Kyra's Perfect Gluten-Free Picnic

By Guest Blogger, Kyra Bussanich of Crave Bake Shop

My husband and I are both avid hikers, and because we are obsessed
with good food, a hike is an opportunity for a picnic. Food always
tastes better when you've physically exerted yourself, but it's not
necessary to travel far in order to enjoy a good picnic. A lot of
public parks have free summer concerts where you can bring food and a
cozy blanket and enjoy the live music.

I absolutely adore picnics! I prefer to spread a blanket out on the
grass and take off my shoes and squinch up my toes in the cool grass,
but in Portland it tends to rain--a lot--so sometimes we light candles
and have a picnic in our living room. Because I always get so excited
about the prospect of picnic dinner, I often end up overpacking and we
end up with enough food for 6 people in addition to us! It's a great
way to make friends (human or furry!) at parks.

Absolutely critical in our picnic dinner baskets:

• Manchego or Beechers Flagship cheese
• Quince paste (and a butter knife or cheese spreader)
• Pears
• Seedless grapes
• Cold turkey breast or fried chicken (we make our own chicken using a
• Combination of rice flour and erewhon corn flakes as a breading)
• Kalamata olives
• Baby carrots and boursin or rondele cheese
• Pinot gris
• Cheese board and slicer
• Wine bottle opener and glasses

A Few Dairy-Free Replacements

• Use roasted red pepper or garlic hummus for the baby carrots (in lieu of the boursin).
• Replace the cheeses with avocado and cucumber sandwiches.  Use the cukes as the "bread".
• Spread the avocado over Rudis toasted multigrain sandwich bread with roast beef or turkey and lettuce (see other ideas for using avocado as a dairy replacement)

Sometimes we'll add the Glutino Multigrain Crackers to our basket, but
there's always dessert.

Picnic Desserts (of Course)

Dairy free truffle brownies (see my recipe) travel really well; just wrap them
individually in waxed paper and store in a small container with firm
sides, or pack them on top of the picnic basket so as you're
unpacking, you can get excited about the dessert to follow the meal.

Other picnic treats that travel well: lemon bars or blackberry crumb
bars, or rice crispy bars (or my favorite: peanut butter fudge rice
crispy bars--the recipe will be in my upcoming cookbook). I also adore
chocolate-dipped strawberries, which are super easy and don't require
you to turn on the oven, which is a bonus if it is super hot out.

How to Make Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Melt good-quality chocolate in a microwave-safe container at 15 second intervals, stirring in between each interval, until the chocolate is smooth. Then just dip your washed and dried strawberries into the chocolate and place on waxed paper or parchment paper and let the chocolate set.

A picnic basket isn't necessary: a small cooler, open top basket or
even a backpack will do!

About Kyra

Kyra BussanichKyra Bussanich is the owner of Crave Bake Shop, and the first gluten-free winner of the Food Network's Famed, "Cupcakes Wars".  Kyra graduated with honors from the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu patisserie program, which gave her a solid foundation of knowledge about classical French baking techniques which she was able to apply toward baking gluten-free.  Kyra was diagnosed with an auto-immune disorder when she was 20 years old. Part of staying healthy meant switching to a gluten-free diet, avoiding all wheat and overly processed foods. Whenever possible, she uses local ingredients, and serves customers with multiple allergies, as well.

Truffle Fudge Brownies from Crave Bake Shop (GF, DF)

Recipe Back Story

Copyright 2011 and published with permission from Kyra Bussanich, Crave Bake Shop

When I could still eat gluten, I often made scratch brownies for potlucks and parties. Since I prefer a fudgy, not cakey brownie, I always underbaked the recipe just slightly so the center would be very moist and fudgy. This recipe makes SUPER fudgy brownies (so fudgy in fact, that when the brownies are finished baking, the toothpick inserted in the center of the pan won’t come out clean, like with most cakes. If the toothpick does come out clean, chances are high that you have overbaked the brownies!)

I’ve successfully converted these to be Paleo as well (see recipe here). This recipe is also fantastic made with coffee in place of the water. It bumps up the dark chocolate flavor without giving a discernable coffee taste.

Ingredients

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup potato starch (not potato flour)
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Yields 12 super-rich brownies

Put it All Together

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil an 8-inch square baking pan and then line with parchment paper so the ends extend up over the top of the pan. Lightly oil the parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine the cocoa powder, potato starch, tapioca flour, sugar and salt. Whisk in the eggs, oil, water and vanilla extract. Stir until well combined and uniform in texture.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the brownies comes out almost clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Let the brownies cool completely in the pan and then refrigerate in the pan for 1 hour. Using the ends of the parchment paper, lift the brownies out of the pan and cut into squares.

