Thursday, December 4, 2008

gluten-free dark chocolate torte

Over the years, I've become fairly proficient at baking and cooking gluten-free fare; I have a family member afflicted with celiac disease, meaning absolutely no wheat gluten (or barley or rye). At thanksgiving or other family gatherings, I used to make up extra pumpkin pie filling and make a crustless pie for them, or some such rendition of what the rest of us were eating. This still seemed exclusionary to me. I had a friend share an amazing recipe of a blend of special flours that can be used in a 1:1 substitution with all-purpose flour:

2 cups brown rice flour
2/3 cup potato starch
1/3 cup tapioca starch

This blend is a complete life-saver! I've found these specialized flours from Whole Foods and other natural food stores. Bob's Red Mill makes all of them (plus many more varieties). I've successfully used it in bread recipes, pastry, etc. The results are drier and more apt to crumble than their glutenous counterparts, but it is still surprisingly workable and able to maintain structure.  It also lends an interesting taste and textural difference that is a nice break from wheat. Don't believe me? Check out the Dark Chocolate-Pomegranate Torte I made for thanksgiving:






2 comments:

Susan said...

Look, here's proof that I read your blog. I think I'm going to go get these today so that I can wow my family with my skills when they get here. (Read: practice so I'm better at gluten-free baking than my mom and sister.) (Well, I guess since we now know that celiac disease runs in the family, I should practice anyway so that I'm proficient by the time I get diagnosed)

Susan said...

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(POTUS wanted to comment too)