Try this gluten-free rosemary olive bread with red pepper hummus. Gluten-free cocktail breads are a party-giver’s secret weapon. Bake, slice and freeze to be ready for any gathering. Toast up frozen slices when you need them, or use these tasty loaves fresh out of the oven.

GLUTEN-FREE ROSEMARY OLIVE COCKTAIL LOAVES

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp yeast
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 12 oz 110 degree water
• 1 cup sorghum flour
• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 2/3 cup garbanzo and fava flour
• 1/3 cup tapioca flour
• 2 Tbsp rosemary (dried and crushed or 1/2 Tbsp fresh and minced)
• 1 Tbsp xanthan gum
• 2 tsp salt
• 3 Tbsp well-drained black or green olives, minced
• 3 egg whites
• 1 tsp vinegar
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 egg yolk mixed with 3 Tbsp water for egg wash

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix sugar, water and yeast in small bowl.
3. Mix salt, xanthan gum, rosemary and flours on low, in mixer.
4. When yeast mixture is foamy, add to flours.
5. Mix egg whites, oil, olives and vinegar in medium bowl.
6. Add to mixer bowl.
7. Mix on high for 4 minutes.
8. Oil and dust bread pans with cornmeal.
9. Ladle batter into pans.
10. Spray loaves with cooking spray.
11. With cool, wet spatula, smooth tops of loaves.
12. Cover and let rise to double in warm place.
13. Make angled cuts in loaves with razor blade.
14. Bake until internal temperature is 200 degrees, about 15 minutes.
15. After baking 5 minutes, brush with egg wash
16. Cool to room temperature, out of pans, before slicing.

Bagels are just one of those foods that are always going to be much more delicious if you bake them at home for yourself. Odds are, if you take the time to make them at home, they’ll probably be a whole lot healthier than the store bought variety as well. In fact, I had reluctantly given up on eating bagels for a while when I noticed that the whole gain bagels that I had been buying from the store listed “Corn Syrup Solids” as an ingredient. I’m still not completely sure what corn syrup solids are, but I know that they’re not something I usually add to my home baking.

But don’t be intimidated! Although they can seem complicated if you’ve never tried making them before, bagels are a fun and simple baking project to try out. Because of the short ingredient list, they are a great way to experiment with and all of our different flours. They’re also an easy way to prepare a week’s worth of healthy breakfasts ahead of time. If you decide to make a double batch, you can keep them fresh by slicing them and freezing individually so that you can defrost them one at a time.

I have been really enjoying making bagels with our Organic Kamut Flour because of its rich, buttery flavor. Here is the recipe that I have been using lately that is based on a very basic recipe for bagels that I found online:

2 Cups Kamut Flour
2 Cups Unbleached White Flour (I prefer organic)
1 ½ teaspoons of Sea Salt
1 tablespoon Buttermilk Powder (totally optional)
1 tablespoon Vital Wheat Gluten
1 ½ cups warm water, 110°-115°
2 ¼ teaspoons Active Dry Yeast
2 tablespoons Barley Malt Syrup
If you don’t have any barley malt syrup on hand, you can also 2 tablespoons of Molasses or 2 teaspoons of Barley Malt Extract.

In the bowl of a Mixer outfitted with a bread hook, combine the Kamut and Unbleached White Flour, Vital Wheat Gluten, Buttermilk Powder (if using) and Salt.

In a separate small bowl stir the yeast in to the warm water. Add the Barley Malt Syrup and stir until combined.

Turn on the Mixer and add the wet ingredients. Let the mixer knead the dough for 8-10 minutes. The dough should not be sticky to the touch. If the surface of the dough feels tacky, add slightly more flour to the mix until it forms a firm ball.

Remove dough from the mixing bowl and divide into 8 little balls. If you like small bagels, you can divide the dough into as many as a dozen portions. Place the dough in an oiled bowl in a warm place and cover with a towel. Let the dough rise until it has doubled in size, usually about an hour or so.

