Review: Franz 7 Grains Gluten Free Bread

 

If you've had to go Gluten Free, chances are you've sampled many different sub-par gluten free breads.  Let's face it: most of them are just not all that great.  Yes, if you toast them they taste fine, but they're too dry to make a sandwich that won't turn your mouth as dry as a desert.

 

But that has changed.  My friend clued me in to this new bread from Franz.  It's fresh, not frozen.  It's soft, not hard.  It doesn't crumble apart if you look at it wrong.  What we have here, is BREAD.

 

Notice this little bit on the side of the package.  "Gluten Free Facility".  I like this very much.  It means a lot to know that Franz understands cross contamination and has taken the time to dedicate a facility to making their gluten free bread.

 

 

Here are two slices of bread out of the package.  I wish you could reach through your screen to touch these pieces of bread.  They're moist.  They're springy.  They act like "real bread".  They smell like "real bread".  They even taste like "real bread".  Oh my!  So now, let's put this bread to the test.  I feel like having a grilled cheese sandwich!

 

 

Add the butter.  Yum!

 

 

Add the cheese between the bread, and throw it on a hot griddle.  Look at how nicely it cooked.  Look at that golden brown goodness.  Mmmm!

 

 

And here is the final sandwich.  I guarantee that it tastes as good as it looks.  This IS real bread.  My friend who turned me on to this bread says it makes great french toast as well.  I wonder if it makes a good Apple Pan Betty?  I'll have to try that next.  :)

 

 

Cinnamon Roll Cake

When you have to go Gluten Free, there is always a certain special treat (or two or three LOL) that you wish you could have, but it's either not possible, or a lot of work, or too expensive.  One of my favorite treats was a cinnamon roll, warm from the oven and drizzled in icing.  Yum!  Unfortunately, due to the nature of gluten free doughs, it's really difficult to make a decent cinnamon roll.  And though we have a FANTASTIC Gluten Free bakery near by, the rolls are a bit expensive and it is a bit of a drive for a single cinnamon roll.  This is probably a good thing for my waistline LOL.

But then I stumbled across this recipe for Cinnamon Roll Cake:
http://www.chef-in-training.com/2012/01/cinnamon-roll-cake/

And the drool began flowing.  The memories of eating cinnamon rolls surfaced.  My eyes glazed over.  And then it hit me...  Even though this isn't a Gluten Free recipe, could I make it work if I just used Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour instead of the wheat flour?  It was time to find out!

First, I gathered all my ingredients.  Well, not ALL my ingredients, I forgot to include in the picture the HUGE container of cinnamon from Costco and the brown sugar, both used in the cinnamon "filling".  Oops!

Before making the cake batter, I made the cinnamon "filling" that will be swirled into the top of the cake.

I combined all the dry ingredients for the cake in the bowl of my stand mixer and stirred to combine.  Note that I tried this recipe without using Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum, which most GF recipes use to mimic the missing gluten.  I find that my body doesn't tolerate these very well so I left them out.  Fingers crossed that it works!

Next I added the wet ingredients and used the paddle attachment on my stand mixer to mix the batter well, stopping once to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure everything was well combined.  At first it seemed very wet, but after scraping down the sides of the bowl and giving the flours time to hydrate, it thickened up like it was supposed to.  There, that's looking great!

As soon as the batter was ready, I spread it in my prepared 9x13 baking dish.  Then I dotted the top with the cinnamon "filling".

Using a butter knife, I swirled the "filling" along the top of the cake.  I think I should have mixed the two layers together more, honestly... you'll see why in a moment.

I baked the cake as directed in the recipe, and boy did it look good when it came out of the oven!

But after it cooled, sections of it deflated quite a bit.  I wonder if that's because I didn't swirl the "filling" with the cake batter enough?  Or maybe it's because of the high content of butter in the "filling"?  I may try it again with less butter and more swirling action and see how it turns out.

The icing mixed up easily and filled in all those nooks and crannies... Hmmmm, maybe that's what was suppoed to happen?  LOL!

I can honestly say that this was a good dessert.  The crumb of the cake reminded me a LOT of coffee cake, so I can see making this as a breakfast treat as well as a dessert for after dinner.  And maybe if it were made in a smaller baking dish, it wouldn't deflate quite as far as it cools.  I guess this means I'll have to try it again.  Not that I'm complaining, mind you.  :)

Chicken & Sausage Stew

Now that the weather is turning colder, I've been wanting to make good stick-to-your-bones food.  The kind that fills you up with good flavor and nutrition, and warms you from the inside.