About Kyra

Kyra Bussanich is the owner of Crave Bake Shop, and the first gluten-free winner of the Food Network's Famed, "Cupcakes Wars".  Kyra graduated with honors from the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu patisserie program, which gave her a solid foundation of knowledge about classical French baking techniques which she was able to apply toward baking gluten-free.  Kyra was diagnosed with an auto-immune disorder when she was 20 years old. Part of staying healthy meant switching to a gluten-free diet, avoiding all wheat and overly processed foods. Whenever possible, she uses local ingredients, and serves customers with multiple allergies, as well.

More Posts from Kyra

Kyra's Baking Class:  Replacing Common Ingredients in Allergen-Free Baking

Truffle Fudge Brownies from Crave Bake Shop (Paleo Version)

Paleo Version

Copyright 2011 and published with permission from Kyra Bussanich, Crave Bake Shop

This is the Paleo Version of the gluten-free and dairy-free truffle brownie.  Like the other recipe this makes SUPER fudgy brownies (so fudgy in fact, that when the brownies are finished baking, the toothpick inserted in the center of the pan won’t come out clean, like with most cakes. If the toothpick does come out clean, chances are high that you have overbaked the brownies!)

I actually like to put ginger and cinnamon and cardamom and chili pepper and make it chai spiced!

This recipe is also fantastic made with coffee in place of the water. It bumps up the dark chocolate flavor without giving a discernable coffee taste.

Ingredients

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup GF coconut flour
1/4 cup GF almond flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups agave syrup
4 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water (or coffee)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Yields 12 super-rich brownies

Put it All Together

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil an 8-inch square baking pan and then line with parchment paper so the ends extend up over the top of the pan. Lightly oil the parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine the cocoa powder, coconut flour, almond flour and salt. Whisk in the eggs, oil, water, agave, and vanilla extract. Stir until well combined and uniform in texture.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the brownies comes out almost clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let the brownies cool completely in the pan and then refrigerate in the pan for 1 hour. Using the ends of the parchment paper, lift the brownies out of the pan and cut into squares.

About Kyra

Kyra Bussanich is the owner of Crave Bake Shop, and the first gluten-free winner of the Food Network's Famed, "Cupcakes Wars".  Kyra graduated with honors from the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu patisserie program, which gave her a solid foundation of knowledge about classical French baking techniques which she was able to apply toward baking gluten-free.  Kyra was diagnosed with an auto-immune disorder when she was 20 years old. Part of staying healthy meant switching to a gluten-free diet, avoiding all wheat and overly processed foods. Whenever possible, she uses local ingredients, and serves customers with multiple allergies, as well.

More Posts from Kyra

Kyra's Baking Class:  Replacing Common Ingredients in Allergen-Free Baking

Kyra's Baking Class: Replacing Common Ingredients

Welcome to New guest blogger, Kyra Bussanich!  Kyra is the first gluten-free winner EVER of the Food Network's Cupcakes Wars and owner of Crave Bake Shop in Portland Oregon.  Once a month will be helping us with tips and tricks to allergen-free baking -- how lucky are we!  Plus, she will be sharing some of her wonderful recipes.  Thank you for jumping on the blog, Kyra, and for becoming part of the Tender Foodie community.

~ Elisabeth Veltman

The Three Legs of Baking

There are three legs to fantastic baking: gluten, eggs, and sugar.

Each contributes something to the texture and structure of the final product, and when you have already replaced one of the legs of the stool, it makes it more difficult to successfully swap out the remaining two legs without adversely affecting flavor or texture (or both).  This is why gluten-free and egg-free baking present such a challenge. 

So in this first post, I'm going to offer an overview of replacements for some of the common allergens in baking, offer my opinions on them, and help you understand how they react together.  This kind of understanding is a first step in making some baking magic in the kitchen.

Egg Replacements

I personally am not a fan of egg-replacers in bread, or most baked goods that need structure.  Sandwich bread, for instance, needs a lot of structure.  That said, you can swap out things like ground flaxmeal for the eggs, but it WILL affect the flavor and the texture. That's not to say it can't be delicious; but it WILL be different.

