Gluten Free Pizza Dough

If you've ever tried to make Gluten Free pizza dough and you've given up because you can't find one that tastes good, look no further. This recipe is by far the best recipe for Gluten Free Pizza Dough!! The flavor and the texture and perfect. It doesn't feel like you're eating something that is gluten free. Very delicious! And if that wasn't enough it goes together really quick. Oh and did I mention it's fat free? Try it, you'll love it!

Gluten Free Pizza Dough

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups gluten free pantry french bread and pizza mix

1 cup warm water

2 1/2 tablespoons honey

2 1/2 tablespoons applesauce
1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon instant yeast

1/2 teaspoon gluten free dough enhancer

1/2 teaspoon guar gum

Directions

In the bowl of a mixer, dissolve honey in warm water. Once dissolved, add applesauce, salt, and one cup flour mix. Mix well. Then add yeast, dough enhancer, guar gum and one more cup of the flour mix. Mix well. Slowly add the last 1/2 cup of flour you may not need it all of it. Then leave mixer on for 5 minutes. Dough will be a little sticky. Turn off mixer and let dough rest for another 5 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400*F. Spray hands and cookie sheet with non stick cooking spray. Roll dough out on a sprayed surface to about 1/4 inch in thickness. Place on prepared cookie sheet. Top with your favorite toppings. Bake in oven for 20 minutes. Cool slightly before devouring. :] (Cooking time may vary depending on the thickness of your dough)

Shamrock Sandwiches

Update: Still no heater, but I am able to show you something fun to make for St. Patrick's day.

I just love it when another holiday is coming! On St. Patrick's Day I love to make all the food we eat that day green or have something to do with the holiday. My kids love this open sandwich for lunch. It is really easy and something they would eat anyways.

Shamrock Sandwiches

Ingredients

Slices of whole wheat or Gluten free or Spelt bread

Slices of Cheese for each slice of bread

Green pepper with three bumps on the bottom, NOT four

Directions

Preheat oven to broil and move oven rack to the second to highest rack. Cut the top of the pepper off and continue slicing 1/4 inch slices or thinner. Use an end slice and cut into smaller pieces for the stem. Place a slice of bread on a cookie sheet. Put a slice of cheese on top of each piece of bread. Then put one slice of the pepper on top of the cheese. Then use one of the little pieces of the pepper and attach it to part of the slice of pepper already on the cheese to make it look like a shamrock. (If you don't like the taste of cooked peppers you can add them after the bread is toasted) Then put the cookie sheet in the oven for 2-3 minutes or until the bread is toasted and the cheese melted. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before eating and enjoy!!

I got the idea from Family Fun magazine.

Whole Wheat French Bread

Okay so this might not really be "French Bread". I was already making bread, like I do every week, and my kids asked for Spaghetti for dinner. I thought it would be fun to have some nice garlic type bread to go with it. Since I already was kneading the dough I thought I would experiment with it to see how it turned out. I thought it looked beautiful when it came out, and my kids and husband loved it! Maybe someday I'll learn how to make real french bread, but for now this is a lot easier for me. Hope you like it as much as my family did. :]

Whole Wheat French Bread

Ingredients

2 cups warm water

2 tablespoons yeast

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons salt

6 cups whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon gluten

2 teaspoon dough enhancer

Directions

In a small bowl add yeast and pour half of the warm water over top. Pour the remaining water into your mixer and add honey. Stir honey until it dissolves. Then add salt, oil, and one cup of flour and mix. When yeast has doubled in size add it to your mixer and begin mixing. Add another cup of flour and the gluten and dough enhancer. When that is mixed in completely continue added the remaining cups of flour until the dough pulls off the edges of the bowl and is still slightly sticky (you may need to add more flour). Then knead for 10 minutes. Grease a cookie sheet. When dough is finished kneading, take 1/3 to 1/2 of the dough and form a long snake shape loaf. Let it raise until it doubles in size.

Preheat oven to 400*F. Before putting loaf into oven take a sharp knife and cut a few diagonal lines in the top. Bake for 20 minutes. When the bread is finished baking let cool for 5 minutes.

Turn your oven onto broil. Then cut loaf into 1/2 inch slices and place back on cookie sheet. Melt 4 tablespoons of butter and add 1 1/2 teaspoons of garlic powder to the butter. Mix well and then spread a little on each piece of bread. Sprinkle with dried, crushed up, parsley leaves. Put back into oven under the broiler until slightly toasted, about 2-5 minutes watch carefully so they won't burn. Then enjoy!!