As I was browsing on Pinterest, I came across this recipe for Hunger Games Hob Stew:
http://www.mamalovesfood.com/2012/03/hunger-games-hob-stew-chicken-sausage.html

I will admit, I'm behind the times and have neither read the book nor watched the movie.  But my oldest daughter has done both.  She was really keen to try the recipe that was inspired by the movie, so it's what's for dinner tonight.

Here are my ingredients.  One change that I made right from the start was to not use quite so much broth.  The original recipe calls for 12 cups of chicken broth... that's three quarts!  I used only two quarts (8 cups) and that seemed to be sufficient.  Also, I would have run out of room in my pot had I used all 12 cups!

I poured my broth into my Dutch Oven and brought it to a boil.  Once the broth was boiling, I added the Italian sausages.

And then the veggies, which have been chopped, are added.  The recipe called for two green bell peppers, however green bell peppers are not a favorite in this house.  I used one red bell pepper instead.  Now I let that cook for about 30 minutes, or until the sausages are cooked through.  When the sausages are cooked, I removed them from the pot and added the package of beans. Return to a simmer and let cook for 2 hours, or until the beans are tender.

Now that the beans are in the pot, I transfered the sausages to a pan to brown them up a bit.  Once they're browned, I removed the sausages to cool a bit and cooked my chicken breasts.  Of course, you can use leftover chicken if you have some to use up.

Once the sausages and chicken breasts are cooled, I cut them into bite sized pieces.  I left the sausages in round pieces, I liked the shape.  Place the cut sausages and chicken in a bowl and refrigerate until later.

After 2 hours of simmering, the beans should be nice and soft, so I added the cooked chicken and sausage to the Dutch Oven.  At this point, I added half a cup of water to get the consistency that I wanted; the stew had cooked down a bit more than I had wanted.  Let this simmer for 15-20 more minutes, or until warmed through.

Yum!  This is so tasty and hearty, and healthy too.  And best of all, my daughters ate it up.  Sweet!

However, I would make a couple of additional changes to the recipe.  As written, this recipe makes a LOT of food!  Next time I think I'll halve the recipe and it will still make plenty for dinner and leave leftovers for the next day's lunch.  Maybe even a few lunches!  :)

Also, I would not put the carrots in at the beginning of the cooking process.  They end up being cooked for 3 hours, and by the time I served up dinner the carrots were mush.  Next time, I will wait to add the carrots until later, 30-45 minutes before serving.  Either that, or I'll soak the beans before cooking so the dish won't have to cook for so long.

Race Report: Go Girl Trail Run

This morning I competed an all female event called the Go Girl Trail Run, hosted by Run With Paula.

http://www.runwithpaula.com/go-girl-trail-run

It was called a 10k+ race.  I guess the "+" means it was a bit more than 10K but they don't say exactly how much more.  That's OK though, I don't mind LOL.

The run was primarily on the trails within Forest Park, one of the largest urban forest reserves in the USA.

http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/finder/index.cfm?PropertyID=127&action=ViewPark

I will say this...  I've never done a trail run like this before (other than the Warrior Dash, which is more about the obstacles than the running), and I usually don't run up hills.  And BOY were there killer hills!

The first 1/3 of the course was uphill, the second 1/3 of the course was downhill (boy did that feel good!), and the last 1/3 of the course was split... half uphill and half downhill.  On the steepest of hills, EVERYONE was walking, not just me.  On the gentle hills, flats, and downhills, I was running!

One of my concerns was having IT band pain.  I always have it, though with the proper training and stretching I can delay how soon it onsets.  Today, I didn't start feeling any discomfort until I was about 1 mile from the finish line... and even then it never got very bad.  Woo hoo!  

Of course, I made sure to stretch out after I finished, and there was a gentleman there giving free 5-10 minute massages so I signed up.  He worked on those IT bands and I'm positive that helped a lot.  If anyone reading this is in the Lake Oswego, OR area, I recommend their services.

Bodywork for the Active

http://www.bodyworkfortheactive.com

I don't have the official time yet, but the time on the clock when I crossed the finish line was 1:15:12.  The race started in waves, I was in the fourth, so my official time might be less than this.  Honestly, I don't care.  I was in the race to challenge myself and see if I could finish.  I was challenged LOL, but I finished strong and that's what's important to me.  :)

Now, time to let these poor sore and tired muscles rest and recharge.  :)

Perfect Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today, I made the most perfect chocolate chip cookies I've ever made.  They are browned JUST right.  They are crispy on the outside but chewy on the inside.  There is a fantastic balance of flavors.  And they are gluten free, which means I can eat them!  I am super proud of these cookies.

