Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Basic Gluten-Free Flour Mix

I thought I'd pass along this Basic Gluten-Free Flour Mix courtesy of Cybele Pascal's Allergen-Free Baker’s Handbook:

'The key to the very best gluten-free baked goods is Authentic Foods Superfine Brown Rice Flour; it is the Cadillac, or cashmere, of brown rice flours and is worth its weight in gold. It is not grainy like other rice flours, and bakes the most fantastic cookies, cakes, pie crusts, and so on. If you can’t find it at your local natural foods market or Whole Foods, order it online. Both Ener-G and Bob’s Red Mill brown rice flours will also work in these recipes, but they won’t turn out quite as well. I do not recommend Arrowhead Mills brown rice flour, which I find too gritty. The brands of potato starch and tapioca flour or starch are not important; I find them all interchangeable. (Please see Resources, page 177, for more information.)'

4 cups superfine brown rice flour
1 1⁄3 cups potato starch (not potato flour)
2⁄3 cup tapioca flour (also called tapioca starch)

1. To measure flour, use a large spoon to scoop flour into the measuring cup, then level it off with the back of a knife or straightedge. Do not use the measuring cup itself to scoop your flour when measuring! It will compact the flour and you will wind up with too much for the recipe.

2. Combine all ingredients in a gallon-size zipper-top bag. Shake until well blended. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Makes 6 cups

All recipes reprinted with permission from The Allergen-Free Baker’s Handbook: How to Bake Without Gluten, Wheat, Dairy, Eggs, Soy, Peanuts, Tree Nuts, and Sesame. Copyright © 2009 by Cybele Pascal, Celestial Arts, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, Berkeley, CA.

The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook

Cybele Pascal is my hero. We own her Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook and love it. Due to Rowan's allergy to chicken and turkey, we haven't tried many of the dinner recipes...but we use the muffin recipes almost every week. They're super healthy - made with whole grains and no refined sugar. And most importantly, no allergens.

I am really excited about her new cookbook, dedicated to allergy-free baking. The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook is available on Amazon and I can't wait to try some of the recipes. Our girls can never have store-bought bakery items, so I love being able to bake safe treats for them at home. The red velvet cake looks delicious.

Monday, February 8, 2010

The Bugabees: Friends With Food Allergies

I love the concept of this book. I'll probably buy it for our girls and also give a copy to Rylie's preschool classroom. 'A whimsical tale of eight friends with food allergies. Food allergies are never fun, but best friends always are! This light-hearted story explores the daily routines of eight best buggy friends such as Beetle, Cricket and Butterfly, as they face their respective food allergies with positivity and poise.' Available on Amazon for $12.20. Hardcover, 32 pages.