milling mondays: gluten free bread

 

 

Prior to milling my own flour, I used to bake my own gluten free sandwich bread. Once I started milling my own flour, I was excited to try my great gluten free bread recipe using freshly milled rice. Gluten free bread can often have a dense texture and bitter taste, so I was thrilled when I stumbled upon this recipe in one of my cook books, Easy Gluten-Free Baking, that makes a great/normal texture and great tasting bread. I would eat this gluten free bread any time over store-bought gluten free bread and it is also much cheaper to make.

 

 

Gluten Free Sandwich Bread

 

modified from Easy Gluten-Free Baking's White Sandwich Bread by Elizabeth Barbone

 

Ingredients

 

Dry Ingredients

1 1/2 cups of brown rice flour (or brown rice if you mill your own flour)

1 cup white rice flour (or white rice if you mill your own flour)

1/3 cup potato starch

1/3 cup corn starch

2/3 cup nonfat dry milk

2 Tbs brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

4 1/2 tsp xanthan gum

 

Wet Ingredients

2 large eggs

1 3/4 cups warm water

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 1/4 tsp (one packet) active dry yeast

 

 

Directions

 

If you mill your own flour, grind the white and brown rice using your mill. I of course use my WonderMill. It is just as easy as milling any other flour.

 

 

Next, combine all of the dry ingredients in a bowl.

 

In a separate mixing bowl combine the wet ingredients and mix until the yeast has been dissolved. I use my KitchenAid stand mixer.

 

Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. First blend the ingredients on low for about a minute to make sure all of the ingredients are well combined, and then increase the speed to medium high for 5 minutes.

 

This dough will act differently that most gluten breads - it will stay thick and sticky (but not dry or bulky). If it seems to be too dry then add a little more water.

 

Grease a 9x5 loaf pan and put the dough into the pan. Cover the loaf and let it rise for 1 hour.

 

Pre-heat the oven to 350F

 

When the loaf has risen and the oven is pre-heated, bake the loaf for 1 hour (the internal temperature should be 208-211F when done).

 

Once the bread is done, let it cool on a cooling rack.

 

Enjoy! As I mentioned this gluten free bread does not taste gluten free - it tastes just as yummy as regular bread.

 

 



 

 

 

new year's eve jumbo marshmallow fight

the doctor is in the house

Maya got a doctor's kit for Christmas - which proved a very popular gift:)

diy thursday: cleaning the washing machine

 

 

After remedying the smelly towel situation, I decided to go ahead and just clean my top loading washing machine to make sure it wasn't contributing to the problem. I found a solution on pinterest on how to clean your top loader washing machine that worked well.

  



 

 

First I filled the washer with hot water (the hottest water my washer offers). I then added 4 cups of bleach with no detergent.  Then I set it to the longest wash and spin cycle. After a couple of minutes of letting it agitate I stopped the cycle and let it sit for one hour. After one hour of sitting I let the cycle finish.

 

Right after the cycle was finished I filled the washer with hot water again and this time I added 4 cups of my trusted white distilled vinegar (again no detergent or bleach). I repeated the process of setting it to the longest wash and spin cycle, letting it agitate for a couple of minutes, stopping the cycle for an hour, and then letting the cycle finish.

 

During this whole process I also cleaned off the entire washing machine outwardly and its dispensers where the water wouldn't reach to clean.

 

And voila - I now have a clean and sparkling washing machine. 

 

 

 

This is obviously not something you want to do super often as it requires much water etc., but it is a good idea to do once in a while. 

wordless wednesday

 

 

 

christmas in stanwood

 

 we spent Christmas in Stanwood, Washington with Michael's family this year

milling mondays: mazarin cake (mazarinkage)

 

My farmor (grandmother) used to bake ALOT. And she was really good at it! When we would visit she would always have several baked cakes and other baked goods ready to serve. It was all so yummy. I really do miss her baking. One of the cakes she would often serve would be mazerinkage. This almond flavored cake is really sweet, and also yummy.

 

 

Whole Wheat Mazarin Cake (Mazerinkage)

 

Ingredients

 

225 g sugar

200 g butter, cubed

2 large eggs

150 g whole wheat flour (2/3 soft wheat berries and 1/3 hard wheat berries)

1 tsp baking powder

6 Tbsp warm water

1 tsp almond extract

 

 

 

Directions

 

First combine the sugar and the butter.

Then add the eggs and mix.

 

If you mill your own flour, mill 100 g soft wheat berries and 50 g hard wheat berries (you may want to mill just a little more since you are going to sift the flour). I use the pastry setting on my WonderMill.

 

If you milled your own flour, sift the flour twice to remove some of the bran in order to make the batter a little more light and less dense.

 

Add the flour, baking powder, warm water, and almond extract.

 

Mix all the ingredients. I use my KitchenAid mixer on setting 2. Be careful not to mix the batter too much, just enough for it to come together.

 

 

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Pour the batter into a round pan and bake for 30 min.

 

When the cake is done, remove it from the pan and let it cool on a rack.

 



 

 

Enjoy! You can top the cake with some icing (I use powdered sugar with a little water).

the carlson ugly christmas sweater party

 

 

This year the Carlson side of the family (Michael's dad's side of the family) celebrated Christmas with an ugly Christmas sweater party.  There was a fun array of awesome sweaters represented.

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

maya and uncle buck

what cuties!
our niece maya is our only niece on both sides of our family (until her sister arrives later this month). she represents well in a sea of nephews:)
we enjoyed spending time with her over Christmas break.

happy new year



ugly christmas sweater party with michael's extended family

 

happy new year! i can't believe it is 2013 already. i hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.

after a week of no internet i am back and hope to post some pictures from Christmas etc.
in the days to come.