Prepare your baking sheets – I like to use oiled parchment as a baking surface, because you never have to worry about sticking. Take the dough balls from the bowl and roll each between your hands until the surface is smooth. Don’t worry if they have stuck together in the bowl a little. If any part of the dough has dried slightly you can use a little olive oil to knead in the rough spots.

Now is the time to add the Bagel hole! Just poke your thumb through the center of the dough ball and smooth out any lumps or creases. Place each bagel on your prepared baking sheet. Cover and let rise again for a half hour or so.

Preheat the oven to 425°

Bring a wide pot of water to a rolling boil. I like to add a tablespoon of salt to the water, but I don’t think it is completely necessary. Carefully drop each bagel into the boiling water and boil on each side for 30 seconds to a minute. Remove the bagels from the water with a large slotted spoon or spatula, and let rest on the prepared baking sheets for 5 or 10 minutes.

Bake the bagels for 10 – 15 minutes depending on the size you decided to make them. You will be able to tell that they are done when they turn a golden brown. Remove the bagels from the oven and quickly flip over each bagel. Cook another two or three minutes upside down.

Slice and serve with your favorite toppings!

On these cold rainy days many of us just want to sit in front of the fire and eat soup. What is better with your favorite soup than Irish soda bread! Bob’s Red Mill Irish Soda Bread Mix is delicious, nutritious and easy to make. This lovely bread was invented without yeast because of Ireland’s active climate. Softer wheat prospered in the land, which in turn reacted well with sodium bicarbonate, also known as, baking soda. Soda bread is commonly served in Ireland as a side for breakfast or a main dish, such as a stew or soup.

Many of you who have tried our Irish Soda Bread may have noticed it is a bit sweeter than others, but all together, delicious. In the past I have seen this bread served toasted with butter atop and also as the Irish serve it, on the side of a main dish. Bob’s Red Mill Irish Soda Bread Mix is compiled of various milled flours, buttermilk powder and for a nutritious addition, wheat germ and bran. Historically, buttermilk has always been the milk of choice for soda bread. The sour, acidic characteristics react well with the baking soda.

In the event you purchase our Irish Soda Bread Mix, here are a few tips and ideas.

• When mixing the few ingredients together, try not to over mix. Despite other bread making methods, you want very little gluten development.
• When scoring the top of you rounded loaf use a sharp knife dipped in flour. This will provide a clean looking and beautiful top.
• When you are feeling adventurous, substitute fruit juice for some of the water or throw in a cup of your favorite dried fruit. Make something new to impress!

Whether you buy a loaf fresh from our bakery or prepare it for yourself at home, experience the simplicity of this rustic old country bread. We think you will enjoy it.

When the weather gets cold, we like to turn on the oven! Call 503-654-3215 x 208 today to sign up for one of these great classes held at the Bob’s Red Mill Whole Grain Store.

Hands-on Bread Baking with Tim Healea!
Thursday, December 2, 2010 4:00-6:30 p.m.

There’s no better way to create an atmosphere of love and comfort than with the wonderful aroma of freshly baked bread. Tim Healea, owner of the acclaimed Little “T” Bakery is back to teach us a few of his fabulous breads using alternative fl ours and
grains. His featured breads include: Deli Rye Bread with Caraway, Multigrain Carrot Bread, Green Pea and Bacon Bread and Pear Buckwheat Bread.

Supplies to bring: a large mixing bowl, 8X4 loaf pan, cookie sheet, kitchen towel, a wooden spoon or spatula, bench scraper and apron.

Class Fee: $50.00

Cooking with Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010 3:00-5:00 p.m.

After working for three years on their cookbook, Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef: A Love Story with 100 Tempting Recipes, Shauna James Ahern and Chef Danny Ahern can’t wait to share it with you. In their second class, they’ll cook some of the seasonal recipes from their cookbook that are sure to please. With Gluten Free Pasta, Seared Shrimp with Garlic, Warm Rice Salad, Warm Polenta with Goat Cheese, Lamb Chops with Breadcrumbs and Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies, this class will fill you up and send you home with new food ideas. This will be a demonstration class, with plenty of cooking tips, ideas for how to live gluten-free joyfully, and food for you to enjoy!

