Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Archives

It’s 3:15 am… a time of… well not really day OR night… it’s a time no person should ever experience let alone when they’re SO worn out and sleepy all they want to do is go back to sleep. I’ve you’ve been following A Byte of Life, you’ll have read the post on Spain (also found here) which was a MOST incredible trip! We were seriously debating how long we could just fall off the grid and NOT come home! But alas, common sense or something to that nature won and we got on the multiple planes home. Oh hey jet lag, how are you? Are YOU the reason I’m up at 3:15am!?

Turning to my tried and true comfort, I started googling for recipes. If I can’t sleep I may as well bake right!? My love for lemon poppy-seed is almost as strong as my love for a good bottle of red wine, and thankfully, the mister LOVES a good lemon poppy-seed ANYTHING! The request was made and I had a mission ahead of me: your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to create a delicious lemon poppy-seed baked good that’s not super sweet and melts in your mouth Well, now that’s a fun challenge!

Vegan Blueberry Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
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1/4C canola oil
1/4 C honey
1/4C applesauce
1/4 C soy milk
zest & juice of 1 lemon
—-
2 C Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbs poppy seeds
1 C fresh blueberries (put in freezer for about 30 minutes before using)
—-
Pre-heat oven to 375
Combine the oil, applesauce, soy milk, honey , lemon juice and zest in a bowl
Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add the poppy seeds and mix to combine.
Add to the wet ingredients and incorporate
Fold in frozen blueberries. Note that the batter will be thick
Place into a greased loaf pan, sprinkle raw sugar on top
Bake at 375 for 35 minutes(turning once half way through cooking)

Tasting notes:
It’s not your typical fluffy, white flour, white sugar lemon loaf you’d get at Starbucks. This is a more rustic bread and it was quite good! The gluten-free flour lends to a bit more of a mealy texture. Next time I’d add a bit more lemon juice. It’s not a sweet bread at all, so you’d need a lemoncello glaze, or blueberry jam/lemon curd/clotted cream to make it more pastry-ish.

All in all, it’s a good solid rustic breakfast bread…and…I better go taste another slice before posting this review 🙂

Birthdays are wonderful and they are especially for someone who LOVES to bake! Bakers invent holidays just for the opportunity to whip up some delicious treat! Growing up I was given the nickname “Martha Stewart” because I was the chick who showed up for every holiday with the corresponding cookie/treat. Gingerbread for Christmas, heart-shaped shortbread with pink and red frosting at for Valentines Day, Shamrock cookies and green frosting for St. Patty’s, Easter treats, May Day cookies, July 4^th something-or-rather, Halloween trick or treat bags… Thanksgiving…Birthday’s Cupcakes…Picnic Pies and never white frosting after Labor Day!

Well, that was “back in the day” (am I even old enough to say that!?) before food allergies became so prevalent. Now, a baker must be VERY aware of those that might not be able to join in the sugary delicious consumption of a well-baked treat. Well, those bakers that want friends do!

It was a co-workers birthday a few weeks back and I immediately went into “Martha Mode”… “IF cupcakes just happened to show up on your desk what flavor would they be?” I inquired. “Not made by me” was the response…every bakers dream or dread! That is either the field of dreams to explore or a stress sentence of deciding what kind of baked good says what about you. Quickly I got over my female phobias (it’s true… women DO think of things like this!) and decided that I’d just make cupcakes that I’d be happy to take home if no one ate them.

Gluten & Dairy Free Vanilla Cupcakes Texture

Being mindful of both a gluten AND a dairy intolerance I quickly realized that I didn’t have a go-to cupcake recipe to suffice. So I did what any good, sound, logical baking blogger did and headed to Google! This recipe is from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World and they were a HIT!!!! Not just… hey this doesn’t taste like a rotten breaded sardine but actually got compliments of “These are AMAZING!” Even the birthday boy was skeptical when I told him they were gluten-free (omitted the dairy free part…have to ease them into the idea you know) said they were, and I do directly quote, “DELICIOUS! I was worried when you said gluten-free but those are REALLY GOOOOOOOD!

I LIVE BY Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Flour for my gluten-free recipes so with that, ladies and gentlemen, I give you the ultimate go-to birthday baked good! It’s chewy and moist with the correct density and texture of a “real” cupcake while incorporating various intolerance’s. It’s pretty much amazing! I also love the other book from these authors and have it on the cookbook shelf, Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar.

Culinate, who also posted this recipe suggested Vegan Fluffy Buttercream Frosting or Not-Too-Sweet Blueberry Mousse for a topping but since I was short on time I just picked up a ready-made can from the grocery store and let people frost themselves. Okay…short on time AND lazy.

Golden Vanilla Cupcakes

Yield: 12 cupcakes
Ingredients
1 c. Soy Milk
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 1/4 c. Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Flour
2 tbsp. cornstarch
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 c. canola oil
3/4 c. sugar
2 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners.
Whisk the soy milk and vinegar in a measuring cup and set aside for a 4-5 minutes to get good and curdled.
Beat together the soy milk mixture, oil, sugar, vanilla, and vanilla in a large bowl.
Sift in the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and mix until no large lumps remain.
Fill cupcake liners two-thirds of the way and bake for 20 to 22 minutes.
Transfer to a cooling rack, and let cool completely before frosting.