Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

BREAKFASTS AND BREADS

Pancakes Belgian Waffles Crepes French Toast French Toast Casserole Blueberry Muffins with Streusel Topping Banana Nut Muffins Pumpkin Spice Muffins Chocolate Chip Scones Lemon Poppy Seed Bread Summer Fruit Salad with Yogurt Sauce Scrambled Omelet Spinach and Cheese Quiche Pepper, Onion, and Cheddar Frittata Cinnamon Rolls Mock "Cake"
Long Island Bagels Sandwich Bread Biscuits Corn Bread Rosemary Focaccia Baguettes Garlic Naan

pancakes

[MAKES TWELVE 3-INCH PANCAKES]

These pancakes are the perfect demonstration of the power of a good gluten-free flour blend. Their texture is soft, moist, and chewy, and indiscernible from gluten pancakes. Paired with pure maple syrup, the combination is divine.

1 cup (125 g) Artisan GF Flour Blend
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons GF baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon GF vanilla extract
2 tablespoons salted butter, melted

1. Mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.

2. Add the egg, milk, and vanilla and mix. Add the melted butter and mix just until the ingredients are combined.

3. Heat a griddle or skillet to medium-high. Grease with butter or nonstick cooking spray. Pour the batter into rounds on the hot griddle or skillet using a 2-ounce ladle. Cook until bubbles have formed on the surface of each pancake. Flip and cook until the other sides are golden brown. Repeat to make 12 pancakes.

belgian waffles

[MAKES 5 WAFFLES]

Between Pete's Belgian heritage and his high-school addiction to Eggo waffles, waffles have always been important to him. They're equally important to Kelli, whose family often enjoys them when getting together on Saturday mornings. This gluten-free Belgian waffle recipe can go the distance with the best of 'em. Following a gluten-free cooking demonstration at a Denver-area Whole Foods where we featured these waffles, an attendee wrote to say, "You've made me love breakfast again." But perhaps the best testament to these waffles is that Kelli's parents now use this recipe, instead of one for standard gluten waffles, because they prefer our version. Hooray for gluten-free converts!

1¾ cups (218 g) Artisan GF Flour Blend
1 tablespoon GF baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
2 eggs, separated
1¾ cups milk
1 teaspoon GF vanilla extract
½ cup (1 stick) salted butter, melted

1. Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

2. Add the egg yolks, milk, and vanilla and mix. Add the melted butter and mix just until combined.

3. Whip the egg whites in a separate bowl until stiff peaks form. (A handheld mixer works great for this.) Tenderly fold the egg whites into the batter.

4. Cook a waffle according to your waffle maker's instructions, but do not open the waffle iron (no peeking!) until the waffle is fully cooked.

5. Remove the waffle and repeat to make 5 waffles.

If you're setting aside the waffles in order to serve them all at once, keep in mind that stacking will result in soggy waffles. Instead, place them in a single layer directly on your oven's rack with the oven set to warm to keep the waffles light and crispy. The waffles also store well in the refrigerator or freezer.

crepes

[MAKES 8 CREPES]

Crepes are one of those wonderful foods that excel equally well as both breakfast and dessert. They're a chameleon, taking on the needs of the moment (and the meal), depending on how they're served and what you use for toppings. Either way, though, we think you'll have a hard time telling that these crepes are gluten-free. Try serving them with pure maple syrup, confectioners' sugar, or fruit and Homemade Whipped Cream for breakfast. For dessert, try Dessert Crepes with a Trio of Sauces.

¾ cup (94 g) Artisan GF Flour Blend
2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon GF vanilla extract
2 tablespoons salted butter, melted

1. Mix together the flour and sugar in a bowl.

2. Add the eggs, milk, and vanilla and mix. Add the melted butter and mix just until the ingredients are combined.

3. Heat a nonstick medium skillet over medium-high heat. (In this instance, you definitely want to use a skillet or frying pan, not a sauté pan. The straight sides of a sauté pan make it more difficult to turn the crepes.) Grease the pan with butter or nonstick cooking spray and wipe the excess out with a paper towel; you want only a very thin layer. Typically, you will only need to grease the pan for the first crepe unless your pan is sticky.

4. Pour ¼ cup of the batter into the pan and spread to thinly cover the bottom by tilting and rotating the pan. Cook until the crepe begins to dry, about 45 seconds. Flip the crepe, using a fork to separate the crepe from the pan and to turn the crepe over. Cook the second side briefly and turn out of the pan onto a plate. The finished crepe will be light to golden brown.

5. Repeat with the remaining batter.

french toast

[MAKES 4 SERVINGS]

Something magical happens when vanilla and cinnamon come together, and this French toast is the perfect example. On a leisurely Saturday morning, we'll put some John Coltrane jazz on the stereo and whip up a batch of French toast for breakfast, preferably with some pure maple syrup, and maybe a strip of bacon or three.

