Crescent Rolls

Combine in a mixing bowl:
3 1/2 cups gluten free flour blend (one that contains xanthan gum)
1 Tablespoon yeast
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Add the following to the mixing bowl with the flour mixture:
1 egg
4 Tablespoons oil
1 1/2 cups warm milk ("Warm" should be just slightly warmer than body temperature or around 115 degrees if you want to be technical.)
(Side note: if you can't have milk use water--it will be just fine!)

Combine all of the ingredients using a paddle attachment of your mixer.  The dough should come together and be kind of like play-do so you may have to add a little more flour to get to this consistency.  It will be pretty sticky still though so don't add too much flour.  Allow to rise for about an hour.

Separate dough into four pieces.  Pat them out (or roll with a rolling pin but I found patting them worked much better) on a well-floured (gluten free flour of course!) surface into about a 12-inch circle.

Spread melted butter on the whole circle (you can use a dairy free butter for this part if you can't have dairy).  Cut the circle into 8 pieces using a pizza cutter.

Starting from the wide end, roll them up.  Place on a greased cookie sheet.  Repeat with the remaining dough.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake the crescent rolls for about 10-12 minutes.  

Puffy Sugar Cookies

I made these for my Sunday school class a couple weeks ago and the kids all loved them (of course all of the sprinkles on top helped that!).  I gave my gluten free buddy at church the cookies that were left from Sunday school and her non-gluten free husband ate most of them so they were obviously a hit!

I am going to try to write out my recipes in a very simple format...post in the comment section if you have questions or need further clarification as to how to do something but generally all cookies are the same--cream the sugar and fat, add eggs and vanilla, and then mix in the dry ingredients.  The only difference with this cookie recipe is the milk as most cookies do not contain milk.  

Cream:
1 1/4 cups shortening
2 cups sugar

Add:
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

Mix in:
1/2 cup buttermilk

Add and mix:
6 1/2 cups gluten free flour mix (one that contains xanthan gum)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

After everything is mixed well add another 1/2 cup buttermilk and combine well.
Scoop out with a cookie scoop onto ungreased cookie sheets or roll into 1 inch balls and flatten slightly.  (You can sprinkle with colored sugar or sprinkles at this point if desired but I actually preferred the taste of the plain ones....the sprinkled ones just looked prettier.)  Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Note:  If you cannot have dairy (like me) then use coconut, rice, or almond milk with 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice added to each 1/2 cup of "milk" instead of the buttermilk.  Also, if you don't have buttermilk you can just add 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice to each 1/2 cup of regular milk.

Gluten Free Flour Blend

Simple Gluten Free Flour Blend

185 grams (1 1/2 cups) sorghum flour

250 grams (1 1/2 cups) potato starch (NOT potato flour)

113 grams (1 cup) tapioca starch (sometimes called tapioca flour--same thing)

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

Combine all together.  One of the easiest ways to do this is to put it in a bowl with a lid and just shake.  If you have kids you can have them shake the bowl for you (Hey, why not save yourself some work and entertain them at the same time--they'll love it!!!)  :o)  

Pizza Crust

Gluten Free Pizza Crust

2 cups gluten free flour (one that contains xanthan gum already)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon yeast

1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons warm water (somewhere around 110-115 degrees)
2 Tablespoons olive oil (you can use canola or another oil instead if you prefer--I don't always have olive oil on hand)
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon vinegar

1. Combine first 5 ingredients (all the dry ingredients).
2. Add remaining ingredients to the dry ingredients.
3. Using a mixer with the paddle attachment, combine the ingredients together on low speed.
4. Beat dough for about 2 minutes at medium speed--dough should come together and be soft.
5. Spread onto a greased cookie sheet or pizza pan.  Wet your hands to spread the dough out--this should be enough to cover a 12 x 18 inch pan but the crust will be very thin.  (If you don't want the crust really thin, just spread it out over part of the pan.) 
6. Allow to rise until double (Or if you are in a hurry, skip this step--and don't preheat your oven--put the crust in the oven and then turn the oven on--you will just have to adjust the cooking time a little bit.) 
7. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
8. Put the crust in the oven and bake until it starts to brown just slightly--about 10 minutes.  The dough will not be completely baked.  
9. Remove from oven and top with desired pizza toppings.  Return to oven for another 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted and dough is completely cooked.    

My Mom made the pizza in the picture below using my recipe above.  I'll share her picture with you since my pizza looks funny with "fake cheese" on it.  Her pizza has real cheese.  :o)  

Introduction

Wonderfully Made—Gluten Free

What is in a name…..and why did I choose the above name for a blog about eating gluten free?  Let me start off with a couple verses from the Psalms. 

“For You formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Wonderful are Your works; my soul knows it very well.”  Psalm 139:13-14

In this passage God takes credit for how He made us—He formed us intricately in our mothers' wombs.  Exodus even tells us that God made the deaf, dumb, and blind (see Exodus 4:11) so I think we can also say that God specifically created us with other various health issues or even food sensitivities.  Why would He make us this way?  I’ll let the following Scriptures speak for themselves in answer to that question (emphasis is mine). 

“As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.  And his disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.’”  John 9:1-3

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose.  For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”  Romans 8:28-29 

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.”  2 Corinthians 1:3-5

So, to put it in simple terms, God allows or brings things into our life—not only food things but anything in our life to help us become more like Christ and so that we can show others God working in our lives.  My goal with this blog is to be able to help others (or to use the word from 2 Corinthians 1—comfort) by sharing recipes and tips for cooking, baking, and eating gluten free based on what the Lord has helped me learn. 

What really made me think of this name for a blog about eating gluten free was a combination of something the Lord has been teaching me in the last six months or so and my pastor’s message this past Sunday at church.  God wants me to be thankful for everything He brings or allows in my life—even the difficult things or the things that I wouldn’t choose.  God has chosen that I cannot eat gluten or dairy to teach me to be thankful even when I can’t eat things that I used to be able to eat or really want to eat.  Pastor reminded me through his message Sunday about the Israelites complaining about the food that God supernaturally provided for them in the wilderness after rescuing them from slavery in Egypt.  They weren’t thankful for that food but instead complained and grumbled against the Lord because they no longer had leeks, garlic, and melons to eat like they did in Egypt.  I am all too often like those Israelites though and am not thankful for the food that God has provided for me that I can eat but instead focus on what I can’t eat and say how much I miss pizza or a good loaf of real bread. 

But thankfulness for this?

So how can I be thankful for stomach and intestinal issues and all of the side effects that go along with that?  Well, let me list a few of the things that I have come up with to be thankful for:

·         That gluten sensitivity, celiac, and food allergies are more common now and thus easier to deal with than in previous generations

·         For doctors who help figure out what is really going on

·         For the knowledge that the Lord has blessed me with in understanding baking science and how ingredients work which makes it easier for me to figure out how to change recipes and make them gluten free

·         The ability to bake and make my own gluten free baked goods and thus eliminate the need to purchase very expensive pre-made items

·         For the understanding that I now have for others with food allergies and how that helps me in my job as a cake decorator and chocolatier to be more careful with ingredients that others may be allergic to

·         Being able to share recipes and tips with others who have gluten sensitivities

·         That health difficulties help me to focus and rely on God’s strength rather than my own

·         For recipes that work and wisdom in creating my own recipes