Supplies to bring: enjoy the sampling! Class Fee $45.00

Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a holiday that I find absolutely fascinating. Coinciding with All Souls Day in the Catholic religion, the Mexican holiday on November 2nd celebrates all those we love who we have lost. Across Mexico and parts of the US and Canada, families build altars in memory of their loved ones using bright marigolds, sugar skulls and favorite foods of the deceased.

What I love about this holiday is the idea that we’re never very far from those we’ve loved and lost. I love that death is an extension of life and nothing to be feared. We spend so much time hiding from the inevitable, why not embrace it? In my opinion, November 2nd is as good a day to remember loved ones as any other. I like the idea of remembering people I’ve loved by foods they loved.

My grandmother used to make Taco Soup whenever there was a big family gathering. It’s not fancy, but whenever I make this soup I inevitably think of her and remember things she used to do…  how she would wash, dry and iron dollar bills to be perfectly crisp, then tape them together, end on end for your birthday. We always got one extra dollar than our age for good luck. I remember going to do laundry at her house one of the last times I visited and finding dollars in the washing machine. I had long since become too old for this birthday gift, but she was still washing and ironing for my younger cousins.

Pan de Muerto is an essential part of Dia de los Muertos. It is a sweet, yeasty bread that is baked into a variety of shapes- from skulls to favorite animals- and serves as a part of the sustenance provided to the deceased on their journey. I could not find a gluten free version of this treat, but here are some conventional recipes to try. Enjoy!

Pan de Muertos from AllRecipes.com
Pan de Muerto from Global Gourmet

» What dish reminds you of your loved ones?

Traci from Burnt Apple is a treasure among food bloggers and we were so pleased that she wanted to write a guest post for you. We love Traci’s humility when she states that she “is not a cook” in her bio. We beg to differ, thank you. Traci creates delicious recipes that are diabetic friendly for her family and shares tips and tricks for making healthy meals that everyone—even kids!—can enjoy. Head over to her site and check out her plethora of recipes.

There really isn’t anything better than a fresh loaf of bread straight out of the oven. The smell just permeates through the entire house and seems to leave any stomach within smelling distance grumbling in hunger. What I love even more is fresh melted butter on that piping hot piece of bread. And this accompanying recipe for raspberry butter is perfect! It’s a sink your teeth in and enjoy a bit of heaven type snack. Or meal. Or if you’re like me you find very quickly that half the loaf is gone in a matter of no time!

This recipe calls for Bob’s Red Mill flour. I’ve found from experience that it provides a fantastic flour that gives me an airy, beautiful loaf everytime. I’ve also used it when I teach cooking classes for making a fantastic gluten free multigrain loaf that pairs well with this raspberry butter. All of the ingredients–whether a gluten filled or gluten free loaf are always easy to find as Bob’s Red Mill supplies all of them for me.

I got into healthy cooking because I have a husband with Type 1 diabetes. He’s had diabetes since he was 4 years old. At age 52, my Dad had a massive heart attack. He ran daily, ate moderately well, and was very active. I was told that what my Dad had could be passed down to me if I didn’t take care of myself. I started to really take a look at the things that I was eating and switch certain things I was eating to be healthier. However, I had to convince my family and husband that eating vegetables and fruits weren’t going to kill them. We learned to slowly switch the grains we were eating to more whole grains and incorporate more fruits and vegetables into our diet.

I started to make some of these meals for family and friends, and then they wanted to know the recipes (or how in the world I was able to get my husband to eat vegetables). I started to post different meals and then I had friends asking me to find recipes for them. Some were vegan, vegetarian, or lived a gluten free diet. Some had heart problems, or just wanted to start eating healthier. I now teach classes on how to save money at health and natural food stores and make healthy eating affordable for families, and also appear on local morning shows cooking some of these low cost healthier meals. My sites, Healthy Deals n’ Steals and Burnt Apple help families do just that. My husband and I also write about how diabetes affects our whole family at our diabetes site, Diabetic Parents.

But for now, take a minute to share one of our favorite homemade recipes for bread and butter!

