Yeast Bread Techniques, Lesson 2: Baguette aux Céréales - A Theme and Variations

Somewhere in central Paris, perhaps even at this moment, people are lining up outside a certain boulangerie to buy freshly-baked bread. (This applies to many, many bakeries, actually - but there is one in particular that I am thinking of.) Supposedly one can find the best bread by looking for the boulangeries with the longest queues, which seems logical enough; it also very well may be why I happened to end up at this one. You see, generally fresh bread comes out of the oven twice a day, and that is when people start gathering around the bakery doors: first in the morning, and then again in late afternoon before supper. This was mid-day, though, and the small bakery was packed as tightly as a New York subway train at rush hour (though it of course was far more calm and quiet, and smelled much better). I, being rather shorter than everyone clustering near the front counter, didn't get a terribly long look at the array of baked goods. One bread in particular did catch my eye, though - in contrast to the ubiquitous floury, golden baguettes, there were a few long loaves labelled "baguette aux céréales," which were wonderfully brown and flecked with all sorts of seeds and grains. Yum. 

With its slightly denser crumb and rich whole-grain flavour, this less-known traditional French bread can be made gluten-free with very satisfying and delicious results! Yet while "gluten-free" seems fairly well-understood in France, gluten-free bread is apparently uncommon. That's unfortunate, because I think this certainly measures up to its gluteny counterpart - go ahead, give it a try! This makes a small loaf; if you want to double the recipe I recommend forming two small loaves rather than one large one.

The recipe I've created is actually a variation on my "Whole Wheatless" bread in the first yeast baking lesson. If you haven't read that lesson, please do that first - it explains some of the techniques you will need to make this bread. If you have made that recipe, you will notice that this looks very similar;  some of the proportions are different, though, so read carefully. And without further ado:

Baguette aux Céréales

Step 1: The night before you will bake, combine in a mixing bowl:

1/4 c each brown rice flour, buckwheat flour, & chickpea flour

2 T teff grains (not teff flour)

1 tsp yeast

140 mL water

In a separate small bowl or cup, measure: 

2 T millet grains 

and add just enough water to cover. Let the flour mixture (called the poolish) and the millet soak for 12-16 hours. (The millet grains need to absorb water, but you want to keep them separate from the yeast for now.)

Step 2: Combine in a bowl and blend well:

1 1/4 c tapioca starch

2 T sweet rice flour

1 T + 1/2 tsp psyllium

1/4 tsp Pomona's pure citrus pectin (see note on my Ingredients page)

3/4 tsp sea salt

2 tsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp yeast

Combine in a small dish:

1 T certified GF rolled oats, such as Bob's Red Mill (set aside additional 2 tsp for crust)

1 tsp flaxseed (set aside additional 1 tsp for crust)

2 tsp sunflower seeds (set aside additional 1 tsp for crust)

1/2 tsp poppyseeds (set aside additional 1 tsp for crust)

You will also need:

Water (up to 80 mL)

2 tsp grapeseed oil or other light oil (plus a little more for brushing crust)

2-3 tsp buckwheat honey or other dark honey (plus a little more for brushing crust)

3/4 tsp double-acting baking powder

Parchment paper, a baguette pan or baking stone, another oven-safe pan or baking dish, & a few ice cubes (those last two items are not absolutely essential, but very helpful. It will make sense in a minute, trust me!)

Step 3: Work the flour mixture from Step 2 into the poolish from Step 1, first with a soft spatula and then knead by hand. You will need up to 80 mL extra water, but add it gradually as you go - remember, you can always add a little more water if you need to, but you can't take water out if you add too much!

Do not be alarmed if the poolish looks like dijon mustard!

Once all the flour is incorporated, knead in the seed/oat mixture from Step 2 and the soaked millet from Step 1, then knead in the 2 tsp grapeseed oil. Cover the bowl and set it in a warm place to allow the dough to double, probably about 2 hours.

The dough will be smooth and somewhat stretchy.

