Category: Baking

How to work with Store Bought Gluten Free Pastry

I have baked with gluten free pastry from Coles and Woolworths Simply Wize. My results have not been good, and they almost always end up being to tick, or cracked, or not cooked through properly.

Champagne & Gumboots is a YouTube channel that includes some great tips for baking and cooking Ceoliac Friendly gluten free foods. I came accross this video entitled, “Coles Gluten Free Pastry vs Simply Wize (3 TIPS TO MAKING GF FROZEN PASTRY WORK EVERY SINGLE TIME)” that looks to help a lot, and I’m looking forward to giving it a try next time I get gluten free puff pastry from Woolworths or Coles.

The three tips that she highlights are:

  1. Use it as soon as possible.
  2. Defrost it completely. Have patience as this could take longer than you think (15-minutes).
  3. Roll it out. The pastry is too thick to start with. Roll it between two pieces of baking paper.

Using these tips I am hoping for better results next time I use these puff pastry sheets.

Whatever Gluten Free Muffins

One of the things that my kids like best about these muffins is the name …

WHATEVER!!!

Actually, the also love how they taste, which is the reason why we almost always have some of these gluten free muffins in the freezer. When I make them for eating at school I leave out the nuts …

This recipe makes 24 muffins.

Ingredients:

  • 4 large egg
  • 2 cups milk (or liquid of choice, even just water)
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 4 cups white or brown rice flour
  • 8 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup chopped nuts – whatever type you want (optional)
  • 2 cups fresh or frozen fruit-any kind

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 220 degrees celsius. Spray 2 x 12-cup muffin tray with canola cooking spray.
  2. In large mixing bowl, combine egg, milk or  liquid of choice, sugar, and canola oil, beating on low until smooth.
  3. Add brown rice flour, baking powder, and salt and beat on low just until combined.
  4. Stir in nuts (if desired) and fruit of choice.
  5. Divide batter among the prepared 24 muffin cups
  6. Bake for 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center of largest muffin comes out reasonably clean.

Low Carb Savory Almond Biscuits

This biscuit would be great for breakfast egg sandwiches …

Ingredients:

  • 300 grams Almond Meal (15g carbs)
  • 1 tsp Salt (0g carbs)
  • 2 Tbsp Baking Powder (15g carbs)
  • 4 Eggs (3g carbs)
  • 2/3 cup Sour Cream (4g carbs)
  • 120 ml Melted Butter (0g carbs)
  • 2/3 cup Shredded Cheese (0g carbs)
  • 1 tsp Garlic Powder (3g carbs)

Directions (makes 15 muffins / buscuits):

  1. Mix together the dry ingredients
  2. Add the eggs and sour cream to the melted butter and mix until smooth
  3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix together
  4. Stir in the cheese
  5. Spoon evenly into greased muffin trays
  6. Bake for 10 – 12 minutes at 205C (400F) until they are golden on top

Low carb savoury almond meal biscuits
Low carb savoury almond meal biscuits

Almond Coconut Muffins

I have tried making a few different coconut muffins and this one is by far my T1D son’s favourite …

Ingredients:

  • 200 grams Almond Meal (10g carbs)
  • 110 Coconut Flour (27g carbs)
  • 6 Large Eggs (4.5g carbs)
  • 2/3 Cups Olive Oil (0g carbs)
  • 4 tbsp Low Carb Sweetner (0g carbs)
  • 1/2 Cup Milk (6g carbs)
  • 2 tsp Baking Soda (0g carbs)

Toppings:

  • Shredded Coconut (2g carbs)
  • Slivered Almonds (1g carbs)

Directions (makes 18 muffins):

  1. Mix together try ingredients
  2. Add wet ingredients and mix together
  3. Fill greased muffin trays 2/3 full of mixture and then sprinkle with shredded coconut and slivered almonds
  4. Bake for 18 – 20 minutes at 190C until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

Savory Almond Flour Muffins

Ingredients:

  • 400 grams Almond Flour (20g carbs)
  • 4 Diced Green Onions (2g carbs)
  • 3 tsp Baking Powder (7.5g carbs)
  • 2 tsp Salt (0g carbs)
  • 8 Large Eggs (6g carbs)
  • 1/4 Cup Olive Oil (0g carbs)
  • 1 Cup Sour Cream (9g carbs)

Optional Ingredients:

  • 1 tbps mixed / savory herbs (1g carbs)
  • 150g Diced Ham (15g carbs)
  • 2 Cups Grated Cheese (0g carbs)

Directions:

  1. Mix all dry ingredients together
  2. Add wet ingredients and mix in
  3. Add optional ingredients to the mix
  4. Separate the batter into 24 greased muffin tins and bake for 15 – 20 minutes at 180C until golden at the edges

This recipes makes 24 delicious savory muffins. With the cheese and herbs, depending on the brand of ingredients that you use, each muffin will be about 2 grams of carbs each. With the added ham, again depending on brand, each muffin will only be about 2.5 grams of carbs each.

