Easy Substitutions

For many of us with dietary restrictions, we feel like we have to give up foods we enjoy. Often times, however, there are quick fixes for many of our no-no ingredients.

Gluten free bread crumbs:

One things gf breads are famous for is being dry and crumbly. That said, all you really need to do to make gf bread crumbs is to crumble a loaf of gf bread in your hands and store it in the freezer until needed. If you try out a recipe, find that it is too dry and/or gross to eat, make crumbs easy and a good use of otherwise inedible "bread."

In meatloaf, things like rolled oats, quinoa and rice work well.

For Panko-like breading for fried chicken and breaded fish, crumbled Rice Chex or other crisp, gf cereals are delicious. Just season with salt, pepper and any other savory spices.

Sauce thickeners:

Corn starch is gluten free, but if you're avoiding grains, it's a no-go. Also, virtually all conventionally grown corn is now genetically modified, which may or may not bother you. So, if you go for corn starch, you might want to check out an organic variety.

Potato flakes are an easy substitute. Whisk some into soups, gravies and sauces.

Pureed fruits and veggies will also thicken breads, soups and other dishes. A can's worth of pureed beans will thicken up a chili and a processed banana will thicken pancake batter.

Tofu is also a great thickener. Mix with fruit and milk for a quick smoothie. It's can also be made into a vegan cheesecake with just a few ingredients.

Milk:

There are many fruit, grain and nut "milks" out there including soy, almond, hazelnut, oat, coconut and rice milks. In coffee, vanilla hazelnut milk tastes like a flavored cafe drink. In homemade ice cream, coconut milk is amazing. Almond milk makes the BEST hot cocoa I've ever had and plain oat milk is a good substitution for cow's milk in recipes. Soy milk is the traditional milk substitute, but I would encourage everyone to branch out and try other types of milk replacements.

Oil:

Appleasuce will knock out all added fat in many breads. It will moisten a loaf without the calories or fat.

Coconut oil is a super healthy fat full of vitamins and minerals. It's delicious in pasteries.

Sugar:

There are so many sweeteners out there today. Many are chemicals that end up being less healthy than cane sugar. Many are natural and plant based. My favorites are stevia, xylitol and honey. Other natural sweeteners include agave, molasses, coconut palm sugar and erythritol. If you use sugar, I would recomend an organic variety.

In conclusion, where there is a will, there is a way. There is a solution to most of these substitutionary issues. Play with your food- or at least your ingredients!

Fruity Platz (plus bonus gluten free adaptation)

Five years ago, I was wringing my hands over what to bring to a little soiree with friends. It was casual and light and my usual standby desserts were heavy and rich. I stumbled upon a platz recipe and fell in love. I've tweeked it a bit over the years a few different ways. This is my final version and it is excellente'.

Ingredients:

1 c whole wheat flour
1 c unbleached white flour
1/2 c sugar
1/4 cup xylitol
1/4 cup Stevia in the Raw
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2/3 c butter
2 eggs, beaten
2/3 c milk
1 1/2 c berries or cherries

**** Gluten free adaptations:

I have made this recipe subbing 2 c Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Gluten Free flour and had excellent results. I would also suggest adding a splash of extra milk and possibly a 1/2 tsp of xanthan gum to the flour. The flavor will be a bit stronger, so you may also want to throw in a splash of vanilla to balance that out.

Directions:

Preheat your over to 350F. Grease and flour a 9" square or round pan. Glass works the best with these, I've found, and you don't get any weird teflon in your food.

Mix all the dry ingredients, then cut in the butter with a fork. Some genius suggested freezing the butter, then using a cheese grater to mince it. I know- genius. Unfortunately, I'm usually flying by the seat of my pants, so this never works out for me, but it is a fab idea.

At this point, you'll want to pull a bit of the crumbly butter mixture and set it aside for the topping. The original recipe suggests 3/4 cup, which I discovered immediately was a ton. Like, wow. So much topping. I mean, really? How much of that do you need? I generally reserve 1/4 cup and even then I often times feel like it's just too much.

Mix the eggs and milk into the butter mixture and stir until just combined. Toss about half of your fruit in at this point and gently mix. This is my preference here. I prefer getting berriliciousness in every bite, and it allows me to cut back on the sugar/sweetener. Sprinkle the remaining berries on the top of your batter, then sprinkle on the crumbs.

Bake for 45-90 minutes. I know, it's a huge window, but this bad boy does not want to be predictable. The 25 minutes called for in the original recipe is a joke. You will definitely need at least 45 minutes, depending on your pan, your oven, etc. I test it every 15 minutes after the first 45.

Here is the gluten free version:

And here is the traditional:

A Dozen Ways to NOT Make GF Challah

Braided breads are like the Bigfoot of gluten free baking. People have these idea about it, they know someone who was pretty sure they saw it once, and there are a million online sites claiming to have the secret trick to making it.

Truth be told, I have tried a dozen times to create a pliable dough with a light consistency that holds together well. I tried substituting GF flour in my classic recipe. I tried various recipes online. I tried different flours, adding vinegars and gums, and for the most part they were all epic fails.

The trouble with GF bread is the lack of gluten. HAHA! In all seriousness though, the gluten is what holds the bread together, and many of the so called substitutes either don't work, or they work by bulking up the dry ingredients until nobody wants to eat it. Many of my fails were crumbled and frozen and reincarnated into bread crumbs. And I did not process them. I just ground the loaf up with my hands. That is just too dry.

So today I got back in the saddle again and tried out a new combo adjustment to my recipe.

First, I swapped out my flour for Bob's Red Mill Garbanzo and Fava Bean Flour. Second, I added two heaping tsps of Bob's Xanthan Gum to the flour. I added everything as usual, but I did NOT add that extra cup of flour (that will ruin this bread. Don't do it.). Then, I only let it rise about half way, so like 20 minutes or so. Lastly, I did not give it a second rise.

I was pleasantly surprised by the consistency of the dough. It was pliable! I was able to roll it into snakes and braid it with only minor cracking! That is pretty much miraculous.

I let it sit for a few minutes until I noticed some slight blistering under the surface of the dough. I popped into my over (350F) and baked it up. I did the egg was and poppy seeds at about 10 minutes and pulled the finished loaf out 10 minutes later.

It looks like challah!

It rips apart like challah!

It tastes like beans!

Yes, beans. It is, after all, made from garbanzo and fava bean flour, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Sigh. Wow. So very beany. I'm guessing if I added some sort of savory vegetable like zucchini and some italian herbs it would be amazing. But with a glass of Manischewitz and some honey butter? No way, Moshe.