Step 4: Once the dough has risen to approximately double, knead in the honey (3 tsp will make the bread just slightly sweet). Now take a look at the dough:

See how the dough is a little crumbly and stiff, sort of like
cookie dough? That means it needs a tiny bit more water.
Add water 1-2 teaspoons at a time, kneading it in well.

After working in a couple of extra teaspoons of water,
the dough is smooth and stretchy again.

Learn to recognise the difference between the smooth dough and the slightly dry dough. Small differences like this can have a big impact on your bread! Now press the dough into a flat rectangle on a piece of parchment, sprinkle with the baking powder, and roll up as demonstrated in the previous lesson. Brush with honey & oil and sprinkle on the extra seeds.

A lot of the seed mixture will end up scattered around,
rather than on, the bread. That's ok...

Just gently press the seeds on top to make sure they stick,
and roll the loaf so more seeds stick to the sides.

Now set the bread in the baguette pan, with the parchment still underneath it. (Trim away any extra parchment.) Use a wet knife to cut a single slit down the length of the loaf. Cover the loaf with plastic wrap and let rise for at least an hour (in the meantime, preheat the oven to 220ºC/425ºF).

Keep the knife wet for a clean cut.

When the loaf has risen, place a few ice cubes in a small baking dish and place this on the bottom rack of the oven. Let the oven get nice and steamy for 10 minutes before putting the bread in the oven. (The steam helps form a nice crisp crust!)

Put the bread on the middle rack of the oven and immediately turn down the temperature to 205ºC/400ºF. Bake for at least an hour, until the loaf is nicely browned. Let cool for about 3 hours before cutting. 

Fresh from the oven!

Gluten-Free Yeast Bread Techniques, Lesson 1: Roll up your sleeves

In the past few years, gluten-free baked goods have improved immensely both in quality and accessibility. There are even 100% GF bakeries in some cities! And I know that for every person buying gluten-free foods, there are at least as many who are baking at home. I've noticed, though, that despite all the gluten-free cookies, cupcakes, and brownies, good yeast breads are still much harder to find.

At first I assumed people just missed the sweet things more - after all, cafes sell scones and muffins to go with the coffee, not dinner rolls. But as I met more gluten-intolerant people, I noticed something else: many people feel that gluten-free yeast bread is too hard to make. It is more complicated than pancakes, of course, but it really doesn't have to be difficult. At all.

Since bread is what I most enjoy baking, I decided to post a series of lessons on gluten-free yeast bread. If you have felt daunted by the idea of making your own bread, I hope you will give it a try! And even if you bake frequently, I hope some of these lessons will still be helpful.

When I was learning to bake gluten-free, all of the mixes and recipes I found made bread from batter rather than a dough. I missed the "hands-on" aspects of baking: kneading, shaping, stretching the dough. I also missed the simplicity: flour, water, salt, maybe a little sugar or honey or oil. Instead, the GF versions required eggs, and often milk, along with fussy flour blends and gums. I (fortunately) have no problem with milk or eggs; that wasn't the issue. I just wanted bread to feel simple again.  

Well, this is that simple bread, made gluten-free. This bread is also one that just about anyone can enjoy: it is free of all the "Top 8" allergens, and is even safe for those of you with sensitivities to potatoes! And did I mention it's delicious?

The taste and texture are nearly indistinguishable from whole-wheat bread. Seriously, look at that crumb!
And it's not at all dry or crumbly - just a nice slice of bread.

If you are used to making batter-based bread, this recipe might seem surprising - especially some of the techniques involved. First of all, put away your mixer! This dough is stiff, so you won't need to beat it vigorously like batter (and it is not strong enough to use dough hooks). This is a completely hands-on process; all you need is a bowl or two, a spatula, and a little time. Like many traditional wheat breads, this bread starts out the night before you'll actually be baking it - this starter is often called a sponge, poolish, or preferment. It will give you the complex, yeasty flavours that make bread so yummy.