Yeast Replacements (for Rising)

To replace yeast, I use mechanical leavening in the form of baking powder or baking soda.

If you use baking soda, there should be some sort of acid to enact the baking soda (vinegar, apple cider viegar, lemon juice). The trick is to get the bread to rise without tasting too tangy from the baking soda and acid.

My Favorite Gluten-Free Flours

I adore millet flour, sorghum, teff, quinoa (which is spendy) and sweet white rice flour (mochiko)!  I prefer teff flour over buckwheat for that dark, almost nutty taste and texture!

Difference in Gluten-Free Flours

When formulating our products at Crave, I really went back to basics and studied the protein content of the different "gluteny" flours and how that affected the texture of the baked goods. 

For instance:

Pastry flour: has a relatively low protein content of around 9% which helps make very light, flaky crusts and cookies. 

Bagels:   are made with "high-gluten" flour which has a protein content of 14% to make the bagels dense and chewy.

These differences in protein may not seem like much, but when you think about the finished product (like pie crust versus bagels) you see that the protein content of the flours results in completely different textures. I'm simplifying a lot here, but the point I'm making is that instead of using a one-stop "all purpose" mix for everything, I tailor each recipe according to the texture I want the finished product to have, and I select various gluten-free flours and starches based on their protein content.

So, when I'm making bagels, I want them to have a higher protein content than our cakes, so I use sorghum and millet flour (and sometimes teff), instead of starchier components. I realize this doesn't adequately answer this question, so let me retrace my steps...

The Protein Differences in Gluten-free Flours

Because gluten-free flours tend overall to be very refined and starchier than wheat flours, and because they are missing that vital protein for structure and elasticity, it is imperative to add extra protein or binders into gluten-free bread recipes.

Sometimes I simply add additional egg whites; sometimes I use xanthan gum, and sometimes I use psyllium seeds. I've heard of other places also using gelatin for stretch, but I don't prefer to go that route.

Xanthan Gum -- How it works & What to Replace it With

Xanthan gum is a binder, acting much in the way of gluten in terms of holding everything together. And just like gluten, the more you work it, the stronger it acts (so don't overmix your dough)! With xanthan gum, as with gluten, baked goods will shrink up after they're baked if you've played with the dough too long or too vigorously.

Other binding agents: guar gum, ground psyllium seeds, gelatin, agar agar...the list goes on!

Dairy Replacements

Rice milk, or almond milk, if you can tolerate nuts. Coconut milk if you're making a sweeter bread or for dinner rolls.  Or, you could just use eggs and no milk at all, if you can tolerate the eggs!

No "One Size Fits All" Replacement Method

I find that there is no all-purpose formula for replacements (I know you don't like this answer!).  A lot of it depends on the ratio of flours to hydration, what you're using to hydrate, and then the other ingredients that are present in the recipe. I'm sorry I can't be more help, but sometimes I find that I might need 1 tablespoon of xanthan per cup of flour or starch and other times that's just way too much and 1/4 teaspoon will do.  See what I mean?

Hopefully this answers some of your "why's" and "wherefore's" of how allergen-free baking is different.  I'll see you next month with more tips.  If you have any questions, post them here!  Or give the Tender Foodie an E-Jingle.  I'll do my best to include answers to them in upcoming posts whenever possible!

About Kyra

Kyra Bussanich is the owner of Crave Bake Shop, and the first gluten-free winner of the Food Network's Famed, "Cupcakes Wars".  Kyra graduated with honors from the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu patisserie program, which gave her a solid foundation of knowledge about classical French baking techniques which she was able to apply toward baking gluten-free.  Kyra was diagnosed with an auto-immune disorder when she was 20 years old. Part of staying healthy meant switching to a gluten-free diet, avoiding all wheat and overly processed foods. Whenever possible, she uses local ingredients, and serves customers with multiple allergies, as well.

REVIEW: Crave Bake Shop (Let's move to Oregon)

 

The Box Arrives

When I interviewed Kyra Bussanich, the owner of Crave Gluten Free Bake Shop, I laughed when she said that her shipping boxes were tightly wrapped and covered with bright orange "fragile" stickers.  But she wasn't kidding.  My box arrived like it was going to war.  But when I opened it, a few tasty little friends were happily looking up at me from their crisp white bakery box.  Unbroken.  Unharmed.  Waiting to be devoured.

Those little friends were called Peanut Butter Ring Ding Swiss Rolls and Grasshopper Mint Brownies.  My inner kid was clapping. 

