Oats Again!

With the addition of eggs and GF oats into our rotation, I was ecstatic to try out some new oat flour I found today. I immediately came home and searched for yeast & gluten free oat breads and came across this dandy. I altered it to our needs. Want the recipe? ‘Cause it REALLY GOOD.

Yeast & Gluten Free Oat Bread

1 1/2 cups GF oat flour
1 cup sweet sorghum flour
1/2 cup corn starch (the original recipe called for Tapioca starch instead, but I didn’t have any on hand)
2 Tbs chia seeds (or flax seeds)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
3 eggs
1 cup water
2 Tbs agave nectar (or honey, I used buckwheat honey)
1 Tbs white vinegar
1/4 cup oats for topping (optional)
Preheat oven to 350* F. In a medium bowl, combine chia (or flax) seeds and water. Allow to sit for 10 to 15 minutes. In a large bowl, whisk together flours/starch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In the bowl of water and seeds, add eggs, agave (or honey), and vinegar. Whisk together and slowly add the liquid to the dry ingredients, stirring as you go with a large spoon or an electric mixer on low. It will be more the consistency of a thick batter than a dough. Grease a large loaf pan (I used coconut oil ) and pour the batter into the pan. Sprinkle the top of the bread with the whole oats if desired. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before removing from the pan.

This turned out great! Especially since we haven’t had bread with eggs in it for like 4 years! I was amazed at how dense and yet….bread like it was! I guess the best thing to liken it to is a soda bread. I’m still trying to figure out a butter substitute to top it with, since goat butter is out of the question. So far, I just put some jam on top for hungry boy. (But for me, I snuck some creamy goat cheese and homemade peach preserves on it….heaven, I swear!)

This will be made again! Now to find some other grains to make this or similar recipes with. I have a coconut bread that I really want to try, as well as a flourless chocolate cake that I saw on Pinterest the other day…YUM!

A super simple Muffin recipe

Since I needed to integrate another grain in our diet, I decided to make some some muffins. This helps me out not only in getting a new grain mixed in, but for me muffins are a morning lifesaver! I have about 40 minutes from the time I crawl out of bed to the coffee pot, to the time I put hungry boy on the bus.  And these muffins are great to make the night before, heat up and serve with some protein for breakfast. (I’m a meat kinda girl, and really like to have it for breakfast!)

Very Simple Fruit Muffins

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour ( I used buckwheat, but any nut flours, coconut flour or amaranth would be equally great! NOTE* Here' is a great equivalent chart for substituting grain for wheat in recipes!

1/2 cup sugar ( I like to mix brown and white equally)

2 teaspoons aluminum free baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup milk (or a non- dairy like almond, rice (I don’t like to bake with rice), coconut, etc.)

1/4 cup vegetable oil ( I really like to use coconut oil in this!)

1 cup frozen berries (we used raspberries)

Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place baking cups in a muffin pan.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in (nondairy) milk and oil.

3. Fold in berries. Pour into baking cups and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Makes: about 8 muffins, Preparation time: 5 minutes, Cooking time: 30 minutes

Cooking Essentials

I titled this section Cooking Essential, because lets face it, when you have sensitivities or allergies to foods, that will inevitably effect how you cook and bake. With our restrictions so many staple ingredients, I’ve had to really become creative when cooking and storing foods. It’s easy when you can have eggs, dairy, yeast and cheeses. They sell 10 pound cans of dehydrated or freeze dried cooking essentials. But when you can’t have those things, you have to either look for an alternative or figure out how to store the substitutions you use everyday. I’ve tried to think of all the staples from cooking and baking that I substitute with and comply them in sections. If you see anything missing, please let me know!

• Milk Alternatives
• Egg Alternatives
• Cheese Alternatives
• Baking Powder/Soda,  Vinegar and Yeast Sensitivity (*note: under advisement of our Dr. we were able to introduce sourdough spelt bread to our boys. Since they have only a yeast sensitivity, be it a high one, naturally occurring yeast is tolerable. If you have a yeast ALLERGY please don’t ever experiment with it unless advised by your Dr.)
• Misc. For example broth, bouillon, chocolate chips…You know random cooking goodies ;)