First, the ingredients for the sponge (poolish):

1/4 c buckwheat flour

1/4 c brown rice flour

1/4 c chickpea flour

2 T teff grains (not flour)

1 tsp yeast

140 mL water

Combine these ingredients in a large-ish bowl, cover, and ferment for 12-16 hours.

Other ingredients, for adding after the fermenting time:

1 c tapioca starch

2 T sweet rice flour

1 T psyllium husks

1/4 tsp Pomona's citrus pectin (see my "Ingredients" page for an explanation)

2 tsp sugar

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp yeast

3/4 tsp double-acting baking powder

Water - 30-45 mL, as needed

2 tsp grapeseed oil or other light oil - - plus a little more for brushing top crust

2 tsp buckwheat honey** - - plus a little more for brushing crust (Buckwheat honey is a dark, strong honey; it is not like regular clover honey. You can usually find it at a health-food store.)

**If you are vegan, you might try substituting brown rice syrup or molasses for the honey - let me know how it goes!

Method:

After the sponge has fermented for 12-16 hours, whisk together the rest of the dry ingredients except the baking powder, and gradually work the dry mixture into the sponge. Start out with a soft spatula, but once most of the flour is worked in - when it looks like the picture below - you will need to use your hands.

Knead by hand to incorporate all the flour. I know it looks
more like cookie dough right now - trust me though, it works!

Sprinkle in a little water as you knead if you cannot get all the flour into the dough. The amount you might need will vary, mostly depending on how well the sponge absorbed its water, so be conservative here - the dough should not be sticky!

Keep kneading...

Soon you will have a smooth, stiff dough.

When the dough looks like this, knead in the grapeseed oil. Cover the dough and allow it to double - about 2 hours.

At the end of that rising period, knead in the honey (and a little more water if necessary). The dough will probably seem a little crumbly when you first touch it; it hasn't dried out, it's just because the network formed by the psyllium and pectin weakened as the dough rested. A few moments of kneading should make it feel cohesive and smooth again. Now press the dough into a flat rectangle on a piece of parchment. This is where the baking powder comes in: sprinkle it over the surface of the rectangle. You will be rolling the dough so the baking powder is on the inside.

My weird, windowless kitchen makes everything look yellow.
No. matter. what. I. do.  
...Anyway. Spread the baking powder evenly, like so. 

Now, you may be wondering what on earth I'm doing. After all, squashing the dough and then rolling it up is hardly a normal step in breadmaking!

Well, this technique actually serves two purposes in getting a better loaf of gluten-free bread:

1) Rolling up the baking powder in the dough will provide extra leavening. Adding it this late in the recipe means it is still very active when you finally shape the loaf - it will start forming tiny air pockets, helping to keep the bread from being dense! (I will go into this in more detail in an upcoming lesson.)

2) Rather than just squishing the dough into a loaf shape, the rolling method will "align" the crumb - creating a springier slice of bread and a more even crust.

Starting with a short side, roll up
the dough. Just like cinnamon rolls!

Once you have rolled up the dough, gently shape the ends so the spiral does not show. If you are putting the loaf into a pan, lift it in to the pan parchment and all. You can also bake it as a free-form loaf on the parchment if you have a baking stone (place on middle rack of oven). Brush the top of the loaf thoroughly with a mixture of grapeseed oil and honey. Drape a piece of plastic wrap over the loaf and allow it to rise for the final time, about an hour. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF. 

After the loaf has risen, place the pan in the oven or carefully slide the loaf with parchment onto the baking stone. (If you are using a glass pan, lower the temperature to about 190ºC/380ºF once you have put the bread in.) Bake for one hour or so, until the top crust is nicely browned and the loaf sounds hollow when you tap the bottom. Let it cool completely before slicing.

Even though it's whole-grain, this bread is very soft and flexible.
It's also especially yummy spread with honey.

