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Gluten free and dairy free Irish soda bread with raisins

This Spotted Dog Irish bread is yeast-free and gluten-free.

The Mother of Invention

By Meet Karina

If I call this new gluten-free bread an Irish soda bread, traditionalists will snicker. Raisins are not at all traditional in an Irish soda bread, you see. If a soda bread has raisins in it, it's called Spotted Dog over yonder, cross the pond in the Emerald Isle (or so I'm told). I never knew this, growing up on the white clapboard wilds of the Connecticut shore. I was blithely ignorant of this quaint canine moniker, despite a hefty streak of familial Irish blood (we ate more pierogi and kielbasa than Irish soda bread and tea). And out on my own- when I started baking my tender little eighteen year old heart out- my Irish soda bread had raisins.

And why not?

When it comes to traditions, I'm the first to admit- I am an upstart. I wiggle and chafe beneath constraint and "should" like an itchy school girl with pinching new shoes. I admire traditions. From afar. At least, in theory. In an abstract, symbolic way. The meaning and the message is more interesting to me than formula. When it comes to formula, I usually prefer to wing it.

Which is why I enjoy gluten-free baking.

My skill set groove runs deep on the intuitive side. 

I bake like I paint. Observing. Listening. Responding to what is in front of me. If a recipe calls for x amount of flour and I sense the dough is too wet, I'll add more flour until the dough feels "right" to me. Experience helps. No doubt about it. The process of trial and error gives you a feel for gluten-free dough, an inkling about the muffin batter and how it might behave on any given day. Which varies, I hate to tell you.

So I pay attention to elements like humidity, and room temperature. Weather.

Bread dough will behave differently on a hot and humid day than it will on a windy, cold one. Your kitchen changes with the seasons, you know. So recipes may have to change a wee bit, too. The amount of milk or brown rice flour may need to be adjusted. Tweaked a tiny bit toward wet or dry.

Baking gluten-free is more of an art than a science.

I recommend you tune in to your ingredients and learn how they behave. Learn how humidity affects flour- notice it's dampness. Or dryness. Dry flours will soak up more liquid. Damp flours are heavier, and may need less moisture. A cool and drafty kitchen may require a longer rise time than a hot and sultry one. A thin metal bread pan may bake the outside of a loaf faster than the inside can keep up. Your oven may run a tad hotter than you imagined. Or lag behind and never quite pre-heat itself (do your gluten-free baked goods end up gummy in the center?).

Gluten-free baking requires your full attention. A dash of patience. An intimacy with your ingredients. A willingness to adjust. And most of all, developing an intuition you can trust.

Even if it goes against tradition.

Gluten-free Spotted Dog- an Irish bread with a twist.

 Gluten-Free Irish Soda Bread Recipe- with Spots! 

Use your favorite milk, or non-dairy milk- but note that non-traditional coconut milk and a touch of coconut flour add a subtle fragrant tenderness to this easy, rustic quick bread. If you cannot use coconut due to allergies, try your usual milk choice, and substitute the coconut flour with sweet rice flour.

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Line a 7-inch or 8-inch cake pan with a piece of parchment paper.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup brown rice flour or gluten-free oat flour
1/2 cup sorghum flour, gluten-free oat flour, or millet flour
1/2 cup almond or hazelnut flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch or potato starch (not potato flour!)
1/4 cup organic coconut flour
1/4 cup organic light brown sugar 
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 teaspoons double acting baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
3 organic free-range eggs or egg replacer
6 tablespoons light olive oil
3/4 cup coconut milk, soy milk or non-dairy milk
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 to 3/4 cup currants (or raisins)

Instructions:

Whisk the flours and dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. 

Combine the wet ingredients together in a separate bowl.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and slowly pour the wet into the dry ingredients, gently mixing as you go. I use a soft silicone or rubber spatula to do this. If you need a little more coconut milk to moisten the dough, add a tablespoon at a time and stir in.

When the dough is evenly moist and sticky, add the raisins and stir by hand to mix them in.

