Making Your Own GF Mixes

Some of the mixes we took on vacation to Grandma's house: Two bread mixes, a pizza crust mix, a pancake mix, and a Chocolate Chip Cookie mix.


I make a lot of GF mixes to save time and make my baking simpler. I usually mix up a big batch of the Bread Flour Mix A from Annalise Roberts "Gluten Free Baking Classics" and then make a half dozen or so bread mixes that I can keep on hand. I just line up a half dozen containers with lids, and then measure each dry ingredient (except for the yeast) into my containers assembly-line style. (I use powdered milk in my baking so I actually measure in the dry equivalent of the milk, and then just add warm water instead of milk when I mix it up. In my case 3 T. of milk powder equals 3/4 c. of milk.) When you have all your ingredients in put the lids on tight and shake it up. If you don't shake it well and mix all your dry ingredients up, you get dry powdery lumps (probably from the sugar or gelatin). One of the nice things about her bread recipe is that she uses the same dry ingredients for sandwich bread, hamburgerand hot dog buns and dinner rolls, so I can use my bread mixes to make several different baked goods.

My strategy for other baked goods is this: Whenever I bake something that I don't already have a mix on hand for I have made a habit of making a couple of mixes along side my recipe. That way the next couple of times I bake that recipe, I won't have to bother mixing up the dry ingredients. You can make any mix, by combining your dry ingredients (except for yeast) in a container that can be sealed airtight, or a zipper-style plastic bag. Make sure you shake it up well, and label it.

My Mama's Enchiladas (naturally gluten free)

My mom always made these enchiladas growing up and I love them! My recipe probably doesn't match hers exactly, but it is pretty close. I was pretty happy when I realized that they were easy to make gluten free, and even happier when I made them and my boys gobbled them up! My mom made them with ground beef when I was a kid, but I use ground turkey.


My Mama's Enchiladas

1 medium onion, diced fine
1 pound of lean ground turkey (not turkey breast!) or ground beef
1 15 oz. can of GF enchilada sauce (I usually use Rosarita, a ConAgra brand)
1 15 oz. can of refried beans (Rosarita again, usually green chile and lime, but any flavor will do)
1 small can of sliced black olives
about 12 GF corn tortillas (I usually use Great Value or Mission)
shredded cheddar cheese
pan spray
sour cream for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8x8 Pyrex casserole dish or similar pan. Brown the ground meat with the onion until the meat is no longer pink and the onion is soft. Drain the meat if necessary. In a mixing bowl combine the meat, refried beans, olives, 1/3 c. of enchilada sauce. Stir to combine. Lightly (!) spray each tortilla and pile them up on a plate, cover with a damp microwave safe paper towel, and cook on high in the microwave for 30-60 seconds until pile is warmed through. (This helps keep the tortillas from cracking.) Pour about 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce in the bottom of your pan and spread it around. Let tortillas cool until you can handle them and then fill with about a 1/3 -1/2 cup of filling. Roll up the tortillas and fill the pan. (I usually do a row of 8 or so across, 2 along the side and a funny little square one in the corner.) Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Cover with tinfoil and heat in the oven until warm and bubbly. Remove tinfoil and top with cheese. Return to oven long enough to melt the cheese. Serve with sour cream.

You can also cook these in the microwave. If I'm in a hurry or if I don't want to heat up the house by turning on the oven I often do. The only difference that I can tell is that the edges get a little crunchy in the oven, but not in the microwave. Skip the tinfoil, cover with a microwave-proof paper towel, heat through until bubbly, top with cheese and heat through just long enough to melt the cheese.

It should be fairly easy to find gluten free ingredients for this recipe. I've listed a few of the brands that I use above, check the labels before you use them. I called ConAgra and they told me they label for gluten and the beans and enchilada sauce are gluten free.

Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread

I thought this was a pretty loaf of gluten-free sandwich bread. I used the recipe from Annalise Roberts' Gluten-Free Baking Classics. This loaf is actually a couple of days old, but it is still nice and soft.

I get so many requests for the recipe, I thought I would come back and post a link to the recipe at Annalise Robert's web site, where you can find a recipe for a slightly larger loaf of sandwich bread than the one in her book, and many other recipes.

Here's a link to the bread pans I use, I find these Chicago Metallic pans don't overbrown the bread like my old non-stick or glass pans did.

Gluten-free Au Gratin Potatoes

Today we had a gluten-free Easter feast. I made au gratin potatoes to go with the Ridge Creek spiral sliced ham from Sam's Club (clearly labeled gluten free), green beans amd fruit salad. I combined a couple of recipes and replaced the thickening flour with sweet rice flour. I thought they turned out really well. Here's the recipe.

