Gluten Free Skillet Cornbread

The kind of cornbread we like here at our house is sort of cake like and on the sweet side.  If you prefer the savory southern version, this is not the recipe for you!  Wow! The corn taste really pulls though on this recipe, though.  Take a deep breath in when it comes out of the oven. Can you smell all the corny goodness?  Simply heaven!  Expect your children to say, "that was yummy!" Over. And over. And over again....

How in the world can something that takes such little effort taste so wonderful?  It is one of the great mysteries of life.  The cornmeal I used here is at the height of purity.  I watched the workers mill the corn as a demonstration for the cub scouts at the old plantation we camped at last summer.  The whole point was to show the children how folks used to grind the corn way back when. All this contraption was ever used for was corn. I had to stop the process and ask to buy the resulting meal....LOL! ;-)   They generously gave it to me and I ran right home and put it in the freezer. Boy oh boy can you ever taste the freshness. 

1 cup Cornmeal, Coarse Yellow

1 cup Gluten Free Flour Blend
1/2 teaspoon Xanthan Gum
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Sugar
2 Tablespoons Honey
2 Eggs
1/4 cup Butter, Margarine or Shortening (Melted)
1 1/4 cup Buttermilk
1/4 cup Sour Cream
2 to 3 Tablespoons Shortening for Cast Iron Skillet


Place Cast Iron Skillet in 400 degree oven and preheat.

• Add Cornmeal, Flour, Gum, Baking Powder, Soda, Salt and Sugar in large stand mixer bowl. 
• Mix to combine.
• Add Honey, Eggs, Fat of choice, Buttermilk, Sour Cream and whip for about 3 minutes.
• Take Cast Iron Skillet out of the oven and add shortening. 
• Once melted pour in cornbread batter.
• Place back into oven and cook for 20 to 25 minutes.
• Enjoy!

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Gluten Free Cheese Batter Bread

Only the best stuff on earth. OK so I stole that slogan. This bread really is VERY good. I don't know if many of you realize this but we really don't eat much bread around here. That is mainly how I can get away with a purely starchy mix of flour to begin with. So imagine my shock when I realized that the whole loaf was gone by dinner's end. It was that good!!! In fact, it smelled so good in the oven that we started breaking bits off while it was still baking. LOL. I think you should toy with this recipe and add more seasonings.  If you did not have young kids like me, you may even get away Fresh garlic maybe?  Every time we have an Italian meal from this moment forward, I will not longer feel sorry that I can't seem to master a good bread stick.

3/4 to 1 cup cup Warm Water (105 to 110 degrees)
2 Tablespoons Oil
2 Tablespoons Sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons Yeast
2 egg whites
1 whole egg
1/2 teaspoon Vinegar
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
2 teaspoons Xanthan Gum
1 cup Tapioca Starch
3/4 cups Brown Rice Flour
1/4 cup Potato Starch
1 1/2 cup Grated Sharp Cheddar

Preheat oven to 170 degrees. Once preheated turn oven off.
Lightly grease an 8 x 4 bread pan.Aqq

• Add 3/4's Water, 1 tablespoon Sugar, Yeast into a small bowl or measuring cup.  Fill additional water to make a total of 1 cup.   Mix until combined.
• Allow water to sit while yeast starts to get foamy.
• Meanwhile, add Egg Whites and 1 tablespoon sugar into the mixing bowl.  Whip for approximately 1 minute or until it develops a soft peak.
• Next add whole egg and fully incorporate.
• Add Oil, Vinegar, Xanthan Gum, Salt, Baking Powder and Flours in mixer with whip attachment and whip for 3 or 4 minutes.
• Gently fold in cheese. Pour into 8x4 baking pan. Use oiled hands to smooth over top if a pretty top is desired.
• Place in warmed oven to rise about 1 hour (I warm my oven to 170 degrees and then turn oven off).  Allow to rise only until just slight above top of baking pan.  This will take anywhere from 35 minutes to 1 hour.  Keep checking.
• Once fully risen, keeping dough in the oven, turn oven on to 350 degrees and set timer for 70 minutes. (This is NOT a typo. I have come to learn that the longer baking time helps the bread not to collapse.)
• Take out of the oven and out of the pan and let rest on cooling rack onto bread is room temperature.
• Slice with electric knife and freeze what you will not need immediately.

