Gluten-Free Small Bites

chapter 1: the basics

Gluten-Free Flour Blends

GENERAL GUIDELINES

In gluten-free baking, no one individual flour can serve as an all-purpose flour, one that functions largely the same as conventional gluten-containing all-purpose flour. Instead, we rely upon a blend of flours that together are good for “all purposes.” Just like flours in conventional baking, no one blend is ideal for every unique purpose. A pastry flour is low in protein and high in starch, for a certain lightness and comparative lack of chew. Bread flour is essentially the opposite: low starch, high protein for flexibility and chew. So it goes in gluten-free baking as well. You can either purchase an all-purpose gluten-free flour, already blended, or blend your own for use in every recipe in this cookbook that calls for an all-purpose gluten-free flour (which is most of the recipes in this book). If you would like to purchase a ready-made all-purpose gluten-free flour blend, I discuss below the two I recommend. If you would prefer to blend your own, there are recipes on page 4 for you to do just that, along with any additional information you may need about some of the component flours.

When a recipe in this cookbook calls for an “all-purpose gluten-free flour,” the blend must contain xanthan gum. When a recipe calls specifically for the Basic Gum-Free Gluten-Free Flour blend, only the specific amount of xanthan gum indicated, if any, as a separate ingredient in the recipe, is appropriate. Those recipes require a lower xanthan gum proportion than other recipes, or none at all, and use of an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend that already contains xanthan gum will lead to a poor result.

COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE ALL-PURPOSE GLUTEN-FREE FLOURS

Better Batter and Cup4Cup. These are my two favorite brands of commercially available all-purpose gluten-free flour blends. The two all-purpose gluten-free flour blend recipes I provide are a Mock Better Batter Gluten-Free Flour, which approximates the results achieved with Better Batter Gluten-Free Flour, and my Better Than Cup4Cup Gluten-Free Flour, which corrects what I think is an imbalance in Cup4Cup itself. Either of those blends can be used successfully in any recipe in this book that calls for an all-purpose gluten-free flour.

Better Batter Gluten-Free Flour is the one true all-purpose gluten-free flour that I have used most consistently since 2009. It is a well-balanced blend of superfine white rice flour, superfine brown rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, potato flour, xanthan gum, and pectin. I always order it directly from the company itself through the website, betterbatter.org, as that is the best price; I find it cheaper (and of course more convenient) to purchase it than to build my own with individual flours.

Cup4Cup gluten-free flour really works best as a pastry flour or a cake flour, as it is quite high in starch, and I don’t recommend it for recipes in this book as a substitute for all-purpose gluten-free flour.

Cup4Cup as cake flour. If you do decide to use Cup4Cup in any of the recipes in this book as an all-purpose gluten-free flour, if that recipe also calls for cornstarch, please use more Cup4Cup, gram for gram, in place of the cornstarch. Therefore, if a recipe calls for 100 grams of all-purpose gluten-free flour and 10 grams of cornstarch, if you are using Cup4Cup as the all-purpose gluten-free flour, instead use 110 grams Cup4Cup.

HOMEMADE GLUTEN-FREE FLOUR BLENDS AND SPECIALTY GLUTEN-FREE FLOUR BLENDS

We begin our discussion of these homemade flour blends with some information about the individual ingredients. I promise this isn’t a science lesson! It’s just enough information to help you feel comfortable with each component.

Expandex modified tapioca starch. Expandex brand modified tapioca starch is a chemically (not genetically!) modified tapioca starch that, in small amounts and in the proper recipe, gives gluten-free baked goods an elasticity that can’t be achieved otherwise. I first introduced this incredibly useful ingredient in Gluten-Free on a Shoestring Bakes Bread, and it remains irreplaceable in building my gluten-free bread flour blend (see page 4). In certain, limited instances, however, Expandex can be replaced with plain tapioca starch/flour, gram for gram. In this book, I have indicated that the substitution is a possibility in the recipes themselves. For additional information on where to buy Expandex modified tapioca starch (including information on how to use Ultratex 3, another type of modified tapioca starch, in place of Expandex in the bread flour; Ultratex 3 is more widely available online worldwide and is approximately three times as strong as Expandex), please see the Resources page on my blog: http://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/gluten-free-resources.

Gluten-free bread flour. To build the bread flour blend, I use NOW Brand unflavored whey protein isolate (which is nearly all protein—you must use isolate, not whey powder or whey protein concentrate), which I purchase online through vitacost.com or amazon.com, depending upon which site has the best price at that time.