HOMEMADE BREAD

Ingredients

1 cup warm water
2 tbsp white sugar
1 .25 oz package bread machine yeast
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 cups Bob’s Red Mill bread flour or Bob’s Red Mill unbleached all purpose flour
1 tsp salt

Instructions

Place the water, sugar and yeast in the pan of the breadmaker machine. Allow to sit for 10 minutes until yeast fully dissolves and mixture foams. Add the oil, flour and salt to the yeast. Select “basic” or “white bread” machine setting.

RASPBERRY HONEY BUTTER

Ingredients:

1 cube butter, softened
1/8 cup honey or light agave nectar
1/2 cup raspberry jam (organic or all natural)
1/4 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Whip the butter until smooth, add honey until mixture is creamy, then blend the jam and vanilla in until fully incorporated. A great addition to toast, pancakes, waffles, bread and crackers. Store in an airtight jar in the refrigerator.

When Eileen contacted us about writing some guest posts for you, I was blown away by the topics she suggested. We’ll have two more topics from Eileen in the coming weeks, this first one explores Flexitarianism, something that most of us know very little about. Enjoy!

During the past decade, I have made several attempts to become a vegetarian.  I researched, planned meals, and would do great…for about a week.  After that, old habits, both at home and when shopping, would kick in.  My creativity and energy for the change would diminish, I would feel defeated, and then return to the same old unhealthy diet.

I recently found just what I needed to get me “back on track” when I ran across an article titled, “Flexitarians can have their meat and not eat it, too” on the USA Today website.  The article described the book titled, The Flexitarian Diet written by registered dietician, Dawn Jackson Blatner.  The dietary plan described in the book shows ways to reduce meat consumption while incorporating more plant-based foods over time.  In the book, Blatner describes three levels of Flexitarianism based on the number of nights per week that a person or family eats meat.  The book also contains around 100 healthy recipes, along with menu suggestions, and nutrition information.

While I plan neither to buy the book, nor to follow the specific diet plan, the article helped me realize that I can make the change to eating more vegetables, whole grains, and less meat over time and in stages.  Once an obstacle, I would like to develop the ability to concoct something much healthier than, say, chicken enchiladas for dinner when pressed for time.  This is not an “all or nothing” proposition, and with three choosy children, the more realistic approach to this diet overhaul is to begin with small steps.

My 15 year-old daughter has been trying to move us toward vegetarianism for two years now, but, as I described above, it never quite happened.  She is all for the changes, but my sons, ages 14 and 11, needed to understand the reasons for these dietary changes.  As we all know, growing boys can consume insane quantities of food with no adverse affects.  However, if their taste buds and bodies are not trained to enjoy good food choices, then they could be set up for obesity and other health issues later in life.  I feel that I owe it to all my children to teach them good eating habits now, so they know how to eat a healthy variety of foods.

In order to accomplish this goal, I called a family meeting three weeks ago to discuss the changes that would happen with our diet.  The first item on the agenda was the “junk food” around the house.  We voted for what we did not want to live without, and each of us picked one junk item to keep.  We plan to rotate those at a rate of one per week.  Now, instead of fat and sugar laden snacks, our refrigerator boasts apples, peaches, plums, nectarines, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, fresh salad greens and spinach, bagels and low-fat cream cheese, whole wheat pitas, and hummus.

There was some grumbling at first because the prep of some of these snacks was harder and more time-consuming than just popping some pizza rolls in the microwave.  After the second week of grocery shopping turned up no pizza rolls or pocket sandwiches, though, acceptance of the changes seemed to settle in, and I even detected some enjoyment!

