Baking enthusiasts and baking enthusiasts know that skipping wheat flour is not so easy when you have always been used to using it in baking. But for many years now, there have been numerous alternatives for “no glu” baking. Chestnut flour, rice, quinoa, cornstarch, are perfect for sweet, while chickpea, buckwheat or lentil flour is more suitable for savory. Also, it is better to use a mixture of flours, for example 40% rice flour + 30% cornstarch + 50% chestnut flour, balancing between products with a neutral taste and a more distinctive flavor.
> Also read: I stopped gluten 3 years ago and here is my assessment
We also think of the different oilseeds which, transformed into powder, easily replace flour in a dessert which should not rise: almond powder, hazelnuts, pecans, pistachio nuts or even grated coconut. We're thinking about it for our next financiers: if almond powder is the product traditionally used, we can replace part of it with another powder to discover new flavors. In your cupboard, you make the right choices by always having on hand flour with a neutral taste like rice, starch, used in addition to flour, and one or two flours with a distinctive taste.
Cooking or baking without gluten should not be seen as a constraint – even if the exercise at the beginning is not that simple – but as an opening to a vast field of possibilities.
To follow, three gourmet recipes that don't need wheat flour to shine!
Recipe #1: Chocolate cloud cake
A soft biscuit base made from rice flour and cornstarch, all topped with a delicious mousse, this is the principle of cloud cake.
How do we do ? We beat 3 egg whites by tightening them little by little with 100 g of cane sugar. Add the 3 egg yolks, 15 g of cornstarch, 30 g of rice flour and 30 g of unsweetened cocoa.
We cut a sheet of parchment paper the diameter of the mold and place it in the bottom. Pour the dough on top and bake for 15 minutes at 180°C.
Melt 170 g of dark chocolate. Beat 5 egg whites until stiff and incorporate the chocolate.
We place a Rhodoid film on the internal walls of the mold and pour the mousse onto the cooled biscuit. Leave to rest for at least 4 hours in the refrigerator.
For 8 people
Discover the recipe for chocolate cloud cake
Recipe no. 2: Gluten-free pancakes, hazelnuts and rice flour
Crepes that change with a nice nutty taste. To go further, roast the hazelnut powder in a dry pan or for a few minutes in the oven.
How do we do ? Mix 180 g of rice flour, 140 g of powdered hazelnuts, 30 g of brown sugar and 1 pinch of fleur de sel with 3 eggs, then gradually 55 cl of milk and 2 tbsp. tablespoons of dark rum.
Pour a ladle of batter into the buttered crepe pan and let it cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Cook the other side for 1 to 2 minutes. We repeat the operation until the dough is used up.
Served with Greek yogurt, maple syrup and chopped hazelnuts.
For approximately 10 pancakes
Discover the recipe for gluten-free, hazelnut and rice flour pancakes
Recipe no. 3: Gluten-free American carrot cake
An everyday cake for which I divide the sugar dose by two, and replace part of the potato starch with grated coconut. I also include raisins soaked in dark rum and a few walnuts or almonds for crunch.
How do we do ? Mix 200 g of sugar and 2 eggs with a whisk in a bowl, then add 5 cl of milk and 1 cl of rapeseed oil.
Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl, 100 g of rice flour + 50 g of cornstarch + 50 g of potato starch, 1 tbsp. teaspoon of baking powder, 1 pinch of salt and 2 tbsp. teaspoon of cinnamon, and incorporate them into the first preparation.
Add 180 g of grated carrots and pour the dough into a buttered mold.
Bake at 180°C for between 45 and 50 minutes.
For 6 persons
Discover the recipe for gluten-free American carrot cake
