darkemeralds (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
darkemeralds) wrote2010-02-13 11:25 am
darkemeralds) wrote2010-02-13 11:25 am
Entry tags:
Finely ground
I'm on a new adventure. The oft-repeated advice from any number of healthcare practitioners to consider giving up wheat finally sank in. I think it was a comment from lamentables about whether my fabulous and delicious Elvis Cake could be recreated in a gluten-free version that tipped the balance.
"Gluten-free," like "no wheat", has always evoked for me such a dismal and joyless foodscape that I've tried for years to pretend that wheat is just fine and not a problem for me, when it seems clearly to be. I don't meet the symptom profile for celiac disease, or even for wheat intolerance, and yet, being wheat-free for the past week or so has left me feeling so much better that I might as well just keep doing it.
But to face an indefinite wheat-free future, I will need pound cake.
So I rode my bike (most of the way) to the Bob's Red Mill store, an awesome place with a whole aisle of gluten-free products.
(This is a view along the bike path--spring!)
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
roseambr, who's trying the same wheat-free journey for different reasons, met me and we each checked out with a few cellophane bags of things like fava bean flour, brown rice flour, sorghum flour and xanthan gum (a substitute for wheat gluten--it's made from bacteria. I don't even want to know...).
Whether the significant improvement in things like energy, digestion, and joint comfort over the past week or so is owing to no wheat, to generally lower carbs, to sugar reduction, or to more vegetables and fruit to make up for no bread or cookies, is not yet clear. Probably all of the above.
I can tell you that the improvements are not owing to an elimination of sugar, dairy, or eggs or chocolate (because come on, I can't give up everything tasty).
Anyway, the gluten-free pound cake (featuring sweet sorghum flour, tapioca flour, and cornstarch) is out of the oven and cooling. It smells good and it hasn't sunk much in the middle, but it looks a little bubbly and wrinkly.
Okay. Cooling time has passed, and here's the verdict:
It's way too sweet. Dear God--next time, at least 25% less sugar, I think. Otherwise, the flavor is very much like a traditional pound cake: buttery, eggy and, in this particular case, hazelnutty, since I added ground hazelnuts for the hell of it.
The mouth-feel is very slightly sandy or powdery. It's not unpleasant--on the contrary, it's kind of nice--but very unlike a wheat based cake.
The overall texture is firm and sturdy. It gives a slightly rubbery feel under the knife, but the cake isn't chewy at all, just nicely substantial.
Okay. That was fun! Now to see how I feel after eating a couple of slices...
lamentables about whether my fabulous and delicious Elvis Cake could be recreated in a gluten-free version that tipped the balance."Gluten-free," like "no wheat", has always evoked for me such a dismal and joyless foodscape that I've tried for years to pretend that wheat is just fine and not a problem for me, when it seems clearly to be. I don't meet the symptom profile for celiac disease, or even for wheat intolerance, and yet, being wheat-free for the past week or so has left me feeling so much better that I might as well just keep doing it.
But to face an indefinite wheat-free future, I will need pound cake.
So I rode my bike (most of the way) to the Bob's Red Mill store, an awesome place with a whole aisle of gluten-free products.
(This is a view along the bike path--spring!)
roseambr, who's trying the same wheat-free journey for different reasons, met me and we each checked out with a few cellophane bags of things like fava bean flour, brown rice flour, sorghum flour and xanthan gum (a substitute for wheat gluten--it's made from bacteria. I don't even want to know...).Whether the significant improvement in things like energy, digestion, and joint comfort over the past week or so is owing to no wheat, to generally lower carbs, to sugar reduction, or to more vegetables and fruit to make up for no bread or cookies, is not yet clear. Probably all of the above.
I can tell you that the improvements are not owing to an elimination of sugar, dairy, or eggs or chocolate (because come on, I can't give up everything tasty).
Anyway, the gluten-free pound cake (featuring sweet sorghum flour, tapioca flour, and cornstarch) is out of the oven and cooling. It smells good and it hasn't sunk much in the middle, but it looks a little bubbly and wrinkly.
Okay. Cooling time has passed, and here's the verdict:
It's way too sweet. Dear God--next time, at least 25% less sugar, I think. Otherwise, the flavor is very much like a traditional pound cake: buttery, eggy and, in this particular case, hazelnutty, since I added ground hazelnuts for the hell of it.
The mouth-feel is very slightly sandy or powdery. It's not unpleasant--on the contrary, it's kind of nice--but very unlike a wheat based cake.
The overall texture is firm and sturdy. It gives a slightly rubbery feel under the knife, but the cake isn't chewy at all, just nicely substantial.
Okay. That was fun! Now to see how I feel after eating a couple of slices...