Kategorija: RECIPES IN ENGLISH

Gluten free – starter

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Gluten-free starter

I have had only one thing on my mind for the last 6 months, and that is to succeed in making a good gluten-free sourdough starter. The day has finally come after a series of failures.

Today is the day of my triumph and I am writing this with immense satisfaction.

I wanted to try many different things, which ultimately resulted in me throwing away a lot of starters. However, through these failures I learned a lot about the making process. Therefore, I would like to give you some advice. First, you should be aware of the three main ingredients: love, patience, and discipline.

If you decide to embark on an adventure of making your own starter, trust me, that piece of advice will serve you well. There are many different recipes for making gluten-free starters, and this is my way of making it that proved to be successful.

So let’s get started:

DAY 1 – MAKING THE STARTER

Get a clean jar (it is very important for it to be spotless because we don’t want bad bacteria in the starter). Mix the flour and the water in a separate bowl and, when well combined, pour it into the jar. That should be your process every day: mix the flour and water in a separate bowl, and pour it into the jar. I cover the top of the jar with a piece of clean gauze and secure it with a rubber band to protect the starter but also to allow air circulation.

I feed the starter twice a day.

  • The starter should be kept in a warm place, but not in direct sunlight so I keep it my pantry.

STARTER – DAY 1

DAY 1 – SECOND FEEDING

Throw away 40 g of the starter and add 60 g of flour and 80 ml of water.

Mix the flour and water in a separate bowl and then combine with the rest of the starter.

Now is the time to mark the level of your starter so you can monitor its growth. The intervals between feedings depend on the making process. I feed the starter in the morning and in the evening with 7 – 8 hours in between. Monitor the starter so it does not weaken.

STARTER DAY – 2

DAY 2 – THE FIRST FEEDING

Throw away 40 g of the starter and add 60 g of flour and 80 ml of water.

Mix the flour and water in a separate bowl and then combine with the rest of the starter.

I wash the jar on day two because, as I have stated previously, it has to be spotless so that the bad bacteria do not end up in the starter. The smell of the starter has to be pleasant and tangy, and it must not change colours. In case it changes colours, throw it away and start over. That is why it is very important you do not touch the starter with your fingers.

DAY 2 – SECOND FEEDING

Throw away 80 g of the starter and add 60 g of flour and 80 ml of water.

Mix the flour and water in a separate bowl and then combine with the rest of the starter.

By now, the starter should be tangy and bubbles should begin to form under the surface. If that is not the case, it is time take my advice and be patient. Everything will be all right; the lack of smell and bubbles does not mean that the starter is going bad.

STARTER DAY – 3

DAY 3 – FIRST FEEDING

Throw away 80 g of the starter and add 60 g of flour and 80 ml of water.

Mix the flour and water in a separate bowl and then combine with the rest of the starter.

On day three, I moved the starter into a bigger jar (they are my favourite). I hope you are keeping the starter in a warm place and are monitoring its smell and colour.

DAY 3 – SECOND FEEDING

Throw away 80 g of the starter and add 60 g of flour and 80 ml of water.

Mix the flour and water in a separate bowl and then combine with the rest of the starter.

STARTER DAY – 4

Keep repeating the process from day three on daily bases. The starter is now ready for use to make sourdough bread, but I do not like to use it before day five. If your starter does not look like mine, keep soldering on and be patient because it does not mean it is going bad.

You can keep the starter in the fridge, just be sure to refresh it once or twice a week.

I have read a lot on starters, but the piece of advice that impressed me the most and was most helpful was by Andrea s bloga Cukar. Thank you for all your help and advice:

You can do it, Adrijana!

There are many great and helpful blog posts, and some of them that helped me with making the gluten-free starter and sourdough bread are Vanilla and Bean and Holy Cow.

THE RECIPE FOR GLUTEN-FREE SOURDOUGH BREAD

INGREDIENTS:

  • 460 g MIX B flour, Schar
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 150 g starter
  • 400 ml warm water

INSTRUCTIONS:

Put flour, salt and starter in a large bowl. You can alternatively mix the starter with water and then add it into the flour, but I always add it directly into the flour and I have never encountered any problems with the dough. Prepare the water, add it to the flour and mix it with a wooden spoon or spatula. When mixed well, drizzle a bit of olive oil on the dough and mix some more. The olive oil will give the bread a nice colour, and the dough won’t stick to your hands so you will be able to shape it nicely.

I usually put the dough in a banneton (proofing) basket. The basked has to be coated with rice flour and cornmeal, which is why I always have the mixture ready to go. These baskets are not suitable for washing because the water could destroy them so you need to brush the extra flour out of the basket. Afterwards, I wrap the basket with stretch foil, cover it with a kitchen dishtowel and leave it to ferment on room temperature for 10 hours. Now prepare yourself for the sweet agony of waiting.