Potato flour. Potato flour is made from whole potatoes that are dried and then ground into flour. It is very useful in gluten-free baking as it helps to hold baked goods together. There really is no substitute for its particular baking qualities.

Potato starch. Potato starch is made from dehydrated potatoes that have been peeled. It adds lightness to baked goods. It’s a very different ingredient from potato flour, and they are not at all interchangeable. Cornstarch or arrowroot can often be substituted for potato starch.

Pure powdered pectin. The powdered pectin you use must be only pure pectin, which contains no other additives (like glucose and other sugars). I buy pectin directly from Pomona Pectin (www.pomonapectin.com). You use only the pectin, not the calcium packet.

Rice flours. Please note that, to build an all-purpose gluten-free flour successfully, you must use a digital kitchen scale (page 9), and you must use superfine rice flours as all other rice flours will have a gritty taste. The only source I know of for truly superfine rice flours is Authentic Foods. Authentic Foods superfine brown rice flour and superfine white rice flour are sold on amazon.com, on the Authentic Foods website, and also in some select brick-and-mortar stores but often for a higher price than you can find online. Vitacost.com has also started marketing its own superfine white rice flour, and although it is not truly as superfine as Authentic Foods’ brand, it certainly has a finer grain than most.

Tapioca starch/flour. This starch/flour should be purchased from either nuts.com or Authentic Foods for consistent quality. Bob’s Red Mill Tapioca Flour is of very inconsistent quality, as are many other brands. I must also caution against buying any component flours from Asian food stores, as they are often contaminated with gluten-containing grains both before reaching the store and in the store itself and may contain other additives.

Xanthan gum. In gluten-free baking, xanthan gum is a plant-based thickening and stabilizing agent that helps to give batter and dough elasticity and thickness. When a recipe calls for an all-purpose gluten-free flour, the flour blend will already contain a specific amount of xanthan gum. When a recipe calls specifically for the Basic Gum-Free Gluten-Free Flour blend, however, you’ll be adding xanthan gum separately in an amount lower than what would be included in an all-purpose blend, or eliminating it as an ingredient altogether as instructed in the individual recipe.

THE HOMEMADE FLOUR BLENDS

All the flour blend recipes that follow can be multiplied by as many factors as you like. I typically make at least 10 cups at a time by just multiplying every ingredient by 10, placing the ingredients in a large, airtight, lidded container, and whisking very well. For an online calculator that does the math for you, please see the page “Flour Blends” on my website: http://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/all-purpose-gluten-free-flour-recipes/.

1 cup (140 g) Mock Better Batter All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour

42 grams (about ¼ cup) superfine white rice flour (30%)

42 grams (about ¼ cup) superfine brown rice flour (30%)

21 grams (about 2⅓ tablespoons) tapioca starch/flour (15%)

21 grams (about 2⅓ tablespoons) potato starch (15%)

7 grams (about 1¾ teaspoons) potato flour (5%)

4 grams (about 2 teaspoons) xanthan gum (3%)

3 grams (about 1½ teaspoons) pure powdered fruit pectin (2%)

1 cup (140 g) Better Than Cup4Cup All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour

42 grams (about ¼ cup) superfine white rice flour (30%)

25 grams (about 8⅓ teaspoons) cornstarch (18%)

24 grams (about 2½ tablespoons) superfine brown rice flour (17%)

21 grams (about 2⅓ tablespoons) tapioca starch/flour (15%)

21 grams (about 3⅓ tablespoons, before grinding) nonfat dry milk, ground into a finer powder (15%)

4 grams (about 1 teaspoon) potato starch (3%)

3 grams (about 1½ teaspoons) xanthan gum (2%)

1 cup (140 g) Basic Gum-Free Gluten-Free Flour

93 grams (about 9⅓ tablespoons) superfine white rice flour (66%)

32 grams (about 3½ tablespoons) potato starch (23%)

15 grams (about 5 teaspoons) tapioca starch/flour (11%)

1 cup (140 g) Gluten-Free Bread Flour

100 grams (about 11½ tablespoons) Mock Better Batter All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour (71%)

25 grams (about 5 tablespoons) unflavored whey protein isolate (18%)

15 grams (about 5 teaspoons) Expandex modified tapioca starch (11%)

1 cup (140 g) Gluten-Free Pastry Flour

112 grams (about 13 tablespoons) Mock Better Batter All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour (80%)

14 grams (about 2⅔ tablespoons) nonfat dry milk, ground into a finer powder (10%)

14 grams (about 1½ tablespoons) cornstarch (10%)

Note that my Better Than Cup4Cup All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour or Cup4Cup Gluten-Free Flour itself can be used in place of Gluten-Free Pastry Flour, gram for gram.

