If I had had time yesterday to participate in the Tuesday Twister (better go add myself now), I would have shared that I made these gluten-free soaked biscuits. They are moist, light, and tasty – even after three days. This is a gluten-free and soaked version of my cinnamon and honey sprouted spelt biscuits.

For the gluten-free flour blend, I used equal parts of these fresh-ground flours: millet, sweet brown rice, hulled buckwheat, and tapioca.

Makes about 24 biscuits

• 2 cups gluten-free flour blend (cannot be warm from grinding or will melt the coconut oil)
• 6 generous tablespoons unrefined, virgin coconut oil, chilled if liquefied at room temp (like during the summer)
• 1 tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar, kefir, Kombucha, yogurt, or whey
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons raw milk, coconut milk, or nut milk (or even water)
• 2 tablespoons raw honey
• 1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 to 2 tablespoons of additional raw milk

Cut coconut oil into flour with a pastry cutter or fork, until coconut oil is the size of peas or smaller. Lightly stir in the raw apple cider vinegar and milk. Cover and leave on the counter for 8 hours or overnight.

The next day…

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Mix in the honey, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and sea salt – gently. If it is not mixing well and needs a bit more moisture to make a workable biscuit dough, add additional milk as needed.

Transfer the dough to a clean, floured surface and roll into a rectangle about 1/2″ thick. Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut into 2″ squares.

Transfer squares to a coconut-oiled cookie sheet, leaving space between. Put sheet in oven. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer to drying rack. Eat!

The irons come coated with paraffin wax to prevent rust. This must be removed. My method of choice was to smoke up the entire house by putting a half of an iron on each burner (2 irons, 4 halves, all 4 burners) and letting the wax burn off over medium heat. The exhaust couldn’t keep up with it all, thus the smoky house. Caution: Don’t assume I’m recommending this method; try it at your own peril. Paraffin wax is extremely flammable!

Then I seasoned the irons right on the four burners, too. For about fifteen minutes, and while over medium heat, I brushed each half over and over with coconut oil until they turned dark.

The recipe: a thick four grain flatbread batter, with an addition: 1/4 cup of organic, extra-virgin olive oil. Each waffle took 4 minutes. I flipped the entire waffle iron over on the burner after 2 minutes to brown both sides.

Result: crispy, delicious (really delicious). Drizzled with agave. That’s it, simple! Jeff ate his with two fried eggs and sans the agave. The recipe works as either savory or sweet. I know I’m going to have to make some tomorrow ASAP, otherwise I will have to listen to very polite beggars all day.

She brought the waffle iron. Using my four-grain flatbread recipe, we made a thicker batter (by using a little less water). We oiled the waffle iron with a little extra-virgin, unrefined coconot oil. I was concerned that the waffles would be gooey inside, but they really weren’t too bad. The iron steamed all that water out. Literally. For the first 4 minutes of cooking, the steam poured out. A set of waffles would cook in about 4.5 minutes with this waffle iron.

We ate the waffles dipped into a delicious bean soup Jami brought — spiced up with her home-grown hot peppers. The breads were really savory and tasty. The organic corn flour gives them an awesome flavor. And we ate sprout salads topped with other of her garden veggies — bell peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers.

What I wonder is, does anyone know of a cast-iron waffle iron? Or stainless steel? The one we used was a non-stick, which we all know is not the ideal solution. I have a little cast-iron waffle iron that is meant for campfires, and it is fun to use, but unwieldy on the stovetop. I’d love to find something for household use made of safe materials. So please let me know if you know of anything!

I am so thankful to Sonya, a friend and commenter, for sharing a gluten-free tortilla recipe with me! I didn’t follow it exactly, so here follows my modified recipe. The original is Living Without’s Gluten-Free Flour Tortillas.

We enjoyed these today as wraps with shredded chicken and shredded goat cheese. We all agreed they were the best tortillas ever! Who needs gluten? These are just as good, if not better!

This recipe makes about 8 tortillas.

