Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Vegan Gluten Free (And Healthy) Bread for the Bread Machine

I did it! I made a vegan, gluten free, soy free, healthy bread machine bread!
I had an awesome recipe for gluten free bread for a bread machine. But it had eggs, buttermilk, soy flour and white rice flour. Hmmm, tasty but not that healthy.

Bit by bit I health-a-tised and Vegan-ised it, and I'm stoked with the end result. My version uses brown rice, oat flour and chickpea flour, with flax for eggs. It tastes like *normal* bread and is flipping delish if I may say so myself! All the ingredients I picked up from a fairly basic health food shop; they are cheap and easy to buy. Oh and I like oat flour (made from whirling oats in the blender, but it's switchable for any flour such as more rice if you can't have oats)

Gluten Free Bread (Updated)



1 Cup warm water
1/4 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup Oil
1 Tbs yeast

1 Cup Non Dairy Milk
1 Tsp apple cider vinegar

Place water sugar in bread machine pan, stir to dissolve. Add yeast, then oil and stir gently. Let sit for around 5 mins, the yeast should be bubbly.In a separate bowl, Mix together the non dairy milk and vinegar, leave for the same time as the yeast.


2 Tbs ground flax

1 Tbs Apple cider vinegar (this is separate from the other measurement)
1 Tsp salt
1 Tbs Guar Gum
1/3 Cup cornstarch
1/2 Cup Potato Starch
1/2 Cup Chickpea (besan) flour
1 Cup Brown Rice Flour
1 Cup Oat flour

Beat together the soured milk and flax. Add milk and other vinegar measurement to bubbly yeast mix.
Sift in the rest of the ingredients, mix together. It should form a thick mixture, sort of like banana bread batter.
Put in bread machine and go! I cook mine on the Large White setting and it comes out perfectly.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

The easiest and Tastiest Gluten Free Peanut Butter Choc Chip Cookies

These cookies are gluten free without trying, no need for fancy flours. However, depending on the peanut butter you use, the dough may need a 2-3 tablespoons of your nearest starch (Cornflour should be hanging around in the back of your cupboard?). I used natural PB, which is a little oily, so I added 3 tbs of tapioca. Note that this is slightly runnier than most cookie doughs, but just scoop the sticky dough on a lined tray, keep calm and they'll turn out delish.
I wish I could afford hazelnut butter. I bet subbing that in would be heavenly. (Note: I tried it. The dough is delish, but the cookies rather failed. )

1 Cup Crunchy Peanut Butter
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Tsp Bi Carb Soda
1 Tsp Vanilla Essence
1/2 Cup Dark Choc Chips
50 ml Non dairy milk
1 TBS Flax
3 TBS Gluten free starch (corn, tapioca etc)

Beat milk and flax with the sugar, add the PB, vanilla and bi carb, beat until throughly mixed. If the dough is runny, start adding the some starch. Fold in the choc chips.
Spoon heaped tsps on mix on lined trays and Bake in a pre heated oven at 180C for 8-10 mins, or until just lightly browned. Cool on tray, but they taste perfect whilst still warm!

Subway Cookies (Vegan)

To everyone I know, subway cookies set the benchmark for all of cookiekind.
Google has failed to provide me with a recipe that achieves that perfect flat, crisp on the outside but chewy on the inside cookie.
This recipe is adapted from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar; I made City Girl Snickerdoodles (delish themselves and taste like churro cookies) and realized with a bit of adaption, they would be perfect subway cookies. It Worked, So here it is! These literally disappeared within minutes. 

Vegan Subway Choc Chip Cookies

1 Cup Non hydrogenated Margarine, softened
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Sugar
2 Tablespoons Non-Dairy Milk
1 1/2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
1 2/3 Cups all purpose flour
1/4 Cup Tapioca Flour, beats cornstarch hands down for the chewy texture. sub corn if that's all you have. 
1 teaspoon Cream of Tartar
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1 Cup Choc Chips

1. Cream the margarine and sugar together until light and creamy. Get your beater out for this, but don't over beat, or you'll end up with an awesome tasting dough, but normal cookies.
Add the non dairy milk and vanilla and beat until combined. Sift in flour, tapioca, cream of tartar, bi-carb, and salt, beat until a dough forms.
2. Fold in choc chips 
3. Place spoonfuls on a lined baking tray allowing lots of room for spread and bake for 10 mins at 180C.
4. Hide if you want them to last longer than an eye blink.