"Gluten Free" - chapter 2 - Not really.... Spelt bread

 

    The most dissapointing thing about going "gluten free" for me was not having "real" bread. I've been making our bread, almost exclusively, since 1972. Yes, I'm that old. At one time, when all of our children (6) were still at home, and we had another boy living with us, we would make 15 loaves of whole wheat bread all at one time, once a week. I have an enormous stainless steel bowl we used for that.

    I had read that some ancient grains, such as Spelt, could often be tolerated by people who are sensitive to wheat. I ordered a bag of organic whole grain Spelt flour from www.Azure.com, and so for the last week, I've been using it. I am very happy to tell you that it is not giving mw any trouble! Spelt DOES have gluten, but it is different, in some way, than the gluten in our modern wheat. Spelt is technically wheat. It's just thousands of years old. 

    The bread is very simple to make and is delicious. It is more tender than typical wheat bread. This bread rises in the bowl and then in the pan, but does not rise any more when you bake it. It makes very nice toast and sandwiches. I do not know how long it would "keep" because I sliced it, put small pieces of parchment baking paper between the slices so they won't stick together, put it in a freezer bag and into the freezer. That way I can take out just what we need and either let it thaw or make toast. 

    I found the recipe and instructions on YouTube and here it is: https://suemareep.com/how-to-make-spelt-flour-wholegrain-bread/

    I did not use the stand mixer like she did. I just worked the dough for maybe 2 minutes with my hands. I used 1 Tablespoon of olive oil in the dough, but I did not grease the bowl or my hands like she did. When I formed the loaf, I just put a little water on the counter so the dough would not stick. Also, I ended up using just a little more water than she did so the dough seemed right. Like any other flour, I imagine spelt flour can vary in the amount of water needed.

    I've also been usinng the spelt flour in other things that call for flour, like my cornbread. I'm very pleased. Thank you, Sue Maree P. !!!

   

    

"Gluten Free" - I thought it was silly, until.... Chapter 1

 

 

I don't know when the current "gluten free" craze began, but for the longest time, I thought it was just another trend that would fizzle out.  Now... I've had to repent of that attitude. I have no idea what portion of the population might be sensitive to gluten. It may be that it's being overdone. Nevertheless, I discovered not long ago, that I am gluten sensitive. For a few years, off and on, I had been having episodes of extreme achiness in my body. It was not sore muscles. It didn't seem to be connected to anything I was or was not doing. It "came to a head" a couple of months ago. I was riding with my husband in his pick-up truck one evening. The pain was exquisite and intense and I was thinking "What is this???  I eat a very clean diet. I go to the gym 3 times a week. My bloodwork came back perfect. I really try hard to take care of myself, so WHAT in the WORLD is going on?"  Then it came to me. "Gluten."  Aha.  Yes.  Perhaps... so I went home and eliminated gluten from my diet. Within 2 days, all of that pain was gone. And it has stayed gone. I have been experimenting with making long fermented sourdough bread, and the jury is still out on that. 

I'd like to share with you some of the things that I've been cooking and eating instead of the grains that have gluten in them.  The first chapter is - 

CORNBREAD MUFFINS

1 cup cornmeal (I use the freshly ground from what we grow in our garden)

1 cup almond flour

3/4  teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon sugar

5 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder

1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed (I grind mine fresh and keep it in the fridge. I use a little electric coffee grinder) - this is the egg substiture

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce (oil substitute)

1 cup soy milk 

Mix the dry ingredients

Mix the wet ingredients

Combine well

This will make 12 muffins. Bake at 425 F. for about 15 minutes.  Check to see if they are done by tapping the top to make sure there's no liquidy stuff in the middle. I use pan spray on my muffin tin. This is one of two times I ever use oil  in cooking anymore!  The other is when I make Belgian waffles.  I spray a little on the waffle iron. If you have the little paper liners, you could use those.

My favorite way to eat these is with Navy Bean soup. OH... that's heavenly!  Sometimes I put a little honey on a muffin. These keep well in the refrigerator for a few days. My husband likes to break the muffins up into his soup. 

Are you tired of tips yet? - Saving salad....

When I make a tossed salad of raw vegetables, I usually make quite a bit, and it lasts for a few days for us.  Then, once in a while, it doesn't get eaten before it starts to oxidize and look rather pathetic. It would not be a bad thing to eat it, but it just doesn't look very nice, if you understand...

This morning, I chopped up some oyster mushrooms that I had gathered and part of a red onion that was in the refrigerator and mixed it together with the salad (leaf lettuce, onion, radish, sweet peppers, celery, carrots) and I stir fried it all in extra-virgin olive oil.  I cooked some brown rice in my Instant Pot and served it with Soy Sauce.

It was very good.  :)

Something little - gluten-free "dumplings."

Are you on a gluten-free diet?  I'm not, but my husband is currently doing the ketogenic diet in order to lose some weight, and I thought maybe I could make some dumplings for soup for him.  These are nice!  They are very tender, and I suggest you make them right before serving the soup, and cooking them in the soup.

Tender, gluten-free dumplings

1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
6 Tablespoons blanched almond flour

Crack the egg into a little bowl and whisk it up with a fork.  Add the other ingredients and stir it thoroughly.

Bring your soup to a boil, and reduce it to a simmer.  Dip a teaspoon in the hot broth, and then scoop out some of your batter and put it in the broth.  Dip in the spoon in the broth between each scoop.  Continue until all the dumplings are in the soup.  Simmer for two minutes.  That's it!

You might want to scoop the dumplings out in order to treat them gently, then replace them in the bowls of soup.  These would also be very nice with some savory gravy, or with a homemade "cream" soup ladled over them.