Gluten Free and other Oddities

Merab

Merab

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A number of us here cope with gluten free, dairy free, vegan, diabetic diets - and other peculiarities.
I thought it would be nice to have a space to share recipes and ideas and tips.
@Siikibam commented on another thread about making GF bread and that triggered this thread.

IMG_7187.webp
A recent find in Tesco - this bread mix is quite nice according to my husband.
He is gluten and dairy intolerant so I learned to bake and cook for him.

A tip for cakes.
I like Doves Farm GF flours for bread and cake.
Cakes need extra moisture and so I started using large eggs in a basic Victoria sponge mix.
I sometimes add fresh fruit into the mix for flavour as well as moisture.

All other ideas welcome 🤗
 
I had a Phil Vickery book which was really good. Will see if I can find which one it is as I gifted it to hubby's cousin a few years back when he got diagnosed as coeliac but it has a fab roasted garlic scone recipe in
 
Found it, it's called Seriously Good! Gluten-free baking by Phil Vickery and the recipe is parmesan, sage and roasted garlic scone. I miss that recipe
 
Thank you for starting this. I did find a recipe for bread using the plain flour (also bought the xantham gum). I’ll have to make some biscuits for him as well.

He’s egg free but I know aquafaba (or water from chickpeas) works as an alternative.
 
My housemate has been experiencing a gluten problem, so I switched over to homemade flours. I typically use oat meal (I try to use the guaranteed gf) I’ve ground up. I know it works best if the recipe includes egg. I still don’t quite understand xantham gum. I rarely see it written in a recipe. I know it’s a thickener, but what does it do for the bake goods?

So far, I’ve had success making scones, cookies and pancakes with the oat flour. I’ve used two different recipes for pancakes. The one that is specifically for oat flour tastes like typical pancakes. We like the texture and taste of the recipe I used for wheat pancakes. It tastes like oat, and we like that.

I use rice flour for bread and pizza. I’m not crazy about it, so I need to start making oat bread.
 
I have been experimenting with egg free baking recently, with little success. I didn’t get on with the Aquafaba. I do have a fab vegan cup cake recipe that was given to me.
Recently discovered crackd egg replacement. This was a great substitute for biscuits with egg in, but cakes less so, I need to have another go.
IMG_4653.webp
 
I’m pretty sure I once made an egg free cake in the past… a waffle recipe would be good. He loved waffles.
 
I must find my war time cookery book as it has recipes without egg as well.
Xanthan gum acts as a binder in recipes. I’ve used it in biscuits with some success.
Like @AidaB I didn’t get on with aquafaba at all.
The less said about the meringue I tried the better !
I will look out for the Crack’d Egg - that could be very useful.
 
I can offer an egg free cake recipe, but… it’s written in the U.S., so you have to convert the measurements. :D I do know that the “3 cups of flour” is 375g of all purpose flour.

3 C flour
2 C sugar
2/3 C cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2/3 C oil
2 tsp vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 C water

Grease and flour a 13x9 pan.
Combine all ingredients, and pour into pan. Bake @ 325* for 45 minutes.
The older this cake gets, the moister and more flavorful.
 
Homestead Mom said:
I can offer an egg free cake recipe, but… it’s written in the U.S., so you have to convert the measurements. :D I do know that the “3 cups of flour” is 375g of all purpose flour.

3 C flour
2 C sugar
2/3 C cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2/3 C oil
2 tsp vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 C water

Grease and flour a 13x9 pan.
Combine all ingredients, and pour into pan. Bake @ 325* for 45 minutes.
The older this cake gets, the moister and more flavorful.
Click to expand...
If I miss out the cocoa powder does it matter?… thinking it would be nice for my son to have a cake but he’s not really a fan of chocolate cakes…

I made meringues a while ago using water from chickpeas. I didn’t like them because they were essentially sugar! I couldn’t find aquafaba but saw the crackt egg thing. Too many ingredients so decided I’d just use water from chickpeas. Hopefully it’ll be okay. I’ll let you know later 😁

First cleaning the piggies out
 
@Siikibam I found quite a few gluten free cake recipes when I was looking for inspiration for my son's birthday cake - unfortunately I didn't bookmark them, but if I remember rightly most used oat flour instead (just oats blitzed in a food processor). Definitely saw some eggless ones too. I think I just searched for "baby birthday cake recipes" 👍🏻

I did make one with oat flour and it turned out quite stodgy... but I was using out of date raising agents and the wrong size pan, so not a fair test :doh:
 
I’d have to get gluten free oat flour but I’ve just bought bread flour so will use what I have. I will search for more recipes later when I’ve got time. Have to clean out the piggies then think about dinner!
 
