Sweet or Savory... Grain Free Flatbread is delish!
It is such a blast sharing these all-new, awesome grain free recipes with you this month! I love hearing you’re making and enjoying these tasty treats right along with me.
Check out this recent email from Alexa, a subscriber from Rhode Island:
“Gigi, Thank you so much for the Grain Free Chocolate Covered Sunbutter Bites recipe! I took your advice and made them for my mom for Mother’s Day! I put them in a candy box in individual white paper candy cups and tied them up with a giant pink bow. Mom loved them!! She is new to the world of food allergies (her allergies are eggs, peanuts, and wheat) and has been a little depressed over not being able to eat some of her favorite candies. She is also sensitive to rice and rice products like rice flour, rice syrup, and rice milk, so that rules out a lot of pre-packaged gluten free foods. That’s why when I saw this recipe I knew I had to try it for her. She absolutely loved them and now you have a new fan (she subscribed to your site and YouTube channel, too). Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I know I’ll make them again and again.”
So, don’t take my word for it, take Alexa’s (and her moms!). My Grain Free Chocolate Covered Sunbutter Bites are superb! If you haven’t already, be sure to whip up a batch soon. I know you’ll love them as much as Alexa and her mom do.
Thank you, Alexa, for your email. It’s inspiring to hear how something as simple as a recipe can make such a difference. Those of us living with multiple food allergies and intolerances know exactly how overwhelming, and yes, even depressing at times, navigating mealtimes can be. Food is at the core of every culture. It defines special occasions and holidays, holds memories of our childhood, and is necessary for life.
That’s why I love demystifying and simplifying gluten free (and other “free”) baking and cooking. Gaining confidence in the kitchen truly makes the difference between “just eating what we can” and really enjoying the foods we love.
This week’s recipe is definitely one for the “Foods We Love” file! I’m thrilled to show you Grain Free Flatbread is possible and delish!
I’m not talking about a dense, egg-y tasting, excuse for flatbread, either. My Grain Free Flatbread is light, airy, and bread-like! This is a versatile recipe, too! Form the dough rounds thicker for sandwich rolls you can slice in half, or thinner for tender, bendable wraps to fill with your favorite meats and/or veggies. You can also make this flatbread sweet or savory (more on this in the recipe!). No matter how you decide to make your flatbread, I know you’ll love this recipe! Let’s get in the kitchen!
Not only do we have a new recipe this week, we’ve got two new ingredients in our list... Amaranth flour and instant potato flakes. Let’s start with these before we get to our recipe.
We’ve talked about amaranth before, but you haven’t seen me use amaranth flour until now. In my home kitchen, I use it to give a rich flavor and a complete protein boost to baked goods.
Remember, the Whole Grains Council is highlighting amaranth as the “grain of the month” for May (perfect for Celiac Awareness Month!). If you’re curious about this gluten free nutrient powerhouse and how to incorporate it into your gluten free diet, check out my recent article and recipes here!
Can’t find amaranth flour already ground where you are? You can still enjoy this recipe! Here’s how:
Gluten Free Gigi Tip! ~ Make Your Own Amaranth Flour
Grind your own by using amaranth seeds and milling them in a grain mill, food processor, or blender on the highest speed until you achieve a flour-like consistency and texture. I use my Blendtec blender. (Have you met Red Hot Momma yet?)
That’s all there is to it, and that’s how I make all my amaranth flour. It’s simple, affordable, and nutritious!
1 cup of amaranth yields approximately 1 1/2 cups of flour.
Store extra flour in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. I like using glass Mason jars for storing my amaranth flour.
You won’t have any trouble locating our next new ingredient, instant potato flakes. This may seem like an odd addition to flatbread, but potato flakes are actually a great grain free ingredient when making breads. I often substitute them for up to 25% the flour called for in bread recipes to enhance the texture and flavor of certain breads. Several brands of gluten free potato flakes are available in most supermarkets; just be sure to read the labels carefully when shopping.
Now that we know all about our new ingredients, let’s get ready to make a big batch of the best Grain Free Flatbread we’ve ever tasted!
Before mixing our dough, I have some important tips and prep ideas to make the process as simple as can be:
Gluten Free Gigi Tip! ~ Eggs Should Be at Room Temperature for Baking
Eggs serve many functions in baking. For example, they add flavor, color, structure (from the protein in the white), fat (from the yolk), and contribute to the liquid portion of a recipe.
Two of the most important functions of eggs in baked goods are as binders or leavening agents. When eggs are only needed as a binder (in a recipe like my sunbutter cutout cookies) it is fine to use them straight from the fridge. But when we need the benefit of eggs as a leavener (like in this week's recipe for Grain Free Flatbread), they need to be room temperature. That’s because we get more volume out of them when beaten into the batter if they are warm.