Yeast Free Spelt Bread

I don't like to eat a lot of things with yeast in them. In fact before I made this bread, I can't remember the last time I even had a sandwich or a piece of toast. So you can imagine my excitement to find a bread recipe that didn't call for any yeast! Besides all of that the best part about this bread is that it gets better tasting everyday. It has a nutty flavor from the spelt and it is a little more dense than your normal whole wheat bread. It is packet with nutrition not only from the spelt, but tons of iron from the molasses, and lots of protein from the quinoa. I've used this bread in recipes to come and loved it! I've used it eating sloppy joes, and loved it! If you are gluten intolerant and trying to stay away from yeast or not, this is the bread for you!

Yeast Free Spelt Bread

Ingredients

4 cups spelt flour

1/4 cup quinoa seeds

1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1/2 tablespoon blackstrap molasses

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

2 cups rice milk

2 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon gluten free dough enhancer (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350*F. Grease one 9x5 inch loaf pan. (This recipe can be double very easily. I only make this much because I don't go through it that fast. I store it in my fridge)

In a large bowl, mix together the spelt flour, quinoa seeds, salt, baking soda, xanthan gum, and dough enhancer. Then add molasses, milk, honey and mix well. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes or until golden, let cool and enjoy! Remember it gets better each day. :]

Scone Nubbins

Growing up when ever we had Navajo Tacos, posted yesterday, my mom always made what she called Scone Nubbins from the left over dough. As kids we loved taking the small scones and dipping them in honey butter. It's always fun when you get to eat with your hands! We would eat them for dessert. My mom would also make extra and save them for breakfast the next morning. We would then eat them with some fruit. I do the same for my children. They love it just as much as I did! You make the dough the same way as the scones for Navajo Tacos.

Scone Nubbins

How to roll them out

Take a larger amount of dough than you would for a normal scone. Still roll it out about 1/4" thick. Then take a pizza cutter and cut dough into small bite size squares. Be extra careful while placing these into the oil. Turn over when edges start to turn brown. Because these are much smaller sometimes you will get a nubbin that puffs up like a ball. To get them to turn over I use a slotted spoon to help them turn. I also use the slotted spoon to get them out so the excess oil can drain. Let cool slightly on a napkin covered plate. Dip or over with honey butter and enjoy!

Scones/Navajo Tacos

My Aunt Donna married a Navajo. I loved going to their home every summer growing up and eating her fry bread. Oh it was so yummy! Unfortunately I do not know how to make fry bread, but I still love Navajo Tacos. So this is how I make them. Actually is it also the way my mom makes them. They are still very yummy. I used to use only have a batch of the dough for the scones but I've experiment and found out that the scones freeze really well. So make tons of scones and put the extras in the freezer for a quick meal another day when we need it.

Navajo Tacos and Scones

Ingredients

2 cups warm water

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup oil

2 tablespoon yeast

2 teaspoons salt

5 cups whole wheat flour

Directions

Take 1/2 cup of the warm water and pour into a bowl, add yeast and let double in size. Put the remaining 1 1/2 cups warm water into the bowl of your mixer. Add honey and stir completely until honey is dissolved. Then and oil and salt and mix. When the yeast has doubled and when you tilt the bowl slightly and no yeast sticks to the bottom, add to the mixing bowl with one cup of flour and mix well. Then add 2 more cups of flour and slowly mix it in. Add remaining 2 cups of flour and then kneed for 10 minutes. While dough is kneading heat oil in deep pan on stove. I usually set my stove to medium to medium low and let the oil take it's time to heat up. That way the oil will not get too hot too quick and burn your scones.

When dough is finished kneading let rest for 5 minutes. With greased hands and surface, roll dough out about 1/4" thick. Gently place dough into oil. When edges start to turn brown turn over. When cooked on both sides let slightly cool on a plate covered with napkins to catch extra oil dripping off.

Top with favorite Chile, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, etc.

For dessert top with honey butter.

Whole Wheat Bread

Five years ago when I decided to take the first step in eating healthier, meaning I cut out refined sugar and white flour, I needed a good recipe for homemade whole wheat bread. So of course I called my mom. She was on her way somewhere in the car. I remember that because after I asked her if she knew of a good recipe she said something like this, "Um, I don't know, just try this..." and then proceeded to give me this recipe. I tried it, it was good, and then I remembered she just gave it to me off the top of her head! She is amazing!! So is this bread, so very yummy! When I make it, it's hard to make it last. My children and husband can't keep their hands off it. Which is really okay by me, that just means it's good.