Oh sorry, I thought oats were gluten free! Just as well I don't have anyone with a gluten sensitivity in the house...
 
Siikibam said:
If I miss out the cocoa powder does it matter?… thinking it would be nice for my son to have a cake but he’s not really a fan of chocolate cakes…

I made meringues a while ago using water from chickpeas. I didn’t like them because they were essentially sugar! I couldn’t find aquafaba but saw the crackt egg thing. Too many ingredients so decided I’d just use water from chickpeas. Hopefully it’ll be okay. I’ll let you know later 😁

First cleaning the piggies out
Click to expand...
I don’t know. I doubt it matters.
 
poggle said:
Oh sorry, I thought oats were gluten free! Just as well I don't have anyone with a gluten sensitivity in the house...
Click to expand...
I thought I'd just mention that a small number of people with Coeliac disease can't eat gluten free oats due to a sensitivity to avenin, a protein found in oats. So if you're a Coeliac, bear this in mind if you often feel ill after eating gluten free oats. :)

I find cheesecake is a really easy GF option to make, as you just replace normal biscuits with gluten free ones. The recipe I use is egg free too, I'll post it later.
 
Homestead Mom said:
They can get cross contaminated in the packaging facility.
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ScrufflesRules said:
I thought I'd just mention that a small number of people with Coeliac disease can't eat gluten free oats due to a sensitivity to avenin, a protein found in oats. So if you're a Coeliac, bear this in mind if you often feel ill after eating gluten free oats. :)
Click to expand...

Oh dear, it sounds like a minefield! :help:
 
As someone who doesn't bake (or...well, cook, but hey), and who is lactose intolerant (and had to drink some disgusting concoction to prove it), I can't outright avoid dairy. It's in too many things and outright avoiding it causes more problems than a little bit of it would - full fat milk (blue). Skim and semi-skim (red and green) can be really problematic, but I don't have a problem with full fat.
 
Traditional Swiss Carrot Cake - it is really carroty and moist!
It does have eggs but it is made without butter and with very little flour, so it lends itself to an easy adaptation.

5 eggs
Separate yolks and place the egg whites in another bowl together with a pinch of salt. Reserve.

250g white sugar (granulated or caster)
Add to the bowl with the egg yolks. Cream until the mixture is light and slightly foamy.

250g carrots, peeled and finely grated (use a food processor with a grating inset or do it the hard way)
250g ground almonds (ideally rough ground with the skin on but the fine ones will also do; the texture is a little different)
1 lemon, zest and juice
Add to the egg mixture and use a spatula to create an even mix.

70g gluten-free flour or cornflour (the normal recipe is 80g plain flour and no xantham gum; the normal flour is a bit less absorbent than any gluten-free ones)
1/8 teaspoon xantham gum
1 tablespoon baking powder (baking soda for USA)
Optional:
2 tsp ground cinnamon or ground sweet cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
3/4 tsp ground macis, cardamom or nutmeg
Mix the flour, gum, baking powder and - if wished spices - together

5 egg whites (with 1 pinch of salt) beat until you get firm peaks
Add the egg whites and flour mix in layers to the rest of the cake and gently lift under with a spatula until the mixture is even.

Spoon into a lined round baking dish of 9 inches/23 cm diameter in the preheated oven at 170 C (fan) / gas mark 5 for 50 minutes. Once firm, take out of the oven and let cool. The cake can be frozen at this stage; it is a moist cake and takes it well.

In the meantime prepare the glaze:
250g icing sugar (confectioners sugar USA), sieve into a small bowl
2-4 tablespoons lemon juice or kirsch (Swiss cherry brandy)
The mixture should be just runny enough to move very slowly. Gently bang the bowl to remove any air bubbles. Let the mix stand in order for the icing sugar to absorb the liquid as much as possible.