Notes:

• Rise time is approximate. In rising, bread should not rise beyond just slightly above top of the pan.
• Don't rush the cooling step, it needs to cool properly or you will squash the bread.

I will be linking this to:
Slightly indulgent Tuesday at Simply Sugar and Gluten Free

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Udi's White Bread Copycat Recipe

This recipe and its ingredients were based on the Udi's bread available on the market back in 2010. The packaging and ingredients have since change.  I did a stupid thing, tho. In trying to delete a bread machine post (which folks were having way too much trouble with) I accidentally deleted the originally posted Udi's Copycat Recipe.  So if you are wondering why you are getting this again, this is why.  

Anyhoo, the sole purpose of this experiment was to duplicate the super expensive bread I was traveling an hour into town to purchase at $6 a loaf.  Have I told you how tiny the town I live in is?  Besides that, I LOVE copycats!!!

That said, the last time I was in town (prior to this experiment) I picked up a loaf and wrote down the ingredients according to how they were listed on the package. Since ingredients are placed in order by heaviest weight first, that is where I started. Next I did a google search to see if I could find any other bread making tips. I found some of the information and ideas I used in this experiment here.

I measured the Udi's brand bread. It was 3 inches wide by 4 inches tall by 8 inches long. So one would assume that the pan should be an 8 x 3 pan. My end result weighed 16 oz so too heavy. Next step was the taste comparison.  I ate a whole slice of each bread trying to determine if the taste was the same. I think its pretty close. It turned out to be a very nice light white loaf of bread. It was not gummy at all nor crumbly. I think it should have risen a bit more so I may work on that as well.

1 cup (120 g) Tapioca Starch
3/4 (119 g) cup Brown Rice Flour
1/4 (48g) cup Potato Starch
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
3 Egg Whites
2 Tablespoons Sugar
1 package (2 1/2 tea) Rapid Rise Yeast
2 teaspoon Xanthan Gum
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
3/4 cup Warm Water

Preheat oven to 170 degrees. Once preheated turn oven off.
Lightly grease an 8 x 4 bread pan.

• Add Water, Oil, Sugar, and Yeast into a small bowl or measuring cup and mix until combined.
• Allow water mixture to sit and allow yeast to become foamy.
• Meanwhile, with whip attachment on your stand mixer, whip egg whites for approximately 1 minute or until it develops a soft peak.
• While those two are working, add Gum, Salt, Baking Powder and flours into a small bowl and mix until fully combined.
• Add vinegar, yeast/water mixture and flours in stand mixer with whipped egg and whip for 3 or 4 minutes.
• Scoop batter into your 8 x 3 baking pan and smooth top with your wet hands.
• Place pan into the warmed oven and allow to rise for about 1 hour (I warm my oven to 170 degrees and then turn oven off)
• When bread is finished rising it will be only slightly above the top of the baking pan.
• When rising is finished, with bread dough still in the oven, turn oven on to 350 degrees and set timer for 70 minutes.
• Take bread out of the oven and out of the pan. Let bread rest on cooling rack until bread is room temperature.
• Slice with electric knife and freeze what you will not need immediately.

Notes:

• Rise time is approximate.  In rising, bread should not rise beyond just slightly above top of the pan.
• Don't rush the cooling step, it needs to cool properly or you will squash the bread height.
• A special thank you to Stephanie McKenzie from Reading Your Lips who converted and experimented with gram weights on the flours/starches in this recipe.

Udi's Copycat Recipe Experiment Take Two - This was an experiment using powdered eggs.

My Udi's Copycat White Bread Recipe originally appeared on Extraordinary Life on 08/16/2010.  Please do not reprint this original recipe on your blog without permission!

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Gluten Free Philadelphia Style Soft Pretzels

OK, so the picture is not of a dark pretzel.  I was eager to eat it, OK?  LOL.  It was so good!  It was so soft inside and had that famous pretzel texture and taste.  I have no intentions of sugar coating this for you. The rolling and twisting part is ten times harder than working with wheat flour.  I know that picture in my rolls post makes it look easy, but this is still sticky dough. If you are a Philadelphian born and raised like me, you will find it worth the effort.  This recipe is a keeper, hide it in your stash. :-)

3/4 cup Warm Water (110 to 115 degrees)
2 Tablespoons Oil
2 Tablespoons Sugar
2 1/4 teaspoon Rapid Yeast
3 Egg Whites
1 cup Tapioca
3/4 cup Brown Rice Flour (super Fine)
1/4 cup Potato Starch
1/2 teaspoon Vinegar
2 teaspoons Xanthan Gum
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Baking Powder

2/3 cup Baking Soda
10 cups Boiling Hot Water
1/4 Coarse Kosher Salt (topping)
Melted Butter / Margarine  or Oil Spray

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper and lightly brush with oil.

