Persistence. Patience. Perseverance. Stamina. Drive. Call it whatever you want. Gluten-free baking takes it all.
As any gluten-free-eater would know, simply replacing regular ol’ wheat flour with a gluten-free flour–say, brown rice or sorghum flour–just doesn’t work. You’ve got to combine about 3 or 4 different GF flours to achieve the results of all-purpose flour. There are gluten-free baking mixes out there on the market (lots of them, in fact…I counted 10+ at Whole Foods the other day), but frankly, they just don’t make a good end product in my opinion. Plus, they are usually based on refined white rice flour or some other refined flour that’s stripped of any nutrients whatsoever. No, if you really want a tasty, healthy gluten-free baked good, you’ve got to start from scratch. So, last Thursday, I donned my apron and rolled up my sleeves, preparing to do just that.
For supper, I was making chili. (For tips on making chili, click here.) Nice, hearty, belly-warming chili for a cool autumn evening. And alongside, my goal was to serve a nice big basket of gluten-free biscuits. It was a long-shot. I’d never made a gluten-free biscuit before, just a few rice flour muffins and an attempt at millet bread (both of which failed miserably, I’m sorry to say). Anyway, I scoured my cookbooks and the internet for a few basic GF biscuit recipes that were whole-grain and healthy. Hard to find. In the end, I came up with something of my own creation that is kind of a mix of a dozen or so other recipes.
These biscuits are not like regular drop biscuits. They are slightly more dense (although not terribly so) and a little softer (although they won’t fall apart at your touch or anything). While a bit bland, the biscuits–once dipped in chili–tasted pretty rich and buttery if you ask me. I think they make a nice accompaniment to a meal, but I probably wouldn’t serve them on their own with nothing to dip them into. (Leftovers do, however, taste good spread with butter and jam.) They are a great little morsel served with soups and stews. Check this out for a tasty soup recipe.
You’ll notice that the recipe calls for a cup of cream. Don’t substitute this with low-fat milk or a non-dairy milk (such as almond or soy). Chances are you’ll end up with a dry and crumbly biscuit. I’m learning–through much experimentation and garbage-fuls of lousy quickbreads (one of which was so bad I wouldn’t have even fed it to my poodle)–that gluten-free flours often need the fat from butter, oil, or cream to give them some depth and richness. So please, save yourself the agony of throwing away inedibly dry biscuits and just use the cream.
Well, enough said. Have fun making this recipe. But here’s some advice first: go the kitchen with a thick skin. Gluten-free baking, even if you follow the recipe down to the most minute detail, does not always turn out good results. That’s just the way it is; there is no way around. I know this will sound harsh, but be prepared to fail. And then, after dumping away a pan of awful biscuits and scratching your head in bewilderment as to what went wrong, hit the kitchen and try again. Gluten-free baking is quite comparable to life, I’ve discovered. When things don’t go as planned and your life suddenly looks like a total disaster, you’ve just gotta pick yourself up, shake the dust from your boots, and keep on going.
Persistence. Patience. Perseverance. Stamina. Drive. Call it whatever you want. Life takes it all.
Gluten-Free Drop Biscuits
¾ cup sorghum flour
¼ cup ground flaxseed meal
½ cup millet flour
½ cup tapioca starch (flour)
1 tsp. xanthan gum
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 tbs. whole cane sugar
1 tbs. apple cider vinegar
1 cup light cream (half and half)
3 tbs. butter, melted and cooled to lukewarm or room temperature
Preheat oven to 375. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Whisk together sorghum flour, flax meal, millet flour, tapioca starch, xanthan, baking powder and soda, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl. Separately, whisk together vinegar, cream, and butter. Add the cream mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined. (Do not overmix)
Drop heaping tablespoonfuls of batter onto baking sheets about 1 ½ inches apart. (You should get about twelve 2-inch-ish biscuits.) Bake for 10-12 minutes at 375-degrees until firm and lightly browned.
I know GF baking isn’t always easy, and doesn’t always work, but these look delicious =D.
[…] One of my first successful adventures in gluten free baking a few weeks ago (read about it here) gave me the courage to take another stab at it, this time entering the realm of sweet breakfast […]
Love this post! You’re right, gluten-free baking isn’t easy. It also takes a sense of humor!