Look around the free-from section of a health-food store or a large supermarket and you’ll find a large variety of gluten-free and dairy-free products. Food manufacturers are continually producing fantastic ingredients—all of which make it easier and easier to cook wonderful free-from food.
FLOUR MIXES
For baking, it’s a good idea to start with a selection of flours. I’ve created different flour mixes for different types of recipes, depending on the texture and amount of crunchiness or softness needed. In the Basic Recipes chapter, you’ll find different mixes for Flaky Pastry Dough, Piecrust Dough, Sweet Piecrust Dough, Breads, Cakes and Cookies. The pastry dough and bread mixes use sturdy flour combinations, so they hold together well, whereas the Cake Mix produces a soft, moist texture, and the Cookie Mix a crunchy one.
I’ve used brown rice flour in all of the mixes as it is a great base flour. It has a lovely taste and holds really well. When the mix needs a stronger flour base, I’ve used a combination of chickpea flour (besan) and corn flour. These are both great in terms of holding together and, while the chickpea flour has quite a strong taste, when it’s combined with corn flour that has a subtle, slightly sweet taste, it works really well. (For those who had stopped using chickpea flour because of the taste—trust me!)
It’s important to create a balance of grain flours and starch flours, depending on the type of recipe. The flours I’ve just mentioned are all grain flours. Starch flours work slightly differently, in that they tend to lighten the mix and give rise to the baking. For starches, I’ve generally used cornstarch because it’s inexpensive and easy to find, has a very bland taste and gives a fantastic consistency. For bread, however, I’ve added potato flour, which helps create a moist, tender crumb texture, as well as a better rise.
I’ve added almond meal to the Sweet Piecrust Dough—to make it sweeter, and help hold the pastry together—and to the Cookie Mix, as it gives cookies the crunchiness when baked.
I find the best thing to do is to make up large batches of the flour mixes and store them in my cupboard. Depending on the size(s) of your containers, you can make up double or triple quantities, if you’re planning to use a lot of the mix. (But bear in mind that the mix won’t keep forever.) Then it’s just a question of measuring out the required amount for the recipe you are about to make—and off you go...
ALTERNATIVE FLOURS
I’ve used a couple of alternative flours within the recipes themselves. In the Oat & Molasses Bread, I’ve added gluten-free oats, to add a sweetness and strong texture. Gluten-free oats are a brilliant ingredient, and it’s easy to make them into a flour by blending them in a food processor. For the Corn Tortillas, I’ve used masa harina, as this finely milled version of corn flour is the only one that works for tortillas. And for the Paleo Bread (grain-free bread), I’ve used coconut flour. Coconut flour is incredibly nutritious, is very filling as it is high in fiber, protein and (good) fat, and is grain-free. It works fantastically well as a flour, although you need to use less of it (a third to half of the recipe quantity and possibly more liquid) because it soaks up more liquid than other flours) because it soaks up more liquid than other flours). But it is expensive, which is why I haven’t used it throughout the book.
There are many other flours that you can use as alternatives, but I wanted to keep the list of ingredients as simple and accessible as possible, and because I think these mixes work the best. Other flours commonly used are buckwheat, millet, teff, quinoa and soy. Other starches available are tapioca and white rice flour. Personally, I find the taste of buckwheat flour too strong, and it is a very heavy flour so it doesn’t rise well. Millet tends to be bitter, teff has a strong taste, too, and it is expensive and difficult to get hold of. Quinoa flour also has a very strong taste, although if you can mask the flavor, it is extremely nutritious. Soy flour is probably my least favorite flour because it doesn’t hold well or give a good rise, or taste particularly good. I’m also not keen on tapioca starch because I find it gives a metallic aftertaste, and I know many people are intolerant to it.
But all of these options at least give you that—the option to change the ingredients you’re using if you decide you prefer another one, or if you need to expand your ingredients list (perhaps if you’re following a rotation diet). If you decide to alter any of the mixes, you can simply substitute a similar flour in the same quantities as those specified in the mix recipe.
XANTHAN GUM
I’ve used xanthan gum in all the mixes because it does work wonderfully well in terms of binding. Some people, though, are intolerant to xanthan gum, so for those people I’d suggest either omitting it completely (your baked goods will be crumblier and won’t hold together as well, but that’s not the end of the world), or experimenting with chia seeds instead.
DAIRY-FREE
There is now a huge range of dairy-free products. Gone are the days of a few long-life soy milks—there are now various dairy-free cheeses, yogurts, milks, creams, margarines and spreads, as well as the lactose-free ingredients for those who can’t digest lactose. And they’re not just soy products—you can find coconut, almond, hazelnut, rice, oat and legume varieties. And most of them taste delicious!
You can also make your own dairy-free ingredients. Cashew nuts make brilliant milk, cream and cheese, and you can experiment with other nuts, too, such as almonds and hazelnuts. And the great thing about making your own is that they’re fresh, much cheaper and you can control what goes into them. If you make your own rice or oat milk, for example, you can make it without added sugar.
TO EGG OR NOT TO EGG
Often people think that eggs are a dairy product, but they’re not (which is lucky for me because I absolutely adore them!). I’ve used eggs throughout the recipes, but if you are allergic or intolerant to them, you can use various alternatives. Try egg-replacement products, which are often good for substituting for small amounts of eggs. Or you can use additional baking powder or baking soda and chia seeds or apple/pear puree. (If you’re using purees, it’s a good idea to make a large batch and freeze portions.)
ALTERNATIVES TO SUGAR
In this book I’ve mainly used refined sugar. I wanted to offer a huge variety of indulgent recipes to make your heart sing. But if you’re watching your sugar consumption, do substitute healthier alternatives. Agave syrup, for example, has a much lower GI count, and molasses contains various nutrients. You could also try other options, such as xylitol or stevia (although they are expensive). Or you could opt for simple honey. You won’t get the rise that you get when you beat sugar with the margarine (especially if you beat the margarine and sugar for anything up to 10 minutes, until it’s really light and fluffy), but whatever you’re baking will still taste great!
Yeast–free: Contains no ingredients with added yeast, including sourdough and yeast breads, all vinegars, wine, beer and other alcoholic beverages, yeast extract, tamari soy sauce and miso.
Soy–free: Contains no soy products, including soy beans, soy milk, soy yogurt, soy cream, soy cheese, tofu, tempeh, soy sauce and soy-based margarines.
Egg–free: Contains no eggs or egg products.
Nut–free: Contains no nuts (almonds, Brazil nuts, cashew nuts, chestnuts, coconut, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, peanuts, pecans, pistachio nuts and walnuts) or nut oils.
Seed–free: Contains no seeds (hemp seeds, flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and sunflower seeds), pine nuts, or seed oils, including vegetable oil and seed-based margarines.
Citrus–free: Contains no citrus fruit or zest, including oranges, grapefruit, lemons, limes, clementines, satsumas and tangerines.