Gluten-Free Baking For Dummies

Tasty recipes to bake your (gluten-free) heart out

Imagine baking without flour. Impossible, right? Sure, there are replacement flours, but there's an art to combining those ingredients to re-create the tastes you know and love. Baking is truly the greatest challenge when cooking gluten-free, and more than 150 delicious recipes for baking cakes, cookies, and breads are coming fresh out of the oven with Gluten-Free Baking For Dummies.

Greek Pastitsio
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 75-80 minutes
Yield: 8-10 servings
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter3
3 tablespoons (30 grams) sweet rice flour
2 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons grated Pecorino Romano cheese
6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1 pound brown rice penne pasta
1 pound ground beef or ground lamb
2 large onions, chopped ½ teaspoon cinnamon2 eggs
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 whole roma tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
¼ teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9" x 13" baking dish with 1 tablespoon solid shortening and set aside.
2. For topping, in a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and stir for 1 minute. Add the milk and heat, stirring constantly with a wire whisk, until the mixture thickens. Then add the Pecorino cheese and feta cheese and stir until melted. Set aside to cool while you prepare the filling.
3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the pasta until just barely al dente. It should still be firm; do not overcook.
4. Meanwhile, in large skillet, cook the ground beef or lamb until almost done, about 5 minutes. Add onions and garlic and cook until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes longer.
5. Add the tomatoes, oregano, basil, allspice, and cinnamon to the meat mixture and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
6. Drain the pasta and add to the meat mixture. Place in prepared baking dish. The mixture should be fairly dry.
7. Beat the eggs and stir into the cooled cheese sauce. Pour cheese sauce over the pasta mixture.
8. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or the topping is puffed and light golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes, then serve.

Cheddar Cheese Hand Pies
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 15-20 minute
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
¼ cup (30 grams) sorghum flour
¼ cup (40 grams) raw buckwheat flour
2 tablespoons (16 grams) millet flour
½ cup (83 grams) potato starch
½ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2 eggs
1 tablespoon ice water
1-½ cups diced ham, drained canned beans, or leftover vegetables

Directions
1. In large mixer bowl, combine sorghum flour, raw buckwheat flour, millet flour, potato starch, and salt. Stir until the mixture is all one color.
2. Add the cheese and stir well to coat. Add butter and beat with mixer until crumbs form. The mixture should look like sand.
3. Stir in the eggs and ice water until the dough forms and gather into a ball. Divide the dough into sixths, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for two hours or overnight.
4. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Roll out each ball into an 6" circle between two sheets of plastic wrap.
5. Remove top sheet of plastic wrap and place dough circles onto a parchment covered cookie sheet, dough side down. Remove second sheet of plastic wrap.
6. Fill one side of the circle with ¼ cup diced ham, canned beans, or leftover cooked vegetables. Don't use any filling that's wet or has a lot of liquid.
7. Fold dough over the filling and press edges to seal. Crimp edges decoratively, or press with a fork.
8. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until pastries are browned. Place on wire rack to cool for 10-15 minutes, then serve.

Note: Be sure you use raw buckwheat flour that you grind yourself from raw buckwheat groats. Store-bought buckwheat flour doesn't have the same thickening properties.


Cheddar Cheese Hand Pies
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 15-20 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
¼ cup (30 grams) sorghum flour
¼ cup (40 grams) raw buckwheat flour
2 tablespoons (16 grams) millet flour
½ cup (83 grams) potato starch
½ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2 eggs
1 tablespoon ice water
1-½ cups diced ham, drained canned beans, or leftover vegetables

Directions
1. In large mixer bowl, combine sorghum flour, raw buckwheat flour, millet flour, potato starch, and salt. Stir until the mixture is all one color.
2. Add the cheese and stir well to coat. Add butter and beat with mixer until crumbs form. The mixture should look like sand.
3. Stir in the eggs and ice water until the dough forms and gather into a ball. Divide the dough into sixths, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for two hours or overnight.
4. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Roll out each ball into an 6" circle between two sheets of plastic wrap.
5. Remove top sheet of plastic wrap and place dough circles onto a parchment covered cookie sheet, dough side down. Remove second sheet of plastic wrap.
6. Fill one side of the circle with ¼ cup diced ham, canned beans, or leftover cooked vegetables. Don't use any filling that's wet or has a lot of liquid.
7. Fold dough over the filling and press edges to seal. Crimp edges decoratively, or press with a fork.
8. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until pastries are browned. Place on wire rack to cool for 10-15 minutes, then serve.

Note: Be sure you use raw buckwheat flour that you grind yourself from raw buckwheat groats. Store-bought buckwheat flour doesn't have the same thickening properties.