Banana Bread – whole grain style

• 1 c Bob’s Red Mill Triticale flour (or whole wheat)
• 1 c Bob’s Red Mill unbleached white flour
• 1/4 c Bob’s Red Mill flax seed meal
• 1/2 tsp Bob’s Red Mill sea salt
• 1/2 tsp Bob’s Red Mill baking soda
• 3 tsp Bob’s Red Mill baking powder
• 3 large or 4 medium very ripe bananas (about 1 1/2c) – mashed (a little extra will only add moisture)
• 2 eggs or egg substitute (per Bob’s Red Mill directions below)
• 3/4 c Bob’s Red Mill evaporated cane juice or brown sugar
• 1/2 c milk or milk substitute
• 2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease one 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x2 1/2 inch or 3 mini loaf pans, and set aside.  In a large bowl, combine dry (first 6) ingredients.  In a separate bowl, combine last five ingredients.  Mix the wet and dry until just incorporated, then stir in optional add-in if desired.  Fill loaf pans, then bake large loaf for 50 minutes, or until a knife or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Bake mini loaf pans for 35 – 40 minutes.  Let loaf or loaves rest for 10 minutes after baking, then remove to wire rack to cool.

Optional: Before baking add in:

• 1/2 c chopped walnuts or pecans (the pecans are my favorite)
• 1/2 c grated dark chocolate

For egg substitute: For each egg in recipe combine 1 Tb Flax seed meal with 2 Tb water.  Let sit for one to two minutes, and then add to recipe.

October is Celiac Disease Awareness Month, and we’ve decided that the best way to celebrate all the delicious ways to eat gluten free is to partner with Carol Fenster to bring you another amazing giveaway!

As many of you already know, Carol is a huge advocate for healthy gluten-free baking at home and author of several amazing cookbooks. We’re delighted to be giving away 3 copies of Carol’s brand new book, 100 Best Gluten-Free Recipes. This book uses beautiful photography to highlight the top requested recipes from her earlier impressive encyclopedia of gluten free cooking, 1,000 Gluten-Free Recipes.

If you’re looking for a great way to get started cooking and baking gluten free, 100 Best Gluten-Free Recipes is a comprehensive, yet condensed guide to label reading, shopping guidelines, and cooking advice. One of the great things about Carol’s new book is how it seamlessly blends classics and trendy recipes alike with handy icons that denote quick, vegetarian, and kids’ favorites.

Just to make this gluten free giveaway a little more fabulous we will also add in a gift pack of some of Carol’s favorite gluten free products. Many of Carol’s recipes call for a special blend of Sorghum Flour and other gluten free ingredients that you can make ahead of time and store for use up to 3 months. You’ll be ready to dive right into making everything from Chicken Noodle Soup with Dumplings to Devil’s Food Layer Cake with Fudge Frosting if you’re one of our lucky winners.

Each of the three winners will receive a package containing The autographed book, and one package each of Sorghum Flour, Potato Starch, and Tapioca Flour so they will be ready to get started using Carol’s special sorghum blend for baking.

How to enter:

Please read this carefully or you may not be counted in the giveaway. You must complete number one to be entered, but you have more chances to win by completing the additional entry tasks.

1. To be entered you MUST do this: Leave a comment on this blog post and tell us what your favorite gluten free Bob’s Red Mill Product is. This must be done at www.bobsredmill.com/blog.

Additional Entries:

1 Entry: Visit Carol Fenster’s site, Savory Palate, and locate Carol’s Culinary Cues and sign up for her newsletter. THEN, report back to the blog and tell us that you subscribed.

1 Entry: Become a friend of Carol Fenster on Facebook. THEN, report back to the blog and tell us that you did.

1 Entry: Become a friend of Bob’s Red Mill on Facebook. THEN, report back to the blog and tell us that you did.

If you have already done any of these things for any of our previous giveaways, simply post about each in a separate comment here to be counted as an individual entry.

1 Entry: As a friend of Bob’s Red Mill on Facebook, post a message on our wall and tell us why you want to win.

1 Entry: Follow us on Twitter (@bobs_red_mill). THEN report back to the blog and tell us that you did.

1 Entry: If you have a blog or website, post about this contest and link back to our blog. THEN report back to our blog and tell us that you did.

Again, since so many of you are already friends of ours on Facebook or following us on Twitter, just leave a comment that you’re already doing this and we’ll still count it as an entry.

Don’t forget to return to the blog to tell us what you did to earn extra entries. The contest ends on 11/01/10 at midnight. Winners will be announced on 11/05/10.

