3/20/2018

Irish Soda Bread (gluten free, vegan, oil free, soy free, yeast free)

Irish Soda Bread



(gluten free, vegan, soy free, yeast free, oil free)



You can't imagine how much I miss bread. It's really hard to live in a bread-based cuisine, where wherever you pass by when walking around, it always smells like freshly baked bread and dough.

Austria has a really strong bread based cuisine. There is a bakery right around the corner, no matter where you are. In the subway, on the street, in restaurants, school,... everyone is eating bread.

Breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner, when it has to be quick, it's always bread.

And then there is me: I can't eat gluten. I could buy gluten free bread, yes, but that contains yeast, and very often an other rising or "sticking" urgent. Both are upsetting my stomach, because of my histamine intolerance. So no bread for me. And what about making my own bread? I've tried hundreds of times, failing all over again because it either ends up rock hard or it doesn't cook properly. Most of the time it doesn't rise either.

I almost quit trying, before I had a small success last year. The recipe for this one little success is already up on the blog. You can find it in the "bread" section. The only thing with this is, that I had to use yeast. I was fine eating it once or twice, but the more pieces I had, the more my body was telling me to stop eating it, before I eventually ended up bloated again.

But not anymore! This Irish Soda Bread recipe doesn't need any yeast. It uses, as the name says, Baking Soda as rising agent. And it works with gluten free flour! I couldn't be happier! The original version, which is not gluten free, is actually by Sweet Simple Vegan (you can find the recipe here). I changed the ingredients to make it not only gluten free, but also oil free.

The consistency reminds me of an English Scone. It's soft, but also breaking apart easily without being overly dry! So, if you want this to be something more like a Scone, see Tipps down below. Also, if you want this to be a little more savory, also look at the Tipps. Other than that, let's jump right into the recipe.

Side note: I made little bread rolls, using a muffin tin. If you want to make a big loaf, cooking time will vary, so keep in mind to adjust as needed!

Irish Soda Bread

Serves: 6 "Muffins"
Cooking time: 35 to 40 minutes (gluten free flour won't get much color, so make a toothpick test after 35 minutes or take one out. If the bottom sounds hollow when "knocking", it's done)
Preparation time: 10 to 15 minutes



Ingredients



  • 3/4 cup / 180g unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant milk of choice)
  • 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 2 cups / 250g gluten free flour blend (or normal flour if you can have gluten)
  • 1/4 cup / 35g raisins (optional but highly recommended! You can use more or less)
  • 1/4 cup / 75g granulated sugar 
  • 1/2 tbsp / 7g flax meal (ground flax seeds) or chia seeds
  • 1/2 tbsp / 3g corn starch
  • 1 tbsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tbsp salt (for a more savory version, add a little more)
  • 1 tbsp / 15g cashew butter (or any other nut butter of choice - however, it will affect the flavor of your end product if your nut butter has a strong taste to it)
  • 1/2 tbsp caraway seeds (optional - this is called "Kümmel" in German - weird, isn't it?)




Instructions

  • preheat the oven to 200°C
  • in a bowl, mix almond milk and apple cider vinegar and let sit for 10 minutes. The mixture will "cuttle" and create your buttermilk. 
  • in a different bowl, mix together all the other ingredients and whisk well. 
  • Create a whole in the middle and add the buttermilk mixture inside. 
  • Mix until a dough is formed, kneed the dough with your hands. If it's too wet, add a little more flour.
  • Split the dough into equal pieces and form little balls.
  • Put the balls into a lined or greased muffin tin and cut little X shapes on top of them (to make them bake more evenly)
  • Put into the oven for 35 to 40 minutes (gluten free flour won't get much color, so make a toothpick test after 35 minutes or take one out. If the bottom sounds hollow when "knocking", it's done) and let cool completely before serving.
Tipp:
For a more "Scone" like version, I'd suggest you to add a little more raisins, sugar and leave out the caraway seeds.
For a more savory version, add more salt as suggested above.
I served mine with some cranberry jam. 
Serving size differs from person to person. I, personally, would have 2 rolls with jam, nut butter and some fruit (like banana, berries, ...) and maybe some plant yogurt on the side as a meal and 1 roll as a snack. But as I said, that depends from person to person and also from hunger cues. 