Lavender-Lemon Tea Cakes

There's this local ice cream company that makes a lot of interesting flavours. Sure, they have the usual things like chocolate and vanilla custard, but they also have things like raspberry-honey ice cream and creme fraiche gelato. The other day, a friend brought over a pint of lavender ice cream and I was reminded of just how delightful lavender tastes against such a sweet, creamy background. It also reminded me that I'd had that flavour once before, paired with one of the things that could make it even better - bright, citrusy lemon custard. And while ice cream is delicious any time of year (a fact which has been proven by my boyfriend, who will curl up, shivering, with a pint of Ben & Jerry's in the dead of winter), it doesn't exactly bring spring to mind.

Lemons and lavender, however, do - at least to me, the delicate herbal flavour of lavender and the bright, fresh taste of lemons seem perfect for a sun-filled spring day. I wanted to combine them in something that seemed equally spring-y. Despite the sun, it's still pretty cold here...so it doesn't hurt to have something that goes nicely with a hot cup of tea as well. Somewhere between a scone and a shortbread biscuit, these little tea cakes fit the bill and are sure to bring some sunshine to your table.

Lavender-Lemon Tea Cakes

**(Still only volume measurements for now - getting a new scale soon though!)**

1/2 c brown rice flour

1/2 c white rice flour

1/2 c tapioca starch

3/8 c Expandex modified tapioca

2 T sweet rice flour

1 T millet flour 

1 T chestnut flour

2 tsp potato flour (not potato starch)

2 T sugar

1/8 tsp sea salt

1 tsp psyllium husks

3/8 tsp Pomona's pure citrus pectin

1 T double-acting baking powder

6 T (3 oz.) butter, cold

60 mL cream

50 mL milk

3 T light honey

1 medium egg (50 mL) (Can be made without the egg - just increase other liquids slightly)

2 tsp dried food-grade lavender 

1 1/2 T lemon zest (about 2 lemons - I used one Meyer lemon and one regular lemon)

50 mL lemon juice

Method:

Mix flours, sugar, salt, baking powder, and psyllium and pectin in a bowl and set aside. In a small saucepan, heat the cream, milk, and honey - do not bring to a boil, but make sure it gets quite hot. Stir the lavender into the hot mixture, cover, and allow to infuse for 30 minutes. (After 30 min, strain the liquid to remove lavender, and chill it.) Meanwhile, zest and juice the lemons. 

Lavender buds infusing in the sweet milk mixture

Cut the cold butter into the flour mixture until it is in small pieces, then rub it into the flour using your fingers until the mixture looks like small crumbs. Stir in the zest. Next add in the chilled lavender-milk infusion, the beaten egg (if using), and finally the lemon juice. Blend lightly with a spatula until the dough is uniform and soft. On a baking sheet lined with parchment, roll or pat the dough out to a thickness of ~ 1 inch/2.5 cm. Cut the dough into shapes using a glass or a biscuit cutter.

Brush the tops of the cakes with milk and decorate with extra sugar and lavender buds. Bake at 190ºC/375ºF for approx. 20 minutes, or until the cakes are very lightly browned.

Now pour yourself some tea and enjoy! These are also delicious with honey or some sweetened whipped cream.

Rustic millet & malted buckwheat bread

Here's a riddle: what's crusty and chewy on the outside, with a soft, open crumb, full of whole grains, and gluten-free?

If you guessed "this bread"...ok, I know that wasn't really a riddle. Honestly, though - it is over 50% whole grain, yet has no eggs or gum. (Go ahead, check the recipe!) It's also really delicious, and keeps for days without getting dry. So go ahead - it's actually quite easy to make! I've been making it for a few months now, and have finally gotten the recipe just right. I gave up on trying to get a really impressive picture of it, and just decided to give you the recipe.

There's really only one problem with this bread: because of the high oat content, it doesn't really brown at all. It's so good that that doesn't matter, though - especially if you make it prettier (and even tastier) by rolling it in seeds before baking. I've just used sesame here, but I think a blend of sesame and poppy seeds would be even better.

I first hinted at this bread in my post about malting buckwheat. If you've never tried malting, I really encourage you to go for it! The seeds do most of the work themselves, you'll just need to tend to them every so often. Within a few days, you'll have nutty, sweet, roasted buckwheat bits that add a really special flavour to bread. (If you don't want to wait that long, you might try substituting whole teff grains or maybe some sort of seeds.)

