I stumbled upon Pure7 Chocolate about a month ago through a link on a blog and was immediately impressed by the short, organic-only ingredient list and their beautiful website (because, okay, who isn’t impressed by a nice website?). So, liking what I saw, I contacted them and asked them if they had an affiliate program. Originally I was just thinking something along the lines of a picture on my sidebar leading to their site or something (or what was I thinking? I’m not sure. I tend to rush ...
Eating Gluten Free
Taste Guru–A Review
A few weeks back I was contacted by the people at Taste Guru and asked if I was interested in testing their product and writing a review. Well, YEAH, I was interested. I mean, who doesn’t want to taste food, take pictures, and then write about it? So here I am, fingers poised over the keyboard, about a million pictures loaded onto my camera, full of information and not quite sure where to start. So I’ll just start by telling you what exactly Taste Guru is. It’s a lot like a magazine ...
Gluten Free Pancake and Waffle Tips
PANCAKE AND WAFFLE TIPS Mostly, these are tips on how to make my pancakes and waffles. Other people have different tricks and ideas as well as different recipes. Pancakes: 1.)Don't second guess the recipe. I made my fluffy gluten-free pancakes/waffles the first time, and they were perfect. I posted them to the blog. The second time, I looked at the wet vs. dry and said, “There's too much wet! I'll put a little less in.” Disaster. Put in the measurements the recipe calls for on your first ...
The Oat Issue
The Question Is, “Do oats contain gluten or don’t they?” Oats do NOT contain gluten. However, they CAN be contaminated, because often oats are processed in facilities that process wheat, rye, and barley. A very small percentage of celiacs also react to the protein found in oats, even though oats don’t contain gluten. Expensive though they may be, you can buy certified gluten-free oats from these producers: Bob’s Red Mill www.bobsredmill.com Cream Hill ...
How to Proof Yeast
Five easy steps for proofing yeast. 1. Put the warm water, warm milk, or whatever the recipe says to use when proofing the yeast into a bowl. 2. Add the sugar and the yeast, and stir until combined. 3. Place the bowl in a warm, draft-free location and let set for about fifteen minutes. I use my oven for this by turning it to WARM ten minutes ahead of time, then 2 minutes buy prednisone online before I put the yeast in, I turn the oven off. 4. When the yeast is foamy and has risen 1/2 to 3/4 ...
Double Boilers, and How they are Used
I use a double boiler in a number of recipes, especially ones that contain cream cheese, since cream cheese would be burned if melted in a saucepan on the stove-top. “Mom's Cream Cheese Frosting” uses a double boiler, as well as the “Gluten-Free Cheesecake.” Another thing that you would want to melt in a double-boiler is chocolate, which can burn fairly easily. Though there are actual 'double boilers' you can buy, there is a simpler, less-expensive, homemade version: Place water in a small ...
A Quick Way for Softening Butter
To cream butter, you are going to need soft butter that is just a little bit colder than room temperature (see 'creaming butter'). It is easiest to put the butter on the counter and soften it ahead of time, but sometimes I just don't plan that far ahead. Here's a quicker method. Cover your work surface with piece of wax paper about 10x10”. You don't have to go by this exact measurement. This is just to give you an idea of how large a piece you'll need. Set another piece of wax paper ...
How to tell if the Cake is Cooked
I’ve had this problem again and again, and I still suffer from it. One thing to remember is that your cake keeps cooking for a minute or two after you take it out of the oven. Also, a cake that is firm to the touch is not what you are looking for. How to tell if your cake is fully cooked: The edges should pull away from the pan just a little bit The surface of the cake should feel soft and springy to the touch but not firm. If the surface breaks when you touch it the cake is obviously ...
How to Prevent Crumbly Gluten-Free Foods
Sometimes you might get sick of dry, crumbly breads that won't hold together or cakes that fall apart as you cut them. Here are some ways to prevent those issues. Xanthan Gum and Guar Gum Derived from corn sugar, xanthan gum is used as a thickener, stabilizer, and emulsifier. Xanthan gum can act as gluten does in a gluten bread. Gluten will add stretch, holding the bubbles and causing bread to rise, and add a sort of 'stickiness' that keeps the bread together. Xanthan gum or guar gum ...
What is Separating Eggs and How is it Done?
Set two small bowls on your work surface. Crack the egg gently on the side of the bowl or on the counter. It is best to get the egg to crack right in the center. Working over one of the two bowls, carefully pry the halves apart with your thumbs. Hold one half of the egg so that the yolk settles in that half. Let the egg white run over the edges and into your bowl. When this is done, drop the egg yolk into the other bowl. The important thing is to make sure none of the egg yolk gets in with ...
What is Creaming Butter and How is it Done?
Creaming butter is basically beating it together until it is lighter in color. With white sugar, the final color will be yellowish white. With brown sugar, the final color will be a sort of tan. An electric mixer is the best tool for creaming butter. The purpose of the creaming is so that air may be incorporated into the butter to add a 'fluffy' consistency to the final product. Creaming the butter will also soften it and make it easier to blend with other ingredients. To get the best result, ...
Gluten Free Flours and How to Use Them
I hate to break it to you: Gluten free flours aren’t like gluten. Now that we have that out of the way, here’s why they aren’t like gluten: Obviously, they don’t contain that “stretchy” quality that gluten can produce in your dough. The most noticeable difference between gf flours and gluten can be seen in bread dough. If you try to make bread the gluten way, you’re going to fail and cry and probably need counseling before you can be happy again. Here’s my post on making gf yeast ...