3/15/2018

Germknödel Granola (Vanilla Poppyseed Granola with Dried Prunes) (gluten free, vegan, soy free, refined sugar free, oil free)

Germknödel Granola (Vanilla Poppyseed Granola with Dried Prunes)



(gluten free, vegan, soy free, refined sugar free, oil free)


Growing up, Germknödel was one of my favorite meals ever! In case you have no idea what I'm talking about, Germknödel is a typical Austrian dish, made of a sweet yeast dumpling with a sweet prune-jam filling, served with either melted butter or vanilla sauce and a looooot of poppy seeds and sugar on top!

It's absolutely amazing and warming during winter time, and even better when eaten on an ice cold day during a quick break from skiing.

This Granola recipe is inspired by all the flavors of a typical Germknödel, so if you don't know what I'm talking about, you'll know when you try it!

Germknödel Granola

Serves: 1 huge Jar
Cooking time: 20 to 30 minutes (flip after 10 to 15 minutes)
Preparation time: 5 minutes



Ingredients


  • 300g gf rolled oats (not quick oats!)
  • 50g buckwheat groats
  • 20g flax seeds
  • 30g almonds, roughly chopped
  • 60g agave nectar (or coconut syrup)
  • 60g tahini (or almond butter/cashew butter)
  • vanilla essence or vanilla bean paste/powder to taste (adjust before baking, you should really be able to taste the vanilla here - if you don't have access to vanilla like that, you can also add a pack of vanilla sugar but keep it mind, it's not refined sugar free anymore if you do so)
  • 10 to 20g poppy seeds, depending on how strong you want it to taste like poppy seeds (make sure to not use poppy seed filling!) 
  • 40g to 60g dried prunes, chopped (add as much as you wish)
  • a pinch of salt
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 60g almond vanilla milk (or soy vanilla milk or any other plant based milk of choice)



Instructions

  • preheat the oven to 180°C
  • mix all your ingredients (except the dried prunes) and spread onto a lined baking tray
  • bake for approximately 10 to 15 minutes, then take it out of the oven, give it a stir and add the dried prunes
  • bake for another 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown (make sure the dried prunes don't burn)
  • let cool or serve immediately 
  • enjoy!

3/09/2018

Maple Vanilla Granola (gluten free, vegan, soy free, refined sugar free, oil free)

Maple Vanilla Granola



(gluten free, vegan, soy free, refined sugar free, oil free)


Never thought I'd ever say that, but sometimes I just don't want chocolate. That's when I love to have some Maple Vanilla Granola on hand.

I usually make really small batches of it and eat half of it when it comes out of the oven on top of some coconut yogurt or almond yogurt, or just with some fruit and plant milk.

The other half usually lasts me another serving, either when I'm snacking or just munching on something, or I'll have it as breakfast or snack throughout the week.

If you like to make bigger batches of Granola, feel free to double or triple the recipe!

Maple Vanilla Granola

Serves: 2
Cooking time: 20 minutes (flip after 10 minutes)
Preparation time: 5 minutes



Ingredients

  • 100g gf rolled oats (not quick oats!)
  • 20g sliced or chopped almonds
  • vanilla extract or powder to taste
  • a pinch of salt
  • 30g maple syrup
  • 30g tahini (or almond butter)
  • a dash of almond milk
  • optional but highly suggested: 20g raisins (or dried cranberries)



Instructions

  • preheat the oven to 180°C
  • mix all your ingredients (except the raisins) and spread onto a lined baking tray
  • cook for approximately 10 minutes, then take it out of the oven, give it a stir and add the raisins
  • cook for another 10 minutes or until golden brown (make sure the raisins don't burn)
  • let cool or serve immediately 
  • enjoy!