2 eggs
½ cup milk
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon GF vanilla extract
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
8 slices Sandwich Bread or store-bought GF bread Salted butter

1. Whisk together the eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon in a shallow bowl.

2. Dip each piece of bread into the egg mixture, leaving it in long enough to absorb some of the mixture, about 60 seconds per slice. (If your plate isn't deep enough to fully submerge the slices, be sure to soak both sides of the bread.)

3. Preheat a skillet or griddle to medium-high. Liberally grease with butter.

4. Place 2 or 3 slices of the dipped bread onto the hot pan and cook until the bottoms are golden, about 5 minutes. Flip and cook the second sides until the bread is cooked through and golden, another 3 minutes or so.

5. Repeat with the remaining bread, buttering the pan between each batch.

french toast casserole

[MAKES 6 SERVINGS]

This dish gives extra mileage to food you already have in the house. We seldom make this dish in its own right. More often, we have leftover bread, or pancakes, or waffles, or French toast (or some combination thereof) that we're looking to give new life. French toast casserole fits the bill — it's super tasty, and you'd never know that you're eating "leftovers" if you weren't making the dish yourself. It's moist, and the vanilla and cinnamon trump the flavors of whatever breads you use to make it.

4 cups cut up, day-old bread/pancakes/waffles/muffins (any leftover GF bread)
¼ cup (½ stick) salted butter, melted
2 eggs
1½ cups milk
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon GF vanilla extract Pure maple syrup

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease an 8- or 9-inch square baking pan or an 8- or 9-inch round cake pan.

2. Cut the bread into 1-inch pieces and put in a large bowl. Drizzle with the melted butter and toss to coat.

3. Whisk together the eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla in a separate bowl.

4. Pour the egg mixture over the bread and mix roughly with a spoon to break up the bread so it can absorb most of the liquid. Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan.

5. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. The casserole should be golden brown. Serve warm with pure maple syrup.

For a wonderful homemade breakfast in the morning without a lot of work, make the casserole the night before and cover and refrigerate until morning. You will have a hot breakfast on the table with no fuss! Be sure to bake the chilled casserole for an additional 5 minutes. You can also fully bake the dish the night before, and simply reheat it in the morning.

blueberry muffins with streusel topping

[MAKES 20 MUFFINS]

One of our favorite places to go rock climbing is at the Gunks, popular cliffs near New Paltz in New York's Hudson Valley. Bushes of wild blueberries grow along the tops of the cliffs, set back into the forest just a few steps from the edge. The blueberries stay cool enough in the shade that when we nibble on a few at the top of a climb on a warm summer afternoon they seem to be naturally refrigerated! Whether you use wild blueberries or not, you'll love them in these muffins with a streusel topping. The muffins have a wonderfully moist texture, and anyone we've served them to hasn't been able to tell they're gluten-free. If you have only one muffin tin, the recipe can be divided in half to make 10 muffins.

4 cups (500 g) Artisan GF Flour Blend, plus additional for tossing with the blueberries
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon GF baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, melted
1 cup half-and-half
4 eggs
1 teaspoon GF vanilla extract
2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray 20 cups of two 12-cup muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray. Place paper liners in the greased cups if desired. (Liners are not strictly needed — the muffins should pop out of the tin, but the liners make it easier.)

2. Mix together the 4 cups flour, xanthan gum, sugar, and baking powder.

3. Add the melted butter and stir to form a crumbled mixture. Set aside 1 cup of the mixture for the topping.

4. Mix together the half-and-half, eggs, and vanilla in a separate bowl. Add to the remaining crumble mixture, stirring just until moist to make a batter.

5. Lightly toss the blueberries in a little flour, then fold into the batter. (The flour coating prevents the fruit from sinking to the bottom of the muffins.)

6. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each three-quarters full. (A cookie scoop or ice cream scoop works very well to transfer the batter.) Sprinkle the top of the muffins with the reserved crumbled mixture. Partially fill any unused cups with water to prevent your muffin tins from warping in the oven.

7. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the muffins spring back when lightly pressed. The muffins should be slightly golden brown on top.

8. Let the muffins cool in the tins for 10 minutes. Remove and serve.

VARIATIONS

• Cranberry Muffins: For the blueberries, substitute an equal quantity of dried cranberries and add 1 teaspoon grated orange zest to the batter.

• Cherry-Almond Muffins: For the blueberries and vanilla, substitute equal quantities of cherries (fresh or frozen) and GF almond extract.

banana nut muffins

[MAKES 12 MUFFINS]

We would often buy large bunches of bananas at the supermarket, but once we got home, we wouldn't be able to eat them fast enough. The remainder of the bunch would sit on the kitchen counter, slowly developing brown spots as the bananas over-ripened. We first began making these muffins as a way to use up those bananas before they went too far over the hill, but have come to love the recipe for its own sake, too. The banana flavor infuses the muffins, while small chunks of banana offer extra bursts of goodness.

3 to 4 bananas (depending on size), peeled
1 egg
2/3 cup sugar
¼ cup (½ stick) salted butter, melted
1 teaspoon GF vanilla extract
1½ cups (188 g) Artisan GF Flour Blend
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1½ teaspoons GF baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup walnuts or pecans

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray one 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Place paper liners in the greased muffin cups, if desired. (Liners are not strictly needed — the muffins should pop out of the tin, but the liners make it easier.)

