Thursday, August 23, 2012

Is it possible to make a gluten free, refined sugar free and dairy free browine that tastes good?


There's only one way to find out!

As my life progresses and I learn about gluten allergies, dairy allergies and the ill-effects of my beloved refined sugar, I am now ready to delve into the world of baking with these things in mind…and out of product. Curiosity has gotten the better of me...can a brownie be made without sugar, eggs, all-purpose flour and BUTTER and still be good? Is it possible? Hmm, I'm not too sure about this one, but determination is one of the things that drives me in life and I am determined to give this recipe my best shot. Being a baker by trade and having created many baked items in my life, I think this direction may become a new passion for me. 

My mission is to start off by making brownies with brown rice syrup instead of sugar and brown rice flour instead of all-purpose flour. Eventually, once I get that recipe down, I would like to replace the eggs with tofu and replace the butter with vegetable oil. Can I do it? I will definitely keep you posted! I am going to start by making my own brown rice flour. As I research this online, I understand that brown rice flour can be found in almost any market, and it can be fairly simple to make at home. Well, since I have a 15 pound bag of brown rice in the pantry…that’s right, I will attempt to make my own. 











  • So far the process is slow and loud. (Making popcorn at the same time doesn’t do much to help the noise level in the kitchen.) 
  •  I feel the need to shut the Cuisinart off every few minutes to let it rest because the machine gets pretty warm.  
  • OK, after 45 minutes of grinding I think I have the texture that I am looking for but note: Next time I am out, I will look into purchasing the rice already ground.  
It is important to grind the rice into a fine flour, otherwise you can feel the texture of the rice grains in the final product. (Oops, I just found a grain of rice in my water glass!)