Part of the shortcoming, I think, is in the taste-memories I have of biscuits, fresh from the oven — some things imprint on the brain fairly emphatically, and I think biscuits are one of those.  Consequently, I've been muddling around with various flour combinations for a while, off and on, to come up with something that comes close to the buttery, flaky biscuit "gold standard" I have clearly bookmarked in my brain.

These come pretty close,  In my noodling around, I've been using amaranth flour more and more — partly for nutritional benefits, but also because of the taste, and hit on a combination the other day that came pretty close to the mark!.

A couple of helpful hints here

1.   Make friends with your pastry cutter!  Maintaining the structural integrity of the butter chunks is critical to creating flaky layers of biscuit — think pastry, only moister!  The pastry cutter is the most efficient way of doing this.  Yes, you can use a food processor, BUT for most home cooks, a batch of biscuits is small, AND the chunks of butter get processed almost too small (AND you will have a food processor to wash, as opposed to one bowl!)

2.   A silpat or silicone mat helps tremendously in the rolling/patting out phase — well worth it especially if you make gluten-free pastry for pies.

…and so, to the biscuits!

These can be made with or without dairy products — for this iteration, I used Earth Balance buttery sticks and Mimicreme Cream, But you can easily substitute an equivalent amount of real butter and buttermilk .

Gluten-free Millet, Amaranth Biscuits

• 3/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 cup sweet rice flour
• 1/2 cup millet flour
• 1/2 cup amaranth flour
• 1 1/4 tsp xantham gum
• 1/2 tsp sea salt (increase to 3/4 cup if using unsalted butter)
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 stick Earth Balance buttery sticks (8 Tablespoons) — or an equiavalent amount of unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Combine all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl,  mixing well with a whisk to combine.  Cut in the Earth Balance buttery sticks with a pastry cutter or two knives, until the mixture resembles oatmeal.  Some slightly larger pieces of shortening are good.

Meanwhile, take

• 1 cup non-dairy cream substitute – I like Mimicreme cashew and almond based cream.  Add
• 1 Tablespoon cider vinegar and let stand 10 minutes to make clabbered cream.  (You can also substitute 1 cup buttermilk at this point if you are including diary)

Mix with a spatula until just moistened and the mixture comes together.  Dust a silpat mat with amaranth or millet flour, turn out the dough onto the silpat, and give it a couple of turns, kneading very lightly.  The dough will feel very soft and moist — resist the urge to add more flour!  Pat the dough out with floured hands to 3/4" thick, and cut into 3-inch biscuits.

Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.  let cool at least 15 minutes before eating.

This particular request though had to hit a number of addiitonal critieria, including being gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free, nut-free and rice + potato free.  I've also been concurrently looking at options for reducing the amount of xantham gum used in various baked goods — it has a particular residual smell (very faint), which I think is the main reason my better half says he does not like gluten-free baked goods as much as their wheaty counterparts. 

In meeting this specific need, I've opted to go with a mix of teff + amaranth + tapioca starch + cornstarch, but if I weren't working with these restrictions, I might substitute the cornstarch for potato starch, or the amaranth for brown rice flour.  Everything is written in weights here, so if you feel like substituting, just stick to the same weight, and try and pick a flour or starch with similar properties.

I also decided to try out a Tapioca gel as an egg replacer (see Cake and Commerce's blondie recipe) at the same time as I was developing this recipe.  I have a couple of old handwritten standbys for gingerbread  I typically turn to using eggs and dairy, so it was a matter of several adjustments to convert to vegan AND gluten-free. 

I've been using flax gel for a while now, and was curious to see what the difference was with the tapioca gel.  Well!  we got moist, dark gingerbread that looks like it will be just as good the 2nd day around! and not a grain of xantham gum in sight!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a square baking pan (8" x 8") with parchment paper)

Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well:

• 90 grams teff flour
• 70 grams amaranth flour
• 85 grams tapioca starch
• 85 grams cornstarch
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Mix wet ingredients together in a larger bowl:

• 1/2 c cooking molasses
• 1/2 c brown sugar
• 1/2 c grapeseed oil
• 1/2 c tapioca gel (to make, cook 2 tsp tapioca per 1 cup water)
• 1/2 applesauce

Add wet ingredients to dry, mix well with a spatula to combine.  Fold in:

• 1/2 cup raisins

Pour gingerbread batter into the baking pan.  Bake for 40-45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Let cool in pan at least 30 minutes before removing from the pan.

A quick drive-by recipe here for gluten-free cupckakes that needed a little more modification than usual — no dairy, no eggs, no soy.   Take a careful look at the ingredients on your chocolate, and chances are it has soy lecithin in it.  Many chocolate manufacturers use soy lecithin as an emulsifier, making for a frustrating search for those who need to avoid soy and are looking for chocolate (and a world without chocolate is indeed a world that is little less joyous!).

If you are looking for soy-free chocolate, you can find Enjoy Life chocolate in a number of health food stores now, or if you really want a treat, the Tanzanian dark chocolate from Cacao-Barry is deep and complex and luxurious!  Make sure to check the ingredients list though, as not all the Cacao-Barry products are soy-free.

Before we dive in, a couple of observations:

• when you are not using butter, using oils can often result in a  muffin-like texture.  For best results, a denser oil such as coconut oil will give you results that are closer to that of butter.  For this recipe, there is so much chocolate in the recipe using coconut oil is overkill.
• there are a number of options for egg-replacements, including flax seed, flax gel, chia gel, applesauce, pumpkin or squash puree, extra baking  powder, or even blended silken tofu.  In this recipe, we were looking to add some binder, but also some texture to break up the denseness of the chocolate, so there is a combination of applesauce and flax seed.
• For best results in gluten-free recipes, a blend of flours helps provide the best texture.   Teff flour is a beautifully fine, high-protein flour that provides loft — the tapioca starch adds tenderness, and the potato starch helps add a nice moist crumb.

Gluten-free Vegan Cupcakes with Whipped Ganache

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, whisk together and let stand 10 minutes until gooey.

• 1 T ground flaxseed
• 3 T water

In a medium bowl, whisk dry ingredients together:

• 90 grams teff flour
• 45 grams tapioca starch
• 45 grams potato starch
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp xantham gum
• 1/2 tsp salt

In a heatproof glass bowl, melt

• 265 grams dark chocolate

when melted, stir in:

• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 3/4 cup rice milk (or other non-dairy milk)
• 3/8 cup grapeseed oil
• flaxseed mixture

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well.  Portion evenly into muffin tins or cupcake liners.

Bake for 25-30 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting with whipped ganache

Whipped Ganache

Take 1 tin coconut milk and heat just to the boiling point.  Pour the hot coconut milk over 454 grams dark chocolate and let stand, covered for 10 minutes.  Whisk the mixture together until it becomes dark and glossy.  Let cool to just above room temperature, and whip with a set of hand beaters until it is the consistency of icing, and holds a peak.  This will make enough ganache to frost at least 18 cupcakes.  If you have some leftover, make sure to warm it slightly first.