In search of freshness

If you know me, then you know that I love to bake. Since I became Celiac, I love to bake now more then ever before. I recently purchased the book Gluten-Free Baking Classics (2nd Edition) by Annalise G. Roberts. When I bake, I pull most of my recipes from internet which takes a ton of time and patience which then turns into confusion. Confusion because there are so many recipes out there, but you try desperately to narrow it down to one that you hope and pray might turn out the best because with gluten-free baking, there is a lot of trial and error. This confusion then turns into compromise. Compromise because after countless hours of recipe searching you agree on one. And finally, compromise turns into.... you guessed it, either success or an epic fail. Because gluten-free baking can be a tricky thing, I feel that every gluten-free baker needs a staple baking book in his/her kitchen to get them started. I, myself, have a ton of gluten-free cookbooks, but not one strictly dedicated to baking. I decided to fess up with myself and purchase my very 1st baking book.

The book was delivered just in time just in time for my girlfriend’s upcoming birthday. Like opening your first gift on Christmas morning, I went ga-ga over all the wonderful baking recipes that faced me. Some new, like chocolate ricotta muffins, gingerbread cake and linzertorte cookies (what does that even mean?)... and of course, some oldies but goodies that take you back to mum or grandma’s kitchen – fresh baked bread, cinnamon buns, banana nut muffins and the classic (everyone’s favourite) chocolate chip cookie. I’m not even crazy about bread, but by simply reading their titles, my mouth waters – cinnamon bread, pecan raisin artisan bread, golden Italian bread, soft pretzels and the list goes on... yum!

My first impression of skimming through this book was obviously a good one, but after reading the first 2 pages, it became very clear as to why this book was such a great purchase for me. Roberts points out that when you ask any Celiac what foods they miss the most, you always get the standards – bread, cake, cookies, pasta, pizza, etc. Yes those who are gluten-free miss these things, but what they really miss is the “real pizza, really good bread for sandwiches that won’t crumble, real crusty, chewy Italian or French bread, really good cake that’s not dense and gritty, really good pie crust that doesn’t taste like cardboard” (Roberts, p.1). And Roberts is exactly right. We miss the taste and texture and the emotional attachment to all these great foods. We miss the normal and fresh taste since many gluten free baked goods that are store-bought are often found in the frozen food isle. I can relate. You go to the grocery store and you pass that familiar frozen food section where you find all sorts of new gluten free products. If you are like me and haven’t been a Celiac all your life, the same thing happens. Suddenly you begin to have, as I like to call them, food flash-backs. A food flash-back is when your brain triggers a past fond memory that you’ve had with a specific type of food. The point is, you buy that frozen loaf of bread thinking you’re going to take it home and make the best grilled cheese sandwich of your life because you actually remember having the best grilled cheese sandwich in your life. When you finally make that sandwich, your fond memory gets crushed by disappointment because that grilled cheese sandwich you made is just not the same. To make matters worse, you probably paid about 8 bucks for that loaf of bread. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of this occurrence. I’m tired of craving the freshness that I’ve been missing.

Roberts states something else that really sticks with me. She says “I believe that what and how we eat affects our quality of life. Food can make us happier and healthier and it’s a manageable ingredient in our daily lives”. I’m going to keep this quote near as I continue on my gluten-free journey. We have the ability to give ourselves the fresh food we crave so badly, it’s just a matter of finding a little bit of time and having an open mind. I’d like to share with you the 1st recipe I’ve made from Robert’s bake book.

Enjoy and cheers to fresh, home-made food!

The Gluten Free Passport


Gluten-Free Yellow Layer Cake
Ingredients:
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 ½ cups of Brown Rice Flour Mix (2 cups Brown Rice Flour, 2/3 cup potato starch (no potato flour), 1/3 cup tapioca flour)
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon xanthum gum
1 cup canola oil
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla
2 cups of your favourite icing (I chose coconut)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 round 9-inch layer cake pans with parchment or wax paper and spray with cooking spray.
2. Beat sugar and eggs in large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed for about 1 minute (or use a Kitchen Aid if you have one).
3. Add flour, salt, baking powder, xanthum gum, oil, milk and vanilla and beat for about 1 minute.
4. Pour batter into prepared pans (two 8 or 9 inch pans). Place into oven and bake for about 35 minutes or until center springs back when touched and cake has pulled away from the sides of the pan.
5. Place cake on a rack for about 10-15 minutes. Invert cake layers onto another rack, peel off parchment and cool completely.
6. Place one cake layer on a platter and spread 1 cup of icing over top and sides. Place second layer on top of the first and spread remaining icing all over cake. Garnish with anything of your choice 