Scrape out the dough and plop it into the center of the lined cake pan. Use oiled or wet hands to mound the dough into a rustic round loaf. Dot with extra raisins, if you like and press them in a bit. 

Slice a smallish criss-cross into the center of the dough.

Place the pan into the center of a preheated oven. Bake for about 30 to 33 minutes, until the loaf is golden and firm. Insert a wooden toothpick into the center to test for doneness.

Sweet and tender gluten-free "Spotted Dog" soda bread with tea.

Cool the pan on a wire rack for five minutes, then turn the loaf out of the pan to continue cooling (you don't want a steamy bottom!).

Serve slightly warm with your favorite buttery spread and some fruity jam.

Recipe Notes:

Rustic soda breads are really best eaten warm from the oven. This latest version is tender and slightly sweet- perfect for tea time. 

If you have leftovers, I would wrap and freeze the remaining bread to preserve the texture and taste. Thaw and warm it up in the oven or grill slices with a pat of butter.

This recipe is gluten-free and dairy-free. 

To make it vegan, use your favorite egg replacer equivalent to 3 beaten eggs- about 6 tablespoons of liquid. See below for a link to my vegan Irish Soda Bread with Millet.

Cook time: 30 minutes

Yield: 8 to 10 slices

Warm slices of Irish soda bread with raisins.

More gluten-free  bread recipes:

Delicious Gluten-Free Vegan Bread Recipe - dairy-free and rice-free
Sun Dried Tomato Focaccia Bread Recipe - Gluten-Free
Gluten free cornbread recipe with Green Chiles + Cinnamon
Moroccan Recipes: Bread with poppy seeds recipe

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Sun Dried Tomato Focaccia Bread

Today's new recipe? Gluten-free sun-dried tomato bread.

  

A Focaccia To Love

Moving season is upon us. Yes, Los Angeles has a moving season. Southern Californians do not like to move in cold weather- in other words, when the mercury dips below the 60º mark. 58 degrees? It's time for UGGs and cocoa and ordering in. Not for hoisting sofas up or down a flight of stairs. Are you crazy? 

And yes. We are moving. Come June 1st or thereabouts we are joining the migrating, apartment swapping masses. We are weeding through the promises that bloom on Craigslist (a veritable bouquet of alluring superlatives). Amazing! Gorgeous! Light and bright! And the ever popular- HUGE! This whole searching (and so far, not finding) process inevitably makes me insanely hungry for bread. Not store bought bread. Freshly baked warm from the oven bread. The kind of rustic, crusty loaf that conjures the word hearth. And home.

Because when you're searching for a place to live, nothing whispers home to your soul like the yeasty sweet aroma of baking bread. 

This gluten-free sun-dried tomato bread is crusty and tender.

 

Gluten-Free Sun-Dried Tomato Bread Recipe

We found some fabulously sweet sun-dried tomatoes at Trader Joe's for this new bread recipe. They were delightfully tender and not too chewy. I like my sun-dried tomatoes to resemble fruit, not leather. They gave this rustic bread a rich, Italian inspired flavor.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sorghum flour
1 1/2 cups potato starch
1/2 cup almond meal or GF millet flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
4 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1-2 teaspoons minced garlic, to taste
1 1/4 cup warm water (115ºF)
1 teaspoon raw sugar
1 packet rapid dry yeast
2 organic free range eggs, beaten
3 tablespoons good olive oil
1 teaspoon mild rice vinegar (or lemon juice)
1/2 cup lightly packed sun-dried tomatoes (dry packed)

Instructions:

Warm the oven by turning it on and off. Line a 9-inch cake pan with a piece of parchment.

In a mixing bowl combine the sorghum flour, tapioca starch, almond meal, brown rice flour, dried basil, xanthan gum, sea salt and garlic.

In a large measuring cup add the sugar to the water and dissolve. Add the yeast, stir and set aside until the yeast gets happy and poofy. (The sugar feeds the yeast.)

Add the proofed yeast and liquid to the flour and begin beating to combine. Add the eggs, olive oil and vinegar. Beat for a minute or two until the dough is smooth.