• Add Water, Oil, Sugar and Yeast into a small bowl or measuring cup and mix until combined.
• Allow water to sit while yeast starts to get foamy.
• Meanwhile, whip egg whites for approximately 1 minute or until it develops a Soft Peak.
• Add vinegar, xanthan gum, salt, baking powder and flours in mixer with whip attachment and whip for 3 or 4 minutes.
• In a Saute Pan or 8 quart sauce pan dissolve baking soda in hot water.
• Once soda is throughly dissolved, bring water to a simmer.
• Turn dough out onto an oiled surface and divide into 12 equal pieces.
• With well oiled hands, roll each piece into a rope about 1/2 to 3/4 inch in diameter and twist into a pretzel shape and set aside on a baking sheet. (This is VERY challenging with the sticky dough and not for the faint of heart ~ LOL)
• One at a time, place pretzel on a large slotted spatula and dip each pretzel into the simmering baking soda solution.  Simmer for 30 seconds or until pretzel looks slightly puffy (see picture).
• Place on a greased baking sheet.  
• Using pastry brush add butter/margarine or spray with oil and sprinkle with kosher salt.
• Bake in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, until browned.

This is what the pretzel looks like just out of the Water.

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Gluten Free Rolls, Gluten Free Hamburger Buns

Whether its Sandwich rolls or Hamburger Buns you need, this recipe fits the bill.  I worked on the method and finally mastered a good Gluten Free Roll.  My Celiac child likes it, my regular diet son likes it and actually prefers it over store bought rolls.  How did I come across this wonderful awesome discovery?  Well it is the same recipe as that Udi's copycat white bread that I make.  A commenter on that post (Monica) suggested that it would make a good roll.  You know, I had gotten so used to making my rolls from the Pamela's mix that I never thought to make it into a roll.

I have experimented with this recipe and have two different variations to offer you.   First is the softer crust roll that is good for Hamburgers and the second is a nice replacement Kaiser roll for a submarine sandwich.  Both have a lovely soft fluffy interior.

Preheat oven to 170 degrees.  Once preheated turn oven off.  

Lightly grease a Hamburger Bun pan Large Muffin Top Pan.

• Add Water, Oil, Sugar and Yeast into a small bowl or measuring cup and mix until combined.
• Allow water to sit while yeast starts to get foamy.
• Meanwhile, whip egg whites for approximately 1 minute or until it develops a Soft Peak.
• Add vinegar, xanthan gum, salt, baking powder and flours in mixer with whip attachment and whip for 3 or 4 minutes.

Scoop out slightly heaping 1/4 cup worth of Dough.

Roll dough meatball style with your oiled hands.
This helps dough look more round.

Flatten dough into reservoir to fill up space completely.

Set dough into warmed oven to rise {30 minutes}
Finished risen roll will look like this.

With Cornstarch Added.
Result is a softer crust,
great for Hamburgers

Regular Flour Blend only.
Crust is crunchy and
has a hollow sound
when you knock on it.
Great for Sandwiches

• With Risen rolls in oven, turn oven on to 350 degrees.
• Bake 30 minutes.
• Allow to come to room temperature.

Check out my Udi's copycat White Bread Recipe Post.


Click here to find my Gluten Free Flour blend.


Slightly Indulgent Tuesday
Tempt my Tummy Tuesday
Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
Delicious Dishes
Works for Me Wednesday
Gluten Free Wednesday
Full Plate Thursday at Miz Helens Country Cottage
Ultimate Recipe Swap at Life as Mom
Foodie Friday by Designs by Gollum

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Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Well my Raisin Bread experiment is finished.  I used my Udi's White bread copycat recipe and made it into a Raisin Bread. Growing up we used to eat the Pepperidge Farm Cinnamon Raisin Bread.  No toasting necessary, we would eat it right out of the package.  If I close my eyes, I can still see what it looks like.  That bread dough was made as flat as it could be and rolled as many times as it could.  I only detected the slightest bit of sugar with the cinnamon in that bread back then.

