Category Archives: Recipes – Bread

Filled with Glee over Chickpea Flatbreads

Posted on February 1, 2015 by | Leave a comment

FlatbreadGood day, everyone! I hope that this blog post finds you well. I have been busy baking, cooking, and enjoying dinner parties – and as a result I have been remiss in blogging about these experiences. However I have some time between cleaning up after last night’s fun party, and eating some warm, cheesy dip during the ‘Big Game’ to describe the flatbreads I made. Since I have sensitivities to yeast and cane sugar, and a number of my friends need to be gluten or dairy free, finding adequate snacks for all of us can be a challenge.

One morning while reading the newspaper I spotted a photo of a bread that looked delicious. And the caption caught my eye because it talked about using ‘garbanzo bean flour.’ (Yes, chickpeas and garbanzo beans are two names for the same food.) In fact, according to FoodReference.com, garbanzo beans/chickpeas are the most widely consumed legume in the world. A member of the Pea (Fabaceae) family, garbanzo/chickpeas are also called ceci (Italy), Egyptian pea, gram, Kichererbse (Germany), and revithia (Greece). Garbanzo is the name used in Spanish speaking countries.  The English name chickpea comes from the French chiche. These lovely legumes are rich in protein, phosphorus, calcium and iron.

And I made a snack that was gluten, yeast, dairy, and cane sugar free! Happy snack time! This recipe makes one 10-inch flatbread or two 8-inch rounds. Feel free to add other herbs or seasonings such as garlic or garlic powder.

Ingredients:
  • 1 cup chickpea flour
  • 1 cup cool water
  • 3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary (optional)
  • Freshly ground black pepper
Preparation:

Combine the chickpea flour, water, 1 1/2 tablespoons of the oil, the salt and the rosemary, if using, stirring until smooth. Cover and let the mixture rest for at least 2 hours, or refrigerate it overnight.

When the batter is ready, position an oven rack 4 to 6 inches from the broiler element. Place a medium cast-iron skillet or two 8-inch round cake pans on the rack; preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

Remove the hot skillet or pans from the oven. Pour in the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and swirl to coat.

Return the skillet or pans to the oven for a few minutes to heat up, then pull them out just long enough to pour in the batter, spreading it in the skillet or dividing it between the pans and spreading it in an even layer. Bake for 5 minutes; the flatbread will look set and will pull away from the pan’s edges a bit.

Turn on the broiler (leaving the flatbread in the oven); broil the flatbread for 3 or 4 minutes, until slightly charred.

Immediately sprinkle with pepper to taste. Carefully dislodge, letting the flatbread slide onto a cutting board. Cut into wedges and serve.

Leave a comment

Posted in Recipes - Bread

Tagged , , , ,

Fresh Pear and Fig Muffins – and Sugar Free Too

Posted on October 5, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Pear Fig MuffinsHello, everyone! I hope that you are enjoying a beautiful day. The weather forecast predicted clouds and rain yet we have sun and a warm temperature. I am keeping myself busy with a bit of baking rather than thinking of decreasing my estimates for GDP growth due to the federal government shutdown.

Early fall is a good time to use fresh pears and the last of the season of fresh figs. If you can’t find fresh figs in the grocery store, a dried version will also be good in this recipe. If you prefer an alternate dried fruit, apricots or raisins would work well too. My inspiration was Five and Spice’s version of Pear and Fig Morning Muffins since the pictures looked delicious. I substituted the all purpose flour with a combination of whole wheat and oat, swapped the butter with canola oil, added some cinnamon, and used plain yogurt instead of buttermilk. Yes, these ingredients worked out very well together. Hopefully our federal legislators will work together soon too.

If you have not yet answered my current survey, please do since economists really thrive on analyzing survey results. Just visit my homepage and in two clicks you can provide an opinion to your favorite way of enjoying apples and pears, along with seeing the current tally of results. Thanks!

Ingredients:
4 Tbs. canola oil
1/3 cup figs, finely chopped (either fresh or dried)
1 small-medium pear, ripe but still firm, finely chopped
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup oat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
3 Tbs. honey
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 egg yolk, at room temperature
1 cup plus 2 Tbs. yogurt

Preparation:
Preheat your oven to 400F.