There are a few little tricks for making homemade whole wheat bread. First, the wheat it self. To really achieve the best flavor you need to mix equally hard red wheat and hard white wheat. I usually do this as I'm grinding it at home. If you buy your flours already ground, then just mix them when you add the flour to the recipe. Trust me, your bread will be so much better you'll never go back! Second, after you let your dough rest for a few minutes after kneading, it really helps if you roll out your dough flat, like you would if you were making cinnamon rolls. Then fold the dough over and over it's self, making sure not to add any extra air, then placing the dough in the loaf pans. I know this sounds weird. A woman in my neighborhood who makes about 6 loafs a week told me to do this. I was amazed and how well it works. By doing this you roll out most of the air pockets so when your dough rises in the loaf pans you won't get huge pockets that make it hard for your honey to stay on your bread. Third, you really need to use vital wheat gluten and dough enhancer. It makes a huge difference. I forgot to add it the last time I baked some bread, see the picture above, and the top of the bread fell a little bit. Not the prettiest bead that's for sure. It will still taste good, and if you don't have it you can still use this recipe. It just helps the structure of the bread making it hold better for sandwiches and things like that.

So there you have it. Now you can impress your family and neighbors with the best homemade whole wheat bread they've ever had, Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Bread

Ingredients

2 cups warm water

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup oil

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons yeast

5 cups whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon vital wheat gluten

1 teaspoon dough enhancer

Directions

If you have instant yeast then add it after you add your first cup of flour. Otherwise pour 1/2 cup of your warm water into a bowl and add yeast. Then pour the remaining warm water into your mixer and add the honey to it. Stir honey until completely dissolved. Then add oil, salt, and mix. When the yeast has risen and when you slightly tip the bowl and the yeast is no longer stuck on the bottom of the bowl it is ready to add. After the yeast is added, add 2 cups of the flour and mix slowly. Once incorporated add the vital wheat gluten and dough enhancer and add another 2 cups of flour and mix well. Add the final cup of flour and let your mixer kneed for 10 to 13 minutes on high. Preheat oven to 400*F.

After kneading let rest for about 5 minutes. Then divide dough in half. Take first half and roll out on a slightly greased surface with a rolling pin to about to 1/2 inch thick. Pick dough up off of the surface and let dough relax. Then fold dough length wise, making sure not to add any air between the folds. Next fold cross wise putting the folds under on the bottom. This way you won't see any of the creases from the folds. Place dough into a greased loaf pan. Repeat with second half of dough. Let raise until double in size. Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!!

Crusty Boule Rolls

I was very happy when I saw on their (Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a day) web site that you can also make rolls out of the Gluten Free Crusty Boule dough (my changes found here). It's so easy you bake them the same way you would for the loafs. Very simple and a great addition for dinner!

Low Gluten Pumpkin Bread/Muffins

I was so extra excited when these turned out! Like I said here, I love pumpkin bread. Now it's low gluten and still so very yummy!! I used the same original recipe from my neighbor CW that I talked about last week. Can you just smell the pumpkin with all the delicious spices? I can!

Low Gluten Pumpkin Bread/Muffins

Ingredients

1 15oz can pumpkin

1/4 cup applesauce sauce

1 egg, beaten

1 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons LG flour mix

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/ teaspoons ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 1/2 cup honey

Directions

Preheat oven to 320* F. Mix all ingredients well. Pour into 1 or 2 greased loaf pans. Bake for 60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

For muffins: grease muffin tins or use liners. Scoop out batter into tins, fill each tin 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 15-20 minutes or toothpick come out clean.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread/Muffins

I love pumpkin bread. My neighbor, we'll call her CW, has the most amazing pumpkin bread recipe. It was very simple to modify it a little and make it even more yummy to eat. I think things can taste better just knowing that it is good for you. I only make this into bread every once in a while. I mostly make muffins out of it. My kids love to eat them with scrambled eggs for breakfast. Plus these are a great afternoon snack. They also freeze really well, which is great because this recipe makes lots!

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread/Muffins

Ingredients

1 large can pumpkin

1/2 cup apple sauce

2 eggs, beaten

3 1/3 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1 1/2 to 2 cups honey

Directions

Preheat oven to 350*F. Mix all ingredients well. Pour into 3 greased loaf pans and bake for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

For muffins: grease muffin tins or use liners. Scoop batter to fill each muffin 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 15 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Low Gluten Crusty Boule

I love this bread! It comes from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes A Day. It's the second book that was written. The first is Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day. If you haven't looked through these books, DO! The concept is amazing! I love mixing it up one day, sticking it in the fridge, and whenever I need to make something there is homemade dough ready to go! If you don't have the flours to make it or don't need to make it gluten free, they have wonderful recipes for whole wheat and white flour breads on their web site. Or you can buy their book or check it out from the library. I would do the library thing and if you like it that much you can buy it. :]

I did make their recipe once exactly how they said to. But you know me, I had to make some changes. The flours that they used didn't have a ton of flavor. I even took both mine and theirs to two different homes and most everyone like it with my changes a little better. It was too wet. I don't like to eat a lot of yeast, it's not that good for you. Just some things like that that I had to experiment with. I'm not going to give you the whole recipe. You really need to go here for that. I will however tell you what I changed. Then in later posts I'll share what I've done or used the dough for. Oh so yummy! Happy Eating!