If you look at my picture here you will see that I did not roll mine nearly enough.  It should have been flatter and rolled at least 4 times.  But OH MY STARS, was it ever tasty.  I devoured half this loaf, no kidding!!!  So good right from the oven.  I have not eaten Cinnamon Raisin Bread since I was a child!!! I forgot just how good it is.  Thank you Monica and Erica for encouraging me to make this!  I am forever in your debt!  Any time you need me to try something, just ask! :-).

1 cup Tapioca Starch
3/4 cup Brown Rice Flour
1/4 cup Potato Starch
2 Tablespoons Oil
3 Egg Whites
2 Tablespoons Sugar
1 package (2 1/2 tea) Rapid Rise Yeast
2 teaspoon Xanthan Gum
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon vinegar
3/4 cup Warm Water
1/2 cup Sun Maid Baking Raisins

Filling:
3 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 170 degrees.  Once preheated turn oven off.  

Lightly grease an 8 x 3 bread pan and a silicon mat or Parchment paper.

• Add Water, Oil, Sugar, Yeast into a small bowl or measuring cup and mix until combined.
• Allow water to sit while yeast starts to get foamy.
• Meanwhile, whip egg whites for approximately 1 minute or until it develops a Soft Peak.
• Add vinegar, xanthan gum, salt, baking powder and flours in mixer with whip attachment and whip for 3 minutes or until combined.
• Add raisins and gently combine.

Longer than example in this picture

• Turn dough out onto greased parchment paper or silicone mat and spread out with oiled hands into a 15 x 7 (not wider than your pan) rectangle.

I reduced the amount of filling since this picture.

• Spread sugar and cinnamon on it.  

Rolled Up

• Start Rolling dough up as tightly as you can by lifting the parchment to aid you in rolling (think Jelly Roll).  It will need to roll 4 times to avoid a pocket in the middle. Keep those hands oiled!

Ready to Rise
Seam side DOWN!

• Place in pre-warmed oven to rise about 1 hour (I warm my oven to 170 and then turn oven off).
• Turn oven on to 350 degrees and set timer for 60 minutes.
• Take out of oven and let rest 10 minutes on cooling rack.
• Try not to devour the whole thing while you wait for loaf to come to room temperature.  
• Slice into slices and freeze what you will not need immediately.

I highly recommend using these raisins.

This is what the middle will look like
if you don't roll it enough and put too much filling on!
It is still VERY YUMMY even if it is ugly ~ lol!

I will be sharing this with the following blogs:

• Slightly Indulgent Tuesday
• GF Wednesdays
• Ultimate Recipe Swap

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My UDI's Bread Copycat Recipe Rises to the Challenge

Just take a look at the risen height of this bread recipe.  Just awesome!  My mom is down for a visit and she had the chance to taste this bread.  Her opinion, "Its great".  She was skeptical at first.  No way she would eat the gluten free stuff.  She will never know how many bad batches I had to endure to get here.

You can find my recipes at the links below:

Take One

Take Two (egg powder)

Bread Machine

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Udi's Bread Copy Cat Recipe ~ Take 2

The first loaf I made was 4 ounces heavier than it should have been so I decided to tweak it. I did not change much but the sole purpose of this experiment was to create an exact duplicate.  This time I used powdered egg whites because that is what I think a mass production bakery would use. I also used slightly more water, slightly less flour.

This version turned out much more like Udi's Gluten Free White statistics wise.  I have no idea why, I am not really a scientist.  The air holes are larger, the size of the slices are almost exact, the color of the crust was even the same.  I believe the harder the crust is, the less likely it is to shrink.

I did not have a loaf of Udi's this time to compare in a blind taste test.  The taste and texture is great none the less and it toasts nicely.  My next step is to try this in my bread machine.

1 cup Tapioca Starch
1/2 cup Brown Rice Flour
1/4 cup Potato Starch
2 Tablespoons Oil
2 Tablespoons Egg White Powder
2 Tablespoons Sugar
2 teaspoons Yeast
2 teaspoon Xanthan Gum
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon vinegar
3/4 cup PLUS 2 Tablespoons Warm Water

Preheat oven to 170 degrees. Once preheated turn oven off.
Lightly grease an 8 x 3 bread pan.  I used a small foil loaf pan.