In a small-medium bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cardamom, and cinnamon. Set aside.

In a medium-large mixing bowl whisk together the honey, egg, and egg yolk for a couple of minutes, until the color lightens. Then whisk in the canola oil until well combined. Finally whisk in the yogurt.

Pour in the dry ingredients and stir together with a wooden spoon. Add the chopped fruits on top of the batter. Stir just enough to mix it in, then stop.

Use 2 spoons to drop heaping spoonfuls of batter into the lined muffin tins.

Bake for about 20 minutes, until golden on top and a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean. Makes 12 muffins.

Leave a comment

Posted in Economics, Recipes - Bread

Tagged , , , , , ,

Use Seasonal Fruits for Banana Berry Scones

Posted on July 23, 2012 by | 3 comments

This past weekend, I found myself looking at three bananas on the counter that were very ripe. I considered making a banana bread although I wanted to make something that also used some summery fruits. I cruised the Internet and found a great recipe from Fit Foodista for Low Fat, Whole Wheat Banana Cinnamon Scones. I already had the ingredients, including some fresh blueberries, and the preparation seemed easy so I decided to give this a try. Instead of using turbinado (cane) sugar, I used coconut palm sugar, and the result was just right and free from refined sugars. If you don’t have the palm sugar, you can use 1/4 cup of maple syrup instead and sprinkle the top with maple sugar if desired.

Yum! These scones are chewy and really moist, and the pieces of banana and blueberry add some nice sweetness. You could use any berries that are in season, or try chopped apples or pears and nuts in the fall. What a nice treat to enjoy with a cup of tea any time of the day or evening.

Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup coconut palm sugar, plus more for sprinkling on top
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
1 cup chopped, very ripe banana
1/2 cup plain fat free yogurt
1/2 cup low fat milk

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425°.

Combine flours, baking powder, sugar, salt and cinnamon in a bowl and whisk together.

Slice butter and drop into dry ingredients. Use a knife or pastry cutter to cut the butter into tiny pieces and mix it into the flour.

Add bananas and gently stir.

Mix in milk and yogurt.

Form dough into a circle that is about an inch deep all around. Cut the circle into 8 slices.

Separate slices and place on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper or foil.

Sprinkle the tops of the scones with a bit of sugar.

Bake for 18 minutes or until light brown.

I am sharing this recipe with Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, Miz Helen’s Country Cottage and Food Trip Friday.

3 Comments

Posted in Recipes - Bread, Recipes - Breakfast

Tagged , , , ,

Recipe Appreciation & MaryAnn’s Gluten- and Sugar-Free Muffins

Posted on March 26, 2012 by | 7 comments

Later this week I will celebrate one year with this blog! I have learned so much about food during the past twelve months including many new, delicious recipes from a number of family members, friends, colleagues and blog writers. So many of you have taken the time to adapt your favorite foods to be free of yeast and refined sugar, and have shared your results with me. I appreciate your help tremendously! A sample of the wonderful contributors to this blog so far include:

–MIL and FIL have shared Garlic Shrimp with Pasta, Apple Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Peach Ice Cream and Apple and Raisin Stuffing
–A tasty Spinach Gratin from Rachel
–Refreshing Salad Dressing from Natalie
–Healthy Baked Squash, Popovers and Mashed Cauliflower Potatoes from Bree
—Homemade Yogurt from Leslie and Rick that’s a great idea
–Bill’s creative Triple Nut Mix
–Wonderful Oatmeal Pancakes from Beth
–SensitiveHusband made delicious Peanut Butter Cups and Agave Chocolate Milk
–MaryAnn created some excellent Oat Bran Muffins

Thank you for all of your efforts and ideas…I appreciate you tapping into your “sensitive” side to create delicious yeast-free, refined sugar-free food!

Let’s celebrate a year of collaborating with a recipe: MaryAnn has created another great muffin and this time it is gluten- and sugar-free. You can get creative with the fruit additions to this tasty treat.

