{"id":45610,"date":"2017-01-05T09:39:58","date_gmt":"2017-01-05T14:39:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=45610"},"modified":"2017-01-05T09:40:21","modified_gmt":"2017-01-05T14:40:21","slug":"adventures-in-gluten-free-baking-starring-pereg-flours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=45610","title":{"rendered":"Adventures in Gluten-Free Baking, starring Pereg Flours"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been just over a year since my Celiac disease sentence<\/a> was handed down. And while I\u2019m more adjusted than I was last January, I\u2019m still feeling a little bit like a culinary outcast in a world of contaminated fryers, artisanal sourdough loaves and craft beers. (Just last week, I discovered barley malt in my favorite tea. Come on.)<\/p>\n

Imagine my delight and intrigue, then, when a hefty box full of fancy gluten-free flours arrived at my doorstep. It was a package from Pereg Natural Foods<\/a>, and it promised a future of delectable homemade gluten-free baked goods. There was chickpea flour, quinoa flour, almond flour, coconut flour, farro flour (which isn\u2019t GF, but thanks anyway), and buckwheat flour. I pictured dark chocolate brownies, golden mounds of bread, pies, quiche, crumpets, muffins \u2013 an entire Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory full of low-carb, gluten-free goodness. The only thing I failed to consider is that I have virtually no baking experience.<\/p>\n

\"AdventuresNevertheless, I pounced on the experiment like a contestant on CHOPPED. In the first basket: Chickpea flour! Olive oil! Water! Italian herbs that squirt out of a tube! I would be preparing Rosemary Socca<\/a>, a thin little pancake-like thing that\u2019s traditionally made with chickpea flour and is completely vegan, so my egg-allergic husband would be able to partake, too. Even though there\u2019re just a few ingredients, I worried over some particulars \u2013 how warm is \u201cwarm water?\u201d And what if I have to use the squirty liquid Italian herbs in a tube because the grocery store was out of fresh rosemary? Also, where do we keep the cast iron skillet and have I ever cooked anything gluten-y in it?<\/p>\n

I let the batter \u2013 which was supposed to look like pancake batter but certainly did not \u2013 sit for an hour, and then set upon the pretty simple task of baking the socca. I heated the skillet under the broiler, then oiled \u2018er up with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and then poured enough batter into the skillet to make a pancake. It took several rounds and different broiler settings, but I finally ended up with a tender, bronze-brown circle that I found passable and my four-year-old declared inedible. There was leftover batter, so I tried again \u2013 this time with better luck. The socca was thinner, but easier to handle and crisper on the top and edges. I credit that to a more settled batter and a better understanding of oiling the pan. My husband and I enjoyed the rest of the batch with some Kansas City Steak Soup, and I sailed through the rest of the evening and through the morning with even blood sugars. I\u2019ll totally make this again, mostly because I know I can do it better and now it feels like a project to perfect.<\/p>\n

Next up in the Lazy Celiac Bakery? A recipe for an instant brownie in a coffee cup<\/a> \u2013 and really, I should have known. This gem \u2013 which I discovered after an exhaustive internet search for a recipe that did not require an electric mixture \u2013 promised that trademark squishy, spongy brownie-ness in less than five minutes. I used the quinoa flour for this adventure; I was up for a little extra protein in my GF brownie.<\/p>\n

\"AdventuresI filled my favorite coffee cup with equal parts brown sugar and quinoa flour, and then stirred in some unsweetened cocoa powder and a pinch of salt. Milk and oil came next, and then it was time to pop the cup in the microwave. After nuking the mixture for a full minute, I pulled the cup out of the microwave to check the progress. The goop hadn\u2019t settled \u2013 it still looked wet and lumpy \u2013 but it was strangely solid and way too hot to eat. The anticipation!<\/p>\n

Imagine a sand castle made of hot cocoa dust that\u2019s been out in the sun all day. That\u2019s what this brownie tasted like. I had to chip away at the top, and the inside was simultaneously too sticky and too crumbly. And it burned the inside of my mouth \u2013 but hey! At least I didn\u2019t have to use a mixer!<\/p>\n

