Gluten-Free

Gluten-free pita bread

I struggled to find gluten-free pita breads in store, so I made some. I also made mine dairy-free.

The recipe is based on this: https://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/how-to-make-quickbread-pita-bread-step-x-step/. Changes are marked in bold.

These are best fresh, and dip nicely in hummus.

Tools

• Oven
• Pizza steel (or other oven steel thicker than a cookie sheet)
• Stand mixer
• Parchment paper

Ingredients

Dry

• 1 3/4th cups (250g) gluten free flour blend
• 1/2 tablespoon xanthum gum (store bought flour blends may contain this, but those I tested needed more)
• 1/4th cup (35g) modified tapioca starch
• 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast (for flavor)
• 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon of salt

Wet

• 1 tablespoon (14g) of a neutral oil (or olive if you’re in a pinch)
• 2 large eggs (why bother separating the egg white?)
• 3/4th cup (6 oz, 200ml) of milk (dairy, oat, nexmilk)

Working

• Additional flour (rice flour or any other GF flour)
• Additional oil

Instructions

1. Place Pizza Steel on lowest rack, and preheat oven to its highest temperature (Mine is 525 F). Even after the oven reaches temperature (1 hour), giving the steel more time to absorb heat will produce better results.
2. Setup stand mixer with paddle (not the dough hook). Add all dry ingredients (flour, gum, starch, yeast, powder, salt). Stir ingredients with mixer.
3. Add wet ingredients (oil, eggs, and milk), and mix until well combined (~2 minutes). The dough should be pulling away from sides, and be thick and tacky (moist not wet).
4. On a lightly floured parchment paper, divide the dough into 8-12 balls. Set aside, and remove flour from parchment paper.
5. Oil the parchment paper, then Sandwich a dough ball between 2 pieces of parchment paper (oiled on bottom), and flatten the ball to less than 1/4th an inch (6mm).
6. Slap flattened pita on parchment onto the steel, shaking parchment to release.
7. Bake for 2 minutes, flip, then bake for 1 more. If thin, flip every minute instead.

Personal notes

• The dough should be moist. My very first batch was a bit dry, similar to pasta dough, and they pitas ended up too chippy.
• I also found the pizza steel wasn’t hot enough at the recommended 400 F. It should be hot enough that the pitas bubble and blister as they are placed on it.
• My 2nd batch had a great texture but wasn’t salty or yeasty enough, so I upped the ratio
• I believe I moved the pizza steel to the bottom of the oven to get the steel even hotter. Again the goal is to have a hot enough surface that they bubble.
• I’m unsure if flattening by hand or via a rolling pin/bottle is a negative or not.
• Batch 3 didn’t puff, but was good. It was slightly too salty; I believe I used more than 1 tablespoon of salt. I used 250g of flour, but I don’t think that’s actually 1 3/4ths (probably closer to 280g). My measurements of the Presidents Choice flour mix were roughly 42g per 1/4th cup (possibly higher if they were level).
• In batch 3 I made both thin and thicker pitas. The thicker had more of a spongy bready texture, which I think was a good thing. Thin is nice too, crispy.
• My only complaint is I might have used too much baking powder. Again it didn’t puff… oh right, I used cold water. A pure yeast version might be tastier.
• NEW: I suspect that these could taste a lot better. Gluten-free flour mixtures are kinda bad, in my experience always needing more xanthum gum, which makes me wonder if the mixture itself is just bad. To contrast, my crepe recipe uses only rice flour, and it’s really good. I wouldn’t be surprised if potato and glutenous rice flour alongside tapioca starch and xanthum gum would produce a better tasting base.

Things to try

• Make my own gluten-free flour blend. Potato flour probably has a nicer flavor than rice flour
• What happens if we add yeast to potato and/or rice flour? Does adding sugar do anything?

Simple Vegetable Soup

This is a simple soup inspired by my mother’s recipe.

Tools

• stock pot (or other large pot)
• stove-top
• large spoon or silicone spatula

Ingredients

Dry

A chunky mirepoix.

• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 whole celery, chopped (~4 cups)
• 4 regular carrots, chopped

Wet

• 6 cups of water

Herbs and seasoning

• 4 tablespoons chicken or artificial chicken soup mix (primary salt)
• 3 tablespoons dry parsley
• [optional] Black pepper
• [optional] MSG
• [optional] Chopped fresh dill

Starch (pick one)

• 4 large potatoes, chopped
• noodles
• rice

While cooking

• oil (for sauteing)
• salt (to season vegetables while sauteing)
• a liquid, such as white wine, vodka, or water (for deglazing)

Instructions

1. Add oil to pot, and set heat to medium-high.
   • You can test if the pot is hot enough by dropping a single vegetable into the pot. If it sizzles, it’s ready
2. Add onions, a bit of salt, and saute them for a few minutes
3. Deglaze the pot by adding a small glug of liquid to an exposed dark spot on the pan and stirring the onions over it. The onions will pick up a light caramel color as you do this.
4. Add the remaining vegetables and saute for a few more minutes.
5. Once you’re done “having fun” sauteing, add the water, the herbs, and the seasoning.
6. Once the broth is sufficiently seasoned (salty), add the starch.
7. Let everything simmer. Its finished once the starch is cooked (20-30 minutes)

Variation: Cream of Potato

1. Prepare the soup as before with potato but use half the recommended amount of potato
2. Turn off heat, and let it cool.
   • It doesn’t need to be room temperature, but cool enough that you’re comfortable pouring, and it wont overheat your blender.
3. Pour soup into blender, and blend.

Eggy Gluten-free Crepes

These crepes are savory and delicious despite being gluten and dairy free. While you could substitute wheat flour and dairy milk, I really like how the mildness of the rice flour doesn’t interfere with the taste of the the egg.

Tools

• 8" non-stick frying pan (NO LARGER! This pairs with the measuring cup)
• 1/4 cup (~75 ml) measuring cup (for pouring batter into pan)
• silicone spatula (for flipping)
• stove-top
• mixing bowl
• whisk (or fork)

Ingredients: Crepe batter

This recipe is almost a 2:1 ratio of wet to dry ingredients. Makes 6-7 crepes.