Ingredients:
–1 1/4 cup Pamela’s Muffin Mix (this is a gluten-free flour blend)
–1/4 cup water
–1/3 cup honey
–1 large egg
–1 teaspoon vanilla
–1/2 cup fruit (such as bananas or blueberries) OR 1/2 cup dried fruit (such as raisins) with 1/4 additional cup of water

Preparation:
–Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
–Grease muffin pan.
–Mix all of the ingredients together.
–Pour batter into muffin pan and bake for 18-20 minutes.
–Yields 6 muffins.

I am sharing this recipe with Simply Sugar and Gluten Free and Food Trip Friday.

7 Comments

Posted in Recipes - Bread, Recipes - Breakfast

Tagged , , , ,

Anjou Too Will Enjoy These Pear and Oat Scones

Posted on March 11, 2012 by | 7 comments

I have been on a bit of a scone kick lately. It all started with the raisin millet scones, which have turned out to be a lovely snack at any time during the day or evening. When I saw this recipe for apple and oat scones in the February 2012 Martha Stewart Living magazine, I became inspired and decided to add them to my repertoire.

The next morning I took out my mixing bowl and ingredients. Since I did not have any apples I used pears instead. In order to eliminate the brown sugar and turbinado sugar, I added maple syrup and maple sugar to retain the sweetness. I shortened a few of the steps (I did not rotate the baking sheet while cooking or flatten the dough into disks as suggested in the original recipe). The result is a sweet and chewy treat that is delicious with a cup of tea. I also discovered the beauty of parchment paper – it makes baking sheet cleanup a breeze. Enjoy these scones with pears or apples, or perhaps a combination of the two!

Ingredients
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1 1/3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats, plus more for topping
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 1/2 cups diced pears (cut into 1/4-inch cubes)
2/3 cup cold buttermilk (or 2/3 cup milk plus 1 teaspoon lemon juice)
Maple sugar, for sprinkling

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk together flour, oats, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut in butter with two knives (or rub in with your fingers). The batter will resemble crumbs. Add pears and buttermilk (or milk plus lemon juice), stirring until dough just comes together.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Pat dough into a 6-by-8-inch rectangle, and cut into twelve 2-by-2-inch squares with a floured knife. Place about 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with maple sugar and oats. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 22 minutes. Let cool on sheets for 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I am sharing this recipe with Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, Miz Helen’s Country Cottage, Something Swanky, Food Trip Friday, Cybele Pascal Allergen-Free Cuisine and Sweet as Sugar Cookies.

7 Comments

Posted in Recipes - Bread, Recipes - Breakfast, Recipes - Dessert, Recipes - Snacks

Tagged , , , , ,

You Will Make These Popovers Over and Over

Posted on January 22, 2012 by | 10 comments

Popovers, light and hollow rolls made from an egg batter, are a yeast-free, sugar-free treat. Popovers are an American recipe that are thought to have descended from English batter puddings and Yorkshire puddings, although the origin is a bit uncertain. Puddings in medieval times were not like today’s custard-like desserts, but rather were meat-based.

According to Food Timeline, “17th century English puddings were either savory (meat-based) or sweet (flour, nuts & sugar) and were typically boiled in special pudding bags.” In the 1840s, as Americans found that they did not need to boil traditional puddings to feed their families because there was enough of a food supply, Alfred Bird introduced custard powder as an alternative to thickeners made from eggs. “It wasn’t long before Americans began using custard powder and other cornstarch derivatives as thickeners for custard-type desserts. This proved quite useful for overlander (conestoga wagon) cooks who did not have ready access to a reliable supply of fresh eggs.”

However, Chef James Beard claimed that the American popover was not derived from the English Yorkshire pudding – so it’s up to you to decide the popover’s origin; perhaps you can create a new recipe and make it your own classic.

Thanks, Bree, for making these delicious popovers for our dinner celebration!

One word of caution from the cook – a popover tin will provide the best results; using a muffin tin may cause disappointment to you and others at your dinner table.

Popovers (Adapted from Martha Stewart): Makes 12
2 1/2 c milk
2 1/2 c all purpose flour
Pinch salt
6 whole lg eggs
2 lg egg yolks
1/4 c very soft butter

Heat oven 425 degrees. Whisk milk, flour, salt until just incorporated. Will be lumpy.