2. Mash the bananas in a large mixing bowl until mostly smooth with a few large lumps. (A stand mixer is ideal for this job, using the paddle attachment.)

3. Mix in the egg, sugar, melted butter, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon, whisking to combine and "sift." Add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture and mix at low speed to combine, about 10 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix at high speed for about 5 seconds, until the batter is thoroughly mixed. Fold in the nuts.

4. Scoop the batter into the muffin cups. (A cookie scoop or ice cream scoop works very well to transfer the batter.)

5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the muffins spring back when lightly pressed. The muffins should be golden brown on top.

6. Let the muffins cool in the tin for 5 minutes. Remove and serve. If you are not serving them immediately, allow the muffins to cool completely on a wire rack.

VARIATIONS

For a banana-only, nut-free version, simply omit the walnuts or pecans.

This recipe can also be used to make banana nut bread. Grease a 8 × 4 × 2inch loaf pan, add all the batter, and bake for 50 to 55 minutes, until the bread is golden brown and springs back when lightly pressed.

pumpkin spice muffins

[MAKES 12 MUFFINS]

One thing we love about our style of artisanal cooking is how it is often intimately connected to the variations of the seasons. And when it comes to fall, few foods are as evocative of that season as the pumpkin. When the leaves have fallen off the trees and the mornings are crisp and cool, a pumpkin spice muffin is a perfect way to start the day. The cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves really come through, in combination with the more subtle flavor of the pumpkin.

1 cup cooked pumpkin (canned or home roasted)
½ cup milk
2 eggs
1/3 cup (2/3 stick) salted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup (125 g) Artisan GF Flour Blend
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 teaspoons GF baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
? teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray the cups of a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Place paper liners in the greased cups, if desired. (Liners are not strictly needed — the muffins should pop out of the tin, but the liners make it easier.)

2. Mix the pumpkin, milk, eggs, melted butter, and brown sugar until well blended. Add the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and salt and mix just until incorporated.

3. Scoop the batter into the muffin cups. (A cookie scoop or ice cream scoop works very well to transfer the batter.)

4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the muffins spring back when lightly pressed. The muffins should be slightly golden brown on top.

5. Let the muffins cool in the tin for 5 minutes. Remove and serve. If you are not serving them immediately, allow the muffins to cool completely on a wire rack.

VARIATION

This recipe can also be used to make pumpkin spice bread. Grease an 8 × 4 × 2-inch loaf pan, add all the batter, and bake for 50 to 55 minutes, until the bread is golden brown and springs back when lightly pressed.

chocolate chip scones

[MAKES 16 SCONES]

In the summer of 1999 — long before our gluten-free days — Pete visited some of his family in Belgium, just outside the city of Antwerp. When his great aunt, Tante Georgette, realized that he loved chocolate, he woke up the next morning to an entire tray of freshly made croissants literally oozing with chocolate. While that amount of chocolate was a bit overwhelming, these chocolate chip scones provide just the right amount of sweet to start the day. The scones keep very well and can be stored up to 1 week in an airtight container. In fact, we prefer our scones about three days old. Over that period of time, they lose just enough of their moisture to become flakier.

3½ cups (438 g) Artisan GF Flour Blend
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
2 tablespoons GF baking powder
1/3 cup sugar
¾ cup (1½ sticks) cold salted butter
1 cup heavy cream
2 eggs
1 teaspoon GF vanilla extract
½ cup mini chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

2. Mix the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, and sugar in a large bowl.

3. Cut the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles pea-sized crumbles. (To cut butter into a flour mixture, use a pastry blender, two knives, or your hands.)

4. Add the chocolate chips and mix to combine.

5. Mix together the cream, eggs, and vanilla in a separate bowl. Add to the flour mixture and work together until a dough forms. (Using your hands is the best way to combine the ingredients.) The dough will be a little sticky. You can add a small amount of additional flour to make the dough easier to work with.

6. Form the dough into a flat rectangle about 20 inches long, 3 inches wide, and ¾ inch thick. Cut the dough into triangles to form 16 scones: Start by cutting the dough crosswise in half, then divide each half into four equal squares. Then cut each square diagonally to form triangles.

7. Place the scones on an ungreased cookie sheet 1 inch apart. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until light golden brown.

8. Allow the scones to cool on the cookie sheet. Serve warm or at room temperature.

VARIATIONS

• Vanilla-Raisin: Substitute raisins for the chocolate chips.

• Cherry-Almond: Substitute almond extract for the vanilla and dried cherries for the chocolate chips.

• Pecan-Bourbon: Substitute 1 tablespoon bourbon for the vanilla and chopped pecans or walnuts for the chocolate chips.

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Excerpted from "Artisanal Gluten-Free Cooking"
by .
Copyright © 2012 Kelli and Peter Bronski.
Excerpted by permission of The Experiment Publishing.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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