I must admit, I've had my fair share of baking failures since I've had to go gluten free.  These gluten free flours don't behave in the same way as wheat flour, so there are new rules to be learned... and a lot of old rules to be ignored.  It takes time, practice, and patience... something I don't always have in abundance LOL.  But it certainly has paid off with these cookies.

One thing I've learned is that gluten free flours soak up moisture.  In the past, I'd whip up a batch of cookie dough and I'd start baking the cookies as soon as the dough was done.  The first tray of cookies were all right, but the second ones were moister, lighter, and in general... better.  Many of the gluten free recipes for cookies, doughs, and so on that I've been trying call for the dough to rest for 15-60 minutes in order for the flour to hydrate.  This was my first a-ha moment.  I decided to let the dough rest for 15 minutes before I dished it out onto my cookie sheets.

The next a-ha moment comes from a universal rule in baking:  In the oven, cold dough spreads much less than room temperature dough.  When making gluten free breads, we're told to always work with room temperature ingredients, including eggs, butter, and milk.  It makes the texture of gluten free breads better.  However, in this case, I wanted my cookies to hold their shape while baking.  I decided to refrigerate the dough while it was resting.

One other thing I did.  Or actually, one thing I didn't do.  I didn't use any xanthan gum, guar gum, or any other things like that.  I've discovered, through trial and error, that denser items like cookies, cakes and brownies don't really need it.  You can use some when you make these cookies if you like... but it really isn't necessary.

OK, so this wasn't an a-ha moment, but I think it had a positive impact on the cookies as well.  Earlier this week I was watching an episode of Good Eats with Alton Brown.  I forget which episode it was, but in it he was admitting to using butter flavored shortening in whatever he was making because it makes the texture better and to him it tastes more buttery than butter.

I had just bought some Spectrum Organic Butter Flavored Shortening, so I decided to use that instead of butter.  To be honest, I'm hooked.  I believe that substitution had just as much to do as everything else in getting a fantastic texture and rise on my cookies.  I also prefer Spectrum to other brands because it is non-hydrogenated and so is healthier than the rest.

So, without further ado, here is the recipe I used and the steps I took to make these the best cookies I've made so far.  :)

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 3½ dozen cookies.

Ingredients:
* 2½ cups gluten free flour
* 1 cup brown sugar
* ½ cup granulated sugar
* 1 cup Spectrum Organic Butter Flavor Shortening
* 2 eggs
* 2 tsp vanilla extract
* 1 tsp baking soda
* 1 tsp kosher salt
* 12 oz chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Cream together the shortening and the sugars.  Add eggs and vanilla; mix well.

3. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.  Add to butter mixture in 2-3 batches, mixing well between additions.  Add chocolate chips and mix to distribute them evenly.

4. Place bowl in refrigerator for 15 minutes to let the dough hydrate and chill.

5. Using a spoon or a disher (I used #40 disher), portion out your dough onto cookie sheets prepared with parchment paper or a Silpat mat.

6. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until lightly browned.  If you're baking more than one sheet of cookies and have them on separate racks, after 5 minutes rotate the cookie sheets to promote even browning.  If your cookies aren't done after another 5 minutes, rotate one last time and bake for 2 more minutes.  Remove from oven and let rest on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

And voila!  You have the best, tastiest cookies.  Enjoy!

GF Sourdough Bread Part 2

I'm back!  Remember how I showed you my sourdough starter yesterday, and the dough that I made with it?  Well, I baked that loaf of bread and BOY did it make my house smell good!

I can report that the bread had a very nice sourdough flavor and the texture was good.  It tasted like "real bread" as my kids would say.  In fact, they had some of the bread and gobbled it right up.

I am pleased with the structure of the bread, it rose nicely enough in the proofer.  But then I had to transfer the dough from a parchment paper lined bowl to a hot dutch oven for baking and I probably didn't do it as smoothly as I could have, so the bread deflated a bit.  And during baking, it really didn't rise any more than it already had.

As you can see, the loaf is fairly flat, it's only 2" tall in the center.  But what it lacks in height, it makes up in flavor!  And it's actually pretty moist, which is something most GF breads are not good at.  How many stale dry GF breads have you eaten?  Most of them, right?  Me too.  I had a slice with my dinner last night, here's a picture to show you a better detail of the texture of the bread.

Yum!  Look at all the nice nooks and crannies in there.  Hmm, there's an idea, I wonder if I can make english muffins with this dough?  There's a thought.  Anyway, I wanted to see how this bread fared as toast, so I toased some up for breakfast this morning.

