A Weekend of Gluten-Free Bread Baking

If there is one food other than eggs I love, it must be bread. When given the choice, growing up I always preferred a loaf of bread or a bocadillo over dessert. Pan con chocolate was always my favorite mid afternoon snack after school.

My mom or aunt or anyone who would pick us up from school in the afternoons, always had a loaf of bread stuffed with bars of chocolate inside. Sometimes even Nocilla, which was our version of Nutella.



Although I did have bread baking classes in culinary school, pastry chefs and bakers always had different roles in all the places I worked. Even rivalry at times. Bakers were super fast and sometimes even messy. Pastry cooks meticulous. (ok, I know I will get some grief by saying that!). Pastry was my love.

I did however go through a bread baking phase a few years ago. I became a bit obssessed with Peter Reinhart, Richard Bertinet and Ciril Hitz. I read and experimented at home.



Soon after that, C. also started experimenting with sourdough bread baking trying to emulate the taste of the northern California sourdough loaves he grew up eating. But recently all that came to a halt when we had to start living gluten free. I have had great gluten free bread before (particularly from this place), but apart from this, I had not been very successful at baking it at home.



A few days ago, my friend K. sent me a link to a recipe published in Body & Soul magazine. It was loaded with great grains and molasses. Not just plain rice flour, but millet, teff and quinoa (a substitution I made since I cannot have soy).

So this past Sunday morning, while I had the house all to myself, I decided to bake bread and play around with the recipe. I made different batches with raisins and pumpkin seeds, chocolate chips, and dried fig and walnut.



Nothing beats the smell of yeast fermenting and bread baking in the oven. This is a great basic recipe that can be adapted to add other flavors and textures. My freezer is now stocked up with bread and I will certainly be using this recipe again.

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A Weekend of Gluten-Free Bread Baking

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Lemon, Pistachio and Millet Cakes

The one thing I am really enjoying about eating gluten-free is all the new grains and flours I get to experiment with. I have actually been baking much more now than I did before. Everyday, we try something new. I am running out of space in my pantry for all the flours and new ingredients I have been baking with. It was only a couple of years ago when my friend Jill was asking me to start baking more allergen-free desserts. I suppose I should have listened better.



I have made these lemon, pistachio and millet cakes about a dozen times now. I am not exaggerating. They are moist, light, full of citrus flavor and the crumb is amazing with all the green pistachios in there. I cannot get enough of them and I try to keep some in the freezer for those times that we have a cake craving or need a treat to pack for the day.

My parents are coming tonight and I saved some of these for them for tomorrow morning. Breakfast is our favorite meal of the day when my mom and I seat down and enjoy every morsel. I think she will be pleased with these.



I also wanted to share with you a little interview I did with Kate Manchester for Edible Radio last week. I was very nervous and I think it shows. I always get nervous speaking in public, even if it's over the phone. You can listen to the full interview here.

Gluten Free Lemon, Pistachio and Millet Cakes

Makes about 14 regular size cupcakes plus 20 mini tea cakes

115 grams butter
180 grams sugar
Zest 2 lemons
2 eggs
80 grams yogurt
80 grams millet flour
70 grams pistachio meal
30 grams sweet rice flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt

Cream the butter, sugar and lemon zest together until light. Add the eggs one at a time and scrape the bowl well. Add the yogurt and mix until all ingredients are well incorporated. Add all the dry ingredients and mix until it comes together.

Scoop the batter into the cupcake cups or pipe into mini tea cake pan. Bake at 350F until done.

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Quinoa Pudding and a Walk on the Beach

I have talked about my love for arroz con leche many times in this blog. It is one of the desserts I make the most and the one that my friends always request when they come over for dinner. "Arroz con leche with two galletas please", says our friend G. Galletas Marias that is.

Lately I have been experimenting with different grains, mainly because of health reasons. Each one of my pregnancies has taken a bit of a toll on my body and I believe nourishment and food is one of the main ways to bring it back to balance. So a couple of weeks ago, I decided to make a different version of my favorite dessert by incorporating quinoa into it.



The weather has been gorgeous and last Friday, after we dropped J. off at school, we went down to the Juno Beach pier for an early morning walk. It was windy, the sea was rough and it was a pleasure to watch the surfers ride the waves. We even spotted a swimmer in that crazy ocean and there was even a "danger: sharks" note on the blackboard.

M. loves falling asleep in her front carrier while she watches everything around her.



We skipped breakfast that morning so we could have a small picnic at the beach. I made a small batch of quinoa pudding the night before, packed some strawberries and some pistachio and millet tea cakes that I had put away in the freezer. No walk on the beach is complete without snacks right? The wind was too harsh and it spoiled our picnic plan a bit. Instead we ended up sitting at the tables in the parking lot... but we enjoyed it anyway.



Quinoa Pudding with Macerated Strawberries and Pistachios

I like mine a little bit more liquid. If you like a drier version, omit the heavy cream

makes about 4 8 oz servings

3 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream (optional)
1 vanilla bean
1/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 cup quinoa

1 cup strawberries, diced
1 Tbs sugar

chopped pistachios

Place the quinoa in a strainer and rinse it with cold water for a few seconds.

Combine the milk, cream, sugar, salt and vanilla bean in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add the quinoa and stir. Reduce heat to medium low, cover the pot slightly, and cook for about 30 minutes stirring every few minutes. If skin starts to form on top of the milk, just stir it back in. The milk will reduce and thicken. Ladle into bowls or jars.

Place cut strawberries in a bowl and sprinkle them with sugar. Toss them and let them sit at room temperature for about an hour until juices start to come out.

Top the puddings with the strawberries and chopped pistachios.

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