Monday, June 30, 2008

daring bakers challenge for june



the daring bakers challenge for june was to make a danish braid. i found this challenge difficult to make gluten free because gf flours tend to be denser and gummy instead of light and flaky. but after a much thought i was able to create a dough that worked pretty well



DANISH DOUGH

Makes 2-1/2 pounds dough

Ingredients
For the dough (Detrempe)
1 ounce fresh yeast or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup whole milk
1/3 cup sugar
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
2 large eggs, chilled
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

For the butter block (Beurrage)
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

DOUGH
Combine yeast and milk in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed. Slowly add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice. Mix well. Change to the dough hook and add the salt with the flour, 1 cup at a time, increasing speed to medium as the flour is incorporated. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, or until smooth. You may need to add a little more flour if it is sticky. Transfer dough to a lightly floured baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Without a standing mixer: Combine yeast and milk in a bowl with a hand mixer on low speed or a whisk. Add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice and mix well. Sift flour and salt on your working surface and make a fountain. Make sure that the “walls” of your fountain are thick and even. Pour the liquid in the middle of the fountain. With your fingertips, mix the liquid and the flour starting from the middle of the fountain, slowly working towards the edges. When the ingredients have been incorporated start kneading the dough with the heel of your hands until it becomes smooth and easy to work with, around 5 to 7 minutes. You might need to add more flour if the dough is sticky.

BUTTER BLOCK
1. Combine butter and flour in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle and then beat for 1 minute more, or until smooth and lump free. Set aside at room temperature.
2. After the detrempe has chilled 30 minutes, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle approximately 18 x 13 inches and ¼ inch thick. The dough may be sticky, so keep dusting it lightly with flour. Spread the butter evenly over the center and right thirds of the dough. Fold the left edge of the detrempe to the right, covering half of the butter. Fold the right third of the rectangle over the center third. The first turn has now been completed. Mark the dough by poking it with your finger to keep track of your turns, or use a sticky and keep a tally. Place the dough on a baking sheet, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Place the dough lengthwise on a floured work surface. The open ends should be to your right and left. Roll the dough into another approximately 13 x 18 inch, ¼-inch-thick rectangle. Again, fold the left third of the rectangle over the center third and the right third over the center third. No additional butter will be added as it is already in the dough. The second turn has now been completed. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
4. Roll out, turn, and refrigerate the dough two more times, for a total of four single turns. Make sure you are keeping track of your turns. Refrigerate the dough after the final turn for at least 5 hours or overnight. The Danish dough is now ready to be used. If you will not be using the dough within 24 hours, freeze it. To do this, roll the dough out to about 1 inch in thickness, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze. Defrost the dough slowly in the refrigerator for easiest handling. Danish dough will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.

ok so the filling ran out and the dough had an overwhelming orange flavor but it was flaky so here is my flour choice
1 1/2 cup rice flower blend equal parts brown white and sweet
1/2 cup corn flour
1/2 cup quinoa flour

then i used teff flour for dusting since it had a grainy feel that would not blend as quick into dough also i chilled only 10 min between turns and froze for 30 min instead of the 5 hour rest the purpose of the rests is to keep butter solid and prevent gluten's from forming. i know this was mentioned earlier but that is not an issue for gf flours however sitting to long in the fridge causes moisture to build up which creates a gummy texture

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

royal foodie joust

>This is my entry for this months Royal Foodie Joust which is so much fun. The secret ingredients were apricots ginger and butter YUM!! I knew what I wanted to make instantly. It is hot here right now and I wanted something I could sit on the deck and enjoy so a apricot ginger spritzer with white chocolate dipped apricot biscotti seemed to fit my craving.