Gluten-free Au Gratin Potatoes

5-6 medium potatoes, peeled and diced in 1/2" pieces, or thinly sliced
1 cup of water
3 T. butter
2 T. sweet rice flour
1 tsp. salt
pepper to taste
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Combine potatoes and water in 2-quart glass dish, cover and microwave on high for about 10 minutes, stirring every five minutes, and then uncovered for 5 minutes until potatoes are done and water is gone. (If potatoes are done and water remains, drain it off.) In a sauce pan, melt the butter, and whisk in the flour, salt and pepper and cook briefly. Heat your milk in the microwave and whisk the milk into the flour. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Stir in all but 1/3 cup of cheese. Stir until melted. Pour over potatoes in casserole dish and stir to combine. Top with remaining cheese. Cook uncovered in a 375-degree oven until cheese melts and begins to brown, about 15-20 minutes.


Sweet rice flour is a very handy gluten-free product. I use it to make white sauce, and for thickening soups, sauces and gravies. I find it that it doesn't get gelatinous when it gets cold like a sauce thickened with corn starch. I buy boxes of Koda Farms brand at a nearby Japanese market.

Pears or Apples with Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cobbler

This recipe uses Annalise Roberts' Brown Rice Flour Mix. The recipe can be found at www.foodphilosopher.com/assets/docs/glutfree.cfm

Pears or Apples with Gluten Free Gingerbread Cobbler
4 medium pears or apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 cup water
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup Splenda or brown sugar
1 T. cornstarch
1 T. cold water

3/4 cup Brown Rice Flour Mix
3 T. granulated sugar
2 tsp. buttermilk powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. xanthum gum
3 T. canola oil
3 T. molasses
3 T. hot water
1 egg yolk

whipping cream
Splenda

Spray and 8x8" Pyrex pan with cooking spray. Combine the pears, water, lemon juice and cinnamon in pan and stir. Cook in the microwave for 3 minutes. Stir, being sure to scoop the pears in the corners toward the center of the dish. Cook for another 3 minutes and stir again. Add the Splenda or brown sugar and stir it in. Mix the cornstarch into the cold water and stir it into the apple mixture. Cook for 2 minutes stirring halfway or until the mixture is slightly thickened.

While your fruit is cooking mix up your gingerbread cobbler. In a mixing bowl combine the Brown Rice Flour Mix, buttermilk powder, sugar, baking soda, spices, salt and xanthum gum. Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly with a whisk before adding the wet ingredients. Add the canola oil, molasses, hot water, and the egg yolk. Stir just until well blended. Drop by spoonfuls on top of the fruit. Return to the microwave and cook for 5-6 minutes, until the top is no longer wet and a toothpick comes out clean. Let it cool for a few minutes before removing it from the microwave (the fruit will be boiling hot). Whip the cream and sweeten with Splenda. Serve warm or cold.

I love this recipe. It is so easy to make in the microwave and has the texture of a steamed cake or pudding, but the gingerbread isn't gummy. It's the perfect dessert for a cold evening.

A couple of tips for diabetics. I don't like to bake with Splenda, it rarely turns out well. But Splenda works wonderfully in fruit and in whipping cream, so cut your carbs there and use portion control. If you aren't worried about carbs or calories, use sugar in the fruit and whipping cream. You could also use the Gingerbread Cake recipe from Gluten Free Baking Classics, or another GF gingerbread cake mix, but you only need 1 to 1 1/2 cups of batter. It doesn't look like much while it is raw, but the batter expands significantly and you don't want to boil it over in your microwave. (You could always make cupcakes out of the leftover batter.)

GF Microwave Caramel Popcorn

This recipe was the result of three things. First, my son made a snow globe for a kindergarten 3-D weather project, and after filling it up with corn syrup and water, I had LOTS of corn syrup left over. Second, I have been trying to think of or find recipes that are naturally gluten free. And third, I live in Las Vegas, and I spend the 6 months of the year that are blazing hot trying to avoid my oven, so I'm always looking for ways to use my microwave. I was so excited when this recipe worked.

Decadent 8-cup version.

Microwave Caramel Corn
8-16 cups popped popcorn (see note)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 unsalted butter, sliced into 4 pieces
1/8 c. light corn syrup
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. baking soda

(If you don't have an air popper, you can pop popcorn in the microwave. Take a brown paper lunch bag, put 1/3 cup of unpopped popcorn kernels in it, roll down the top a couple of times. Place it standing up, not on its side, in the microwave. Use your popcorn setting, or pop it for 2-3 minutes, and listen for the pops to slow down. When there is about 2 seconds between pops, or when you can see that your bag is about to overflow, your popcorn is done. My microwave has kind of a wimpy popcorn setting, so I hit it and then add 20 seconds. That gives me a full bag of popcorn, which is about 8 cups. ) Added 5/12/09: Apparently you can start a fire with a paper bag in some microwaves. I haven't had a problem, but I saw an online discussion where someone had. Anyway, you might want to check your microwave's manual or buy a microwave popcorn popper. At any rate be careful!

