testing prehydrolysed tapioca starch - PREJEL from AVEBE FOOD as an addition to gf flour

The wonders of LinkedIn mean that I can try using a dry powder form of my tapioca gloop.  I take 100ml of water 10gm of tapioca flour, stir together while cold, then cook, stirring constantly, to a clear gel.  I use this to add flexibility and ease of handling when making pasta and flatbreads.  It is a bit of an effort doing this each time, and I wondered if a dry version could be added to the flour, which would mean a pre-mixed flour could be made available.

I got sent a tub of this powder some time ago, but with moving house it has sat unused.  Last night I amused myself running a first test.  I made two small batches of flatbread, using 100g of my standard flour mix (40% urid, 40% tapioca, 20% cornmeal).   To one I added 10g of the PREJEL. I used this amount as I wanted to be sure to spot the effect if there was one.  I added cold water to get a firm dough (100ml for the batch with PREJEL, 70ml for the plain).  I let them rest for ten minutes and then rolled out four flatbreads.

The dough with the PREJEL felt plump and soft, and rolled without any tearing.  The plain dough took a little more care to produce a flat disc.

I cooked both on a non-stick frying pan.  It is the first time I have tried cooking flatbreads on my new induction hob, so I was not too sure of the right heat settings, but both batches were treated the same.

Both batches of flatbreads were flexible when they were first cooked. I rolled and rerolled them several times, and both retained their shape.  The plain flatbreads had a slightly leathery texture between the teeth, the PRJEL flatbreads had a slightly more adhesive feel.

As both batches were flexible I reheated one of each, to mimic a possible normal use if buying flatbread readymade.  The PREJEL flatbreads were more flexible after this, but both still retained their shape and could be rolled.  In a more extreme test I left the flatbreads out on the worktop overnight, not wrapped or covered in any way.  The next morning the plain flatbreads were stiff and could not e rolled without cracking.  The PREJEL batch could still be rolled and were soft enough to eat without difficulty.  The slit visible in the PREJEL flatbreads on the top were not cracking but the way I marked the flatbreads to be able to tell which batch had the PREJEL in.

top - PREJEL, lower - plain.  10hrs uncovered

I should have run a test comparing my tapioca gloop to this powder as well as the plain flour.  However, it is clear that the addition of some of this PREJEL gives a dough that is easier to work and a flatbread that remains flexible and easy to chew.

Flexible gluten free flatbreads/wraps

These wraps are soft enough to fold around fillings and make ahead for a packed lunch. This quantity makes four seven inch wraps.

Ingredients

Tapioca gel – 100ml water and 5g of tapioca flour.  Mix tapioca into cold water and cook until a clear gel, stirring continuously

120g gf flour (40% urid, 40% tapioca, 20% cornmeal)

2 tsp oil

Mix flour into cooled tapioca gel and oil.  Knead until soft and smooth.  Wrap and leave to absorb water for ten minutes (you can use dough immediately but it is easier to handle if left to sit at room temperature).

Roll into circles that fit onto your griddle/pan. Use a floured board.

Heat pan – medium temperature.  Place flatbread on pan and leave to cook for a couple of minutes – it should form little air bubbles.  Turn over and cook second side.  You may want to press the edges down if they look like they are not cooking- just use a fish slice or equivalent.

Wrap in a clean tea towel to keep warm as you cook the rest.

gluten free chappattis / wraps

stack of gluten-free flatbreads

As easy flatbread that can can be served with curry or salad or used as a wrap.

I tried two recipes, on using tapioca gloop, the other using water to bind.  I did the one with the tapioca gloop after being disappointed with the way the flatbread cracked when being rolled.

For those of you who haven't tried tapioca gloop (I think others call it gel) it is a great product for giving flexibility to foods, and making doughs easy to roll.  Just take 10g of tapioca flour, mix it with 100ml cold water, and stir over heat until it goes clear.  Cool and use as the liquid in the recipe.


First recipe
Ingredients

• 50g buckwheat flour
• 100g gf flour (40% urid, 40% tapioca,20% cornmeal)
• 2 tbsp oil ( I used olive)
• 60 ml water
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch salt and sugar if wanted

Whisk flours, baking powder and flavorings together.

Stir in oil and water and mix until smooth and flexible.  Add extra water if needed so that when you press the dough the edges don't crack.  Leave to sit under a damp cloth for a few minutes.  As you take pieces to roll cover the rest of this dough with the damp cloth to stop drying out.

