RiceGuy

I recently saw a cooking show where they used corn flakes for an extra crispy coating, and it wasn't even specifically for gluten-free anything. Another recipe, they used cornstarch.

I've made more gluten-free pie crusts than I can count. Seriously. Been playing with flours and ideas quite a bit, and what has held true for pie crust is that no gums or binders will yield the best crusts. Also, a wheat crust is formulated with a considerable amount of fat, because that is what will defeat the gluten from forming long elastic structures. Otherwise you'd have bread dough. Since gluten-free flours do not hold together much on their own, they are on the opposite end of the scale in this regard. That is, rather than having to alter what would ordinarily make bread dough into pie crust dough, gluten-free dough is already a lot closer to being ideal for pie crust. Therefore, it doesn't require nearly as much fat.

I'd say, forget trying to force gluten-free pie dough to behave like wheat dough. But rather, take advantage of the characteristics it tends toward on it's own. Many gluten-free flours produce very good pie crusts, but the methods of working with the dough can be notably different from that of wheat dough.

What I've found for shaping the dough, is that it is quite easy to simply plop the dough in the middle of the pan, and press it out with your fingers. No rolling, plastic wrap or paper required. Only takes a few minutes once you've gotten the hang of it, and it won't stick to your fingers if the dough has been formulated well. The top crust is an altogether different matter however. I've found it easy to make a lattice crust or a crumble topping, but actually haven't tried to roll out a disc of dough to carefully position over a filled pie, as I don't have a roller (yet). Not sure how easily it would separate from the paper or plastic wrap either, which is why I haven't been in any hurry to buy a roller.

I think if you can describe what type of crust you're making, we'd have more applicable ideas for you.

Hi Riceguy,

 

I am not a big pancake cooker myself, but I did experiment with them when I first went gluten-free.  one flour that I found had great results was pea flour.  I don't know if that would work for you of course but might be worth trying.  I bought some split peas at the grocery and ground them up  into flour.  My pancakes were green from the pea color though, so kinda unusual looking.  But they did come out nice.  I suppose you could use yellow peas instead if you don't like green pancakes and spam.   I haven't tried making pancakes for quite a few years so I don't remember the recipe.  They came out nice and fluffy tho.

Actually, pea flour is one of my favorites, and it does make good pancakes. I do use the yellow one too However, it also requires more cooking than what is achieved in a pancake. So I get sick on them just the same as other legume flours.

I use a combo of sorghum superfine white, potato starch, tapioca starch. I actually went back to using my "gluten" recipe and subbing milk with buttermilk. All else stayed the same (including egg). I use extra light olive oil as a fat. I do cook in butter but found the recipe performs better using oil in the mix.

I had thought of trying carbonated water - club soda in place of buttermilk. I've seen a few recipes that use it and people rave about it.

I do find buttermilk is key to converting my recipe to gluten-free - really gives it "rise". The other thing is not to add too much liquid for a thicker pancake. Along that vein, what if you thinned the batter a bit? Or did you already try that? Thinner should cook more thoroughly.

I've also noticed they're super sensitive (more than gluten) to my pan temperature. I almost have to have my pan too hot.

I've seen recipes using almond flour...

Yeah, sure did try a thinner batter, thicker batter, thinner pancake, thicker pancake, and every other variation I can think of. That's what lead me to the conclusion that the flour just doesn't cook thoroughly.

i'm new to all of this, but my daughter can't have eggs either, so i do the gluten-free bisquick with a banana instead of the egg, and i use coconut oil to sub the veg oil.  they turn out great...  even better w/ chocolate chips

Thanks. However, since banana holds considerable moisture, it would prevent the flour from being completely cooked. That seems to be what makes me sick afterwards. It seems that most people aren't effected by partially uncooked pancakes though, and so that tells me something about my gut too. I do get decent results the way I make them now. It's just that they turn better with flours which simply don't get fully cooked. So I'm hoping that somehow I can find a way to get them to cook completely, using other flours in addition to buckwheat.

Here is another possible alternative.....this one posted by Suzin....perhaps on this website.

 

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup water

1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon dry mustard powder

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sweet rice flour

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

 

Put all ingredients in a blender jar and blend for about 3 minutes. This is a basic recipe....I usually add some seasonings....1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon parsley flakes and a small pinch cayenne to make it a ranch dressing but you can add any seasoning you like. This keeps well in the frig, about 2 weeks.

Yes, I've seen this one (or something very much the same) on this forum before, and the sweet potato flour would of course also need to be cooked first. It's not a big deal to do, but it seems to be left out of the directions most of the time. A raw flour/starch simply doesn't thicken nearly as much as a cooked one. Incidentally, from all my experiments with making mayo, lemon juice makes for a stiffer result than vinegar, but of course there is a difference in taste. Some brands of mayo use one of these, while others use both.