Last December, Kyra and I discussed the bake shop's process to prevent cross contamination.  Kyra knows what she is doing.  There is no spelt, rye, wheat, triticale in the bakery.  She sources from tested gluten-free manufacturers.  I had also sent her my allergen list, so I was confident that these treats would be safe for me to eat. As I speak to more restaurant and bakery owners, I"m finding that when the owner of a foodie establishment has serious food restrictions themselves, they tend to be much more knowledgeable about food allergy practices.

 Peanut Butter Ring Dings

Peanut Butter Ring Dings (forefront); Grasshopper Mint Brownie (back)

I tried the Peanut Butter Ring Dings first, partly because brownies are my favorite food of all time (wait.... no, they are pretty much my favorite food of all time) and I wanted to save them for last.  I also enlisted a few non-food-allergic taste testers:  my mom and my friend Val.  Kyra was the first gluten-free baker to ever win Cupcake Wars, so this tasting responsibility was not to be done alone. 

My mom took the first bite and exclaimed, "Oh these are amazing!  These are gluten-free?"  When I replied yes, she had another question, "Where are these from?"  When I responded with "Oregon", she said with finality, "Oh, we are moving to Oregon." 

What I appreciated most about the ring ding was that the cake was really light and fluffy.  Even with the advances in gluten-free baking lately, these are two rare qualities in a gluten-free cake. 

The cake and filling had also retained their moisture, even though the intended arrival was a day late (thanks Postmaster).  The hard chocolate shells that surrounded each ring ding may have had something to do with that.  The peanut butter, dairy-free "cream" was also light and the peanut butter taste was surprisingly delicate.  I'm not used to peanut butter anything being delicate, and I liked it.  The chocolate shell, however, was a little too thick to let you truly recognize the lightness of the cake and filling, so I removed half of the chocolate shell.  When I did so, I could better appreciate the talent that went into the cake and the filling. Please note that this is more of an observation rather than a complaint.  The peanut butter ring dings are delish.

I saved a second set of treats for the next day.  They were still surprisingly fresh.   I asked my friend Val stop by to get another opinion.  She grew up with a celiac sister, so she has tasted many a gluten-free item, plus her taste buds are accustomed to wheat.   I left off part of the shell for her first bite and she started raving and repeating the, "This is really gluten-free?" question over and over.   Then she said, "Hey, where's the rest of the chocolate?  Hand it over.  That's mine."  The ring ding, plus complete chocolate coating, was her favorite.

Grasshopper Mint Brownies

 Grasshopper Mint Brownie

I have been searching for the world's best brownie ever since I popped forth from the womb.  For nearly 10 years, I had also made it my mission to find the best 2 am. grilled cheese and bacon sandwich in Manhattan.  With the onset of my allergies I've had to give up one search (seriously, a gluten-free, dairy-free grilled cheese is possible?), but not my quest for the best brownie. 

Wheatless or not, my standards remain high.  I still want the perfect mix of chewy, moist and only slightly cakey.  I still want the chocolate to have depth and a nice finish.  Yes, I'm serious.  Chocolate is like wine.  You don't want your brownie to leave you hanging.

I've tasted some very good gluten-free brownies within the last decade.  BabyCakes Bakery in New York City serves a lovely brownie bite.  My own brownie tart recipe, though quite rich, is one of my favorites, too.  Until now.

Crave makes the best brownies I've ever tasted.  The texture of the brownie itself was heavenly.  Chewy, moist, just a hint of  cakey - all there.  The mint "cream" was a nice surprise.  At first, I was unsure.  There was a lot of it and I wanted just a little more brownie.  So I tried the brownie alone.  Perfect.   I tried the mint cream alone and I was amazed at the perfect balance of fresh mint flavor.  I absolutely loved the two layers together.   I wanted more.  Usually mint flavored baked goods have a rather fake taste to them, which I find offputting.  Crave's mint, however, was fresh and satisfying.  I miss that grasshopper mint brownie. 

In fact, my annual birthday brownies are coming from Crave this year, and I"m going to order a bunch. 

Find Crave

www.cravebakeshop.com

LOCATION: 460 5TH STREET, LAKE OSWEGO, OR 97034

PHONE: 503.212.2979 | FAX: 503.212.2978

EMAIL: INFO@CRAVEBAKESHOP.COM

HOURS: TUE-FRI 8am - 5pm, SAT 8am - 4pm

 Full length view: Grasshopper Mint Brownie