Sunday, November 25, 2012

Gluten Free Vegan Muffin (UPDATE)

I posted this recipe a while back - I have since experimented a LOT with these muffins and they generally turn out spectacular :)  Here is the recipe again, with a couple things i've learned.. 



Apple Muffins
Wet Ingredients:
  • 1 cup almond milk
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1/4 cup Coconut Oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients:
  • 1 cup  millet flour
  • 1/2 cup sorghum flour
  • 1/2 cup tapioca starch
  • 1 tsp xanthan gum
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
  • Chocolate chip muffins

Preheat oven to 350F. 
Lightly grease a muffin tin or line it with paper liners. (note: paper liners will stick until muffins cool a bit)
In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients and make a well in the center.
Mix wet ingredients in a smaller bowl, whisk vigorously, or use a stick blender to really combine.  
Mix together until the batter is just moistened. Fold in the add in** 

Scoop out about 1/3rd cup of batter in each muffin cup. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

** add in options i've tried.. 
-- 1tsp cinnamon (added to dry ingredients) and 1 cup apples,  (cut in1/4-1/2" cubes & pieces)
-- blueberries 1/2-1 cup
-- chocolate chips 1/2-1cup 

oh, these taste much better the first day, taste better slightly warm and freeze well!  I actually prefer these to the eggy version i use to make.  

Monday, November 12, 2012

New bread recipe & Chia Seed Chocolate pudding

Today i am trying a new bread recipe!
I copy-pasted the recipe below .. we'll see how it turns out, its rising now ... It is so far so wheat like its creepy!

Wet Ingredients:
2 ½ cups warm water (105 to 110 degrees F)
2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (1 package)
1 teaspoon maple syrup or organic cane sugar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/3 cup ground chia seeds

Dry Ingredients:
1 cup teff flour
1 cup sorghum flour
½ cup sweet rice flour
½ cup cornmeal
1 ½ teaspoons sea salt

Topping:
extra virgin olive oil
poppy seeds
sesame seeds

Place the warm water in a bowl or 4-cup liquid glass measure. Add the yeast and teaspoon of maple syrup, whisk together. Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes to activate the yeast. The mixture should get foamy or bubbly. If not, dump it out and start over.

While the yeast is activating, mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

After the yeast is activated whisk in the olive oil, maple syrup, ground chia seeds, and psyllium husks into the water-yeast mixture. Let stand for 2 to 3 minutes (not any longer) to let the chia and psyllium release their gelatinous substances. Whisk again.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix together with a large wooden spoon until thick. Then knead the dough on a floured wooden board to incorporate the flour. Add more teff and sorghum flours, a little at a time, until the dough holds together and isn’t too sticky (about ¼ to ½ cup total). Don’t add too much flour, otherwise the dough will become very dense; it should still be slightly sticky. Form dough into a ball, place back into the large bowl, and cover with a damp towel. Place in a warm spot to rise. I like to place the bowl over a pot of warm water. Let dough rise for an hour or until doubled in size. Rising time will depend on the temperature of the environment around the dough.

After the dough has risen, place a pizza stone in your oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place a pan of water on the bottom rack of the oven (the one beneath the pizza stone). I usually use an 8 x 8-inch glass pan filled ¾ of the way full.


Punch down the dough and turn out onto a lightly floured wooden board. Knead the dough for about a minute. Then form into a round ball. Place on a square of parchment paper and use a sharp knife to cut a shallow “tic-tac-toe” pattern on the top. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with poppy seeds and sesame seeds. Let rise for about 30 minutes in a warm place while the oven and stone are preheating.

Carefully lift the parchment paper with the risen loaf and place it onto the stone in the oven. Bake for about 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 30 to 60 minutes before cutting into it. The bread will be very gummy hot out of the oven. The texture is perfect once cooled. It reminds me of a hearty whole wheat bread.

   
With the leftover ground chia seeds I am going to make Chia seed chocolate pudding.. usually, i'd put whole chia seeds and mix everything in the vita mix, but this time i'm going to try to use up the pre-ground seeds..  

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups coconut milk
1/2 cup chia seeds (pre-ground if you are not using a vitamix or high powered blender)
6 Tbsp cocoa
1/4-1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch salt 
handful of chocolate chips 
Directions
1.  Combine all ingredients in blender or food processor
2.  Mix thoroughly until ultra smooth.
3.  Pour mixture into a storage container  & store in the fridge