Beat in eggs and yolks one at a time, until just incorporated. Do not over mix. Will be lumpy.

Brush inside of popover tins with generous amount of butter. Divide batter evenly among tins. Bake 20 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350; bake until puffed and golden brown, 15-20 minutes more. Serve immediately.

I am sharing this recipe with Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, Miz Helen’s Country Cottage, Food Trip Friday and Cybele Pascal Allergen-Free Cuisine.

10 Comments

Posted in Recipes - Bread

Tagged , , ,

Golden Raisin and Apple Stuffing

Posted on December 24, 2011 by | 4 comments

If you are making your holiday menu, and checking it twice, be sure to add this delicious recipe for stuffing (or dressing as it is properly named – thanks, Kristi) that can be adapted to be yeast and sugar free! So deck the halls and enjoy your family, friends and food during this festive season!

Yeast-Free, Sugar-Free Golden Raisin and Apple Stuffing
Ingredients:
–Bread (about 4 slices) cut into 1/2″ pieces (such as these hamburger buns for a yeast and sugar free option)
–12 sesame crackers, crumbled (Sesmark brand does not have yeast or sugar)
–1/3 cup golden raisins
–1 apple (such as Ida Red) cut into chunks
–2 cups homemade broth or water
–1/2 tsp Bell’s Poultry Seasoning
–pinch of garlic powder
–salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix all of the ingredients together, and pour into a greased 8×8 pan. Bake for approximately 45 minutes or until golden brown.

I am sharing this recipe with Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, Miz Helen’s Country Cottage and Food Trip Friday.

4 Comments

Posted in Recipes - Bread

Tagged , , , , , ,

Pumpkin Raisin Nut Bread with Honey and Maple Syrup

Posted on December 14, 2011 by | 5 comments

Another great addition to your holiday meal, or any meal for that matter, is pumpkin bread. I prepared a loaf for our thanksgiving meal (click here for other menu ideas) and it turned out to be a great alternative to a yeast-filled bread. Plus it has a moist texture and the addition of raisins and nuts is a real treat! I found this recipe about a year ago in the Joy of Cooking book, and made a few revisions: I used whole wheat flour instead of the all-purpose variety, substituted shortening with canola oil, substituted the white cane sugar with honey, and substituted the brown cane sugar with maple syrup. You would never know that there is no sugar or butter in this delicious bread! I will warn you that this recipe uses three different bowls, but do not let that discourage you; it still is relatively easy to prepare. And now for the instructions…

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.
Whisk together:
  1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
  1 teaspoon baking soda
  1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  1 teaspoon salt
  1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  1 teaspoon ground ginger
  1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Combine in a small bowl:
  1/3 cup water or milk
  1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Beat in a large bowl:
  1/3 cup canola oil
  2/3 cup agave nectar
1/3 cup maple syrup
Beat in one at a time:
  2 large eggs
Add and beat on low speed just until blended:
  1 cup cooked or canned pumpkin puree
Add the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the milk mixture, beating on low speed or stirring with a rubber spatula until smooth and scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Fold in:
  1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
  1/3 cup raisins or chopped dates
Pour into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour.

I am sharing this recipe with Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, Joy of Desserts, Miz Helen’s Country Cottage, Food Trip Friday, Sweet as Sugar Cookies and Cybele Pascal Allergen-Free Cuisine.

5 Comments

Posted in Recipes - Bread

Tagged , , , , , ,

Honey-Sweetened Avocado Bread

Posted on November 27, 2011 by | 11 comments

Hello, everyone! I hope that you enjoyed a peace-filled thanksgiving holiday. I was fortunate to be able to celebrate with my family including a lovely visit with my grandmother. Speaking of my grandmother, a few weeks ago while again visiting her, I read her local newspaper. The food section included a reader recipe exchange involving avocados. Up to this point, my experience with the fruit had been slicing it for a topping to a salad. However there was a recipe that caught my eye – Avocado Quick Bread, by MaryEllen Fabricatore and Pam Wobrock. I was intrigued by the idea of mashing the fruit, full of healthy fats, fiber and vitamins, into a loaf of bread. And I had read that California avocados grow year-round, so I was excited to purchase some avocados right away and try the recipe. I substituted the refined sugar with honey and added whole wheat flour into the mix. And yes, the batter was green when I blended the ingredients together! However, after it baked it turned a golden brown color. This bread is very moist and has a nice texture similar to pumpkin bread. I hope you enjoy this tasty treat.

