Diet & Weight gluten-free living
Holiday Baking
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n outstanding guide to gluten-free baking is always welcomed by people with gluten intolerance, but at the holidays, it’s a gift. Joining a growing list of great gluten-free cookbooks—just in time to help you satisfy all your Thanksgiving guests—is Gems of Gluten-Free Baking: Breads & Irresistible Treats Everyone Can Enjoy by Wendy Turnbull. The foundation for the collection of recipes is Turnbull’s GEMS flour, a blend of whole grain flours that lets you create delicious products that mimic the taste and texture of wheat-based breads and desserts. And Turnbull not only shows you how to get the taste you crave, but she also offers tips for boosting the nutrients without increasing fat, sugar, and calorie content. There’s no reason to make dry, crumbly, tasteless substitutes for the foods you love. With Turnbull’s help, you can fill the holiday table with tasty treats—pies, cakes, breads, cookies, cupcakes, and more. We suggest starting with these biscotti, perfect for holiday parties.
Almond Biscotti These cookies are baked twice to make them extra crisp.
⁄2 cup soft butter
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11⁄4 cups granulated sugar 1 egg and 2 egg whites 1. Preheat oven to 325˚F. Have ungreased baking
sheet ready. 2. Spread almonds evenly on baking sheet and toast 10 to 12 minutes. Cool. 3. In a food processor coarsely chop toasted almonds and set aside 1⁄2 cup. Grind remaining nuts into flour. Add GEMS flour, baking powder, guar gum, salt and aniseed. Pulse to mix. 4. Add butter, sugar, and beaten eggs and pulse until mixture begins to form a ball. 5. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead in reserved almonds. 6. Divide dough into two balls, patting each ball into an oval-shaped log about 11⁄2 inches in diameter. Score or mark each log diagonally. Lines should be 1 ⁄3 inch apart and 1⁄8 inch deep. 7. Place logs on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Remove logs from oven and cool for 20 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 200˚F. 8. With a sharp knife carefully slice through markings and lay pieces on their sides. Bake 20 more minutes. Place on rack to cool. Yield: 2 dozen TD&N Nutrient Analysis (per cookie): Calories: 205; Total Fat: 10 g; Saturated Fat: 3 g; Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 g; Monounsaturated Fat: 5 g; Cholesterol: 19 mg; Sodium:
2 cups almonds, unblanched (reserve 1⁄2 cup
103 mg; Carbohydrates: 25 g; Fiber: 2 g; Protein: 5 g
chopped) 2 ⁄2 cups GEMS flour (formula follows) 1
1 Tbsp baking powder ⁄2 tsp guar gum
1
⁄2 tsp salt
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1 tsp aniseed, finely crushed
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Today’s Diet & Nutrition
GEMS Flour Formula The value of this formula is that it tends to minimize the drawbacks and enhance the benefits of the individual flour. The formula requires four alternative
gluten-free flours. The first two must be included; the next two offer a choice based on personal preference, availability, or cost. All combinations will yield a superb loaf of bread: BASIC: 2 ⁄4 cups brown rice flour and ⁄3 cup sweet 3
2
Note: You may substitute regular sorghum flour
(instead of sweet white) or regular buckwheat (instead of light) if necessary. For more information about the formula, see the book.
white sorghum flour TD&N Nutrient Analysis (per 1⁄4 cup): Calories: 139; Total ADD: ⁄3 cup of one of the following flours:
Fat: 1 g; Saturated Fat: 0 g; Polyunsaturated Fat: 0 g;
amaranth, buckwheat (light), gluten-free oat, or teff
Monounsaturated Fat: 0 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 3
ADD: 3 Tbsp of one of the following flours: chickpea,
Recipes and photographs used with permission from Gems of Gluten-Free Baking: Breads & Irresistible Treats Everyone Can Enjoy by Wendy Turnbull, www.whitecap.ca
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millet, soy* (low-fat or defatted), quinoa*, or white/ red/black bean*
mg; Carbohydrates: 29 g; Fiber: 2 g; Protein: 3 g
*stronger-flavored flour
Hazelnut and Cranberry Biscotti
November 2010
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