Coconut Flour Bread

Ingredients:

  • 6 Large Eggs (4.5g carbs)
  • 1/2 Cup Melted Butter or Coconut Oil (0g carbs)
  • 1/2 tsp Salt (0g carbs)
  • 100g Coconut Flour (25g carbs)
  • 10ml Maple Syrup (8.5g carbs)
  • 20g Slivered Almonds (2g carbs)

Directions:

  1. Mix top 5 ingredients together in a small loaf pan lined with parchment paper
  2. Top loaf with slivered almonds
  3. Make at 180C for 40-minutes

Total carbs for this recipe is 40 grams, depending on brands used. If the small loaf is sliced into 8 slices, which is a good size for a snack, each serve will be 5 grams of carbs.

Gluten Free / Low Carb Almond Flour Short Bread Cookies

Ingredients:

  • 200 grams Almond Flour (10g carbs)
  • 75 grams Coconut Oil (0g carbs)
  • 4 tbsp Natvia Sweetener (0g carbs)
  • 1/4 tsp Salt (0g carbs)
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract (0.5 g carbs)

Directions:

  1. Mix together all dry ingredients
  2. Add in the liquids and melted coconut oil and mix together
  3. Remove 1″ (2.5cm) ball of dough and place on parchment paper on baking tray
  4. Use a fork to flatten each cookie to 1/4″, or 1/2 cm thick
  5. Bake for 8 – 10 minutes until they start to turn golden brown on top
  6. Let cool on baking tray for 10-minutes before transferring to a cooling rack

Maple Walnut Cookies (Amazing!)

Extra Ingredients:

  • 2 tsp Cinnamon (2g carbs)
  • 4 tsp Maple Syrup (18g carbs)
  • 1/2 cup (60 grams) crushed walnuts

Directions:

  1. Add the Cinnamon in dry ingredients in step 1 above
  2. Add the Maple Syrup with the liquids in step 2 above
  3. Toss in the nuts between step 2 and 3 above and combine with the dough using hands

The Maple Walnut version of these shortbread cookies is amazing, and a huge favorite in our family. Using this recipe, depending on the brands used, is only 32.5 grams of carbs for the whole batch.

Low Carb Christmas Cake

Ingredients:

  • 100g Coconut Oil (0g carbs)
  • 1/4 cup (50g) Natvia Sweetener (0g carbs)
  • 3 tsp Cinnamon (3g carbs)
  • 1 tsp Nutmeg (1g carbs)
  • 1 tsp Almond Essence (1g carbs)
  • 4 Large Eggs (3g carbs)
  • 200g Almond Meal (10g carbs)
  • 60g Crushed Almonds (2g carbs)
  • Zest of 1 Orange (~13g) (2g carbs)
  • 15g Slivered Almonds on Top (1g carbs)

Directions:

  1. Mix together melted coconut oil and sweetener until fluffy
  2. Mix in cinnamon, nutmeg, and almond essence
  3. Mix in eggs one at a time, mixing between eggs
  4. Stir in the almond meal
  5. Stir in crushed almonds
  6. Stir in orange zest
  7. Pour / scrape into parchment paper lined 20cm / 8″ round cake pan, or a 21cm x 11cm (9″ x 5″) loaf tin
  8. Bake at 180C for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Depending on the brands of ingredients that you choose then the entire cake comes out to 23g of carbs, or about 3 grams each if you cut the cake into eight slices. I use Woolworth’s brand Almond Meal, which is only 4.9 grams of carbs per 100 grams.

Low Carb Lemon Blueberry Scone

Ingredients

  • 630 g Almond Flour (32g carbs)
  • 2 tsp Baking Soda (0g carbs)
  • 1/4 tsp Salt (0g carbs)
  • 1 Lemon Zest (1g carbs)
  • 4 Large Eggs (3g carbs)
  • 3 tbsp Maple Syrup (40g carbs)
  • 2 tbsp Lemon Juice (One lemon squeezed) (1g carbs)
  • 1 cup (150g) Blueberries (17g carbs)
  • 4 tbsp Chia Seeds (2g carbs)

Directions

  1. Mix together the dry ingredients
  2. Stir in lemon zest and wet ingredients
  3. Fold in the blueberries
  4. Use your hands to form 20 round scones on parchment paper lined baking tray
  5. Bake for 18 – 20 minutes at 170C

Using pure maple syrup and Woolworth’s brand almond meal makes scones of about 5 grams of carbs per scone.

4-Ingredient Low Carb Almond Crackers

These biscuits are both gluten free and low carb.

Ingredients

  • 400g Almond Flour (20g carbs)
  • 2 Large Eggs (1.5g carbs)
  • 1 tsp Salt (0g carbs)
  • 2 tbsp Chia Seeds (1g carbs)

Directions

  1. Mix dry ingredients together
  2. Add eggs and mix until it looks like a dough
  3. Flatten 1/2 dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper until it is about 1/16″ thick
  4. Bake at 180C for 12-minutes

This cracker is a great base for other crackers if you add other herbs and spices, for example:

  • Rosemary & Garlic
  • Garlic & Parmesan

This recipe makes two trays of crackers, which I cut into 6×6 or 36 crackers. Using Wooworth’s Brand Almond Meal / Flour this makes biscuits with about 2 grams of carbs per 6 x cracker serve.