Ingredients:
1 cup honey
1 stick butter, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed avocado (about 3 avocados)
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/3 cup buttermilk (or 1/3 cup milk with 1 teaspoon lemon juice)
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preparation:
–Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a loaf pan.
–Beat together honey, butter, eggs, vanilla and avocado until well blended.
–In another bowl stir flours, cinnamon, allspice, salt and baking soda.
–Add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with the buttermilk and mix well. Stir in the raisins and walnuts.
–Pour into greased and floured loaf pan.
–Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

I am sharing this recipe with Joy of Desserts, Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, Miz Helen’s Country Cottage, Food Trip Friday and Sweet as Sugar Cookies.

11 Comments

Posted in Recipes - Bread

Tagged , , ,

Inspired by Millet to Bake Raisin Maple Scones

Posted on September 10, 2011 by | 7 comments

Yesterday afternoon I found myself (yet again) walking slowly up and down the aisles of my neighborhood health foods store. There are many things to look at and try! I paused to check out all of the flours – there are so many kinds! Apparently I was feeling courageous because I picked up a kind of flour I had never tried before – millet flour. In fact, I have never used anything other than flour made from wheat, although the recipe on the back of the packaging caught my eye and persuaded me to get creative. I had not eaten a scone since incorporating a yeast and sugar free diet, and upon reading the recipe I suddenly had a hankering for the English biscuit. So I bought my millet flour and brought it home.

You may ask what millet flour is…I did the same, and did some online research. According to WiseGeek, Millet flour is made from millet, which is a whole grain and gluten free. A serving of the flour, which is one third of a cup, contains about 4 grams of protein, 15% of the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of iron; is high in B vitamins, magnesium and potassium; and has 12% of the U.S. RDA of dietary fiber.

Millet flour has a naturally sweet taste so you can often cut sugar in recipes when using the flour. A little millet flour in breads makes them lighter with a crunchy crust. However, many suggest that no more than a third of wheat flour in recipes should be replaced with flour from millet because it also requires a complementary binding agent.

It was now time to bake…the recipe on the Bob’s Red Mill Millet Flour package was my starting point. However, I substituted the sugar with maple syrup. I also added some oats for a little crunch and sprinkled some maple sugar on top for extra sweetness. My whole milk yogurt also worked just fine even though the recipe called for nonfat. These scones were delicious! I liked the taste of the millet flour…it has a nutty flavor. I hope you enjoy this very lovely treat.

Millet Raisin Maple Scones
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup millet flour
4 Tbsp oats
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher (or sea) salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 Tbsp maple syrup
1/2 cup canola oil
4 egg whites
1/4 cup plain yogurt
3/4 cup raisins
maple sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet and set aside. In a large bowl stir together the flours, oats, baking powder, salt and baking soda. In another bowl mix together the maple syrup, canola oil, egg whites and yogurt. Pour oil mixture into flour mixture, and stir until well blended. Next mix in the raisins. With your hands form the dough into a ball and place on a floured surface. Knead dough lightly 3 or 4 times, then place onto baking sheet. Pat into a smooth 8-inch circle. Using a sharp knife, cut into 8 wedges; leave in place. Sprinkle with maple sugar. Bake for 30 minutes, and let cool for 5 minutes before serving. Yields 8 tasty servings.

I am also sharing this recipe with Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, Joy of Desserts</a, Beauty and Bedlam, The Lady Behind the Curtain, Miz Helen’s Country Cottage, Something Swanky, Food Trip Friday, This Chick Cooks, Sweet as Sugar Cookies, Everyday Sisters and Cybele Pascal Allergen-Free Cuisine.

7 Comments

Posted in Recipes - Bread, Recipes - Breakfast, Recipes - Snacks

Tagged , , , ,