Hi all ~ I'm new here and a fairly new Vegan. In addition to being Vegan I am unable to eat potatoes, rice, corn, bread, whole grains, pasta etc. I'm limited to vegies (minus the ones listed), beans, soy, tofu and fruit. Condiments are fine also. If any one has some great recipes to pass along (pizza crust?) I would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks so much,
Babbs

Be more specific, exactly what grains/flours can't you haveor rather, which ones can you? Do you have allergies, celiac, or . .. ? That will help me try and revamp some recipes, there are tons of different flours out there to bake with.  Also, what things are you desperate to make, , bread, muffins, cookies, etc.  Having a few, even 2 or 3, fantastic recipes that work every time make life a lot easier and open up a lot of menu ideas.

So as I make a list, you can have
Soy flour
Garbanzo/fava flour

what about tapioca starch, or quinoa flour?  Arrowroot flour? Can you eat nuts? That would open up almond flour/meal.

Give me as much info as you can and I will try to see what I can do!  I have three little ones at home with me so it might take a few days, but hopefully I can make it work! I love a challenge.

Ok, I am thinking you could probably handle a bean flour mix that would contain Garbanzo/fava flour, Sorghum flour, tapioca flour (this is a starch from the root, not a grain) and arrowroot flour, again a starch from a root plant, not a grain.  If you can't handle sorghum, I might be able to leave it out.  The starch helps lighten the bean flour and give it some "chew".  This also has a protein content similar to wheat flour, so it bakes pretty well.  Xanthan gum is usually added to help give gluten free breads some structure, but you could leave it out if you can't  have it.  Also, most GF bread stuff has tons of eggs in  it to help the bread rise.  I use egg replacer and it still tastes ok, but it often doesn't rise like wheat breads.  That's ok for me.

Does this sound like a mix you could handle? If so, I will try making some pizza crust over the weekend. I have to track down some flour, I have most of this stuff already on hand.

Not really professionally trained, more like trial by fire.  I have been gluten free for 16 years, and both of my sibs also have celiac, 18 and 13 years diagnosed, so as weird as this is for some people, it actually is normal for me.  The only thing I can reliably bake with regular wheat flour anymore is cookies for my kids. Otherwise everyone just eats the same as me.

I have been contemplating making some pizza crust/ flatbread for dipping hummus, so this works out ok.

Ok so here is what I have accomplished so far, and I must say, it has been a tasty weekend!

The recipes I am using are modified from Bob's Red mill, which is where I get the Sorghum flour and the Garbanzo/Fava flour mix.  I can't locate Arrowroot around here right now, but these items are just as tasty without it.

A few thoughts first.

1.  Baking GF, which your diet seems to dictate, is a bit of an art form.  Your flours and raw dough are not going to act like regular wheat products so don't expect it to.  That is normal.  GF bread dough esp is much moister than regular bread dough, does not need to be kneeded and only required one rise, if at all.  You also can't overwork a GF dough like wheat doughs, they won't get tough because there is no gluten!  GF products mainly do not taste like wheat items, but they do taste GOOD.  Sometimes that can take getting used to.  One big trick to GF baking is using a combination of flours to achieve the best taste/ texture.  You can't just sub out the wheat flour for something else and expect it to be edible.  I think the easiest route is to find a combo of flours to use that give you the results you desire, mix up a big batch of the flour mix, and store in the pantry or freezer till you get the urge to bake.  Or find recipes that require a few flours and just measure out stuff as needed.  Personal preference.

This pizza crust is adapted from the bag of Garbanzo/fava flour mix from BRM.  I made it twice with some adaptations to try and find that "crispness" you were desiring.   I personally like a bit chewyer crust, like french bread.  I thought the results were pretty good, both in taste and texture, given all the stuff I've eaten over the years.  Some of the desired result is more about the method, rather than the ingredients.

for one crust (I used a 12 by 18 cookie sheet)

1 cup BRM Garbanzo/fava flour mix
2/3 cup Sorghum flour
2/3 cup tapioca starch ( also called tap. flour, it is the same thing)
2 Tb. soy milk powder (dried milk powder)
4 tsp Xanthan gum
1 tsp salt
1 or 2 tsp of Italian seasoning or other seasonings of choice, I like garlic powder and onion flakes
1 and 1/3cup of warm water
1 tsp sugar ( or agave, or maple syrup) this helps get the yeast started
3 tsp olive oil
2 tsp cider vinegar

anywhere from 1 tsp to 2Tbls of yeast.  This depends on how much you want the dough to rise.  For a crispy crust I would use about 1 or 2 teaspoons

extra olive oil or cooking spray for greasing the cookie sheet.

Pre heat oven to 450 and put rack on 2nd to highest level.  This is going to help crisp your crust.  Also, the dough will bake quick so it won't rise much.

Add Flours, milk powd, Xanthan gum, salt and herbs to mixer.  In separate bow/cup mix warm water, olive oil, vinegar and sugar.  Prep cookie sheet by spraying with oil or cooking spray.

Start mixer to combine the dry ingredients, then slowly add the wet ingredients and mix for 2 or 3 min till combined completely.  Dump all the  dough on the cookie sheet, spray your hand with some cooking spray, the dough is sticky, and pat dough down as thin as possible.  I go for thinness here, not perfect shape, it still tastes the same.  Bake in oven up to 10 min, then remove from oven, wait a few min, and then use a spatula to help remove the crust from the pan.  Top with ingredients and place directly on oven rack and bake till desired doneness.


My tips.  I spray two large pieces of wax paper with cooking spray and press the dough thin in between, then peel off one sheet and invert the dough onto a greased cookie sheet.  This makes the crust very easy to remove after baking.  I like to bake my crust only part way, maybe 6 min, then remove it from the oven and let it cool, they can be frozen then for later.  The crust will also shrink a little and get thiner.  Then I top it and place it on the oven rack to get a very crispy crust.  Keep the rack at the top of the oven for crispest crust, or use a well heated pizza stone.

This bread could also be cut into squares for dipping hummus or soups, or for sandwiches.

Let me know how you like it, and if there are any other things you are craving, I really like being able to use my experiences to help others learn, it can be so overwhelming at first, so I understand not knowing where to start.