{binder ~ helps ingredients stay together, or emulsify, to give baked goods a smoother, more uniform texture.}
{leavening agent ~ helps baked goods rise, giving them a light and fluffy texture.}
To get eggs up to temperature before baking, allow them to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes prior to cracking them and adding them to your recipe.
So, what if you didn’t set them out at room temperature for half an hour and you’re all set to bake? Don’t worry... use this quick trick! Place cold eggs in a bowl of warm water for 10-15 minutes. Make sure the eggs are completely covered. You may want to change the water about half way through the soaking time since the cold eggs will bring down the water’s temperature.
Now on to our prep tips for keeping this recipe streamlined and simple!
Gluten Free Gigi Tip! ~ Prep Ideas to Make this Recipe Super-Simple to Make!
Have these items ready before you mix the dough:
· Large cookie sheet lined with foil
· Additional piece of foil (same size as the one you use to line the cookie sheet)
· Wax paper to cover work surface (for working with dough)
· Additional tapioca flour or potato starch for dusting work surface and hands (either will work)
· 1-ounce scoop or similar for forming uniform bundles of dough
· Medium skillet
· Oil (any type you like; I use canola) and pastry brush
· Candy thermometer, optional (for measuring milk temperature)
Once we’re all set up, it’s time to make the dough...
Gluten Free Grain Free Flatbread – Two Ways: Savory or Sweet
Dairy Free, Soy Free, Nut Free
This recipe is versatile enough to use as a savory flatbread with dinner or as an afternoon sweet treat!
*For savory flatbread, add 1 to 2 teaspoons of your favorite dried or fresh herbs to the dry ingredients below. For example, dill, chives, oregano, caraway seeds, Italian herbs, Herbes de Provence, or red pepper flakes. The options are endless!
*For sweet flatbread, make the recipe as written, OR you may add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 2 additional Tablespoons of sugar to the dry ingredients below, if you like. Prior to cooking the flatbread in the skillet, prepare a shallow bowl of cinnamon sugar (I use 2 teaspoons cinnamon and a heaping 1/4 cup granulated sugar) for dipping the hot flatbreads in after they come out of the skillet.
1/2 cup Amaranth flour
1/2 cup instant mashed potato flakes
3/4 cup Potato starch
1/2 cup Tapioca starch
2 Tablespoons sugar (*optional 2 additional Tablespoons if making sweet flatbread)
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
*OPTIONAL:
1 teaspoon cinnamon if making sweet flatbread OR 1-2 teaspoons fresh or dried herbs for savory flatbread
1/2 cup coconut milk, heated between 105-110F (this is where the candy thermometer may come in handy)
2 eggs at room temperature, lightly beaten
2 Tablespoons oil (I use canola for sweet flatbread and olive oil for savory flatbread.)
Heat coconut milk over medium-low heat, carefully monitoring temperature, while mixing dry ingredients.
Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl until the mixture is uniform and there are no lumps (potato starch tends to clump).
Add milk, eggs, and oil to the dry ingredients. Stir until the dough comes together. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm, draft-free area for 25-30 minutes to rise. More than 30 minutes rising time will negatively affect the finished flatbreads, so be sure to set a timer!
Cover your work surface with wax paper. Lightly dust the wax paper (and your hands) with tapioca flour.
Using a 1-ounce scoop dipped in tapioca flour, scoop up rounds of dough and place them on the wax paper until all the dough is used.
Turn on your oven to 275F (It’s not a typo... I really mean 275F.).
Heat the skillet over medium-high heat.
While the oven and skillet warm up, gently pat the dough rounds into discs. You can make these as thick or thin as you like, but remember, thicker flatbreads will need a little more cooking time and thinner flatbreads will need a little less. Be sure to monitor them during cooking.
When all the dough rounds are ready to cook, brush the hot skillet lightly with oil. Place in a few flatbreads (how many will depend on the size of your skillet, but leave an inch or two between them while they are cooking). Cook flatbreads for 2-3 minutes, brush the uncooked tops very lightly with oil using your pastry brush, then flip and cook 2-3 minutes more.
*If you are making sweet flatbreads, when you remove them from the skillet is the time to dip them in the cinnamon sugar, then place them on the prepared foil-lined pan.
Remove cooked flatbreads to the prepared foil-lined pan and tent with foil until you have cooked all the dough rounds.
Once all the flatbreads are cooked and placed on the prepared pan, cover the pan with the additional piece of foil. Place in the oven for 5 minutes. This will allow the center of the flatbreads to steam and finish cooking.
Carefully remove the pan from the oven after 5 minutes. Uncover and transfer to a serving dish. Enjoy!
To see exactly how the dough looks after rising, how to shape and cook the flatbreads, and what the finished product looks like, be sure to watch my short how-to video!
Be sure to stick around all May long for more grain free recipes! Click here to see all of the recipes I have for you! Living gluten free tastes great... you'll see!
My mission here at GlutenFreeGigi.com is to share my experience and knowledge to make gluten free living simple, affordable, and nutritious for everyone!
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