Experiment: Yeast and Wheat Free Hot Cross Buns

So, after the success of my Bakewell tart slices, I decided to get even more experimental in the kitchen and do something completely different. Seeing as it is Good Friday, I thought I'd try my hand at making some yeast and wheat free hot cross buns.

Hot cross buns are a big part of out family's Easter festivities, but for years my mother and I haven't been able to eat them. A few years ago I tried my hand at traditional yeast risen buns, and they turned out really well. But generally speaking I avoid using yeast because the temperatures of my house and the houses of my family members (where I would bake if I'm there for a holiday) are too unreliable for proofing dough.

As such, I though I'd try to make some using my yeast and wheat free quick pizza base recipe, which I successfully converted into bagels. I thought of the theory, and thought it would work, and just made a few little changes: I replaced some of the warm water with a medium egg, and added some dried mixed fruit and spices. I kneaded it for about 5 minutes, allowed it to sit for 20 minutes, then rolled it into 8 balls. I put them together in close proximity on a flat baking sheet and baked them at 200 degrees Celcius for 15 mintes.

And here is what happened:

For some reason, the crusts baked up to hard, and they didn't spread properly in the oven. as you can see, they turned into balls instead of buns, and the crusts split. This suggests to me that the temperature was too high, and the dough was too firm.

The texture of the buns was really convincing and bread-like, and the taste was very good. But the shape was wrong and they were a little too dense. Next time I'll have to make the dough softer, maybe even more like a brack batter.

At least I gave it a go! And I'll know better for next time. Maybe between now and March 25th 2016 I'll have the recipe perfected.

THIS TIME 2014: No blog
THIS TIME 2013: Different Sponge Cake Flavours (no April Fool, it's after 12pm)

Variations on a Theme: Chocolate Chip Cookies

As much as I love chocolate chip cookies, sometimes the same old recipe cooked over and over again can get a little tired, no matter how tasty. Knowing what I'm like, I like to give old favourites a new edge by adding something a little unusual or unexpected, and these are no exception.

The other day I experimented with some new ideas for the American classic by adding some flavours to my standard recipe.

Coffee and Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Cookies

Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies

Both these batches followed my American Style chocolate chip cookie recipe, but had a few little twists. I used caster and light brown sugar, instead of dark brown sugar, and used milk chocolate chips (which I made by chopping up a milk chocolate bar).

For the coffee and cinnamon ones, I added 2 tablespoons of coffee grinds, 1 teaspoon of malted drink powder and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to the dry ingredients and sieved them all together. The malted drink powder isn't necessary, but I think it makes them taste a little more rich and full. If you are including it, however, be careful of the brand you buy and always check the label: some brands of malted drink powder contain wheat flour, so if you're wheat intolerant that just won't do.

Also, at the risk of sounding completely obvious, malted drink powder isn't gluten free. But then again, neither is spelt flour.

And for the orange ones, I simply creamed the grated rind of half an orange into the butter and sugars. That's all!

The above amounts apply to the ingredient quantities outlined in the original recipe, that is, 2 tablespoons of coffee grinds or the grated rind of half an orange to every 4 ounces (115 grammes) of butter and associated ingredients. If you were halving or doubling the original recipe, you would obviously have to halve or double the amount of extra ingredients.

Another variation I'd love to try when I next have the opportunity to bake up another batch of chocolate chip lovelies is replacing some of the chocolate chips with some dried banana chips. I love dried banana, and I've been told that banana and chocolate go really well together, and I'm willing to give it a go. The only time in my life that I've experienced chocolate and banana together is in a Chupa-Chup lolly, and it was a truly nasty synthetic experience which I wish never to repeat.

So, in the spirit of experimentation, what kinds of combinations would you like to try?

My Search for the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie Continues

For about 4 months, I have been experimenting with many different recipes and methods for making American style chocolate ship cookies. To me, the ideal chocolate chip cookie is should be thick enough but flat -- not puffy -- having spread from a ball into a perfect round during cooking; it should be crispy around the edges, but chewy and soft in the middle; it should have a slightly cracked surface like a ginger nut,  and have an even distribution of chocolate chips throughout.

It seems in the wheat-free world, this is a big ask.

I used to make these kinds of cookies when I could eat wheat and they turned out perfectly every single time, and now I just can't seem to achieve it anymore. I've tried well over a dozen recipes at this stage, and none have worked, and I've even put a considerable amount of time into studying the behaviour of certain ingredients in the cookies by altering them deliberately to see if I can predict any kind of effect: what happens if there's too much fat? What happens when there's too much sugar? What happens when the oven temperature is too low, or the cooking time too long?

At this time, I'm beginning to feel the burn of utter frustration. Part of me is thinking that maybe I'm just a perfectionist and every batch I've made so far has in actual fact been okay: they've never tasted bad, they've just never been aesthetically pleasing, or had a good texture or crumb. I have found, however, that this is a recipe that needs all spelt flour, and no substitution of cornflour. We need all the gluten we can get here without wheat, guys!

Here's a picture of my last batch:

They tasted amazing, but still didn't look right! One or two in this batch had that perfect cookie shape and cracked surface, but these were too thick. I suppose it's back to the drawing board.

Any suggestions?