Gluten-Free Makeovers Read Online Free PDF Page B

cobbling together the parts that suited my taste buds and the specific personality of gluten-free flours. This premise started feeding me.
    I studied cookbooks much like others read mystery novels. I uncovered the techniques that make them work—how did the creator give lift to the end product; was the fat added as a solid or a liquid? Then I looked at the end result—was it airy, dense, crumbly, flaky?
    This helped determine the best blend of flours and the amount of xanthan or guar gum needed to achieve a gluten-free version.
    I looked at the gluten containing ingredients—the quantity of flour needed, for instance helped me determine the extent of the makeover. If the recipe calledfor a dusting of flour or a tablespoon or two as in a cheesecake or a flourless cake, the substitution was easy—one kind of flour would work.
    If the recipe was more complex, a fancy cake or a yeast bread, then the makeover required a bit more imagination. Doughs that needed elasticity such as piecrust or bread required a blend with a high protein flour and a teaspoon of gum per cup of flour. In a delicate cookie, I did not need something chewy, but rather something that would hold together, but impart a fine crumb. A light mild-tasting flour blend such as one containing white rice and corn or tapioca starch, and a tiny bit of gum would do.
Recipe DNA
    Every recipe has its own personality that comes from the relationship of wet ingredients to dry, the amount of fat and whether it is a solid or a liquid, the quantity of sugar, eggs, and flavoring. These characteristics give a recipe its integrity, complexity, and name. In essence, its DNA.
    When I do a recipe makeover, I do not alter those sacrosanct relationships and neither should you. If you change one ingredient, it will be necessary to change the others. To understand this delicate balance you need only imagine the last time you cut a recipe in half. When you did so, you cut every ingredient by the same amount. If you look at recipe makeovers in the same way, you will always have success.
A Simple Makeover
    Here’s a recipe we can try together:
Irish Tea Bread—A Makeover
    My friend Beverly asked me to help her make over a family recipe for Irish Tea Bread. On the surface it looked like a simple task and I was happy to give her a hand. Ironically, what looked so easy took several attempts. It’s a great recipe to help you understand how to convert a mainstream recipe into one that is gluten-free.
    First, here’s Beverly’s family recipe. Notice the warning that the dough will be heavy and sticky. Also note the technique: the butter is cut into the dry ingredients until crumbly and the buttermilk and eggs are added later. This tea bread is probably a cross between an Irish Soda Bread and a scone (more scone than soda bread owing to the small amount of baking soda).
Irish Tea Bread
    3 cups flour
    ½ cup sugar
    2 teaspoons baking powder
    ½ teaspoon baking soda
    ½ teaspoon salt
    5 tablespoons butter
    1 cup raisins
    2 eggs, slightly beaten
    1 cup low-fat buttermilk
    Mix together in a large bowl the first five ingredients. Cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Add the raisins. Mix the beaten eggs and buttermilk together in a separate bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix with a wooden spoon until the mixture is moist. This is a very heavy and sticky dough.
    Grease and flour a 9-inch pan or a loaf pan. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and pat lightly into the shape of the pan. Bake at 350°F for 1 hour, or until browned.
    NOTE: It is essential to put raisins into the dry ingredients, otherwise they will sink to the bottom of the tea bread.
    Here’s how I approached making over the original recipe:
    • My first concern was selecting a blend that was light and already contained some “lift.” The self-rising blend fit the bill; it’s also the one I use to make scones. I replaced 3 cups of flour with an equal amount of