• Fill a measuring cup with 3/4's cup of warm water.
• Add 2 Tablespoons egg powder to bowl along with 2 Tablespoons of warm water. 
• Add 4 Tablespoons of the water from the 3/4's full measuring cup.  
• Allow egg mixture to sit until powder is dissolved.
• Add sugar and yeast to the remaining water and allow to sit until a slightly foamy layer forms on top.
• Place egg whites into stand mixer and mix until soft peaks form.
• Add Sugar/Yeast mixture, oil, vinegar, xanthan gum, salt, baking powder and flours in mixer with whip attachment and whip for 3 or 4 minutes.
• Add batter in oiled 8 x 3 pan.  Batter will be slightly thick like room temperature cream cheese.
• Place pan in warmed oven to rise about 1 hour.
• Take bread out of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Spray top of bread with Pam.
• Bake for 75 minutes.
• Take out of oven and let rest 10 minutes in the pan.
• Remove from pan and continue cooling on a rack.
• Dont rush the cooling step, it needs to cool properly or you will squash the bread height.

Sandwiched Between for Comparison

If you prefer to use real eggs, as I do, please also see:

Udi's Bread: Part One

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Gluten Free Hamburger Bun Recipe

See bottom for a tip on having Quick Fresh Gluten Free Baked Rolls two days in a row

I have not explored much into the realm of mixing my own gluten free flour.  I heavily rely on Pamela's Mix for my baking needs.  I find bread made from Pamela's mix surprisingly delicious when fresh. When I occasionally do mix my own flour blend, it is usually for cake products.  I like to use high nutrient grains that allow my product to be moist and tender.  I will usually mix up Tapioca flour, Potato Flour, Rice Flour, Surghum flour and millet.  I am more of a mad scientist four mixer right now and have no real method.  So for now, I am going to tell you about Pamela's.

I will never forget the first time I baked myself a fresh loaf of bread made from Pamela's Amazing Wheat Free and Gluten Free Bread Mix.  It had been over 3 months since I had any bread at all but the taste of wheat bread was still fresh in my memory.  I left for the evening with the hot loaf cooling on the rack.  When I returned and made a sandwich, I was so overjoyed.  Sadly though, like all gluten free bread, it does not keep well.

Add Batter to Pan

Smooth with Oiled Hand

Risen Dough

Golden and Delicious

Mostly they turn out smooth topped but this nice crackly look reminds me of Kaiser Rolls!

I like to have hamburgers on the menu for dinner occasionally. When that happens, I will whip up a batch of hamburger buns.  Sounds super crazy homemaker lady-ish I know.  Something maybe most folks do not have time to do.  It is really not that hard with Gluten free baking.  The whole process from start to in the oven to rise takes only 5 ingredients and 7 minutes.  I have done it so many times now I can tell you the ingredients by heart.  In my 2 cups measuring cup I am going to add (in this order):

2 room temperature eggs (or refrigerated eggs warmed in some warm water)
1/4 cup Oil
Warm Water (110 degrees) - enough to make 2 cups liquid measure
1 packet of Rapid Rise Yeast
1 teaspoon Sugar

Mix well and let yeast proof.

Turn oven on to lowest setting (170 to 200 degrees).  Once it beeps telling you the oven is preheated, turn the oven off.

Add:

3 1/2 cups  Bread Mix

Into your stand mixer bowl with whip attachment.  Leave to whip 4 or 5 minutes.  Look at your dough and make sure it is not too dry.  It should not all stick up into the whipping paddle.  Add up to 2 tablespoons of additional water as necessary.

Place heaping teaspoons full of dough onto muffin top pan.
Smooth out dough with oiled hands.  When smoothed out, you will have just slightly more than the well for the batter.

Set pan of rolls into oven to rise for 1 hour.  Meanwhile, start on other dinner tasks.  Once risen,

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

TIP:

Don't bake all the batter at once.  Bake half and leave the rest in the fridge overnight.  The next day you will have fresh made  dough to pop in the oven. It works out just as well. I like to take this opportunity to have fresh baked rolls for school lunches.

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