Once your popcorn is popped, dump it in a big bowl, shake it a little so the "old maids" fall down into the bottom. Then transfer the popcorn by hand to another large microwave safe bowl, leaving the old maids in the first bowl. Discard the old maids. Spray a large spoon lightly with pan spray and leave it with your bowl of popcorn. Tear off a couple of large sheets of waxed paper or tinfoil and spread them out on the counter.

In a 2-quart glass bowl, combine brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, salt and vanilla. Heat it for 1 minute 30 seconds on high, then take the bowl out and stir it (I use a wire whisk) until it is well combined. Return the bowl to the microwave, and cook it for another minute. Pay attention, you do not want to burn it or let it overflow, you do want it to really boil. Remove it from the microwave and stir in the baking soda. Working quickly, dribble the syrup over the popcorn. Use the spoon you sprayed and stir/toss the popcorn to coat it with caramel. Stick the bowl back in the microwave for 30 seconds, and then stir the popcorn again. Repeat this two times for a total of 1 minute 30 seconds, and 3 stirs. Spread the popcorn out on the waxed paper and let it cool until the coating is set. Store it in an airtight container.

My microwave is an 1100 watt microwave. Microwaves vary. Check the wattage on your microwave. You will have to vary the cooking times accordingly. If your microwave has less wattage you probably will have to cook the caramel and the popcorn longer. If your microwave has a higher wattage, you might need less time, or you could reduce the power and try using the same times. In any event, pay attention to it while it is cooking, use your eyes and your nose. You do not want to burn the caramel or popcorn, if you can help it, because it will make a stinky mess. Be very careful when you are handling the hot caramel; you can really burn yourself with it. You could vary this recipe by adding nuts, or other fun ingredients, to the popcorn.

Yummy 16-cup version.

Note: If you use 16 cups of popcorn you are going to have lightly coated, but still delicious, caramel popcorn. If you use 8 cups you will have decadent, sugary caramel corn. For every day snacking I usually make the 16 cup version, it doesn't mess the local diabetic up much. For a special occasion or holiday treats, make the sugary stuff. It's all really good. You could also double the caramel recipe and pour it over 16-cups of popcorn, however, you have to increase your cooking times by roughly half to get the same result.

Gluten-Free Pizza

I have made a lot of homemade pizza. Most of it was not gluten free. Every Friday night was pizza night at my house, and every Friday night every one was happy (who doesn't like pizza?), and everyone ate their dinner, it was fun to have my kids help me (read: eat cheese, pepperoni and olives), and it was more economical than going out. It was fun, but it was also a strategy. Pizzeria pizza used to really mess up my son's blood sugar. But if I made it at home and used white whole wheat flour, part-skim mozzarella, turkey pepperoni, and served it with a salad, it didn't affect him more than any other meal. (Well, except for the post-pizza gluten bellyache, but we didn't know that back then.) So when my son was diagnosed with celiac, that was one of the things I mourned: pizza night with the hubby and kids.

During the first few weeks after diagnosis, we tried a few GF pizza crust mixes. They were all nasty. And then I found Annelise Roberts' book "Gluten Free Baking Classics." My husband took one bite of her pizza crust, and said, "Hey, this is really good." And now thanks to her wonderful crust recipe we are back to having pizza night.

Gluten-free pizza toppings.

For toppings, I use generally use Walmart's Great Value pizza sauce, sliced olives, and part-skim mozzarella, with Hormel's turkey pepperoni, and Canadian style bacon. They are all marked gluten free. Of course, your toppings are only limited by your imagination. (Her recipe is half whole grain, thanks to the millet and sorghum. Hormel's turkey pepperoni has been one of my favorite products for years: no one ever guesses it isn't regular pepperoni and it has 70 percent less fat in it.)

A pre-baked pizza crust.

The pizza dough is kind of like a really thick cake mix dough. The hardest part about making the pizza is spreading it out evenly in a circle. I have found that the easiest way to do that is to use a regular cookie sheet, spray it lightly and sprinkle it with corn meal. Then use an offset spatula sprayed with pan spray to spread the dough out. You let the dough rise for 30-40 minutes and pre-bake it. Then you cover it with your toppings and bake it again. The only change I've made to her recipe is to pre-bake it for 10 minutes instead of 15, and then to bake it with the toppings on it for 15 minutes instead of 10. We like our toppings a little more cooked than they were getting.

Piping hot turkey pepperoni and olive pizza.

My kids requested a "Hawaiian" pizza.

Each dough recipe makes one pizza. I usually make two pizzas for dinner. (I'd say they are about mediums.) That feeds two adults, two pizza-loving little boys and leaves ample for left-overs for the little boys' lunch the next day. I've found that you can bake two pizzas at once, but it works better if you make sure that the one that pre-bakes on the top shelf, is on the bottom shelf when you are baking your toppings, and vice versa.

For more information on "Gluten-Free Baking Classics" check out the link to the right to Annelise Roberts' Food Philosopher web site. Or check out my earlier posts about her book.

Note to diabetics: 1/8 of a pizza is 24g of carbs, before toppings. I usually give a combo bolus over an hour and a half and split it half and half.