Turn the cake upside down so that the flat underside can be iced; make sure that it sits evenly. Gently poor the icing mix into the middle of the cake and then spread it by carefully tilting the cake without allowing the glaze to run over he edge.
Traditionally the cake is decorated with 12 little marzipan carrots but orange fondant can be used as an alternative.
The glaze will take several hours to dry out and is ideally done the day before.

The cake also makes a good base for a celebration cake with your own decoration.

(At the back of the picture is our yummy family chocolate cake with kirsch (or water if wishd) and ground almonds which uses only 5 tablespoons of gluten-free cornflour, if anybody is interested; it is still soft in the centre like a huge brownie)

IMG_5738_edited-1.jpg
 
ScrufflesRules said:
I thought I'd just mention that a small number of people with Coeliac disease can't eat gluten free oats due to a sensitivity to avenin, a protein found in oats. So if you're a Coeliac, bear this in mind if you often feel ill after eating gluten free oats. :)

I find cheesecake is a really easy GF option to make, as you just replace normal biscuits with gluten free ones. The recipe I use is egg free too, I'll post it later.
Click to expand...
Oh my, my son loves cheesecake! Hmmm… waiting with baited breath 😁

I finished my garden jobs too late so will bake tomorrow instead. If I’m up early I’ll start in the morning.
 
A friend gave me her cheesecake recipe for diabetics which I successfully make GF and dairy free. Trying to make it vegan as well beat me.

8oz crushed gluten free digestives mixed into 4oz melted vegan spread.
You can add cocoa or ground ginger if you want.

Whisk together a tub of dairy free cream cheese and some natural soya yogurt- about the same amount as the cheese.
Set using a sugar free jelly made up to 5 fluid ounces and whisked into the cheese mix.
Add fruit either into the cheese mix or scattered on the biscuit base.
Pour the cheese mix over the base and leave to set.

You can use silken tofu instead of cheese, one carton is enough.
Flavour depends on the fruit and the jelly.
You can buy vegan jelly in some health food shops but then it’s unsuitable for diabetics
 
For gluten free bagels, I have this recipe:
1 Cup Greek yogurt
1 Cup self rising flour

Mix together, and form four bagels.
Put on parchment paper, and bake at 350°/ 177° for 23-25 minutes.

If you are unaware, greek yogurt is just extra strained yogurt. I used plain homemade yogurt when I tried it, but if you use a fruit yogurt, please let me know how it went!
 
Gluten free/ egg free cheesecake:

Ingredients:
110g biscuits
50g butter
25g light brown sugar
350g mascarpone cheese
75g sugar
1 lemon, zested
2-3 lemons, juiced

1) To make the base, crush 110g biscuits in a food bag with a rolling pin. For best results, do this whilst angry.
2) Melt 50g butter in a saucepan, take off the heat and stir in 25g light brown sugar and the biscuit crumbs.
3) Line the base of a 20cm loose bottomed cake tin (or a cake ring) with baking parchment. Press the biscuit/butter/sugar mixture into the bottom of the tin and chill in the fridge whilst making the topping.
4) Beat together 350g mascarpone cheese, 75g caster sugar, the zest of one lemon and the juice of two to three lemons until smooth and creamy.
5) Spread the topping over the base and chill in the fridge for a couple of hours.
6) Enjoy! (And get someone else to wash up)
 
Engel said:
This is a fab idea. I'm coeliac and vegan. I have a few recipes I've tried for cakes, biscuits and brownies. I'll see if I can find them out to share.

I've tried many recipes for GF bread but they keep turning out like bricks. I'll try that bread mix @Merab's Slave

Here's an egg replacer I use:
https://groceries.asda.com/product/baking-aids-cocoa/free-and-easy-egg-replacer/1000219746339
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Well I never thought there was another coeliac vegan out there - that's amazing! It does rather cut down the choice of food, but luckily I'm not into cooking, in fact I don't cook at all, don't even own a cooker! I'm fine with a microwave - but I do seem to get through them rather fast - and they always seem to blow up on me! I'm now so wary that I don't like to leave the room when it's going!
So I'm not much help with recipes!
 
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