Lightly chop the sun-dried tomatoes. Toss them into the dough. Stir to distribute.

Scoop the dough into the prepared pan, shape and smooth the top with oiled hands.

Set the pan in the warm oven, on the center rack, and allow the dough to rise. A quick rise of 20 minutes will produce a flat bread style rustic loaf (shown). A longer rise, until doubled in height, should give you a slightly higher loaf, depending upon your altitude and ambient temperature.

When the dough has risen, turn the oven on, to 375ºF.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until firm and golden. Note: At about 20-25 minutes I brushed the top with olive oil. This helps make a lovely golden crust.

Serve this flavorful bread warm from the oven, with authentic extra virgin olive oil. (See this book Extra Virginity for the truth about olive oils- thanks to my pal Gluten-Free Anna for the heads up on this book.)

Makes one 9-inch rustic bread

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Karina's Gluten-Free Zucchini Quinoa Breakfast Cake

Packing. Let's Eat Cake.

By Meet Karina 

From the L.A. archives- a personal favorite you may have missed... Remember those maple sweetened almond zucchini mini-muffins? I do. They've become one of our favorite grab-and-go gluten-free treats. I tuck a bag of them- fresh out of the freezer- into my bulging purse knapsack beach bag tote whenever we venture far afield. Like. The Valley. Because, well. You never know. It can get crazy. In L.A. you might end up jammed on the 405. Stuck as in four lanes = a parking lot stuck. Stuck as in, Dude that's my hunger growling louder than Kurt Cobain's rasp on the rattling radio speaker pleading, What else could I be? All apologies. 

I know this from experience. I learned the hard way (the way I learn most things in life). Driving in L.A. can lead to stop-n-go squatting in the baking sun. And a where is my nail file and why did I leave the apartment without food and water and ice in a cooler panic. Because the thirty-three minutes it took yesterday to get to Studio City is seventy-five minutes today.

That's when I started imagining a zucchini cake.

For breakfast.

On the 405.

Heading north (allegedly). To sign a lease. On a new apartment with an ample well planned kitchen and an open living room with a fireplace. And two balconies- one sunny for growing herbs, one shady in the afternoon, facing a quiet leafy green street lined with lavender gardens and rose bushes and honeysuckle and song birds. 

We'll be moving in two weeks.

Your intrepid Gluten-Free Goddess has some packing to do.

Good thing we baked a zucchini quinoa cake.

Warm from the oven gluten-free dairy-free zucchini quinoa breakfast cake

Maple sweetened gluten-free zucchini quinoa breakfast cake

 Gluten-Free Zucchini Quinoa Breakfast Cake Recipe

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Sweetened only with a half cup pure maple syrup, this cake is not overly sweet. Which makes it perfect for breakfast or a mid-afternoon snack. Almond meal, sorghum flour and quinoa flakes add protein and nutrition.

Ingredients:

2/3 cups almond meal
2/3 cup sorghum flour (or brown rice flour, if you must)
1/2 cup quinoa flakes (cereal flakes, not whole quinoa)
1/4 cup tapioca starch
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup light melted coconut oil
3 organic free-range eggs, beaten
1-2 tablespoons coconut milk, soy or rice milk, as needed  
2 teaspoons bourbon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract 
1 packed cup shredded zucchini, patted dry

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line an 8-inch Springform pan with a circle of parchment.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the almond meal, quinoa flakes, sorghum flour, tapioca starch, baking powder, xanthan gum, sea salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.

Add in the maple syrup, coconut oil, beaten eggs, and one tablespoon coconut milk. Beat to combine. If needed, add another tablespoon of coconut milk to loosen the batter. Add the vanilla and almond extract. Beat the batter until it is smooth and slightly sticky.

Add in the shredded zucchini and stir by hand to combine.

Spoon the cake batter evenly into the lined cake pan. Smooth the top with wet fingers. I add a few strands of grated zucchini to the top for flecks of green.

Bake in the center of a preheated oven for about 30 minutes, until the top is golden and springy-firm to the touch. A wooden pick inserted into the center should emerge clean.