Apricot Ginger Spritzer

8 apricots halved and pitted
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
5 one in long pieces of peeled ginger

Seep all ingredients together in a heavy sauce pan over medium heat until mixture starts to boil.
Turn temperature down to low and mash and stir apricots for 20 minutes.
Drain fruit making sure to mash all the juice out of apricots and discard solids.
Put juice in a glass jar and seal. Let rest in fridge for at least 2 days.
To serve pour ¼ cup juice in glass and top with cold club soda

White Chocolate Dipped Apricot Biscotti

1 1/4 cups Pamela’s pancake and baking mix
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup almond meal
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoon unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
¾ cup baking mix

In food processor, combine apricots and sugar and pulse to chop.
Add flour, apricots, eggs, lemon extract, salt, almond meal and butter to stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment and beat to mix.
Slowly add remaining flour mixture.
Divide dough in half. On lightly greased baking sheet, shape dough into two 12-inch logs.With hands, flatten each log to a width of 2 inches. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove logs and allow to cool completely before trying to move.
With serrated knife, carefully cut logs on the diagonal into 1 inch slices.Place on baking sheet cut side up; return to oven and bake 7 minutes, or until very lightly browned.Transfer to rack and cool completely.
Dip each cookie half way into some melted white chocolate and allow to set.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

menu swap for june 16-22

Ok so I am finally getting everything back on track in our house. The computer is working as well as the air conditioning. I start Italian classes this week as well as writing my first article for a new e-zine on vicenza life. I have also decided to fast this week to clean out bad food from my system. lol I don't know how it keeps getting in, well that's not true I do and I wonder how many more times am I gonna make myself sick before I accept this but enough of my drama.


Monday: salad for me and a grilled hamburger for the boy

Tuesday: salad again but i get some fruit to go with it yeah hamburgers for the boy again

Wednesday: juice only today so pasta for the boy

Thursday: grilled chicken for the boy with a salad for me

Friday: nachos with salsa and guacamole only mine will have no chips meat cheese or sour cream (oh wait that is a salad lol)

Saturday: breaking the fast to day with grilled scallops and a salad

Sunday: grilled chicken and salad

thank you to Natalie at Gluten Free Mommy for creating and hosting such an awesome event and i have really missed participating but i am back in the game and if you need a host for another week i would love to do it again.

Friday, June 13, 2008

tex mex quiona salad (yummy)


I made this up real quick to take to a short notice barbecue at a friend's house who has allergies that make my usual gf fare impossible i.e rice. Well this impromptu salad was so good good i had to share the recipe. This is one of those a little of this and that as i was making it in a hurry and not measuring or writing anything down.

2 cups water
1 cup rinsed quinoa

cook according to package directions

2 diced tomatoes
1/2 diced yellow bell pepper
1/2 diced red onion
1 minced jalapeno
2 tbs minced fresh cilantro
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbs olive oil
1-2 tbs lime juice

mix with cooked quinoa serve room temp or chill

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

sweet potatoe waffles


I was looking for something to make with a leftover sweet potato for breakfast and decided to make waffles instead of the usual potato pancakes. these waffles turned out so creamy and light that I could barely keep one long enough to get a photo.

1 cup mashed sweet potato
1 1/3 cups Pamela's baking/pancake mix
1/4 demerara sugar
1 egg
1 Tbs safflower oil
1 tsp grated ginger

mix and cook according to your waffle machines instructions

I think these would be great with pumpkin instead of sweet potato as well.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

adopt a gluten free blogger


I adopted Karen at Gluten Free Sox Fan this month. She has a wonderful site with lots of yummy recipes. It took me some time to decide on just one but after much debate I decided to go with her pizza recipe. It was a very easy recipe and made lots of extra crusts to freeze. I made two 10in crusts one rectangle and six 6in crusts. We ate the rectangle pizza the first night and I have to say it was Delicious. I topped the other crusts and froze them and they have made wonderful quick lunches and dinners for my son in fact he liked them so much that he has already eaten them all.



I look forward to making this recipe again and encourage everyone to check it out if you are looking for a quick and easy pizza crust that makes extras that freeze well. Also head over to GF/Cf Experiance to check out the rest of the Adopt a Gluten Free Blogger round up for this month