• 1-1/4 cup corn flour*
• 3/4 cup brown rice flour*
• 1/3 cup potato flour
• 2 teaspoons xanthan gum
• 1 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
• 1-1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 to 1-1/4 cups pure water, room temperature

*Flour Tortilla Variation: Increase the brown rice flour to 1 cup. Use 1 cup of buckwheat flour instead of the corn flour. No other changes are necessary. This is a very yummy variation!

Combine all the dry ingredients. Whisk to combine. Add the oil and cut it in with a whisk or a fork. Add 1/2 cup water. Mix well. Add more until the dough becomes soft and hangs together when made into a ball.

Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat.

Generously flour a clean counter-top with corn flour, for rolling. Form a 2-inch ball of dough, then flatten it.

Using natural wax paper (from Natural Value) between the dough and a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 1/8-inch thick circle, about 8 inches in diameter. Rotate the dough as you roll to prevent it from sticking to the counter; dust with more flour as necessary. If the tortilla does stick to the counter, release it by sliding a spatula between it and the counter.

Transfer the tortilla to the heated cast-iron skillet. Oiling is not necessary if the skillet is well seasoned. Allow to cook on the first side until big and puffy, about 1 minute.

The underside with have spots of browning. Flip over and let the second side brown. Transfer cooked tortilla to a dinner plate and cover with a towel to keep soft and warm.

Begin the process again with a new tortilla — shaping it and baking it. Once you develop a rythmn, you’ll be able to roll one out while another is cooking.

Unfortunately, this is one of those foods for which I can’t figure out a plastic-free method of storage. So, store them in a zipper-seal plastic bag in the fridge or in the freezer for future use.

The process is very simple. For every egg in the original recipe, use 1 tablespoon flax seed meal and 3 tablespoons water. Whisk them together and let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes. It will get gummy, just like eggs. Then the mixture can be incorporated into the recipe where it calls for egg(s). There are no other adjustments needed in the recipe.

I have noticed that usually, you will not be able to tell any difference in baked goods where flax seed meal has been substituted for the eggs. However, small items like cookies may be more crumbly. I recommend making cookies as bars. Anything that bakes as a bigger solid — such as muffins, quick breads, cakes, or bar cookies — will do just fine.

If you use too much flax seed meal/water mixture (or if you use any flax seed meal/water mixture in pancakes), the risk is that what is baking will remain gummy inside. That is why I don’t use any egg substitute at all for pancakes or pancake-style flatbreads. They just don’t cook inside before getting burned on the outside.

You can grind your own flax seeds in the Vita-Mix dry container (on HIGH), in a heavy-duty blender, or in a coffee grinder. A food processor will not achieve a fine enough grind. Grind the seeds until they’re fine, like a flaky powder. When the meal begins to clump together, that is generally fine enough.

People often tout the benefits of flax seeds because they contain Omega-3, an essential fatty acid that we need and generally don’t consume enough of. However, flax seeds, when baked, lose the Omega-3. They must be raw to get that benefit. Still, as an egg substitute, flax seed meal offers excellent results and you will still get fiber, so all is not lost.

On the other hand, don’t think that sprinkling whole raw seeds on your salad or yogurt will give impart an Omega-3 benefit. In their whole form, the seeds will pass right through your body — you must grind them to get the full benefits.

It is best to grind just the amount of flax seed meal you need, at the time you need it, because exposure to light and oxygen will compromise the nutritional benefits. The next best option is to grind a few days’ worth or a week’s worth of the flax seed meal and store it in the freezer in a dark colored jar, to minimize light exposure.

In addition to being gluten-free, these muffins are also egg-free and dairy-free. Makes 18 muffins.

• 1/2 cup flax seed meal
• 1 14-ounce can light coconut milk
• 1 cup grapeseed oil
• 1-1/2 cups date sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon*
• 1 teaspoon ginger*
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder
• 1 cup buckwheat flour
• 1/2 cup millet flour
• 1/2 cup quinoa flakes
• 1 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup ground nuts
• 1/2 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In mixing bowl, mix flax seed meal and coconut milk. Let sit for a few minutes. Add grapeseed oil, date sugar, vanilla and spices. Blend well, until smooth.

Add baking powder, salt, flours and quinoa flakes. Mix lightly, until smooth. Add raisins, coconut and nuts. Mix lightly, to incorporate.