This recipe uses a piece of equipment not normally used for baking: a blender. That's because the sponge starts with raw grains rather than flour - the resulting larger grain pieces keep the crumb from being too close, which makes bread gummy. It also gives a very nice, rustic texture.




So here's what to do:

The day before you want to bake the bread, combine in a blender:

- 1/4 c whole millet
- 3 T raw buckwheat
- 2 T malted buckwheat
- 1 c gluten-free rolled oats
- 60 mL thin yogurt, such as Trader Joe's European Style (yogurt should be just milk & cultures, no added thickeners)
- 250 mL water or whey

Blend until the mixture reaches a thin porridge consistency (no big chunks!), probably about a minute if you are using a standard kitchen blender. Pour the resulting slurry into a large bowl and stir in:

- 1/2 teaspoon yeast

Cover the bowl tightly and set it in a draft-free place for 12 - 24 hours.

Now make the dry mixture (sorry, only volume measurements for now - my scale seems to have lost its accuracy)

3/4 c tapioca starch
3/4 c Expandex modified tapioca starch
2 tsp potato flour (not starch)
2 tsp chickpea or other bean flour
3/8 tsp Pomona's pure citrus pectin (this is just pectin - as opposed to standard brands like Ball's etc which contain dextrose or other fillers)
2 T psyllium husks
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp yeast
(optional - 2 tsp sugar)

Blend the dry ingredients thoroughly, then mix into the sponge from yesterday. Knead dough by hand to ensure it is well-dispersed. If dough seems too stiff, sprinkle in a teaspoon or two of water. Re-cover bowl and set in a warmish place for up to 2 hours, or until it has doubled in size.

Now rub a piece of parchment with olive oil, and pre-heat oven (with baking stone) to 200º C/400º F.
Press dough into a flat rectangle on the parchment paper (as if you were going to make cinnamon rolls, but smaller). Roll the dough up into a narrow loaf shape, with the seam on the bottom, and roll it in plenty of sesame and/or poppy seeds. Cut slashes in the top crust and drape a piece of plastic-wrap over the loaf. Allow it to double in size (about 1 - 1 1/2 hours) and, using a baking peel or baking sheet to transfer, slide it onto the baking stone.

Bake for one hour. Cool for at least an hour before slicing.

P.S. - After this week, I'll be able to post (and create) recipes a lot more often. This is my final week of college! (Which means that...um...I really ought to get back to work on my final project, rather than blogging.) Soon I will also post some tutorials, going over yeasted-bread-baking techniques in more detail.
Until then - Enjoy your bread!

Sweets, Behind the Scenes: A Tour of Theo Chocolate

With Valentine's Day coming up so soon, I imagine many of us are thinking about chocolate. (Er...more so than usual, I mean.) I recently had the opportunity to tour Theo chocolate in Seattle - in fact, the only organic, fair-trade, bean-to-bar chocolate maker in the United States. 

In preparation for this field trip, my class covered a lot of interesting and eye-opening information about chocolate and its production. Some of these things can help you make sure the sweets you may buy are truly sweet in all senses of the word - for you, the environment, and everyone involved in making them.

Interesting fact of the day: Did you know that chocolate is a fermented product? The fruit on the outside of the beans is fermented by yeasts and bacteria, which infuses the bean with compounds that give chocolate its complex, fruity flavour. This process must be carefully monitored, though, to avoid mold growth. (Many companies operate on such a large scale that the fermentation isn't monitored...meaning there is mold in those cheap chocolate bars!) After the fruit has fermented, the beans are dried in the sun. All this is done before the beans can be shipped for roasting. The process is much like coffee roasting, but it smells even better, if you can believe that! 

These are the cocoa nibs. They taste sort of fruity and nutty.
Photo: Flickr user La.Catholique (CC Attribution licensed)

We got to taste some freshly-roasted cocoa nibs...







