vegan – cookingwithoutallergens

Gluten-free breads that don’t contain eggs are, more often than not, bricks, heavy and gummy in texture. For those of you who, like me, miss bread and keep looking for something to sop up that gravy, or make a small sandwich with, here we go! These rolls are hearty but not heavy and even when hot not gummy. Two tips to dispel the gummy texture – bake longer than a recipe suggests and slice the tops so that the moisture can escape.

If you don’t have a warming drawer or warm location, heat oven to 125 degrees. Grease a 9″ cake pan or pie plate and set aside. Then, in a small bowl combine:

1 tablespoon ground flax seed (golden is more appealing to the eye in baked goods)

3 tablespoons cup hot water

Set aside for 5-10 minutes until the mixture forms a flax gel. In the bowl of a mixer (or a medium-large mixing bowl) combine:

1 cup millet flour

1 cup oat flour

1/2 cup white rice flour

1/4 cup arrowroot or tapioca flour

2 teaspoons guar gum

2 teaspoons instant or rapid rise dry yeast

1/4 cup date sugar

Use a whisk to combine these ingredients before adding:

1 teaspoon sea salt

Put the dough hook on your mixer (or if you don’t have a stand mixer, use a wooden spoon). Using the lowest setting on the mixer add:

1 cup warm water (between 105 and 110 degrees)*

When blended, stop mixer and add:

2 tablespoons vegan butter (see recipe below or use one of your own), a prepared margarine such as Earth Balance, or Spectrum shortening, melted or softened

the prepared flax gel

1 teaspoon vinegar

Using the medium speed of the mixer, mix using the dough hook for 3 minutes, do not overmix! Or mix with the wooden spoon for several minutes. Use a cookie scoop (2″) or 1/4 cup measure (don’t quite fill the measuring cup) to scoop out the dough, form into balls and place in the prepared baking pan. Cover with a dry clean cloth.

TURN OFF THE OVEN before placing the rolls in the oven to rise for 45-60 minutes or until doubled in size. If you have a warm spot, like a radiator or warming drawer, use it instead. Remove the rolls when they are proofed and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut a cross in the top of each roll before placing them in the preheated oven. Bake 25-30 minutes (I baked mine about 32 minutes, having gotten interested in the Olympics while they were baking!). Makes 8-10 rolls.

If you want a soft top to the roll, brush with melted vegan butter or margarine. If you want a crusty roll bake on a sheet pan so that they don’t touch while baking (baking time may be shorter).

*Either use your wrist (like with a baby’s bottle) to be sure the water is only lukewarm, you shouldn’t feel either cold or hot on your wrist, or a thermometer to ensure the water is 105-110 degrees.

EASY VEGAN “BUTTER”

There are lots of recipes for vegan “butter” on the internet but most have a nut base.

In a blender combine:

1 cup avocado oil (or any oil you like but the avocado has a very light flavor)

1/3 cup non-dairy milk (I used oat)

1 teaspoon vinegar

2 teaspoons nutritional yeast

Pinch of turmeric

1/2 teaspoon of sea salt

Blend until smooth, about 30 seconds to 1 minutes. Pour into a 2-cup dish with a lid. Place in the freezer for 1 hour and then transfer to the refrigerator until set (about 2-4 hours or if you skip the freezer, overnight 6-8 hours).

I do love pies but it’s been difficult to find a good pie crust that’s gluten free, egg free and sugar free. A friend once gave me a recipe for an olive oil pie crust but it didn’t taste very good to me. So I’ve been searching and I think I’ve found the perfect substitute. Hope you’ll agree. However, instead of using a strong tasting olive oil, I’ve combined it with half milder olive oil and half mild avocado oil. It’s easy to make, just need to plan ahead!

You’ll need:

1/4 cup mild olive oil

1/4 cup avocado oil

1/2 cup non-dairy milk (more or less)

2 3/4 cup all purpose gluten-free flour

1 teaspoon salt

One hour before you start making the crust, put the oils (mixed together) in the freezer. If you’ve planned well ahead of time, you can also put the mixture in the refrigerator overnight or longer in a closed container. This is the step that makes the crust flaky.

When the oils are solidified, measure the flour and salt into a mixing bowl and fluff with a fork (or if you own one, with a sifter). Add the oil and using a fork, combine with the flour mixture until you have pea size pellets of flour. Add the milk piecemeal, stirring the mixture after each addition, until the flour mixture is all combined and sticking together (which is why you may need a little less or a little more milk).

This makes 2 crusts so split the dough in half and put each ball into a plastic bag, flatten a little so it doesn’t break apart when cold and difficult to roll, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

About 15 minutes before you take the dough out of the frig, preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Roll out the dough (I used plastic wrap to cover my counter and the top of the dough rather than flour) to roughly a quarter inch, remove the top layer of plastic wrap, lift on the plastic wrap and flip the rolled crust into your pie plate or baking container. This crust can be slightly crumbly so don’t worry if you have to patch it a little. Repeat if you’re using a top crust.

Blind bake for approximately 15 minutes. Cool slightly before adding filling and top crust. Then bake as you would a normal pie. If using just as a top crust, place on top of cold filling and bake. For a single crust pie, increase oven temperature to 425 and bake until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.