Totally Frustrated Newbie...

[maranagal]

Hi All,

Thought it was time to come out of lurking mode and say hi and ask for some help.

I'm Nancy, a retired ole gal who moved to the borderline high altitude AZ desert from Chicago 4 years ago. I'm Italian and love to cook and bake everything from scratch.

DX'd with Crohn's May 08, Gluten Sensitivity June 08. Also off all dairy, eggs, and raw fruits, nuts and veggies. Pasta, pizza, foccacia, etc., have been the most difficult things for me to live without. However, I feel so much better that sticking to the diet hasn't really been that difficult. And life is better since discovering Tinkyada pasta thanks to the posts here.

I found a wonderful vegan book for desserts called "Simple Treats" by Ellen Abraham and have had some great success. Have also finally turned out some pretty decent BRM sandwich bread and hamburger buns.

The problem....I can't get the hang of tortillas or wraps. I've tried about 6 different recipes using different flours and they all turn out like sheets of wood. Even crepes turn out like thin sheets of plastic. Tried Bette Hagman's oven baked pita bread yesterday and those too never rose and were very stiff and dry.

I've had to modify some NGF recipes for high altitude baking but this is totally making me crazy. You're all such a great group I'm hoping somebody can tell me what I'm doing wrong. TIA.

Nancy

[aklap]

Hey Nancy!

Welcome and thanks for coming out of the shadows!

I think you've come to the right place for baking help. We've got lots of experienced GF bakers here. No, I'm not one of them heheheee

Peg and I like AZ, I suspect we'll winter there when we get to that point [Peg'll get there sooner than I ].

Looking forward to hearing more from you.
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Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

[maranagal]

Thanks for the welcome, Al. Yep...I know Peg is the expert baker in your house. Not sure if I'm ready to attempt her Fudge Puddles yet tho. But I've made some yummy desserts that I downloaded from your recipe section.

Hey...if you're in the Tucson area over winter, do let us know.

Nancy

[aklap]

Peg has some relatives in the Tucson area. I think they just moved into an assisted living. It's been 16 years since we've been there. The Wild Life Museum was one of our favorite attractions!

We'll keep that in mind. Don't be surprised if we show up on your door step on day Heheheee

I'm sure you'd do just fine with the FP's!
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Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

[nancw]

Hi Nancy,

Welcome to the group. As far as tortillas go (a must in this part of the world) I use the Chebe bread mix, and roll out the dough, cook in a frying pan on med/med-high for about a minute per side, then freeze up a bunch to use as wraps for meat, eggs, peanut butter and jelly...whatever! Chebe is made from manioc root.

I worked my way through the rice tortillas (before I found out I am allergic to rice), then the hemp toritllas, then, through this board, I discovered Chebe. They are having a sale right now (coupon code GR8DEAL) on cases of their all purpose mix.

I'm sure there are ways to make torts with other bread mixes you can make from GF grain flours; I'm grain-free, so I don't even bother.

Stick around and I'm sure you'll get all the help you need to get the swing of the GF life.
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Nance

gluten, dairy, soy, rice, yeast and 99% grain-free

[maranagal]

The Desert Museum is one of our favorite places to take out of town visitors.

Would love to have you pop in. But Peg better be forewarned I'd be picking her brain for baking tips.

Ok ya got me... what is FP's?

Nancy

[aklap]

Hehehe Fudge Puddles Sorry I was being lazy.

Peg would love to have her brain picked!
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Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

[maranagal]

Thanks for the welcome, nancw! I haven't been able to find Chebe in any of the stores down here. I'm thrilled that our Fry's has a huge organic section so I can find just about everything I need there.

I'm beginning to wonder if I'm just cooking them too long. The recipes all say cook for a "few minutes" on each side til they begin to brown but they never brown.

I'm trying to do more wraps cuz pretty much all grains except rice are still so hard for me to digest. Had some severe reactions to Quinoa, Sorghum and Amaranth which my dietician suggested so guess my gut was really in bad shape pre dx.

Anyway thanks so much for the tips. I so appreciate all the time you folks and Al spend in trying to help us newbies.

Nancy

[Irish Daveyboy]

[maranagal]

Ahhh...fudge puddles. Dunno. Just took some raspberry thumbprints out of the oven and they're a bit too crumbly. Another recipe to modify for our altitude and climate....

Al, you need to give me more time to catch on to your shorthand.

[maranagal]

Hi David,

I'm so glad you popped in cuz I've been meaning to post a message on your site saying thank you for your wrap recipe. I loved their flavor but they too were just a little stiff and crumbled when I tried to fold them. BUT they were my most successful attempt so far. Somebody on your site posted some changes to the original recipe that I downloaded and am gonna try.

Yep...downloaded the gram converter too and put it in my recipe binder.

Have been to the Vegiac site and another vegan site where I found some great eggless quiche recipes. Tofu is now on hand at all times.

I commend you, David, for learning to bake from scratch at your age and for all the wonderful recipes and info you have on your site!!!

Nancy

[celiacmaine-iac]

Here is a recipe for crepes that I converted to GF. They are as good as my pre-GF crepes.

I suspect that if you are using only rice flour to make your wraps, that might be part of the problem with them cracking. Lately I have discovered a wrap made by LaTortilla Factory. They are called Sonoma gluten-free, wheat-free wraps. Just make sure the pkg. says gluten free, because I thought I saw another non-GF tortilla at the store called Sonoma wraps as well. They are excellent, and stand up to fillings very well. I just heat them for 30 seconds in the microwave on 60% heat, and they fold beautifully. Not sure if you can handle the grains in them. They contain tapioca flour, whole grain ivory teff, and whole grain millet flour.

[maranagal]

Thanks a bunch for the welcome and the recipe, Steph. I'll definitely give it a try. Will also look for the Sonoma tortillas you mentioned.

Have tried several different flours and am now thinking I've just been cooking them too long. In pre GF days, I never had a problem making great crepes for homemade manicotti which is why I'm baffled.

Maybe it's the egg replacer factor but I've tried the powder and flax meal with the same results.

Not sure I'll get to it this week but I'll let you know how your recipe works for me.

Saw your list of abbreviations the other day. THANK YOU so much!!!
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Nancy

[cruelshoes]

Have you tried the wrap recipe from gluten free gobsmacked? It is based on the Lavosh recipe from 125 best gluten free recipes (which I love). It was modified considerably by the people over on Delphi, and then Kate posted it on her blog. They are great, pliable, and can be doctored up in tons of different ways.
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-Colleen

Diagnosed 8/05 via bloodwork and biopsy
11-YO son diagnosed 11/05 via bloodwork and biopsy

[maranagal]

OMG, Colleen, I'm drooling just looking at the picture. Definitely have to pick up some brown rice flour so that I can give these a try. What do you suggest I try as an egg replacer and THANKS SO MUCH!!!
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Nancy