Deep-Frying

DON’T FEAR THE DEEP-FRY

There are plenty of recipes in this book that call for deep-frying. You probably have some mixed feelings about that. I get it. Cooking your food in three inches of oil is not generally anyone’s idea of health food. And although deep-frying is the only way to get that authentic egg roll (page 35) or jalapeño popper (page 17) taste, whenever possible I have included instructions in each recipe for a no-fry option. That being said, indulge me for a moment while I sing the praises of deep-frying:

1. Deep-frying food is not as unhealthy as it’s generally considered. When food is deep fried at the proper temperature, the outside of the dough is sealed quickly, preventing any more oil from being absorbed and allowing the hot oil to gently cook the inside. Shallow frying causes food to absorb oil the entire time.

2. Deep-frying doesn’t heat up the house like turning on the oven does. Perfect for those warm weather months, and for those times when your oven is already busy.

3. It’s ridiculous how tender and delicious fried foods can be. You know you’ll never get that egg roll to crackle when you bite into it when you bake it in the oven.

TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL DEEP-FRYING

If I’ve at least convinced you to try deep-frying, I’ve got you right where I want you. Now it’s time to go through the tips I’ve learned over the years that keep my family in deep-fried goodness.

1. Frying oil. Peanut oil and corn oil are ideal for deep-frying, as they have a neutral taste and a very high smoke point of 450°F. That means that they can get really, really hot before they start smoking. Smoking oil is more likely to catch fire and has an unpleasant taste. Rice bran oil also has a neutral taste and an even higher smoke point of 490°F. All are ideal for deep-frying. So-called vegetable oil varies in smoke point, as the components of the oil vary. It typically has at least a smoke point of over 400°F, so can be used for deep-drying as well, but the previously mentioned oils are all preferable.

2. Oil temperature. Keeping the oil at a constant temperature is really important. When you add each piece of food to the oil, it will lower the temperature slightly. The more pieces of food you add at a time, the more it will lower the oil temperature. So heat the oil to the temperature directed in the recipe, as read on an instant-read thermometer, fry in small batches, and be sure to allow the oil to reheat to temperature in between batches.

3. Food temperature. The food you place in the hot oil should be at or close to room temperature when you fry it. If it is frozen, it must be defrosted first. Otherwise, the frozen food will lower the oil temperature significantly upon contact, the food will absorb too much oil, and it will not behave as you expect.

4. Condition of frying oil. Slightly “dirty” frying oil fries more evenly and better than completely clean (virgin) frying oil. If your frying oil is fresh, try dirtying it a bit by frying a crusty bit of bread first. Or just consider your first piece of fried food the sacrificial lamb.

5. Reusing frying oil. Unless I have fried something with a strong odor, like fish, I typically use a batch of frying oil three times before I throw it away. Not only does dirty oil fry better, but it’s also much more economical and less wasteful in general. After I use frying oil, I allow it to cool, and then I strain it through a fine-mesh sieve into a container, often right back into the original (now-empty) container from which the oil came. If the container has a small opening, I position a small funnel between the container and the strainer. Then, I mark the container “frying oil,” and put one hash mark on the label for each time I have used the oil. After three uses, I return the oil to the container, seal it, and then throw it away. Never pour oil down your drain or you’ll clog it!

6. Oil and water don’t mix, for real. When frying in hot oil, water is your enemy. Even a tiny droplet of water falling into your frying oil will cause spurting and splattering. So pat wet foods dry as best you can and never ever place food in the fryer with wet hands.

Ingredient Notes

I haven’t listed every single ingredient you’ll need, since most of the recipes call for everyday items. But there are a few outliers that you may not have in your pantry.

Almond paste. This thick, sweet paste is made of blanched almonds, confectioners’ sugar, and egg whites, processed until smooth and sticky. It’s almost the same as marzipan, which has the same ingredients but a higher proportion of sugar than almond paste. Luckily, Solo brand almond paste and Love’n Bake brand almond paste are both gluten-free.

