Herbed Focaccia Bread

I bought Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza Dough at the store a while back, and I have been dying to try it.  But I didn't want to make pizza (of course) I wanted to make Focaccia Bread!  So I raided my refrigerator for goodies to add to my Focaccia Bread and gave it a shot.  Sooooooo good!!  I served it with quinoa noodles tossed in a pomegranate vinegar and tasty olive oil.

Herbed Focaccia Bread

1 package Gluten Free Pizza Crust Mix (Bob's Red Mill, yeast included)
1 1/2 Cups Warm Water
2 Tbsp Ground Flax + 6 Tbsp water (Equivalent to 2 Eggs)
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 tsp Dried Thyme
1/2 tsp Dried Rosemary
Olive Oil for Coating Round Pan
Optional Toppings:
Thinly Sliced Onions
Minced Garlic
Roasted Red Peppers
Kalamata Olives
Dried Thyme
Salt & Pepper

Prepare the pizza dough according to the package directions using the yeast, warm water, ground flax, and olive oil.  When mixing the dough, add the dried thyme and dried rosemary.  Leaving the dough in the mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 20-30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350F and oil a round baking pan.  I used a round spring form pan.  Add the dough to the round pan and with wet hands mold the dough into a round shape.

Sprinkle Thyme, Salt, and Pepper on top of the round dough and add any toppings of your choice.  I used roasted red peppers, kalamata olives, thinly sliced onions, and minced garlic.

Once all the toppings are on the dough, bake for 40-50 minutes, or until cooked all the way through.  Serve warm with oil and vinegar for dipping.  Enjoy!

Potato Bread Rolls

There's something euphoric about a sweet delicious potato roll along side mashed potatoes, green beans, or corn.  Good old fashion home-style cooking.  I was having a craving for potato rolls today so I decided to bake some up and it went really well!!  These bad boys are great smothered in Earth Balance Buttery Spread and some honey.

Potato Bread Rolls

1 1/2 Cups All Purpose Gluten Free Baking Flour
1/4 Cup Potato Flour
1/4 Cup Potato Starch
1/3 Cup Soymilk Powder
1/3 Cup Potato Flakes (instant potatoes)
1 1/2 tsp Xantham Gum
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Soy Lecithin Granules
2 Tbsp Natural Can Sugar
3 Tsp Ener-G Egg Replacer + 4 Tbsp Water (Equivalent to 2 eggs)
2 Tbsp Melted Coconut Oil
1 tsp Vinegar
1/2 Cup Tonic Water
1/2 Cup Water

Preheat oven to 350F. 

Mix dry ingredients in an electric mixer and stir to combine.  In a medium bowl, mix all the wet ingredients together and whisk together.  Add the wet into the dry ingredients in the mixer.  Stir on the slowest speed to incorporate all the wet into the dry.  Stir for a minute, just until well combined being careful not to over mix.  Grease a muffin pan with the oil of choice (earth balance for me) and start dividing dough. 

 Easiest way is to split the dough in halves until you have enough to fill your muffin pans.  I was able to split the dough enough to fill one and a half pans, about 18 muffins.  Bake for 20-25 mins, or until bottoms of rolls are golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Serve warm with Earth Balance Buttery Spread and honey or agave.

Cooking with Natural Sweetness

When I go out and order an iced tea I can sweeten it with Blue, Pink, White, or Yellow.  If I'm lucky, some places will carry brown.  I'm almost inclined to carry little packets of raw sugar in my purse like an old lady carries around her equal.  But there are so many other natural sweeteners that we can use! 

In baking, recipes usually call for white granulated sugar (refined sugar).  When sugar has been refined and washed, it turns white and loses it's natural molasses flavor.  Some sugar refineries may even bleach their sugar to get it the desirable white color.

Because of high sugar content in diets and diabetes on the rise, artificial sweeteners have been developed.  They contain very low calorie content (0 calories per gram) and are significantly sweeter than regular sugar.  These artificial sweeteners are synthetic or heavily refined.  Some of the sweeteners we carry in the US are actually banned in other countries, and other countries carry sweeteners that are banned here!  Artificial sweeteners have gotten a bad wrap since the 70's with rumors of causing cancer, and having side effects including headaches and diarrhea (especially to people who are sensitive or if eaten in excess).  I'm a big supporter of eating as natural as possible, so I poo-poo on artificial sweeteners.  Here, I list the many alternatives you can use instead:

Agave:  Isn't that what Tequila is made of??  Yep.  It is.  Agave nectar looks similar to honey, yet not as thick and it tastes sweeter.  You can purchase raw agave which hasn't been heated to high temperatures to protect the nutrients and enzymes which does make it safe for raw vegans.  I like to put agave in my coffee when I drink the stuff...  It comes in light, amber, and dark and can be derived from different agave plants.  Buy some, play around, and find which flavor works for you!

Blackstrap Molasses:  When refining sugar, this is what the processing removes.  Molasses!  It's full of nutrients and has a very distinct flavor.  It's best used in some breads and mostly cookies, cakes, and pies.

Brown Rice Syrup:  It's a whole foods natural sweetener made by fermenting brown rice with natural enzymes to break down the starch.  It's considered one of the healthiest of natural sweeteners and is also similar to honey in consistency and flavor.

Honey:    Some vegans don't eat honey but I do.  If you don't eat honey, use agave instead.   Raw honey is extracted without using heat so it is not deprived natural enzymes.  honey can be used in cooking to replace sugar, in a drink for a sweetener, or used as a spread.

Maple Syrup:  Pure maple syrup, not the fake cheap kind you can buy.  Can be used in cookies, cakes, breads, and pies.  Mostly, it's used drizzled over waffles or pancakes.  It's made from boiling the sap from maple trees and contains potassium, calcium, zinc, and manganese.

Natural Cane Sugar:  Aka Raw Sugar, Turbinado Sugar or Sugar in the Raw.  When processing sugar cane, this is the first pressing and is less processed than white sugar.  It contains less calories than white sugar and contains more flavor.  Its granules are larger than white sugar and is more of a brown color.  It has a higher moisture content so it's recommended that you store it in an airtight container like brown sugar.  But dont confuse it with brown sugar.  Brown sugar is white sugar that has molasses added back into it.