Did I mention that the whole factory smelled delicious??

Some of this aroma was coming from the soon-to-be chocolate as it was conching - the process that evenly distributes cocoa solids and cocoa butter for a smooth texture and full flavour. The heat and hours of mixing also allow acids left over from fermentation to evaporate. Many manufacturers cut this step short, though, and add baking soda or potassium bicarbonate to neutralise the acid (this is what is called Dutch-process or alkalized cocoa). This has the sometimes-desired effect of darkening the chocolate, but adding the alkalizing agent also destroys much of the chocolate's antioxidant benefits! That piece of information is usually not mentioned when dark chocolate is touted as "healthy;" look for chocolate that is not alkalized/Dutch-processed.

Here is the roaster and the machine that removes
shells from the beans. Photo from Theo's website.

We got to sample several of their chocolates throughout the tour, of course. It is possibly the best chocolate I have ever had. And no, they're not paying me to say that! Honestly, this chocolate is amazing. They do make just one bar that isn't gluten-free, but the wheat isn't added until the very end (as in, just before pouring into molds) and they are careful to clean all the equipment thoroughly. They are also one of very few chocolate makers who don't use soy lecithin. 

In addition to plain chocolate, Theo also makes
a number of interesting and creative flavoured bars.
The coffee is one of my favourites.

The biggest issue I wanted to mention, though, comes long before the cacao beans are made into chocolate: the concept of Fair Trade. I am ashamed to admit I didn't know that much of the world's cacao, grown in western Africa, is produced through child slavery. (And that is the cacao grown for Hershey's, Nestle, and so on.) After learning that, it was very sobering to consider just how ubiquitous cheap chocolate is - in candy bars, ice cream, and so on - and how many of us buy those things without thinking about where it really came from. 

It seems the only sure way to avoid supporting that industry is to choose Fair Trade-certified chocolate. All of the beans used by Theo are Fair Trade, with most of it grown in smallish crops in Central America. Some of the chocolates they make are single-origin, too - this means you can taste the difference between regions, a concept known as terroir. It's the same principle as the regional taste differences in wine and coffee. Part of it is the mineral composition in the soil, and since it is a fermented food, regional differences in microorganisms play a part as well, just as with wine and cheese.

So, when you are choosing some sweets for your sweetie (or for yourself, for that matter!) look for fair-trade certification on the label - for ethical reasons, yes, but due to the production processes it is also likely to be better quality overall. How much sweeter could it be? 

By the way, if you live anywhere near Seattle, Theo gives tours daily. (Read: lots of samples included.) If you are in a different part of the country, they distribute through other stores including Whole Foods and some food co-ops, plus you can order from their web site.   

Julia Child's Daube de Boeuf (On a Student's Budget)

 It's not often that I'm compelled to post a recipe that's non-baking-related. Partly because this is primarily a baking blog, and partly because unlike baking, when I'm cooking, I don't measure or write things down.

Some people say that's how to be a "real" cook: do everything by taste, smell, appearance. I don't know what I think about that. I mean, where would we be without recipes? I'm not just talking about cookbooks. My mother keeps a small wooden notecard box on top of the kitchen shelf, filled with recipes jotted on tattered slips of paper and clipped from newspapers decades ago. I would imagine many of you have something similar.

And then there are the "recipes" that are really more like an outline. A set of ingredients, in assorted subjective proportions, yet still recognisable as, for instance, chili - despite whatever variations upon the theme may occur. You can make it hot or mild, with or without beans, with beef, with turkey; you have dozens of combinations of spices to choose from, but as long as a certain framework is there, it's unmistakably recognisable as chili.                                    

Despite the resilience of these food frameworks, we still have recipes documenting countless permutations of a given dish. This needs no reason beyond the fact that someone liked it that exact way. But I don't need to tell you that, I suppose.

