So it's already Thursday night and I really don't know where this whole week has gone... time is just flying and before I know it, it will be 2012. craziness.
Anyway, before I start looking too far ahead, I wanna backtrack for a sec and do a post about the gluten-free carrot bread I made last week~ As mentioned before, this was my first foray into the world of gf baking and I have to say, I was nervous! hehe. Clearly, I don't have any intolerance to gluten, but I've gotten a few requests from some readers in Korea asking if I can include some gf items on the bake shop site, so I figured it would be useful to learn a bit about baking with different flours. Gosh, I can't imagine being gluten-intolerant in Korea... it must be a nightmare, so I think it would be cool to be able to eventually provide some gf treats.
When I first started looking into gf baking, I was totally intimidated by all the different flours that I have never used or even heard about before. At least in Korea the flour varieties are more limited, which is actually a good thing because it simplifies my options... No teff, sorghum, or quinoa flours here (at least not that I know of). Instead, so far, I've found the following flours online, at supermarkets, or at the Foreign Food Mart:
rice flour (various types)
soy bean flour
corn flour
pumpkin/kabocha flour
potato starch
tapioca starch
buckwheat flour
coconut flour
Still a decent amount of options, and I'm sure there will be plenty of wild experiments in the future!
Since this was my first time baking gf, I wasn't sure what to expect. The bread rose beautifully, but the texture was noticeably... different. It was slightly gummier than I expected, but had this spongy quality to it at the same time. Is this normal? I also noticed that even though I only used 1/6 cup of oil, it still felt oily to the touch. It was still definitely edible though, and not bad for a first gf attempt! I'm a bit hesitant to post the recipe because I'm a total gf-noob and the carrot bread isn't quite where I want it to be. However, I'll let you try it and judge for yourself... maybe you can tweak the recipe and let me know how yours turns out. :)
For my gluten-free flour mix , I used a blend of three different flours/starches:
White rice flour 1 3/4 cup (270g)
Potato starch 2 cup or (205g)
Tapioca starch 1 1/2 cup (205g)
Gluten-Free Carrot Bread
makes 1 small loaf
1 cup gf flour mix (see above)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp all spice
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/4 cup + 2Tbs sugar (could increase slightly)
1/6 cup canola oil
1/3 cup soy milk
1/2 tsp brown rice vinegar
3/4 cup grated carrot
1/4 cup raisins, walnuts, etc
Preheat oven to 135F and prepare your baking tin. Sift and mix all dry ingredients together. Measure out the soymilk and add the vinegar, setting it aside for a few minutes for it to curdle. In a separate bowl, whisk the wet ingredients, including the sugar, and also add the soymilk-vinegar mixture. Mix the wet with the dry, until just incorporated and gently stir in the raisins and nuts. Pour into baking pan and place in oven. Bake for about 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