The next morning, the first thing I do is turn on the oven to heat up my cast iron pot. While it is heating up, I very carefully take out the dough from the basket and put it on parchment paper. Then I score the dough with a sharp knife and put it in the heated pot. Put the dough in the oven on 200 °C for 30 minutes.

Bake the bread with the lid on the pot and only remove the lid at the end to get a crispy crust.

Be careful when taking the bread out because the pot gets very hot in the oven.

Once you start making bread with the starter, do not forget to keep feeding it so it would continue to grow.

Enjoy the art of making sourdough bread.

The doughnut story

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I have been struggling with the recipe for doughnuts for the last three years. I have been tried every trick in the book to make them soft and fluffy. I spent a lot of time thinking about it since carnival is fast approaching and everyone wants to eat doughnuts during the carnival period. I love fritule (traditional Croatian fritters shaped like mini doughnuts) but doughnuts are doughnuts! We all have fond memories of them from our childhood (and adulthood!). My goal was to make tender and fluffy doughnuts and I managed to achieve it. Don’t be afraid to try to make some doughnuts, the recipe is full of descriptions and I made photos of every step in the recipe to make it easier for you. Let’s get started!

    INGREDIENTS:

  • 800g Schar’s MIX B flour (+ 50g to flour the kneading surface)
  • 50g tapioca
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 2 whole eggs
  • 1/2 packet baking powder
  • 1 cube of fresh yeast (around 40g)
  • 35g granulated sugar (you can add more if you prefer sweeter doughnuts)
  • 1 packet of vanilla sugar*
  • 100ml rum
  • 100g room temperature butter
  • 550ml warm milk

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Sift the 850g of flour and set 50g aside to flour the kneading surface.
  2. Combine flour, tapioca, and baking powder.
  3. Using a mixer, mix butter, granulated sugar and vanilla sugar*.
  4. Whisk eggs.
  5. Warm up 550ml of milk and add fresh yeast, a teaspoon of sugar and a teaspoon of flour. Cover it with a kitchen towel and let it sit in a warm place to activate the yeast.
  6. When the yeast is ready, add butter, eggs and rum into the sifted flour.
  7. Slowly add the yeast mixture into the flour and mix until well combined. The dough is very soft so use a hand mixer with dough hooks to knead it to make it easier for you.
  8. When the dough is done, put it on a previously floured kneading surface and knead it lightly.
  9. To make it easier, split the dough into two or three parts. Roll out the dough to the desired thickness (4 – 5 cm). Cut out the doughnuts using a glass or a cookie cutter.
  10. Cover the doughnuts with clean kitchen towel and let them sit for at least 2 hours in a warm place to let the dough rise. It should also be warm in the room where the dough is resting so it rises better.
  11. When the dough is ready, get a heavy-bottomed pot and pour in some oil. The amount of oil depends on the size of the pot, but the doughnuts should float in it. If you want to get doughnuts with a white line in the middle, the bottom part of the doughnut should be submerged in oil and when you flip it, the middle part shouldn’t sink in the oil and you will get the white line in the middle. When putting the doughnuts into the oil, put the top part of the doughnut into the oil first (flip it upside down from how they were sitting while rising).

Fry them in hot oil on a medium heat. They are done very quickly so watch them closely in order to flip them to fry evenly on both sides, and to make sure they don’t burn.

When done, put them on a kitchen paper towel so it soaks up the excess oil.

When cooled, fill them with a desired spread. I recommend apricot marmalade.

Bon appetit!

*Instead of vanilla sugar, you can use a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Add it to the wet ingredients and mix until well combined.

Buns with ground flaxseed

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INGREDIENTS

  • 350g MIX B flour (by Schar + 30g to flour the surface)
  • 100g ground flaxseed
  • 40g tapioca
  • 60g melted butter
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 350ml warm water
  • 1 packet active dry yeast

 

COATING:

  • 1 egg yolk

IMG_7606

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. In a big bowl, put warm water, dry yeast, a teaspoon of sugar and a teaspoon of flour. Cover it with a kitchen towel and put it in a warm place for the yeast to activate.
  2. When the yeast is ready, add the egg and melted butter in it.
  3. Slowly mix flour, flaxseedand tapioca into the mixture until well combined. The dough is very soft so use a hand mixer with dough hooks for easier kneading.
  4. Let the dough rise for 30 minutes in a warm place covered with a kitchen towel. When the dough is ready, lightly flour the work surface and gently knead the dough for a few moments. Using your hands, shape the buns and transfer them to a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Lightly beat the egg yolk. Brush the egg yolk on top of each bun until evenly coated. Sprinkle generously with sesame seeds.
  5. Let the buns rise for another 10-15 minutes and bake them in an oven preheated to 180°C for 25-30 minutes.

