Cranberry Orange Bread {gluten, dairy and egg-free}

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I'm really excited about this one!  And its just in time for the holidays.  It all started when I grabbed a bag of fresh cranberries at our local produce market and started thinking of all the yummy things I could make with them.  Then I started wondering about the nutritional value of cranberries, so I did some research.  It turns out cranberries are really good for us!  Besides having a nice amount of vitamin C, and fiber, the phytonutrients they contain are well know for their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer benefits.  There are studies showing cranberries help support immune function and potentially lower the frequency of cold symptoms as well as benefiting the digestive tract.  And guess what?  Studies show that in order to get the most benefit from cranberries, they should be eaten in their natural food state (surprise!).

Setting aside all the good news about cranberries and their nutritional qualities, it turns out they are super yummy as part of this delicious, allergy-friendly snacking loaf.  This cranberry orange bread would make a tasty breakfast, a nice pick-me-up afternoon snack or a wonderful gluten-free bread to serve with Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.  The orange flavor subtly adds a bit of tangy sweet which compliments the cranberries beautifully.  For the recipe, I started with the one on the Ocean Spray cranberries package and adapted it to be free of gluten, dairy and eggs (and a little less sugar).  And it worked!

So run right now to the store, grab a bag of fresh cranberries and make this bread!  Its come together quickly - no fuss - and gets eaten really fast!

Cranberry Orange Bread {gluten, dairy and egg-free}

1 1/2 cups sorghum flour
1/2 cup potato starch or tapioca starch
1 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 TBSP ground flaxseed
3/4 cup sugar (I used white)
1 cup orange juice
2 TBSP oil
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped (I used my good old Pampered Chef Food Chopper)

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (sorghum, starch, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground flaxseed and sugar).  To this, add orange juice and oil.  Using a hand or stand mixer, mix for a few minutes until well combined.  Stir in chopped cranberries.  Transfer to a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan and bake at 350 for 55-60 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack.  Remove from pan, slice and enjoy!  Makes one loaf.

This recipe is being shared at Full Plate Thursday, Frugal Food Thursday, Delightfully Inspired Thursday, Pennywise Platter, Gluten Free Friday, Foodie Friday, Fresh Bites Friday, Foodtastic Friday,   Food on Fridays, Potluck Party, Gluten Free Monday, Better Mom Monday, Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Monday Mania, Make Your Own Monday, Musings of a Housewife, Inspire Me Monday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Traditional Tuesday, Allergy Free Wednesday, Gluten Free Wednesday, Cast Party Wednesday, Healthy 2day Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday, Wednesday Extravaganza, Tasty Traditions


 

Drop Biscuits {gluten, dairy and egg-free}

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Biscuits - Oh yeah!  I love biscuits and had missed them for so long.  That's why I'm so happy to share this easy gluten-free biscuit recipe with you.  Back in the day, ya know, before we realized my daughter couldn't eat gluten, dairy or eggs, we used to make biscuits on Sunday mornings with our handy Jiffy All-Purpose Baking Mix.  Even setting aside allergies, I'm so glad we makes these from scratch now since those mixes have ingredients that no one should eat.  Can you say 'partially hydrogenated oil'?  Anyway, these drop biscuits are quite versatile.  They can be enjoyed for breakfast topped with jam, honey or coconut butter.  How about biscuits and sausage with gravy.  They are just perfect at dinnertime alongside a steaming bowl of creamy potato soup.   You could even make a sandwich on one of these.  The possibilities are endless!  And since these are drop biscuits you get to skip the mess and work of rolling out dough.  Just mix, plop, bake and eat.  Give 'em a try.  I think you'll love 'em!

Drop Biscuits {gluten, dairy, egg-free}

1 1/2 cups millet flour (sorghum works too, but millet gives them a wonderfully sweet, light flavor)
1/2 cup potato starch (tapioca starch works too)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 cup sugar
1 TBSP ground flaxseed meal
1/3 cup oil
1 - 1 1/4 cup dairy-free milk (I use almond milk)

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (millet flour, potato starch, salt, baking powder, xanthan gum, sugar and flaxseed).  Add in oil.  Add in 1 cup milk and stir, checking consistency.  If batter is a bit dry or thick, add up to 1/4 cup more milk.  Mix by hand until you have a nice thick (but not too thick) consistency.  Using a large mixing spoon, drop dough onto non-stick baking sheet (or a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat).  This yields about 8-9 good sized biscuits.  Bake at 450 for 12-15 minutes.