Cool the cake pan on a wire rack for five minutes. Loosen the edges with a thin spatula or knife and release the clasp on the Springform pan. Move the cake to the wire rack and continue cooling.

This filling, satisfying cake is very moist and slices best when cooled. Wrap and freeze leftover slices for easy to-go treats. (Especially if heading out in mad traffic.)

Serves 8-10.

Recipe Notes:

I baked this moist and satisfying breakfast cake in a parchment lined 8-inch Springform pan. If you have only a 7-inch layer cake pan it will work. Line it with a circle of parchment paper. Keep an eye on the center- it may need an extra minute or two in a smaller pan (higher center).

And speaking of pans- I beg you, Darling. Do not bake gluten-free cakes and breads in those disposable aluminum foil pans. They are way too thin to bake gluten-free batter evenly. Foil pans cause over-browning on the outside, and gummy, undone centers.

If baking for a gluten-free friend- protect her from cross contamination and line your cake pan with clean foil or parchment paper. (And don't use your old wooden spoons- gluten protein is sticky, and tenacious.)

gluten-free Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Recipes granola bar recipe granola recipe homemade granola homemade gluten-free granola homemade granola bars homemade granola recipe

By Meet Karina 

Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Recipes

Low sugar, homemade gluten-free granola.

You're going to think this is silly. What I have to confess. And it is. Quite silly. It's one of those sticky, pesky truths that clings to you and won't let go, wreaking not anything dramatic, like pure havoc (or worse). No, nothing life threatening, or socially isolating, or disturbing, or even controversial, for that matter. So I'll just say it.

I've been too scared to make my own granola. Well, maybe scared is too strong a word. Color scared with a hint of lazy and you might have a more accurate hue of where my head's at, granola-wise. And making your own granola always seemed a trifle precious. A tad earthy-crunchy (duh). Slightly over the top. And rather unnecessary. It's not like granola isn't widely available- in an array of flavors- since Jesus was in Hebrew school. It's a serious, bonafide hit. A blockbuster cereal. For, like, evah.

Why bother making it when you can buy it by the Trug load?

I've got two reasons.

Number 1. Cost. When my husband stopped buying a certain gluten-free granola he liked, ever curious, I quizzed him why. Do you know how much it costs? he tossed back. 

Sniffing slightly. (Sadness? Ennui? Disgust?) That little bag of two, maybe three servings, he said. It's nine fracking dollars. Dude, I whispered, sitting up straight. That's heinous.

Number 2. For those of us blessed with a heaping bowl of celiac disease and all kinds of extra toppings like casein allergy, and FODMAP intolerance (why on Earth would you add INULIN to fiber-rich oats?), and a general, all purpose, mid-life pie-roll aversion to sugar coated cereal, it's not an entirely bad idea to create your own gluten-free granola from scratch, using body friendly ingredients, and lower fat and sugar.

So for those of you out there who are already experts at whipping up batches of homemade gluten-free granola- Dear-hearts, I salute you. My wooden spoon firmly in hand. 

You are far more fearless and intrepid than mild mannered Yours Truly, who might more accurately be called, She Who Runs From Oats.

But now I'm converted.

I am She Who Bakes Granola.

Can I be on Portlandia now?

Ready to be baked- maple sweetened gluten-free granola.

Be sure to use only certified gluten-free rolled oats in your granola. The important emphasis, here, is on certified gluten-free. Not hearsay.

Not wishful thinking (aka denial). I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Rolled Oats (the package sporting the Gluten-Free symbol) because it tests as gluten-free. And no, Bob didn't ask me to say this. He doesn't even know I bought a bag. Or made this fabulous granola with four cups of it. If you happen to run into Bob, up there in Portland, tell him I said, Hey.

I added organic Brazil nuts to my nut mix, because I wanted to boost those hard to come by minerals- selenium and zinc; and add some vegan protein.

I added dried cranberries because they're FODMAP-friendly, but you can choose raisins, if you prefer- or your favorite dried fruit.

And the only sweetener I used was pure organic maple syrup.