I've given this recipe much more of a grandiose introduction than I'd intended - especially considering that it is such unpretentious food. There is nothing out-of-the-ordinary about it. The changes I made have, if anything, made it even more modest than the one Julia Child described as a simple country dish. This mostly entailed trimming the expense of ingredients by decreasing the quantity of meat and using canned rather than fresh tomatoes, though I also took a few shortcuts for simplicity's sake. For instance, the original recipe calls for beef stock - I substituted water and it turned out just fine. So, without further ado:

Daube de Boeuf

Adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking


1 pound/455 grams pastured, grass-fed beef, cut into cubes - look for lean cut for stew
1 can diced tomatoes
2 large carrots, sliced thinly
1/2 large onion and/or shallots, sliced
1 1/4 cups white and/or brown mushrooms, sliced
2 or more slices bacon (I used just 2, from Applegate Farms)
1 cup/235 mL red wine
approx. 1/4 cup/30 g gluten-free flour - I used white rice flour & potato starch
1-2 T olive oil

Black pepper
Thyme
Bay leaves

Method:
Begin by cutting the bacon into pieces about 2 inches/5 cm in length. Bring a small pan of water to a simmer, and put the bacon in it for about 10 minutes. (According to Julia Child, this step is because American bacon is so smoky compared to French, and if you skip this step the whole daube will taste strongly of bacon.) After simmering, dry the bacon with paper towels.

The original recipe recommends
boiled potatoes, risotto,
or noodles to accompany.

- Preheat oven to 163 C/ 325 F.

Meanwhile, dry the pieces of beef with paper towels, then roll them in the flour until evenly coated. Heat the oil in an enamelled Dutch oven, and brown the beef (if it sticks, splash in a little wine). Once this is done, remove the beef or push it off to one side so you can make a layer of vegetables on the bottom. Distribute the beef evenly back over it. Add another layer of vegetables, then tomatoes - continue this pattern until all the vegetables are in.

Distribute the bacon and herbs over top of it, then pour over wine, juice from tomatoes, and enough water to nearly (but not quite) cover the vegetables.

Cover with lid, place in oven, allow to cook for about 3 hours.

Serve with boiled potatoes or crusty bread.

Now, "Bon appetit!"

We wish you a GF Christmas...

I found out I was gluten-intolerant the day after Christmas. My mother and I had baked so many cookies - as we did every year, to give as gifts. Of course, I'd planned on taking some for myself as well when I went back to my dormitory after Christmas. Instead, I added them to the treats I had already planned to give to all my friends. My stomach was no longer miserable, at least. However, I felt horribly deprived. And after tasting some packaged sponges Tapioca Bread, I remember wondering whether I'd ever be able to eat anything good again. (I guess I was a little melodramatic...)

That was three years ago. Oh, how things have changed!

If this is your first Christmas without gluten, be assured that you don't have to go without delicious holiday treats. And even if you have been gluten-free for years, it can still be helpful to keep some things in mind as you spend the holidays with family and friends who may or may not understand your dietary needs. These are some things I've learned - I hope you'll find them useful too.

1: Baking. There are an amazing number of recipes on the internet - not to mention in cookbooks - for pies, cookies, and so on. Some gluten-free bloggers have even put together collections of holiday recipes (here and here are two great places to start). You can also find flour blends that can be substituted cup-for-cup to convert favourite recipes. If someone else in your family usually bakes the traditional treats, ask if they would try using one of these blends in a recipe or two! My mother converted all our traditional recipes - quite successfully - using a blend of sorghum flour, potato starch, and tapioca starch.

2: Parties. If you are going to a party where you know the hosts personally, make sure to talk to them ahead of time. This way, you can find out if they will be able to accommodate you - and your hosts will be spared the awkwardness of not knowing about your restrictions until you show up, and finding they have nothing you can eat. If you are going to a larger party or potluck, stick to things that are almost certainly safe: fruit & veg trays and things in packages with the label on it are good places to start. Nut mixes and cold-cuts of meat can be iffy. In any case, offer to bring something to the party; this way you know there will be something safe. (Few things are worse than being hungry and surrounded by food you cannot eat!)