This recipe is being shared at Better Mom Monday, Melt in Your Mouth Monday, Inspire Me Monday, Gluten Free Monday, This Week's Cravings, Make Your Own Monday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Traditional Tuesdays, Allergy Free Wednesday, Healthy 2day Wednesday, Gluten Free Wednesday, What's Cooking Wednesday, Cast Party Wednesday, Real Food WednesdayWednesday Fresh Foods, Full Plate Thursday, Delightfully Inspired Thursday, Frugal Food Thursday, Pennywise Platter Thursday, Gluten Free Friday, Foodie Friday, Fresh Bites Friday, Foodtastic Friday

Spiced Zucchini Bread {gluten, dairy and egg-free}

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If you are growing zucchinis in your garden this year, you probably have them coming out your ears about now.  Sounds like the perfect time to make zucchini bread.  This recipe makes two delicious gluten-free loaves that smell wonderful in the oven and taste just as good on your plate.  The key is in the spices - cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice - yum!  This recipe makes two loaves because, just like banana bread, this zucchini bread freezes well.  When freezing it, slice a loaf after it cools, then freeze slices in a zip-closed freezer bag.  You can take the slices straight from the freezer to the toaster for a wonderful breakfast.  And please don't let the long ingredient list discourage you - its mostly the spices that make the list look long.


Spiced Zucchini Bread {gluten, dairy and egg-free}

2 cup sorghum flour
1 cup potato starch or tapioca starch
2 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 cup ground flaxseed or chia seed
1 TBSP tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup applesauce
2/3 cup oil
1/3 cup water
4 tsp vanilla extract
2 cup shredded zucchini (about 2 large zucchinis)
1 cup walnuts (optional)

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (sorghum, potato starch, xanthan gum, flaxseed, spices, baking powder, baking soda, salt and brown sugar).  In a separate bowl combine wet ingredients (applesauce, oil, water, vanilla and shredded zucchini).  Transfer dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir to combine.  Stir in walnuts. This recipe works with hand mixing or with a stand mixer, but it's a bit too thick for an electric hand mixer (the batter will tend to crawl up the beaters).  Pour batter into two standard size loaf pans (I prefer glass) and bake at 350 degrees for one hour.  Cool on a wire rack to prevent soggy bottoms (hee, hee . . that phrase "soggy bottoms" makes me laugh).

This recipe is being shared at Allergy Free Wednesdays, Melt In Your Mouth Monday,  Monday Mania, The Better Mom Monday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Real Food Wednesday, Gluten Free Wednesdays, Healthy2Day Wednesday, Thriving on Thursdays, Full Plate Thursday, Pennywise Platter Thursday, Fresh Bites Friday, Foodie Friday, Eat at Home

Awesome Sandwich Bread {gluten, dairy and egg-free}

Pin It I got tired of serving my daughter dry and crumbly store-bought gluten-free bread devoid of any nutritional value.  In all fairness, there are some not-so-bad options on the store shelves, but they are pretty pricey and many of them contain egg.  So I decided to tackle homemade gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free bread and guess what?  Success!  I started with this recipe from The Wacky Waffle which is written by a friend of a friend.

But homemade bread?  Isn't that hard to make?  Doesn't that take a lot of time?  The answer, my friends, to both questions is 'no'.  Homemade gluten-free bread is not hard to make and it doesn't take a lot of time.  In fact, gluten-free bread is quicker and easier to make than wheat bread because you don't have to knead it and you only have to let it rise once.  This recipe, from start to finish, will only take about 1½ hours, and of that time, only about 15 minutes is you actually working.  In case you just don't have 1½ hours, this recipe can be made in a bread machine (though I think it turns out best when you make it the old-fashioned way)!