Dairy ingredients. Liquid milk, when called for as an ingredient, can be any kind, as long as it’s not nonfat. When nonfat dry milk is called for as an ingredient, it is evaporated nonfat dairy milk (it is always sold as nonfat, so I use that by default). I use Carnation brand. Try replacing it with powdered coconut milk (as of the printing of this book, Native Forest brand coconut milk powder is dairy-free and gluten-free) or with finely ground almond flour in a 1:1 ratio. Dairy milk can be replaced with unsweetened almond milk, or coconut milk, and in most instances heavy whipping cream can be substituted with canned full-fat coconut milk, also in a 1 : 1 ratio. As a substitute for unsalted butter, I recommend using nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening, gram for gram. I use Spectrum Organic shortening, and it’s made from sustainably harvested palm oil. Virgin coconut oil can be replaced with shortening gram for gram as well. Cream cheese can be replaced with nondairy cream cheese. Sour cream can be replaced with nondairy sour cream or Greek-style dairy or nondairy yogurt. For cheese, Daiya Italian shred blend nondairy cheese melts relatively well and has a nice, cheesy taste (that last part is a good thing when you’re talking about cheese). For Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese in particular, try substituting nutritional yeast. It’s an inactive, flaked yeast made from sugarcane and beet molasses. As vegans have long known, it has a wonderfully nutty flavor and a similar texture to grated Parm. You can find nutritional yeast online, in natural food stores, or at Whole Foods (two good brands are Bragg and Bob’s Red Mill). If you’ve resisted trying it before but you’re avoiding dairy, it might just be your new favorite ingredient.

Dried gluten-free pasta. For many years, I used Tinkyada gluten-free rice pasta almost exclusively (I also really like Sam Mills gluten-free corn pasta). Although I still occasionally buy Tinkyada (their gluten-free lasagna noodles are the best I’ve tried and reasonably priced), now that Barilla makes certified gluten-free pasta, I’m a convert. If Barilla makes the shape of dried pasta I’m seeking, I’ll choose that over any other. It cooks al dente without any special treatment, although I usually rinse the pasta lightly with warm water after I drain it since there is just so much starch in the water.

Ghee or clarified butter. Ghee is pure butterfat and is created by removing the milk solids and water from the butter itself. It is made by melting butter for the purpose of evaporating the water and separating the milk solids, which naturally fall out when the butter is heated. Unlike clarified butter, which is made in the same manner, when making ghee, the milk solids are browned slightly during preparation. For our purposes, the two ingredients are interchangeable.

Hoisin sauce. Hoisin sauce is a thick, dark sauce used in Chinese cooking that’s sweet, salty, and spicy. It’s available in the Asian section of your grocery store. Sun Luck brand hoisin sauce is gluten-free. If you don’t have any hoisin sauce on hand, try substituting a mixture of half gluten-free miso paste and half molasses, with a dash of rice vinegar.

Kosher salt. Kosher salt is simply salt with a semicoarse grind, and it is much harder to overmeasure than table salt. It can be substituted with lightly flaked sea salt, one for one. If you would like to substitute it with table salt, try using about half the volume, as table salt has a significantly finer grain and is therefore much more concentrated.

Masa harina corn flour. Masa harina corn flour is made from dried corn that is then cooked in limewater before being dried and ground again. It is one of my favorite gluten-free grains, as it is so versatile and useful that it can be turned into corn tortillas with the simple addition of water and salt (page 202). Maseca masa harina corn flour is gluten-free, as is Bob’s Red Mill brand. Nuts.com also sells certified gluten-free masa harina.

Packaged tortillas. Chapter 5 has recipes for every sort of wrap imaginable. They all freeze quite well, and I highly recommend keeping your freezer stocked with a healthy supply. But there are those times when you’re going to be caught out, unable to make them from scratch. Unfortunately, there are painfully few options for store-bought gluten-free flour tortillas. I’ve tried a number of them, and for the most part, they just don’t cut it. They may bend, but they peel and break, too. And once you learn how good a homemade gluten-free wrap can be, it becomes very, very hard to forget. I simply cannot recommend any of them. Corn tortillas are something of a different story. There are a number of reliably gluten-free corn tortillas, among them Mission and La Banderita brands. They are serviceable, particularly if you heat them one at a time in a hot, dry cast-iron skillet. I can’t lie, though. Some of my children refuse to eat them. That might be because they are food spoiled. But if I’m being honest, I kind of want you to be, too. For what it’s worth, I do keep a steady supply of Mission gluten-free yellow corn tortillas in my refrigerator. Put enough cheese on anything, and my children generally will eat it.