3: Alcohol. This is something you may frequently encounter at parties and other gatherings. With eggnog, ask to see the ingredients list - be wary of unidentified "modified food starch" and flavourings. If you are at a bar, stick to fruit-based things (sherry, wine, vermouth, cider) and distilled things (gin, vodka, etc.). Neat fact: distilled liquor, like distilled vinegar, is free of gluten even if it is grain-based. Beware anything with added colours or flavours, though: caramel colour and French vanilla flavouring are just two examples that may be grain-based, and alcohol is not required to show an ingredients list.

4: Travel. It may seem obvious, but bring food with you when you are travelling! Airport restaurants operate with a very small food prep area, so cross-contamination is likely. In-flight snacks usually consist of pretzels or crackers, and even when peanuts are available I have found that the seasoning often includes wheat flour. (True story: on a flight last year, I asked the flight attendant if any of the available snacks were gluten free. She looked puzzled, then responded, "Gluten? Is that, like,...fat-free?" Needless to say, I stuck to my own food!)

Some good, compact GF travel foods: crackers or cookies (homemade or packaged); cereal bars like Enviro-Kids, or energy bars (make sure the label says GF); dried fruit; nuts; cheese; corn tortillas; dry GF cereal/granola. I recently took a whole loaf of homemade bread through airport security with no problem. Also, if you want to bake, make sure to bring some flours with you if you will be staying with relatives.

5: Family. This is probably the hardest one.  I really think the holidays are the most difficult time for many gluten-intolerant people, with everyone sharing baked things that are a part of family traditions. I know it will be hard to explain to your grandmothers that you cannot try their Christmas cookies, not even "just a bite."

Many people have still never heard of celiac disease, and those that have may not understand cross-contamination or even what "gluten-free diet" really means. (Someone once asked me if I could eat things made with white flour, because it wasn't "whole" wheat!)

Explain to your friends and family, if you haven't already, why you must stick to a GF diet. Though a number of people do eat gluten-free by choice, for most of us it is non-negotiable. And lastly: please, please do not "cheat" by eating gluten if you know it makes you sick. Your long-term health is more important than a cookie.

Speaking of...

Here is the recipe! Measurements are given in volume rather than weight, because the original wheat recipe gives volume measurements.

Buttery Almond Biscuits


Makes 30 pressed biscuits


1 1/4 C unsalted butter, softened (2 1/2 sticks)
scant 3/4 C granulated sugar

1 cage-free egg

scant 1 C almond flour (or grind almonds in food processor)
5/8 C (1/2 C + 2 T) tapioca starch
3/8 C (6 T) sweet rice flour
2 1/2 T Expandex modified tapioca starch
1/2 C potato starch
1/4 C millet flour
3/4 tsp fruit pectin
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
raw sugar, reserved for decoration (optional)

Method:

Combine all dry ingredients (except sugar) in a bowl. In another bowl, cream together the butter and sugar, then stir in the egg. Gradually add the flour blend, making sure there are no lumps of butter or almond in the dough. The mixture will now be very soft and sticky - it is half butter, after all - so it will work best if you chill it for at least 20 minutes before pressing it into pan.

Heat the oven to 175º C / 350º F. There is no need to grease the pans; the butter in the dough is enough to keep them from sticking. When dough is chilled, dip your fingers in tapioca starch and press it into pans, allowing about 1/2 cm for rising. You may use decorative ones, as above, or simply use round or square tins for sliced shortbread. (The results of the latter actually taste more like shortbread in my opinion...though they're not as pretty.) Prick the tops with a skewer and, if making sliced shortbread, score the dough with a knife.

Bake until edges have turned golden: 13 mins. if using dark pan with individual wells, large tins may take 20 mins. or more. Turn shaped biscuits out whilst warm and sprinkle tops with reserved sugar, or if slicing, sprinkle with sugar and carefully cut slices immediately after removing from oven (do not remove biscuits from tin until cool).

**Note: for best taste and texture - wait several hours before eating.**