This is a good base recipe- friendly to those of us with FODMAP sensitivities. And you can add in your favorite fruits, seeds, coconut, etc- after it cools a bit. Have fun!

Not too sweet, vegan and gluten-free granola, with organic soy milk.

Homemade Gluten-Free Granola Recipe

Easy, super-tasty vegan friendly granola. No sugar. No honey. Sweetened only with a modest amount of pure maple syrup. Switch out the dried organic cranberries for your favorite fruit, if you prefer.

Ingredients:

4 cups certified gluten-free rolled oats
1/2 rounded cup rough-chopped organic Brazil nuts
1/2 rounded cup rough-chopped organic pecans
1/2 cup pure organic maple syrup
1/4 cup olive oil 
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Add-in:
1 cup organic (apple juice sweetened) dried cranberries

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 325º. Take out two baking sheets and set aside.

In a large bowl combine the rolled oats, Brazil nuts, and pecans.

In a glass measuring cup, combine the maple syrup, olive oil, cinnamon and sea salt. Mix well with a fork. Drizzle the syrup mixture over the oats, and stir as you go. Gently keep stirring until all the oats are coated with the syrup blend.

Spread the granola mixture onto the two baking sheets. Bake in the center of the oven for roughly 30 minutes until golden and toasty. Check the granola half way through baking time to stir gently.

Remove from the oven and allow the pans to cool a bit. Pour the cooled granola into a large bowl. Add in the dried cranberries and stir.

Store in an air-tight container.

Makes 20-24 servings.

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By Meet Karina 

Quinoa Salad with Roasted Beets, Chick Peas and Orange 

February second. We survived January, Darling. Happy Groundhog Day to you. Happy Imbolc. The dwindling of winter is at last within reach- no matter what Punxatawny Phil predicts. Six weeks is doable. After all, there is chocolate. Downton Abbey 2. And soup. And our hope-fueled New Year betterments are still on track (right?). If not, the year is young. Tomorrow is a fresh start. To celebrate, let's throw a party. My contribution? A gluten-free vegan salad that is perfect for parties.

Because throwing a party is a tad more complicated than it used to be.

There are vegans to accommodate. And newly gluten-free friends and neighbors to feed. And let's face it. Everyone is a wee bit bored by those layered taco bean dips and pork sliders. Gooey meat and cheese is so predictable. Pizza dips are so frat house.

Why not go fresh and breezy instead?

Be good to your body.

Quinoa Salad Recipe with Roasted Beets, Chick Peas, Baby Spinach and Orange

This is a totally vegan quinoa salad recipe, but if you enjoy a little goat cheese now and then, I think this salad would be delightful with a crumble of fresh, organic goat cheese. I've also served this quinoa salad with a sprinkle of toasted slivered almonds.

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked quinoa 
2 beets, trimmed and quartered
Olive oil
Sea salt
1/4 cup fruity olive oil
1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
2 teaspoons organic gluten-free tamari sauce
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar or rice vinegar
1 tablespoon organic raw agave nectar or local honey
1 cup drained rinsed chick peas
2 big handfuls of baby spinach leaves
Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste
1 fresh orange, peeled, trimmed, cut into bite sized pieces

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.

Here's how to cook quinoa in a rice cooker. While the quinoa is cooking, roast the beets in a medium size roasting pan, by combining the beets with a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle of sea salt. Place the pan in the center of the oven and roast until the beets are tender (roughly 45 minutes). Remove the beets from the hot pan and set them aside to cool. When cool enough to handle, rub off the skin. Cut the beets into bite sized pieces.

To make the dressing, combine the olive oil, orange juice, GF tamari, vinegar, and agave in a glass measuring cup and whisk. Set aside.

Combine the warm, cooked quinoa in a mixing bowl with the chick peas and baby spinach leaves. Pour in the salad dressing and toss lightly. Season with sea salt and pepper, to taste.

Gently add in the cut up roasted beets and fresh orange pieces. Do not over mix or your entire salad will turn beet red. I think it's more attractive to keep the staining to a minimum.

Serve with a sprinkle of fresh goat cheese, or slivered almonds, if desired.

Serves 4.