Take a golfball sized piece and roll thin, keeping pin and board well dusted with flour.  Cook on a medium griddle until just cooked - the main part of the flatbread will look whiter and bubbles will form, any hot spots will be gold to black depending on quite how hot your griddle is.

Turn over and cook second side.  If you have big bubbles holding the flatbread off the griddle you can press down with a cloth or paper towel.  When I was little and being taught how to make chapatis this is what we did to get the dough to form one giant bubble so that the bread could be opened when cooked.  You probably won't get quite this effect, but it is a technique for ensuring even cooking.

If you like a rustic charred effect you can put the flatbread on an open flame when ready - this used to make our chapatis expand like balloons.

Recipe 2

Having been disappointed by the flexibility I made the recipe again using the same ingredients but tapioca gloop and reducing the water.

Ingredients
50g buckwheat
100g flour (40%urid, 40% tapioca, 20% cornmeal)
tapioca gloop made with 10g tapioca flour and 100ml water
pinch salt and sugar
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp oil
extra water to make smooth dough.  I needed another 30ml

Knead until smooth, by hand or with machine.  Cover as before with damp cloth.  Roll and cook as before on medium griddle.

During the cooking stages these two flatbreads behave pretty much the same.  The difference shows if you handle them the way you would if filling.  Here are photos of both types of flatbreads rolled and unrolled twice for comparison.  Unless you are intending to eat these flatbreads immediately you make them and don't much care how they handle, it is worth the extra few minutes making the tapioca gloop/gel.

flatbreads 1(top) and 2 - rolled

flatbreads unrolled , 1 on right

flatbreads re-rolled, 1 on right

flatbreads opened out, 1 on right

Quinoa - a eulogy

I have realised that many people aren't sure what to do with Quinoa. For a start they are put off by the fact that this lovely word is actually pronounced Keenwa, though I don't see why we shouldn't rise up as a people and declare that we will say it the way it is spelled.

I use a lot of quinoa as it has all the essential amino acids. It is, in effect, a complete protein, a bit like having beans on toast, or meat. It is quick to cook compared to brown rice, easier and more forgiving in technique than white rice, and goes with a wide range of flavourings. My husband is put off by the acrid taste it can have, but I have found that if you rinse it before using it this flavour vanishes. To cook it whole just put a little over twice the volume of water to quinoa (I use an espresso cup full for me) and cook over a gentle flame until it has absorbed the water. When it is cooked it will have a visible white line that seems to separate off - there is nothing wrong with it, so don't assume you have done something terrible and throw it away.

I use it on cold wintry days instead of porridge ( I don't eat oats). I serve it with apple sauce, raisins and cinnamon, with a touch or sugar, or, for preference, agave syrup.

It is great with roasted winter vegetables and a spicy tomato sauce. It is good with a vegetable curry when you want to increase the protein of the meal.

It is a good cous cous substitute, dressed with vinaigrette or other salad dressing and loaded with feta and olives or any other intense flavours you like. This works well as a lunch box salad, as it gets better as it sits.

It is also good for baking. I make flatbreads from it as well as using it in cookies and crispbread. It gives a flexible high-protein bread, especially if combined with tapioca flour. You can buy quinoa flour but this does get that unwelcome flavour I mentioned. Instead, rinse whole quinoa and dry it in the oven. Grind using a flour mill or other grinder to a flour. Mix with water to a stiffish dough and roll into flat circles. If this feels like too much work, get a tortilla press- the plastic ones work well and are cheap. To make life easier get a sheet of the silicon baking material and cut two circles the same size as the press. Place one in the press, put a floured blob of dough on, place the other circle of silicon on top and press. Open the press, rotate the dough sandwich a bit and press again if you think it needs evening out. Place on a hot griddle and cook on both sides.

If you look at websites about making tortilla they will say place the dough in a sandwich bag to make it easier to handle. This is a much messier solution that is also more wasteful as you need a new bag when they distort or tear. I am still using the same two circles of silicon as I did when I started a couple of years ago, and they were cut out of a sheet that was getting too ragged for normal baking use. The other advantage of the silicon is that you can place the breads on the griddle even if they are a bit stuck as the silicon doesn't melt instantly the way a plastic bag would - in fact the silicon makes this easier to handle at each stage.

The crispbreads I have a recipe for elsewhere on this blog are made with quinoa and urid and polenta flour. Adjust your mix to get the flavours and textures that you want.

Don't be afraid of the quinoa. It is an easy to use, nutritious food that is very versatile.