Panko-style gluten-free breadcrumbs. Ian’s Foods makes really nice packaged panko-style gluten-free breadcrumbs. I have ordered it in bulk online to have on hand. Please see page 216 for a simple recipe for homemade panko-style gluten-free breadcrumbs.

Spring roll rice wrappers. My favorite brand of spring roll wrappers, the kind that you soften in warm water before filling and shaping, is Happy Pho Vietnamese Brown Rice Spring Roll Wrappers. They’re reliably gluten-free, available on amazon.com as well as in brick-and-mortar stores, and are well priced.

Tamari or gluten-free soy sauce. Tamari and soy sauce are both by-products of fermented soybeans, but soy sauce typically contains wheat and tamari does not. Tamari is a bit richer in color and flavor than soy sauce and also a bit less salty, but the two are similar enough as to be indistinguishable for our purposes. Kikkoman gluten-free soy sauce is generally my favorite brand of gluten-free soy sauce (be sure you are buying the gluten-free variety, as it’s not the only one they sell). San-J brand tamari is gluten-free.

Vegetable shortening. Shortening has less moisture than butter, so baked goods made using it in place of butter tend to crisp and spread considerably less. Sometimes, a combination of butter and shortening is called for in a recipe to achieve a particular texture. For best results, always follow the recipe as it is written. If you have environmental or health concerns about using vegetable shortening, please note that I use Spectrum brand nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening, which is made from sustainable palm oil and contains no hydrogenated oils.

Storing Fresh Ingredients

For maximum shelf life of refrigerated ingredients, here are a few pointers.

Fresh asparagus. If you’re anything like me, sometimes you buy asparagus with the best of intentions for making it that day or the next, and the next thing you know, you’re tossing a slimy mess into the trash can. To keep fresh asparagus crisp for up to a week or more, try filling a quart-size wide-mouth canning jar or other container of similar size and shape with tap water and placing the asparagus in the jar, cut-side down. Store the jar with the asparagus in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it. Refresh the water once every couple of days. They will keep fresh and crisp for at least a week.

Fresh ginger root. Ginger can be stored in the freezer, and you’ll never find yourself without it. No need to defrost or peel it before using.

Scallions. These green onions can be stored in one of two ways. Tie them together with a twist tie and place them in a tall mason jar filled about halfway with water, roots facing down. Place the jar in the refrigerator, and it will buy you at least a week. Your refrigerator may be somewhat smelly during that time, though. My preferred way of storing scallions is one that ensures I will always have some on hand. Simply wash and chop the scallions, then spread them in a single layer on a lined rimmed baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the freezer until the scallions are frozen. Transfer them to a zip-top bag and store them in the freezer. They defrost very quickly when removed from the freezer. This method allows you to use as many or as few as you like, and once frozen, they don’t have an odor at all so no worries about a smelly freezer.

Special Kitchen Equipment

Bench scraper/bowl scraper. For handling and shaping bread dough, a metal bench scraper or a plastic bowl scraper is very useful. They both perform the same function of allowing you to lift and manipulate the dough, but I generally prefer a plastic bowl scraper as it is somewhat flexible. It’s also useful for its intended purpose, which is cleaning every last drop out of a mixing bowl.

Cake cutters. To make tortillas of every kind with nice, clean professional-looking edges, consider purchasing cake cutters. I have a 6-inch cake cutter and an 8-inch cake cutter, both metal and made by Fat Daddio’s. I have purchased them on amazon.com and in well-stocked kitchen supply stores. The 6-inch cutter tends to be a bit easier to find than the 8-inch. Of course, you can make tortillas without cake cutters. You can also use pot lids in appropriate sizes as long as the lids have sharp, well-defined edges. Just press the lid into the dough and wiggle back and forth a bit to create a sharp round edge all the way around.

Candy/deep-fry thermometer. You can’t deep-fry properly without a simple candy/deep-fry thermometer to tell you that the oil has reached the proper temperature before you begin frying. An analog thermometer is sufficient. Take your pick of those on offer at amazon.com or your local kitchen supply store. There is very little daylight between them.

Digital food scale.