I want to be fair to the kind folks at Pereg \u2013 I have all respect and admiration for anyone and anything that brings more gluten-free stuff into the world. The packaging of the flour is beautiful, and what\u2019s inside seems legit, as far as I can tell. But I\u2019ve learned that specialty gluten-free flours are designed for people who are already into baking. People who have stand-up mixers that actually stand on their countertops because they\u2019re used so often.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve made it my New Year\u2019s resolution to be kinder to myself, and this seems like the perfect opportunity. I\u2019ll seek out more sophisticated gluten-free recipes, and be patient and more exacting in the way I make them. I still have about seven separate bags of fancy gluten-free flour, so God knows I have the resources. And my reward for all that dedication? Let\u2019s hope it\u2019s a stand-up mixer, or at the very least, a gluten-free brownie that tastes nothing like sand.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

*Disclosure: The author received all flour samples free of charge, but was not compensated by Pereg Natural Flours. All opinions are her own.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

image credit: Pereg Natural Foods<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":45616,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1458,1452],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nAdventures in Gluten-Free Baking, starring Pereg Flours<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Imagine my delight when a box full of fancy Pereg Natural Foods gluten-free flours arrived at my doorstep. There was chickpea flour, quinoa flour...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=45610\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jacquie Wojcik\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=45610\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=45610\",\"name\":\"Adventures in Gluten-Free Baking, starring Pereg Flours\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=45610#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=45610#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/adventures-in-gluten-free-baking-starring-pereg-flours-2.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-01-05T14:39:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-01-05T14:40:21+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/fc95518ecb7b31358a2ba6ec048eac16\"},\"description\":\"Imagine my delight when a box full of fancy Pereg Natural Foods gluten-free flours arrived at my doorstep. There was chickpea flour, quinoa flour...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=45610#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=45610\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=45610#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/adventures-in-gluten-free-baking-starring-pereg-flours-2.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/adventures-in-gluten-free-baking-starring-pereg-flours-2.png\",\"width\":1430,\"height\":996,\"caption\":\"Adventures in Gluten-Free Baking, starring Pereg Flours. 1\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=45610#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Adventures in Gluten-Free Baking, starring Pereg Flours\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/\",\"name\":\"ASweetLife\",\"description\":\"The Diabetes Magazine\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/fc95518ecb7b31358a2ba6ec048eac16\",\"name\":\"Jacquie Wojcik\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/851faaddf27783cd38cc3a65ffbac6de?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/851faaddf27783cd38cc3a65ffbac6de?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jacquie Wojcik\"},\"description\":\"Jacquie Wojcik has lived with Type 1 diabetes since 1990. She works as an advertising copywriter in Jacksonville, Florida, where she lives with her husband, toddler, and assorted pets. Jacquie writes the blog Typical Type 1. You can follow her on Twitter @badpancreas.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/x.com\/@badpancreas\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?author=49\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Adventures in Gluten-Free Baking, starring Pereg Flours","description":"Imagine my delight when a box full of fancy Pereg Natural Foods gluten-free flours arrived at my doorstep. There was chickpea flour, quinoa flour...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=45610","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jacquie Wojcik","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=45610","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=45610","name":"Adventures in Gluten-Free Baking, starring Pereg Flours","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=45610#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=45610#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/adventures-in-gluten-free-baking-starring-pereg-flours-2.png","datePublished":"2017-01-05T14:39:58+00:00","dateModified":"2017-01-05T14:40:21+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/fc95518ecb7b31358a2ba6ec048eac16"},"description":"Imagine my delight when a box full of fancy Pereg Natural Foods gluten-free flours arrived at my doorstep. There was chickpea flour, quinoa flour...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=45610#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=45610"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=45610#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/adventures-in-gluten-free-baking-starring-pereg-flours-2.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/adventures-in-gluten-free-baking-starring-pereg-flours-2.png","width":1430,"height":996,"caption":"Adventures in Gluten-Free Baking, starring Pereg Flours. 1"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=45610#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Adventures in Gluten-Free Baking, starring Pereg Flours"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/","name":"ASweetLife","description":"The Diabetes Magazine","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/fc95518ecb7b31358a2ba6ec048eac16","name":"Jacquie Wojcik","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/851faaddf27783cd38cc3a65ffbac6de?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/851faaddf27783cd38cc3a65ffbac6de?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jacquie Wojcik"},"description":"Jacquie Wojcik has lived with Type 1 diabetes since 1990. She works as an advertising copywriter in Jacksonville, Florida, where she lives with her husband, toddler, and assorted pets. Jacquie writes the blog Typical Type 1. You can follow her on Twitter @badpancreas.","sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/@badpancreas"],"url":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?author=49"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45610"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=45610"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45610\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45622,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45610\/revisions\/45622"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/45616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=45610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=45610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=45610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}