, tomato slices, and cucumber slices or with good, smooth cheese such as old Cheddar or medium spiced gouda topped with salad leftovers or tomatoes and alfalfa and radish sprouts. Small wedges of soda bread are great for dips or spreads.

Instead of making a loaf, my mother makes this same batter up in small rounds, like big thick pancakes. These are easier to turn in the pan and can be used as hamburger buns as well as for sandwiches or spreads.

1 cup brown rice flour (or my preference, 1/2 cup brown rice flour and 1/2 cup amaranth flour)
1/3 cup soy flour
1 tsp GF baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1 or 2 tbsp sesame seeds (optional)
1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp oil

Sift flours, flaxseed meal, baking powder, and baking soda into a medium bowl. Make a well in the centre. Add combined buttermilk and egg. Heat oil in a frying pan over low-medium heat. Pour batter into pan. Cook, covered, over low heat until surface becomes reasonably dry. Turn and cook until browned underneath.

A turning tip: This bread is quite tender and can be tricky to flip with just a spatula. Try sliding it, cooked side down, onto a smooth flat saucepan lid with a handle you can grip. Then bring the frying pan to meet the uncooked side of the bread on the pot lid.

For gluten-free “focaccia”: Add to dry ingredients 1 to 2 tbsp fresh rosemary or other herbs and a bit of cracked pepper. Cut into small wedges and serve with good virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping.

Buckwheat, Buttermilk, and Blueberry Pancakes

These pancakes have the advantage of requiring only one special gluten-free flour, buckwheat. They are my favourite breakfast food. I often make a batch on Sunday morning and refrigerator or freeze the leftovers to toast up on weekday mornings.

Separating the eggs for these pancakes adds a step, but it’s worth it — it makes them light and airy. The flaxseed and blueberries add fibre and flavour.

1 cup buckwheat flour
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 rounded tsp baking soda
1/4 cup flaxseed meal (optional)

1 1/4 cups buttermilk
4 eggs, separated

1 cup blueberries (optional — frozen okay)

Whisk together dry ingredients in a big bowl. Combine buttermilk and egg yolks in a small bowl. Beat egg whites until stiff in a medium bowl. In the large bowl, mix dry ingredients and buttermilk mixture until just combined. Fold in egg whites and then blueberries. Pour by the 1/4 cupful onto a medium-hot oiled griddle or pan. Cook, turning once, until golden brown on both sides. Serve with maple syrup or Blueberry Sauce.

Makes 12 pancakes.

Blueberry Sauce: Bring 1/4 cup maple syrup and 1/4 cup water to a boil. Add 2 cups blueberries (frozen are fine). Return to a boil, lower heat, and simmer while making the pancakes. Stir 1 tsp arrowroot flour or cornstarch in 2 tbsp cold water. Whisk into simmering sauce. Cook until clear and thickened and sticky.