unintentional self injury

POSTED BY: boris
UPDATED: Monday, January 10, 2011 13:44
VIEWED: 4348
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SERYN

Saturday, January 8, 2011 4:06 PM

Ok, bit of a brit alert, but here we go...

My Mother and sister are both wheat intolerent, and on top of that my mother is vegetarian, so eating for them is a struggle, as in this country wheat is in virtually everything. Even the stuff where you can't fathom why.

Over the years i've got pretty good at baking decent wheat free cakes etc (we're a sweet toothed family) and found some bearable bread alternatives but the one thing we can't replicate is scones.

I've tried endless variations, even adding odd things like xantham gum and powdered vit c, to no avail and the number of times i sit and watch both of them try to tot up in their minds whether having a scone is worth the three days of tiredness, headaches and aching joints is unreal.

Because of that, i've resisted giving up wheat completely, even though the likelyhood is that i'm mildly intolerent too, because I just don't want to go the rest of my life having to do that.
I've cut down, but i wont give up entirely because i don't want to get so sensitive to it that one accidental ingestion incapacitates me.

(and this post was bought to you by being up way past my bed time.)

SERYN

Saturday, January 8, 2011 4:19 PM

By the way Boris, I have a great recipe for carrot cake that uses wheat free flour and no dairy. It has raisins in it but you could chop up dates and use them there instead - disguses the texture a bit!

It's become our go to cake for birthdays and christmas, and it uses a relatively small amount of sugar so its not stonkingly bad for you either. If you're interested I can pass it on, i think it's adapted from a recipe on the net to be honest.

Theres also something we can get in this country which is basically powdered fibre which can be added to any cold drink - I tried it once and its virtually taste free. Benefibre (i just googled, 'scuse me) or anything with Psyllium husks.

(and this post was bought to you by being up way past my bed time.)

BORIS

Sunday, January 9, 2011 1:54 PM

Seryn have they tried doing pumpkin or potato scones? I did a potato based batch based on a Gnocchi mix plus wheat free flour egg and soymilk they were pretty light and not too crumbly. Is your mum a vegan? coz eggs make all the difference. I make my own icecream using soft tofu and xantham amongst other thingsIt'spretty good. The only brand of soy icecream you can get where i live has gluten and various chemicals added to it. I eat alot of buckwheat and brown rice etc and I have recently found a decent gluten free pasta...or else I make my own. when I start earning decent money I am saving up for a thermo-mixer an amazing kitchen do all that will make my life alot easier ans solve the hassle of having to find hard to get "me friendly" ingredients.

Rose S

SERYN

Sunday, January 9, 2011 2:12 PM

I think scones are slightly different here - They're made with flour, butter and milk, and thats about it, even sugar is optional as the clotted cream and jam (preserve?) add the sweetness.

To the normal wheat scones my usual recipe also has bicarb, baking powder and cream of tartre and the secret is repeated folding and rolling to make it almost elasticated - that way when you put them in a really hot oven and the air expands they rise and become really light and fluffy. With the wheat free flours this doesn't seem to happen and they just refuse to rise and expand, meaning the end result is small, dense and so hard you could break windows with them. Even the xantham gum, which is so great everywhere else makes little difference.

Ho hum.

Its possible to use bananas and potatoes as bases for sponges etc I know, but i've no idea how this would work with the methods for scones - its another avenue to experiment with i suppose - would just have to add sugar to compensate which doesn't sound great

(and this post was bought to you by being up way past my bed time.)

BORIS

Monday, January 10, 2011 7:07 AM

scones in Australia are made the same way though the bicarb or cream of tartar are optional. My version with egges was just a close substitute. I know you can get a gluten substitute product which you add to wheat free flour to add the elasticity factor. I'll find out what the brand is and let you know. I'm pretty sure it's a european product. Coeliac websites are always good to find out that sort of thing

Rose S

BORIS

Monday, January 10, 2011 7:07 AM

scones in Australia are made the same way though the bicarb or cream of tartar are optional. My version with egges was just a close substitute. I know you can get a gluten substitute product which you add to wheat free flour to add the elasticity factor. I'll find out what the brand is and let you know. I'm pretty sure it's a european product. Coeliac websites are always good to find out that sort of thing

Rose S

SERYN

Monday, January 10, 2011 1:44 PM

I've no idea what the cream of tartar actually does, but theses scones always come out brilliantly, so i'm not messing with the recipe!

I might try an egg variation then, see if it makes any difference, i've also seen a recipe using buttermilk - might give that a go too.

Xanthan gum in powdered form is what you usually get here. It works fantastically in sponge cakes where the mix tends to be too crumbly to work with otherwise, if theres another one i'd love to know cause it might make all the difference. I'll have a surf later

(and this post was bought to you by being up way past my bed time.)

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