I've almost driven myself to madness in the last few weeks experimenting with different gluten free flours in recipes. It's amazing how differently they work together, and I've found out the hard way, they are definitely not interchangeable. In the last month I've purchased all of these:
garbanzo bean flour
certified GF oat flour
brown rice flour
glutinous rice flour
sorghum flour
Bob's Red Mill GF flour blend
tapioca flour
almond flour
and i'm afraid there are more hiding somewhere in my freezer
I've got a flour garden, a serious credit card bill, and I STILL seem to need millet. I'm seeing so many recipes calling for millet. Sometimes, I just want to bypass the flour blends and use a good old mix like those gluten folks get to use. That's where Better Batter comes in. Better Batter's been around for a while, but because it's not widely available in stores, people seem not to know about it. I heard about it first on Heidi's site. I was searching for a way to make gluten free chewy pigs in a blanket, which is a Christmas tradition in our family, and Better Batter appeared to be my only hope.
The folks over at Better Batter were kind enough to send me out some samples, which I tried and loved. I tried all 3 mixes (flour blend, brownie, and biscuit/pancake) thanks to their generosity. My gluten eating husband declared their biscuit mix to create the most Bisquick like GF biscuits he'd ever had, even more so that GF Bisquick! With the flour blend, I dove into the cinnamon roll recipe from Better Batter's site and displayed on Heidi's page above, and it was quite the recipe! It was my first experience with yeast, and I can joyfully say I was shocked at how much it enhanced the dough. The rolls were chewy and delicious. I used palm sugar and made a glaze with cream cheese & agave. You'd never know you were missing the came sugar. I have one more batch of dough in the freezer I can't wait to defrost next weekend for breakfast.
The only drawbacks for Better Batter that I see are that I have to purchase the mixes online, and that there is sugar added to the brownie and biscuit mixes. As you know, I am not eating cane sugar, and so I'd prefer to have a mix without added sugar so I could add an alternative. That's one reason I'm giving away my last box of the Better Batter gluten free brownie mix. All you need to do to be eligible to win is to like my facebook fan page. That's it! And of course feel free to participate in a discussion or add a suggestion of a place I should eat while you're there. I'll pick a winner from one of my fans next week.
More Better Batter reviews:
Heidi with Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom - check out her beautiful cinnabon roll clones! I didn't photograph mine because they couldn't touch hers!
Kim with Gluten Free is Life
Just liked your facebook page! I haven't tried the brownie mix yet. I am out of flour and am almost out of pancake mix, which is just a bit sad. :(
ReplyDeleteIf you're still looking for millet flour, Richardson Farms makes their own. They sell at the SFC Farmers' Markets around town. They will set some aside or be sure to have the flour you want if you talk to them first. Hope that helps!
ReplyDeletethanks brooke!
ReplyDeletesaltskitchen - do you know if they grind it on the same equipment where they grind gluten containing flours?
The brownie mix may not be good for other people who doesn't like sugar.
ReplyDelete