As with all GF bread I've tried, I had to put it through the toaster twice to get a decent "toast" to it.  But once it was buttered and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, it tasted fantastic.  It had a nice crunch, the crust itself toasted up beautifully, and it held up very well.

The next time I make this bread, I'm going to try it in a loaf pan, to see if I can get any more rise out of it.  I'm thinking that if I rise it in the same pan I'll be baking in and can eliminate that transfer, I might get a taller loaf.  One suitable for sandwiches!  Also, perhaps using a smaller pan in which to bake the dough will help it to hold its shape better.  Only time will tell. :)

GF Sourdough Bread Part 1

Image via Wikipedia.org

Don't take good bread for granted.

In November 2010 I had to switch to a gluten free diet for my health.  Before going GF, I didn't think much about bread other than which brands were on sale when I went to the grocery store.  Now, however, though there are many options for GF bread available, they're just not the same.  The texture is different, the taste is different, and you almost always have to buy them frozen instead of fresh.

I've tried making yeasted GF bread myself, with the intention of making sandwich bread.  Unfortunately, most of my attempts have resulted in dense bread that is only inches tall... not very tasty or condusive to making sandwiches.  Without gluten, those little bubbles made by the yeast just don't hold so the bread is dense, the crumb is just non-existant, and it's like eating a brick.  Yes, I've added xanthan gum and/or guar gum to try to mimick the gluten, but it just isn't the same.

I was about ready to give up.

Then I came across this blog post on GF sourdough starters at ArtOfGlutenFreeBaking.com and it intrigued me.  All this information about making sourdough (which I had never done before)... could I really do it?  Would it make a decent bread?  Would it be worth all the trouble?

At the bottom of the sourdough starter article, I followed her link to her recipe for GF Sourdough Bread (Boule) and I saw the photos of the finished loaf.  The crust looked amazing, the crumb fantastic!  Yes, it is a boule (round artisan loaf) and not sandwich bread.  But I could make crostini with this, I could toast it and butter it and it would taste the same even if it is a different shape.  (Don't we moms tell our kids this all the time?  Isn't it time for me to take my own advice?)

So, I'm on a journey to make GF sourdough.

I followed the directions in the blog post on how to get my sourdough starter going.  I used the flour she recommended, I used filtered water, and I used an organic red cabbage leaf to try to harvest the yeast that naturally grows on it.  I even left the top open to try to collect wild yeast that is floating in the air.  Unfortunately, this one never really got going and it went pink and nasty.

I have a theory on why it didn't work.  For one, I'm in Oregon and we just had the wettest March on record.  7.77" of rain in one month.  I know, you're thinking "You live in the Pacific Northwest, doesn't it rain all the time there?"  Well, it does rain a lot... but normally we get only 3.5" of rain in March.  We got more than twice the normal amount, and I don't think there were ANY wild yeast particles in the air!  And maybe the cabbage didn't have any yeast on it either.  All I know is that it turned funny colors and had a funny smell, so down the drain it went.

I searched online to see if it was acceptable (and not blasphemy) to seed a starter with some yeast, and I did find some recipes that started that way.  Just a pinch of yeast to get it going, and it would take care of itself the rest of the way.  So I tried again.  My second starter has been bubbling away since Sunday, April 1st.  No joke!  :)

Here it is!  Look at all those bubbles!  My starter has been bubbling away happily, it's been developing that sour smell, and I'm so pleased!

I did have a scare this morning... it wasn't nearly as bubbly as it had been the previous day.  Then I remembered that I had the back door open for over an hour while I was making dinner and grilling... and the cold air from outside probably affected the yeast, making it slow down.  This morning I fed the starter again and it's coming back!  Yay!

After I saw signs of my starter bouncing back, I followed the recipe linked above to make my dough.  I have also seen on several blogs that GF bakers (even traditional bakers) have been getting great results when rising their dough with a baking proofer from Brod and Taylor, so I bought one too.  I'm using it for the first time with this loaf, hopefully it will turn out great.

Here is my proofer, set up and ready to help this bread rise!  It folds down flat for storage, which is a really awesome feature.

And here is my bread, in a parchment paper lined bowl, just as the recipe called for, rising in the proofer.  It's supposed to rise over 4-6 hours, so I'll just end this post here and I'll be back tomorrow to let you know if this experiment worked out.  Keep your fingers crossed for me!  I'm SOOO hoping to have a good bread experience here!  And if it does... I'll be making another loaf and my favorite potato chowder for dinner on Friday.  YUM!