Gluten-free Cooking for Kids

I've just received my first shipment of Teff flour and the excitement is nearly killing me.  This flour is well known in the US and hails originally from Ethiopia.  It has one of the highest protein contents making it incredibly nutritious.  After years of searching, I finally found this flour from a company called Pure Innovative Solutions.  You can find their details in the Useful Links section.  I've reproduced their information on Teff, from their website as it will give you a very clear idea of what I am talking about.  For me, the excitement is in experimenting and creating new textures and flavours particularly when it comes to bread and pastry.  I've been a bit "shy" of  gf bread and pastry as the few experiments I've made have been unmitigated disasters.  My philosophy has always been not to try and replicate something just for the heck of it, if it's meant to be bread or pastry, then it must stand on it's own merits and not be at all compromised.  Here is where I dig myself a big hole and try to dig myself out of it.  I am hoping with the aid of Teff, I will be able to create something tasty, delicious and nutritious.  I will attempt to chronicle my experiments and hopefully have a few recipes to show for it.  The big snow in and sub zero temperatures have certainly got my nesting instincts going and my aim for this week is to produce a delcious loaf of gluten free bread that Ruthie will eat!

Here's some of the information from Pure Innovative Solutions web site:

Teff is a tiny, round, khaki-colored grain closely resembling millet. Its scientific name is Eragrostis, teff. "Teffa", the Amharic word for "lost", is so named because of teff's small size. It is the smallest grain in the world and often is lost in the harvesting and threshing process because of its size.

This naturally gluten free grain is now grown in Europe, and its gluten free status is protected from cross contamination in the growitng and harvesting phase. This is the grain from which our prescription approved Teff flour is produced by very fine milling in a gluten free environment. A single grain of wheat weighs the same as 150 teff grains! Because they are so tiny, it is not possible to remove parts of the grain and it will therefore not lose any of it's fibre when processed. Teff is well known by Ethiopians and Eritreans for its superior nutritional quality. It contains 11% protein, 80% complex carbohydrate and 3% fat. It is an excellent source of essential amino acids, especially lysine, the amino acid that is most often deficient in grain foods. Teff contains more lysine than barley, millet, and wheat and slightly less than rice or oats. Teff is also an excellent source of fiber and iron, and has many times the amount of calcium, potassium and other essential minerals found in an equal amount of other grains.  It is considered a complete protein because it contains all 8 essential amino acids. It's high calcium content is a great plus for coeliacs, but phosphorus, iron, copper, aluminium, barium and thiamin are also present in high levels. Also lysine levels in teff can beat wheat or barley, hands down and it's iron content is four times greater than that of wheat flour -another great boon for coeliac sufferers!If you have the misfortune to also suffer from diabetes, then teff can by double useful as it can assist with controlling blood sugar levels.

WHAT CAN YOU USE IT FOR?

~These seeds can be added to baking or sprinkled on top of bread

~or used in salads to obtain the full nutritional benefit of this amazing crop. Teff can be sprouted too! See below for details

~add grains to soups and stews to thicken them and add nutrients, either cook them first or just add to soup for the last 10 minutes of cooking time.

~allow it to ferment for three days to make injera bread

~make porridge with it

~mix it with onion, garlic, herbs, seeds etc, to make a lovely tasting vegetarian burger

~throw it in with the vegetables in a stir fry to increase the protein content

~cooked it can be used as an accompaniment to a meal in place of rice in a pilaf

~cooked you can make into patties or sausage shapes after being mixed with meat (or bean curd for a vegie option)

~prepare home brewed gluten free beer/alcohol

( I know this is a parent and child friendly site- so parents may want to have a go!  Certainly after 5 days of being "snowed in" with two children the need for a home brew becomes quite appealing)

For those of you based in the UK, Teff flour is availablle on prescription.  I have yet to see the 'pure' version available on the shelves so if you do spot it, drop me a line and let me know where.  Meanwhile check out the link in the Useful Links section  www.innovative-solutions.org.uk and also many of their suggested recipes.

For information on other gluten free flours see the  Q&A Forum under general information.  If you've got some information about Teff flour (or any other gluten free flour) please share it with us.  We'd love to hear from you!