Fill greased muffin tin or muffin paper liners three-fourths full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from oven and transfer muffins to cooling rack.

Store in an airtight container.

*Instead of cinnamon & ginger, use 1 teaspoon Five-Spice Powder. Yumm!

© Copyright 2008 by Wardeh Harmon.

My friend wanted to learn how to make the flatbreads. I am sure she was pleasantly surprised that they’re as easy as pancakes! One of the jars I intended to leave with her for her to use during the week sometime; one jar we cooked up as part of our lunch menu; and the other jar is for me to use sometime during the week.

You could follow the recipe to fill these jars, but these pancake-style flatbreads almost need no recipe. Use 4 cups of various grains, one of which can be a rolled grain. The jars pictured contain 1 cup of sweet brown rice flour, 1 cup of buckwheat flour, 1 cup of sorghum flour, and 1 cup of quinoa flakes. I also added 1 teaspoon of sea salt.

When ready to make the breads, transfer the contents of the jar to a mixing bowl, add 4 to 5 cups of water, whisk together and then cook like pancakes. See the full recipe for more information.

If gift-giving (what a great gift for a gluten-free cook!), a pretty piece of fabric under the metal ring and a ribbon on top of it would make it so pretty.

gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free

These are flatbreads similar to the Quinoa Dinner Cakes with Sweet Potato, only these don’t require sweet potato puree and they call for an additional flour — corn flour. We eat them as bread along with main dishes such as chicken, chicken salad, hummus, or wild salmon salad.

Our favorite way to eat them is in flatbread melts — toasted; spread with chicken salad, wild salmon salad, or pinto bean spread; topped with shredded goat cheese; and then put under the broiler for the cheese to melt.

Makes about 20 cakes

• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1 cup buckwheat flour
• 1 cup corn flour
• 1 cup quinoa flakes
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder
• 3-1/2 to 4-1/2 cups filtered water
• grapeseed oil for the pan

Combine all dry ingredients in mixing bowl. Add water to dry ingredients and mix well. Let stand for about 15 minutes to thicken. Batter should be thick.

Meanwhile, preheat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat.

Add a smidge of oil to the pan and spread it out. Pour batter into prepared pan using a 1/4-cup scoop. Let cook on that side until bubbles appear in the center and bottom is golden brown, then turn over with spatula. Allow to cook on second side for about 30 seconds, or until browned. Repeat for all the remaining dinner cakes, adding more oil as needed.

Transfer each cooked cake to a cooling rack. If put in a covered container, the breads will get mushy from condensation.

Serve soon after cooking, while they are still warm. Or, toast to use for melts. Refrigerate completely cooled leftovers in an airtight container. Toast leftover cakes or use cold for sandwiches.

© Copyright 2008 by Wardeh Harmon

Ginger Pear Muffins — Gluten-Free, Date Sweetened

makes about 30 muffins

• 1/2 cup flax seed meal
• 1 cup water*
• 1 cup grapeseed oil
• 1-1/2 cups date sugar (ground fine in food processor if necessary)
• 5-1/2 cups coarsely pureed fresh pears
• 1 tablespoon dried ginger
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1 tablespoon gluten-free baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 4-1/2 to 5 cups gluten-free flour blend (2 cups buckwheat flour, 1-1/2 to 2 cups sorghum flour, 1cup tapioca flour)
• 1 cup raisins (optional)
• 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

*Don’t use any water (or reduce the amount) if your pear sauce is really watery.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In large mixing bowl, whisk together flax seed meal and water. Let sit for a few minutes to get gummy.

Add oil, date sugar, pureed pears, ginger, cinnamon, and vanilla. Mix well.

In separate mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients, except raisins and nuts.

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix well.

Add nuts and raisins, if using.

Scoop batter into prepared muffin tins (either lined with paper or lightly greased). Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until browned and an inserted toothpick comes out cleanly.

Transfer muffins to cooling rack. Let cool completely. Store in an airtight container. May freeze for future consumption.

These muffins are even better on the second day!

© Copyright 2008 by Wardeh Harmon