Protein Cookies - Sans Gluten

I stumbled upon this recipe some time ago and really enjoyed it. I wrote it down but didn't bookmark it! So, now I can't find the original recipe, despite my best efforts. So, if this is your recipe and you would like credit please don't hesitate to let me know. Anyway, the original recipe was not gluten-free but was easily adaptable. One thing you will find is that cookies are very easily adapted to gluten-free without any strange consequences. All I did was use gluten-free all purpose flour in place of wheat flour. The recipe also did not call for chocolate chips... but what's a cookie without chocolate chips?

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Chocolate Chip Protein Cookies

1 egg, beaten slightly
1 1/2 cups of peanut butter
2 tbsp of protein powder
1/3 cup of honey
1/2 cup of all purpose gluten-free flour
1 tsp of baking soda
1 1/2 tsp of baking powder
1 tsp of vanilla
1/3 cup of chocolate chips


Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all ingredients together. Once mixed, form small balls out of the dough - approximately 1 tbsp each. Flatten slightly.

Bake for approximately 12 minutes. Be careful when moving the baked cookies onto your cooling rack as they are initially quite soft.

Enjoy!

My Favourite Bread Recipe

My first foray into gluten free baking was with bread. I had no clue what I was doing, all I knew is that I missed bread and had to figure it out on my own - so I jumped in with both feet. A woman that I was working with at the time was also on a gluten free diet so she shared her recipe with me. She said she didn't really eat bread though, so hadn't made the recipe many times. That probably should have been my first clue that it wouldn't make the grade.

My first attempt was an utter failure and ended up in the trash. It was goey and dense and well, just plain discusting. On my second try the bread was at least edible. I tried to make a sandwich with the bread, and was thoroughly dissapointed. This was a bread meant to be toasted. As were all of the other gluten free bread recipes I stumbled upon. I tried a few more recipes, but quite frankly most of the recipes I found were way over my head. I really knew only the basics about baking in general, let alone gluten free baking. Then, I found an easy recipe with great reviews so I decided to give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised.

I found the recipe on Food.com - a good resource for new recipes. The recipe filter makes it easy to peruse all of the gluten free recipes. Anyway, a gluten free french bread recipe popped up near the top of the list of bread recipes with great reviews. The recipe is intended to be for two long loaves of french bread however as I discovered, it could be baked in a loaf pan to create a more typical loaf of bread. I was overjoyed with the results. The bread was soft and crusty. It was not dense and actually rose to a desirable size. I even... wait for it... made a sandwich with it. No toasting!

My only qualm with this recipe is that it is not very fibre-rich. It's made with white rice flour and tapioca flour. However, when I tried to modify the recipe with more fibrous flours the results were not very good. I haven't given up yet, but I've really learned to love this bread as is.

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Gluten Free French Bread (Adapted)

Original recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/gluten-free-french-bread-180306

2 cups of white rice flour
1 cup of tapioca flour
3 teaspoons of xanthan gum or guar gum
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 1/2 cups of lukewarm water
2 tablespoons of fast rise yeast
2 tablespoons of melted butter
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon of vinegar


In the bowl of your heavy-duty mixer (heavy-duty is absolutely necessary) mix the flours, xanthan gum/guar gum, and salt on low.

In a small bowl dissolve the sugar in the water and add the yeast. Once the mixture has foamed slightly, slowly add it to the dry ingredients with th mixer on low.

Stop the mixer. Add the butter, eggs, and vinegar. Beat on high for 3 minutes.

Spoon the mixture out of the mixer bowl into a greased and cornmeal-dusted 9x5 loaf pan. It will help to use a wet spatula to scoop out the mixture.

Place the dough in the oven to rise for 20 - 25 mins. Once the dough has risen, set the oven to 400 degrees and bake for approximately 50 - 55 mins.

Once baked, remove the loaf from the pan to cool on a cooling rack.

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 I usually wait for the loaf to cool completely, then I slice it and freeze it. Although this loaf does make decent sandwich bread I find it looses it's moisture after about 2 days and is no longer suitable untoasted.

Happy baking!

Gluten Free Bread: Udi's Takes the Cake.

Although I do prefer to bake or make what I can in order to save myself a little money, it’s not always an option. For instance, although I have tested many a bread recipe, none can compare to a particular store bought brand: Udi’s Gluten Free Food. I have tried and tried to find a recipe that yields soft, fluffy bread that can be eaten without toasting, and although I have come close it just isn’t close enough. I will post my favourite bread recipe a little later on but for now let’s talk Udi’s.

The first time a grabbed a loaf of Udi’s White Sandwich Bread I nearly cried. It was soft and fluffy and felt like regular gluten-filled bread. I scoffed at the price initially but it really is worth it if you can’t live without bread. I am one of those people. I try to ration what I have by eating open faced sandwiches. Udi’s bagels are also delicious. I prefer them over the bread however a bag of 4 bagels for $8.00 just doesn’t go as far as a loaf of bread for just a little less. Although I prefer to eat whole grain versus white bread, when it comes to Udi’s I prefer the opposite. The whole grain versions of bread and bagels tend to dry out much quicker, thus requiring toasting. Furthermore, the whole grain loaf tends to be much smaller.

Udi’s Pizza Crusts are a must. That is all.

Udi’s has a fairly decent selection of muffins but I’ve only tried the Double Chocolate Chip ones. I have nothing negative to say about those muffins. They are to die for. In my experience, finding a soft, moist muffin that is gluten free is not an easy task. I could really go for one right now....

I started my gluten free bread shopping by purchasing a loaf of Glutino Flax Bread. It was OK. Needed to be frozen, needed to be toasted, and were very small loaves. Udi’s trumps Glutino in the bagel and pizza crust department as well. I believe there is still one Glutino bagel and one tiny Glutino pizza crust sitting in my freezer. They will in all likelihood not be eaten.

Udi's has also recently come out with gluten free hot dog and hamburger buns. If you ask Fish (my awesome boyfriend) what my face looked like the day I finally found hot dog buns, he would tell you I looked hilarious. I had never been so excited at the prospect of eating a hot dog. I've had many gf hot dog bun mishaps but these buns received high marks. As did the hamburger buns – they are great for making sandwiches.

I swear I am not affiliated with Udi’s in any way shape or form. I am just a grateful customer. My only request is that they lower their prices!

Numero Uno.

For almost as long as I can remember I have had all sorts of uncomfortable and often debilitating symptoms that seemingly had no reason for being there. That is until I discovered my body could not tolerate gluten or small amounts of dairy.

Throughout high school I was plagued with headaches, joint pain, fatigue, and gastrointestinal problems. I always managed my symptoms as best I could and never sought any sort of medical help until my first year of university when they suddenly became entirely unmanageable.

Over time my symptoms became much worse. I saw doctor after doctor, each one telling me to eat more fibre. Of course that didn't help, it just made things worse. Finally, I found a doctor who decided to actually do some work. I tested negative for a gluten allergy but the doctor suggested I try cutting it out anyway. Within just a few weeks my monstrous migraines had completely disappeared, I was full of energy, had no joint pain, and my gastrointestinal issues were slowly improving. Of course this didn't happen overnight but even just after one week I could feel the difference.

It took 3 years of visiting doctors for one of them to finally suggest eliminating gluten from my diet. It has been just over a year now and I've never felt better. My suggestion to everyone out there thinking of cutting gluten from their diet: give it a try, you might be surprised. And to all of you out there feeling lost and confused: use the internet! It is a great learning tool. And, for the rest of you who enjoy baking your own gluten free goodies: stay tuned!