Take a look at the ingredients below and you'll see this is primarily a whole-grain recipe - so it's good for you.  And it tastes good, doesn't crumble and stays fresh in the fridge for at least 5 days!  It can also be stored in the freezer, sliced and ready for toasting.  

After reading through the simplified instructions, please read the "additional notes" section and the bread machine instructions below the recipe for more details.  Please try this bread!  Then come back and tell us how it turned out for you.  I think you'll be surprised at how easy it is to make and how tasty it is to eat.

Awesome Sandwich Bread {gluten, dairy and egg-free} 

1 ½ cups sorghum flour

½ cup buckwheat flour 
1 cup potato or tapioca starch
2 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp salt
¼ cup ground flaxseed meal
1 TBSP yeast (*don’t add yeast yet if using the delay setting on a bread maker)
¼ cup oil
¼ cup honey
1 ¾ cups warm almond milk (heat about 1 minute in microwave)
1 tsp mild-tasting vinegar (distilled white or apple cider vinegar)

Whisk together dry ingredients (flours, xanthan gum, salt, and ground flaxseed).  Add yeast to dry ingredients unless using the delay setting on a bread maker.  In a separate bowl, mix together wet ingredients (oil, honey, milk and vinegar).  Add dry mix into the wet mix.  Combine thoroughly using the dough hooks on a stand mixer.  This dough is a bit too thick for regular beaters as it gets a little crazy, walking up the beaters.  You’ll know you have the right consistency if your dough is too wet to knead but too thick to pour.  Its kind of like a thick drop biscuit dough.  Transfer dough into glass loaf pan (no need to grease your pan) and let rise for 30 minutes.  Loaf should almost double in size, or be about even with the top of your loaf pan.  Bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 40 minutes.  Your loaf should have a nice medium-brown crust.  Allow bread to cool in the pan until cool enough to remove; then pop bread out of pan by running a butter knife around the edges. Let bread finish cooling on a wire rack. (This prevents the bottom from getting damp.)  Once cool, slice and enjoy or freeze for later! 

Additional Notes: 

Rising:  Here’s my preferred rising method:  Pour boiling water into an oven-safe casserole dish or spare loaf pan and place in the oven.  Then place your loaf in the oven, shut the door and let it rise.  Stick a note on your oven controls to remind yourself not to turn the oven on while your dough is rising.  Oh – maybe that step is just for scattered people such as myself.

Baking:  Leave the above mentioned hot water in the oven during the baking.  This seems to help the bread retain its moisture. 

Ingredients:  Don’t leave out the vinegar!  It really helps with the rise.  Also, if you don't have buckwheat flour, you can replace it with sorghum so that your flour mix would be 2 cups sorghum flour and 1 cup potato or tapioca starch.  I like it best with the buckwheat - I think it improves the texture.

Storage:  This bread stays fresh for at least 5 days stored it in a zip-close plastic bag in the fridge, unsliced.  For longer storage, slice the loaf and store in a zip-close freezer bag in the freezer.  When its time for breakfast toast or a sandwich, simply pop your slices in the toaster and they’re ready to be enjoyed.

Bread Machine Instructions:

This bread can also be made in a bread machine!  Don’t fret if your bread machine doesn’t have a gluten-free cycle.  I have a low-end machine  without a gluten-free cycle and, although I imagine a better machine might produce better results, it gets the job done.  My machine requires that I help it along by scraping around the corners during the mixing cycle – sad, but true.  I've got my eye on this one but I'd love recommendations if you have a machine you like.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all your dry ingredients (flours, xanthan gum, salt, and ground flaxseed).  Whisk yeast into dry ingredients unless you are using the delay setting.  If using a delay setting,  you'll add the yeast last -on top of the dry mixture so it doesn't get wet prematurely.  Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together all the wet ingredients (oil, honey, milk and vinegar). Transfer to bread machine.

Into your bread machine, add dry ingredient mixture on top of wet ingredients.  If using delay setting, make a little valley in the flour mixture to hold the yeast there on top of the dry ingredients.

Set your bread machine for a 2 lb loaf and let your machine do the rest.  If you do have a gluten-free cycle, use it.

This recipe is being shared at Homemade Bread Challenge, Potluck Party