February cooking and entertaining in our house looks different than it does many other months of the year. There are fewer expectations and more space for the foods that quietly support the people who live there. There are no menus to plan for crowds, no tables to extend, no expectations to do all of the things. The holidays are long behind us now, and spring still seems far off.
In that quiet space, cooking for fun is possible again — at least for me it is. Curiosity also returns when life slows down for just a bit. Recently, curiosity came to me in the form of a new cookbook, “Gluten-Free Baking at Home” written by Jeffrey Larsen — a Christmas gift from my five-year-old daughter, thoughtfully chosen because my son and I both have wheat intolerances. What she didn’t realize when she was giving it was that it’s exactly the kind of cookbook I enjoy reading. It includes a lot of science, is written by a professional baker turned gluten-free and offers exact measurements, which I appreciate!
Learning a technique, revisiting a recipe that once felt intimidating or opening a cookbook simply because it looks interesting is a sort of personal challenge, and indulging curiosity helps push away the winter blues. In this case, it also helps avoid the price tags that come with ready-made, gluten-free baked goods for my son and me. If you buy gluten-free, you can sympathize!
High convenience costs aside, gluten-free baking — when done well — is less about restriction and more about attention. Without the gluten of traditional baking to rely on, it is hard to get the right texture. Structure comes from balance: moisture, fat, eggs, time and temperature. In professional kitchens, baking is about precision. You learn quickly that shortcuts don’t work, and while subbing one-to-one gluten-free flour for any recipe with regular flour works in many recipes, it doesn’t in all of them. At home, especially in winter, I have the luxury of a little more free time to focus on getting in right.
While I enjoy food and I certainly have my go-to list of beverage favorites, the search for yet another great food and drink pairing always sparks my curiosity. On a recent cold, snowy weekend, my interest landed squarely on testing gluten-free yeast breads and finding the right match for a Valentine’s cocktail I wanted to include in this article — Dubai Chocolate meets Espresso Martini paired with gluten-free pumpernickel, Comté, aged gouda (not smoked), local honey and toasted pistachios. After a few tries and some toddler sous-chef messes, I was happy with how it all came together.
This Valentine’s Day may Cupid’s arrow give you time and space to do some kitchen experimenting of your own!
Pumpernickel gluten free bread
(adapted from Jeffery Larsen’s “Gluten-Free Baking at Home”)
Ingredients
- 174 grams potato starch
- 1 gram sorghum flour
- 82 grams tapioca starch
- 2 tablespoons psyllium husk powder
- 2 tablespoons Ghirardelli 70% cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 28 grams dark brown sugar
- 7 grams instant yeast (1 packet)
- 1 teaspoon finely ground sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 9 oz. warm water
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil (1 tablespoon butter to brush top before baking)
- 133 grams sweet potato puree (1 large sweet potato peeled, cubed, boiled 15 minutes and pureed with 2 tablespoons of the boiling liquid)
- 85 grams molasses
Directions
- Prepare 1 large loaf pan with nonstick spray.
- Thoroughly mix all dry ingredients in a stand mixer. In a separate bowl, whisk water, oil, eggs, sweet potato puree and molasses. With a paddle attachment in the mixer with dry ingredients, slowly add wet ingredients while mixing on low speed just until it forms smooth batter.
- Smooth batter into the loaf pan, and brush with butter. Score the center of the loaf, and then lightly sprinkle with sea salt.
- Cover with damp towel and set in warm place to rise for 50 minutes and until loaf pan is full.
- Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 70 minutes. When done, gently turn out of the pan onto cooling rack.
- When cool, slice small squares, and serve with above accoutrements and the martini below.
Dubai chocolate espresso martini (for 2)
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz. Van Gogh vanilla vodka
- 1 oz. Godiva chocolate liquor
- 0.75 oz. Monin pistachio syrup
- 0.5 oz. heavy cream
- 1 oz. espresso
Directions
In a shaker, add espresso, pistachio syrup and heavy cream; stir until combined. Add ice, vodka and chocolate liquor. Shake vigorously, and strain between two glasses rimmed with chocolate and dipped in toasted pistachios, finely chopped.