A few weeks ago, we asked some of our favorite blog writers and friends from Facebook and Twitter to write some guest posts for us to help us through our busy season as we gear up for the 2010 Golden Spurtle Competition and our 2010 Cyclocross Season. This post is our first installment of guest posts and was written by Stacy Goldberg, MPH, RN, BSN who operates A Weigh of Life Nutrition and What’s In Your Cart?, a two-part system for nutritional analysis and health assessment, how to shop for the best products for you and apply the principles of healthy eating to your life.  For more information, please visit her website at  aweighoflifenutrition.com. We hope you enjoy her recipe!

This delicious fall favorite packs a nutritional powerhouse and is a great Halloween or Thanksgiving treat! Packed with dietary fiber, protein, omega fatty acids, beta carotene and not to mention flavor…it is a delightful alternative for breakfast or a quick snack for the whole family to enjoy.  Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour can be a substitution for the Whole Wheat Pastry Flour.

Ingredients:

• Non stick Grapeseed oil cooking spray
• 1/2 cup Dried Plum Puree
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup Bob’s Red Mill Brown Sugar
• 2 large organic, cage free brown eggs
• 1/2 cup organic canned pumpkin
• 1 1/3 cup Bob’s Red Mill Organic Whole Wheat Pastry Flour (100% stoneground, high fiber)
• 1/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill Ground Flaxseed Meal (rich source of Omega 3 fatty acids)
• 1 teaspoon Bob’s Red Mill Baking Powder (no aluminum)
• 1/2 teaspoon Bob’s Red Mill Baking Soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon Bob’s Red Mill Sea Salt (no additives)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Serves: 16

Cooking Time: Over one hour

Instructions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat 8 1/2 X 4 1/2 inch loaf pan with cooking spray; set aside. In large bowl, blend Dried Plum Puree with sugars. DRIED PLUM PUREE: 2/3 cup pitted dried plums blended with 3 tablespoons HOT water. Beat in eggs and pumpkin just to blend. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, cloves, ginger and nutmeg. Add to dried plum mixture, mixing just until moistened. Spread batter in pans; dividing equally. Bake in center of oven about 1 hour or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Turn onto rack to cool completely. Bread can be wrapped tightly in foil and frozen up to 1 month, so make a double batch!

Recipe by Stacy Goldberg, MPH, RN, BSN of A Weigh of Life Nutrition and What’s In Your Cart?

Tomorrow, Friday, August 20, 2010 is one of our favorite events of the year! It’s time again for the Bob’s Home-Baked Bread Contest at the Clackamas County Fair.

Every great baker knows that great bread starts with superb ingredients. Start your recipe for this contest with Bob’s Red Mill flours, cereals or grains and you will be well on your way to baking a blue ribbon loaf! Lori Sobelson, Program Director, and Matt Cox, Marketing Manager, will be on hand to personally judge all bread entries.

Bread should be delivered to the judging pavilion between 10 a.m. and noon. Judging begins at noon. Everyone who enters a loaf of bread will receive free admission to the Clackamas County Fair on the day of the contest.

If you’re located near Canby Oregon, be sure to come by and submit your best loaf for the chance to win cash prizes. If you’re not ready to enter a loaf tomorrow, you still have more than a week to prepare your recipe for the Bob’s $1,200 Best Home-Baked Bread Contest. That event, held at the State Fairgrounds in Salem Oregon will be on August 31st, 2010.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ENTRY
• Use one or more of Bob’s Red Mill flours, including Bob’s Whole Wheat or Unbleached White and, at the contestant’s option, one or more of Bob’s Red Mill specialty whole grain flours, meals and cereals.
• Bring your bread, as fresh from the oven as possible, along with your recipe. Please include name, street address and town on the entry.
• Recipe must be typed or neatly printed on a piece of paper and must include proof of purchase of Bob’s Red Mill product(s) (e.g. receipt or product label).
• Bread recipes must be made from scratch (no bread mixes or diet restriction type breads) using fresh ingredients and Bob’s Red Mill products.