Low Gluten Crusty Boule

My changes:

Flour: 6 cups LG flour mix

1/2 cup Sorghum flour

Substituted: 1/3 cup coconut oil

used honey, not sugar

Used only: 2 1/3 cups lukewarm water

1 tablespoon yeast (need longer rising time because of this)

Added: 1 1/2 teaspoon GF dough enhancer

After that just follow their directions and you're ready to go! If you have any questions just let me know. I have not tried their breads that are not gluten free, but my mother and sister-in-law use them all the time.

Cornbread

When I was in 1st grade we had a writing assignment, I can remember it like it was yesterday. It was Thanksgiving time and we had to copy a cornbread recipe that was written down on the chalk board. I took it home to my mom. She has used it ever since, and now I use it too with my changes. It is yummy, my kids love it so much I have to tell them they only can have two helpings so they will eat the rest of their soup or chili. The left overs we have with hard boiled eggs the next morning for breakfast. That is how my mom did it for me when I was little, so that is how I do it with my kids too. Good things really do last. :]

Cornbread

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups corn flour

1 cup corn meal

1/2 cup evaporated cane juice

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups rice milk, warmed to room temperature*

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

3 eggs

Directions

Preheat oven to 400*F. Combine first 5 ingredients, set aside. Mix next 3 ingredients. Beat well. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix. Pour into a greased 9"x13" pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Serve with honey butter.

*The rice milk needs to be warmed so the coconut oil won't solidify. Coconut oil can change from liquid to solid very quickly.

Banana Bread French Toast

A few weeks ago I made the Low Gluten Banana Bread I posted yesterday. I forgot to add the rice milk so it turned out very dry. I didn't think that any one would eat the bread until my oldest son suggested we make french toast out of it. I thought it sounded a little crazy. But that is what I do all the time, experiment. And he agreed to eat it no matter what it tasted like. Boy was I surprised at how delicious it was!! Instantly it became a family favorite! I usually make the small loafs of bread. They are prefect for dipping in the syrup, so that makes this breakfast extra fun to eat too.

Banana Bread French Toast

Ingredients

4 eggs

1/2 cup rice milk

3 teaspoons nutmeg

Sliced Banana Bread

Directions

Heat griddle to 375*. Whip eggs, rice milk, and nutmeg in a flat bottomed bowl. Dip both sides of banana bread in mixture and place on griddle. Flip over after a minute or two. The bottom should be browned, if not cook for a little longer before flipping. After both sides are cooked, dip in syrup and enjoy!

If your banana bread turned out great and not dry, cut slices the night before and leave out on the counter. This will help them dry out a little. You don't have to do that if you don't mind the bread being a little more moist.

Banana Bread

This banana bread is very easy to make and tastes oh so good! I got original the recipe from Kathy Bray (a Lady who works with my mom) and she said this was L. Tom Perry's Banana Bread. I haven't been able to find it anywhere. But at least you know where I got the original from. This bread freezes really well. Just make sure you slice it up before you freeze it. It will thaw quicker for those times when your kids need a quick snack!

Banana Bread

Ingredients

1 cup evaporated cane juice

1/2 cup solid coconut oil

5 large very ripened bananas, mashed
2 eggs

3 cups barley flour, or whole wheat flour

1 cup rice milk

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 350* F. Cream coconut oil and sugar together in mixing bowl, make sure there are no large balls. Then add eggs and bananas and mix. Be sure to scrap the bottom of the bowl so the cream mixture will incorporate well into the bananas and eggs. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour into 2 greased large loaf pans, bake for 50-60 minutes, or 6 mini pans, bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick pulls out clean.

Low Gluten Banana Bread

This banana bread tastes pretty close to the other banana bread, but it's low gluten! I've used the same original recipe as the other Banana Bread posted. This bread also freezes well. Cut into slices before freezing.

Gluten Free Banana Bread

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup solid coconut oil

5 large ripened bananas, mashed

2 eggs

3 cups LG flour Mix*

1 cup rice milk

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

Directions

Preheat oven to 350*F. Cream sugar and coconut oil together in a mixing bowl, make sure there are no large balls. Add bananas and eggs, be sure to scrape the bottom of bowl so the cream mixture will incorporate well into the bananas and eggs. Add remaining ingredients. Pour into 2 large greased loaf pans and bake for 50-60 minutes, or 6 small greased loaf pans for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick pulls out clean.

*I use Brandon's Mix: 6 cups spelt, 2 cups kamut, 1 cup rice, 1/2 cup oat groats. I grind them separately at home, measure them out and mix well. Then use what the specific recipe calls for. You can buy most of the flours already ground at the Health Food store, it's just more expensive and as soon as you grind something it starts to loose some of the nutrients.