 

Bon appetit!

Homemade gluten-free bread

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INGREDIENTS

  • 550g MIX B flour (by Schar)
  • 400ml warm water
  • 60ml olive or sunflower oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 packet active dry yeast

 

INSTRUCTIONS

Prepare the yeast by following the instructions on the packet.

Put all the other ingredients into a bowl and slowly add the yeast. Mix until well combined. The dough is very soft so use a hand mixer with dough hooks for easier kneading.

Let the dough sit in a warm place covered with a kitchen towel for 30-40 minutes to rise.

Brush olive oil on top of the bread until evenly coated. For a tastier crust sprinkle cornmeal on the dough before baking.

Bake in an oven preheated to 190°C for 30-40 minutes.

 

Bon appetit!

Triangle cheese puffs

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INGREDIENTS:

  • 500g MIX B flour by Schär
  • 400ml lukewarm water
  • 100ml olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 packet active dry yeast
  • 300g shredded Gouda cheese
  • 100g melted butter

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) Prepare the yeast by following the instructions on the packets and let it sit for about 15 minutes. Put all the other ingredients into a mixing bowl. The dough will be soft so use the mixer for easier kneading. Mix on medium speed and slowly add the yeast. Mix until well combined. Let the dough sit in a warm place for 30-40 minutes to rise.

2) Line the baking sheets with parchment. After 30-40 minutes of rising, divide the dough into half and roll out each half to a 3mm thickness and grease the dough with melted butter (be sure to dust the surface for kneading with flour).

3) Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the dough and roll it. Lightly squeeze the dough so the cheese stays in the dough during baking. Instead of Gouda, you can use cottage cheese and/or add ham. Let your imagination run free.

4) Put the dough into the baking sheets and make a zigzag pattern on it using a knife. Let the dough sit for another 15 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Bake the dough in the preheated oven for 25 – 35 minutes. I lightly greased the triangles with butter for a nice golden colour. You can also sprinkle some sesame seeds on top.

Enjoy!

Cheese Muffins

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Cheese Muffins

INGREDIENTS:

  • 160 g gluten-free flour
  • 100g cornmeal (people with celiac disease should only use gluten-free cornmeal)
  • 2 eggs
  • 150g shredded Gouda cheese
  •  250ml milk
  • 1 packet of baking powder (around 14g)
  •  salt (as per taste)

INSTRUCTIONS:

In a mixing bowl, mix your dry ingredients: flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. Slowly mixing it, add eggs, milk, and shredded cheese. Mix until well combined.

Line your muffin tin with parchment paper or paper liners*. Use a spoon to scoop the batter into 10 muffin cups. Preheat the oven to 180-200°C and bake for 15-20 minutes. Check if the muffins are done by using a toothpick. If there is wet batter still on the toothpick, the muffins need more time in the oven. If it comes out clean, they are done!

*lightly grease the paper liners with butter so that the muffins don’t stick to the paper

Bon Appetit!

Coconut cubes

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Coconut cubes

   INGREDIENTS:

  • 4 eggs
  • 10g melted butter
  • 100ml milk  (lactose-free or regular)
  • vanilla extract or rum (as per taste)
  • 100g granulated sugar
  • 150g Farabella flour for cakes (I bought it at Glutenbio)
  • 1 packet of baking powder

CHOCOLATE COATING:

  • 200ml milk
  • 200g baking chocolate
  • 50g butter
  • 300g desiccated coconut

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease and flour your pan. First, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Then mix the egg yolks and sugar until pale and thick. Add milk, butter and vanilla extract into the mixture. Sift the flour and baking powder over the mixture and mix until well combined. At the end, add a couple of tablespoons of egg whites to thin out the mixture. Then slowly add the rest of the egg whites into the mixture and gently combine the ingredients so the mixture stays airy. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the preheated for 15 – 20 minutes (depending on your oven). Cool the cake and cut it into even, bit-sized cubes.

To make the chocolate coating, melt the chocolate in a double boiler, add butter and milk and mix until well combined.

Using a fork (or a skewer), dip the cake cubes into the chocolate mix and roll them around with the tines of the fork to completely coat. Drain any excess mixture off the cakes then drop them in the coconut and roll them around lightly to coat evenly with coconut. Set the cake cubes on the cooling rack to drain.

Enjoy!