Biscuits

We love biscuits at our house, as I'm sure you do at yours too.  We had vegetable soup the other night and biscuits were a must.  I really like Carol Fenster's recipe in her Wheat Free Recipes & Menus book. It is just perfect, a few more ingredients than regular baking powder biscuits, but worth it.

Carol Fenster's Biscuits (printer friendly recipe)
1 C rice flour blend
1/2 C cornstarch
1 T sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp xanthan gum*
1 tsp guar gum*
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp shortening
1/2 C milk (or substitute)
1 egg (or equivalent)
White rice flour, for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees (375 works best for me, so see what is best for you) and grease a large cookie sheet.
2. Combine the flour, cornstarch sugar, baking powder, xanthan & guar gum, salt and baking soda in a food processor and pulse a couple times to combine (or place in a large bowl and whisk until combined).  Add shortening and pulse until the mixture as the texture of large bread crumbs (or cut in the shortening until the appropriate texture is reached).
3. Combine milk & egg and add to the flour mixture and process until it forms a ball (or use a fork and stir until the same thing happens).  If for some reason, you don't get a ball, add 1 tbsp of water at a time until it does.  The dough should be soft.
4. Lightly flour the countertop or the cookie sheet or I prefer a rolling mat.

Place dough on surface and turn over so both sides are floured.

Roll or pat the dough to a 3/4" thickness and cut into 2" circles.

I have never had a biscuit cutter, I just use a cup and it works perfectly

Reshape leftover dough and pat again to a 3/4" thickness and cut again, repeat until dough is used.  I usually take the last bits and form into a biscuit.  It is ugly and not as soft, but it still tastes good.
5. Place biscuits on cookie sheet next to each other

You can see my hand formed one on the bottom of the photo.

6. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until lightly brown.  Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool slightly.  Then enjoy!

Rolling Mat

A few years ago (before Celiacs entered our lives) my sister made me a rolling mat for Christmas.  I have loved it, although I have been meaning to make a bigger one.

Basically you use it to roll out pie crust, biscuits, cinnamon rolls, rolls, cookies, etc.  I have loved using it and not having to clean the flour off my counter.  When you are done you shake the excess flour off and fold it up and put it in the freezer for next time.  Wonderful!  I usually only wash it when I make things like Cinnamon rolls and get cinnamon & sugar on it, or if oil gets on it, which is usually about once or twice a year, which may seem like it is not enough, but the point is that the more you use it the more the flour gets in the mat and the less flour you have to use in the future, it is great!

Since my daughter was diagnosed 3 years ago I have been meaning to make me a GF one.  And since we moved earlier this year into a home with tile countertops I knew the time had come.  Let's just say that rolling things out on tile is for the birds, and crazy people.  I first went to Jo-Ann's and bought some duck cloth.  I had planned on buying cream colored but they were out.  Which was just as well, since I wouldn't have bought pink instead.  And I love the fact that the pink is stark contrast to the cream and I won't get them confused on accident (which I have been known to do more than once).

So first I soaked the cloth in the hottest water I could get out of my tap for about 30 minutes.

The green was going to be for my non-GF bigger version, unfortunately I was about 1/4 yard short

Then I dried it on the highest setting of my drier.

I then measured the depth of my countertop and used that measurement to cut the fabric to a square that would fit nicely on the counter.  Then I got bias tape that matched (I ended up making my own) and pinned it around the edge.

I then sewed the bias tape all around the mat. folding the end under where the two ends of the tape meet.

And voile, I'm done!

Don't look too close since I decided not to worry about perfectly straight seams or binding, I was just throwing it together.

When you are done using it just fold it up and place in the freezer (mine fits in a quart size Ziploc freezer bag.)

My 2 mats, size by side.  My happiness is overflowing. 

Here are some recipes that this would work great for:

Biscuits

Twisty Sticks

Navajo Tacos

Mini Pies & Turnovers

Vinegar Pastry

Ham & Chicken Roll-Ups

Soft Sugar Cookies