Alternate Flours

For almost a year I went without eating any gluten products so I purchased things like potato flour, potato starch, rice flour, tapioca flour, etc. I thought I would do a search to see how many recipes I could find that used some of these products. A few of the following recipes do include gluten ingredients but the majority do not. Van’s IGA does carry a few gluten free products or you can order them on-line or if you live in an area that has a health food store you can find them there as well.

Winter Soup
2 T. Butter
1/2 c. Potato Flour
1 dash Salt & Pepper
1 t. Cayenne Pepper
2 t. Mustard Powder
4 c. Water
1 Chicken Bullion Cube
2 T. Chives
1 cup Carrots, coarsely chopped
In a non-stick pot, melt the butter and than add the flour and spices. Stirring constantly on medium heat, cook for 3-5 minutes. This is called a roux.
Add water 1 cup at a time, stirring to prevent lumps. Add bullion cube, smashing it into the broth. Bring to a boil and than add the chives and carrots. Bring back to a boil then turn to simmer and cook at least 1/2 hour until carrots are soft (cooking for an hour is preferred). Add salt and pepper to taste.
This has the satisfaction of a cream soup, without the milk. Makes four servings.

Homemade Buttermilk Rolls
1 T. Yeast, Active Dry
3/4 c. Water
1 c. Buttermilk, room temp.
2 T. Oil
2 c. Whole Wheat Flour
2 1/2 to 3 c. White Flour, Unbleached
1 T. plus 1 t. Honey
2 T. Potato Flour
1/2 t. Salt
Additional Potato Flour, as needed
Combine yeast and warm water in a small bowl, stir to dissolve yeast. Let stand until yeast begins to foam, about 5-10 minutes.
Combine yeast mixture with buttermilk and oil in a large mixing bowl. Stir in whole wheat and white flour, honey, potato flour and salt. Add additional flour or water if necessary. Dough should come away from bowl and be firm enough to handle with hands.
Turn dough onto lightly floured surface, knead 10- 15 minutes or until dough is smooth and soft. Place dough in lightly greased bowl, cover with damp cloth and let rise in warm place until doubled (about 1 hour). Shape dough into 18 rolls and place on lightly greased cookie sheet. Let rise until doubled (about 1 hour). Shape dough into 18 rolls and place on lightly greased cookie sheet. Let rise until doubled (about 1 hour). Carefully cut a cross in top of rolls with a sharp knife. Sprinkle lightly with potato flour. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned. Makes 18 rolls.
Potato Flour is ground from 100% dehydrated whole potatoes and is used in bread, pancake and waffle recipes or as a thickener for smoother sauces, gravies and soups. Potato Starch is used as a thickener for sauces, soups, and stews. Potato starch tolerates higher temperatures than cornstarch when used as a thickener. It’s a natural way to add moistness to many baked goods.

Thin Pizza Crust
1-1/2 t. Yeast, Active Dry
1 c. Warm Water (105 - 110 degrees F)
1 t. Sugar
2/3 c. White Rice Flour
1/3 c. Potato Starch
1 T. Potato Flour
1-1/2 t. Melted Vegetable Shortening
1 t. Sea Salt
Preheat oven to 425 degree F. Grease a 10” x 15” jelly roll pan; set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup of the warm water with the sugar added. Let set until yeast bubbles and the quantity doubles.
Add all the rest of the ingredients, using enough of the remaining water to get a dough the consistency of cake frosting that will spread, not run, when all ingredients are thoroughly beaten.
Pour batter down center and spread with a spatula. Run a teaspoon around edges, forcing batter up the sides.
If you prefer, pour the batter and spread in a circle on the pan, forming at 12- to 12-1/2” circle with raised edges. The batter handles well and will make a circle shape easily. Leave more at edges for raised sides.
Add sauce and toppings. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Makes 6 servings.

When I had an exchange student from Brazil one of his favorite things to eat in the morning was Brazilian cheese rolls. He said they were sold on every street corner and were made in almost every home. I have published a couple recipes in the past for these rolls but this recipe is the easiest I have made and comes from a lady in Brazil so I know it is “authentic!”

Brazilian Cheese Rolls
1 egg
1/3 cup olive oil
2/3 cup milk
1 1/2 cups tapioca flour
1/2 cup grated cheese, your preference, though I like using Farmers Cheese or a combination of Farmers Cheese and Parmesan Cheese
1/2 teaspoon of salt (or more to taste)
Preheat oven to 400° F. Grease a mini-muffin tin. Put all of the ingredients into a blender and pulse until smooth. You may need to use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the blender so that everything gets blended well. At this point you can store the batter in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until all puffy and just lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack for a few minutes.
Eat while warm or save to reheat later.
Enough batter for 16 mini muffin sized cheese breads.
Note that these Brazilian cheese rolls are very chewy, a lot like Japanese mochi.

Scones - Gluten Free
1-1/4 c. Sorghum Flour
1/2 cup Tapioca Flour
1-1/2 t. Cream of Tartar
3/4 t. Baking Soda
1 t. Xanthan Gum
1/4 t. Sea Salt
4 Tb Sugar
4 Tb Butter or Margarine, cut in 1/2 inch slices (keep cold)
2/3 cup Lowfat Plain Yogurt or 1/2 cup non-dairy milk
1 large Egg
1/3 cup Currants
2 Tb Milk (cow, soy, rice or nut) for brushing on top
Nonstick Cooking Spray
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat baking sheet with cooking spray, set aside.
In food processor place flours, cream of tartar, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt and sugar. Pulse on and off to combine the ingredients. Add cold butter and pulse about 15-20 times or until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
Combine the lightly beaten egg and yogurt. Pour over the flour mixture and process for about 10 seconds or until dough forms large curds. Scrape the dough into a bowl. Quickly, but gently stir or fold in currants with a spatula.
On baking sheet pat dough to 8” circle, 3/4” thick. Brush top with 2 tablespoons milk.
Bake for 12-15 minutes. Cut into 6 or 8 wedges.

Tapioca Flour Crepes
1 egg
1 egg white
2 T. water
1 t. vanilla
1/2 cup tapioca flour
Beat egg and egg white with fork. Beat in water, vanilla and tapioca flour. Batter will appear very liquid. Let sit for 5 minutes.
Cook over medium high heat on a crepe pan or low-sided skillet brushed with oil (should be just hot enough that a drop of water sizzles and jumps across the pan). Grasping the pan by the handle pour batter (about 1/3 cup) on pan and quickly tilt all directions, swirling the batter to form a very thin round layer of batter.
Cook until the batter loses its wet look and the edges start to brown a bit. Carefully turn with a spatula and brown the other side for a few moments. Remove and stack on a plate and keep warm until ready to fill and roll with a sauce. Print this post