Gluten Free Flour Blend

Most flour contains gluten - wheat, barley, rye all contain gluten and are unsuitable flours for celiacs and gluten intolerant or allergic people. Many people with GI and other health issues, such as myself, even go one step further and remove all grains and grain-like seeds, so even the usual gluten free baking flours and flour blends are not useable. You will also see that many paleo cookbooks call for almond or coconut flour. Unfortunately I find that these alone often give you less than ideal texture in paleo treats. (Or even a slight coconut flavor in the case of coconut flour). So I decided to make a paleo flour blend, similar to other gluten-free flour blends. It's not a perfect cup for cup replacement for all-purpose flour in recipes and the texture is still different than gluten containing flours but comparable to most gluten-free blends. If you are going grain free but want to indulge in the rare baked treat, here is my recipe for a gluten free paleo flour blend.

Ingredients

2 parts finely ground coconut flour

2 parts finely ground blanched almond flour 

1 part finely ground tapioca flour

The recipes is listed as ratios, so you can make as much or as little of this flour blend as you'd like. You may substitute almond meal for blanched almond flour, but the texture will be a bit grainier and your baked goods will turn out a bit darker because almond meal includes the brown skins of the almonds, where blanched almond flour does not. I recommend sifting the ingredients together a little bit at a time for the best blend. If you refrigerate a large batch (one that you won't be using up within a couple days) it will last longer. In any case it should be stored in a cool, dry and preferably dark place until needed. (Almonds contain PUFA oils including omega-3 and 6 which can go rancid in warm temperatures or when exposed to too much light).

You may use this cup for cup in most traditional recipes. Just keep in mind that you may need to add a little more liquid to your regular recipes because of the coconut flour. And again, the texture will still be a bit different than with regular all-purpose gluten flour. Still you'll be able to enjoy more of your favorite baked goods as rare treats while staying grain free. Bon appetit!

Gluten Free Biscuits and Gravy

Biscuits and gravy are quintessential comfort good. Warm, savory and filling. But most recipes are a tummy upset, break out or migraine just waiting to happen for the gluten intolerant. So here's my gluten free and digestion friendlier version of this classic comfort food.

Biscuits

This biscuit recipe is based on this recipe from Alton Brown of the Food Network, but modified to make it gluten and transfat free.

2 cups gluten free all-pupose flour blend
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoons coconut oil
1 cup buttermilk, chilled

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using your fingertips, rub butter and shortening into dry ingredients until mixture looks like crumbs. (The faster the better, you don't want the fats to melt.)

Next, make a well in the center and pour in the chilled buttermilk. Stir just until the dough comes together. The dough will be very sticky. Turn dough onto floured surface, dust top with flour and gently fold dough over on itself 5 or 6 times. Press into a 1-inch thick round. Cut out biscuits with a 2-inch cutter, being sure to push straight down through the dough. Place biscuits on baking sheet so that they just touch. Reform scrap dough, working it as little as possible and continue cutting.

Bake until biscuits are tall and light gold on top, 15 to 20 minutes



Gravy

1/2 lb. of gluten free ground sausage (many brand names have MSG, be sure to check ingredients)
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Arrowroot starch to thicken

Brown sausage in a large saucepan on medium heat, once cooked through (but not well done) add the milk and cream. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add arrowroot powder a pinch at a time to thicken (it took about 1 tbsp. for me), remember it will continue to thicken when removed from the heat.

Confession: I Suck At Keeping Gluten Free

The very first task I aim to tackle on my Crunchy Checklist is to just eat real food. I have been paleo full time in the past and know how well I felt all around when I was. Yet two years on, I still have a hard time getting and staying on the paleo wagon.

For instance, while I haven't been keeping strictly paleo lately, I had been keeping gluten free. Early in the season my allergies were getting really bad. It was taking me 2-3 allergy pills (meant to take just 1 pill for 24 hour relief) to get through the day, and still I was itchy and sneezy - just not as itchy and sneezy as I would have been without the medication. So I decided to see if going gluten free would help at all. Low and behold it did! Now, it could be the placebo effect, but then you'd think the placebo effect would have worked just as well with the allergy pill I was taking without necessitating a change in my diet. It didn't make my allergies completely disappear, but most days I didn't even need my allergy pill and on days I did just one pill was enough to completely alleviate my symptoms.

Then, just over a week ago, since the grass pollen season is all but over (and because I was craving a sandwich on chewy, yummy, gluteny bread.... *drool*), I decided to chance it with gluten. Over the last week I've had burgers, sandwiches, cookies and other snacks chock full of gluten. It was delicious.