After last week’s sweet and bread-texture cravings, I decided to try to hand at autoimmune paleo (AIP) baking last week. OMG—what a joke.
Yup, baking is a science, and I am no scientist. (I’m a writer for Chrissakes…) I tried making paleo muffins and they were a total mess. They baked through, but they just didn’t hold together. I literally had to scoop my muffins out of the tins with a spoon each time I wanted to eat one—and then they crumbled like a Vegas hotel being imploded.
I’m a pretty decent cook but I don’t bake that often. And baking is the one type of cooking where I don’t mess with the recipes. I’m confident enough at other types of cooking to completely wing it, but I just don’t know enough about the properties of things like flours and the ratios of liquids to dry ingredients, rising agents, why you need eggs, etc. to wing it as a baker.
Muffin Fail!
Which is exactly why my baking failed last week.
Since the AIP diet is so limited in what ingredients are OK, baked goods and desserts are difficult. I did a lot of searching online for some recipes that used coconut flour but a lot of them still used some sort of other booster flour—like almond flour, which I can’t have in the elimination phase of this diet since I’m not allowed to have nuts—and last week proved that I might have a problem digesting nuts, so I wasn’t about to try a nut flour, cheat again and end up with another two days of going back to a sour tummy.
I was able to find a coconut flour cookbook (actually called The Coconut Flour Cookbook) at a local grocery store, so I decided that if I was going to try some baking, I’d need some guidance. The thing that I liked about this particular cookbook was that it had a lot of different recipes, not just sweets—it had recipes for things like crepes, pizza crust, etc. all of which could come in useful as I continue this diet.
I’d been craving some sort of apple and cinnamon muffin type thing, and I found a recipe for cinnamon bun muffins. But did I follow the recipe? Uh, no. I thought I could do my usual jazz-it-up scheme and add applesauce to the recipe and also skip the eggs. WRONG! I had found some recipes online for “gelatin” eggs – using gelatin as a substitute for eggs, presumably as a binder. And did I listen to the people that said I needed to use the red can of Great Lakes gelatin to make gelatin eggs instead of the green can, the one that I’m using for my daily gelatin supplement. No.
So the first issue was that the gelatin “eggs” I attempted didn’t really gel. I think they were supposed to actually gel. But I threw the mixture into the recipe anyway and with the applesauce. The batter turned out pretty thick. And of course I didn’t really read through the entire recipe (another thing I have a tendency to do) and I forgot to layer the batter with cinnamon topping, so I had to pour it on top and then stir up the contents of each muffin cup to distribute it. Oooops…
And the muffins just didn’t stand up or really bind together. I think the issue may be the lack of real eggy stuff. Oh, well. Also, after not having sugar for a few weeks, I have to remember that maple syrup goes a long way—the muffins seemed way too sweet to me. I probably should have cut down the syrup in the recipe.
Lesson learned—when baking, I, at least, need to follow a recipe!
I also made some Brussels sprouts last week—those I can wing with confidence!
Brussels Sprouts Two Ways
Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts
Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts
1 lb. Brussels sprouts, cored and cut into small ribbon shreds (chiffonade)
2-3 pieces Paleo bacon, diced
1 tbsp. maple syrup
Salt
Pepper
- Brown bacon pieces to desired crispness. (I don’t like uncooked bacon, so I let mine crisp up.)
- Leaving bacon bits and grease in pan, sauté Brussel sprouts in the bacon fat.
- Once wilted, add maple syrup, salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve.
Sweet and Sour Brussels Sprouts
1 lb. Brussels sprouts, cored and cut into small ribbon shreds (chiffonade)
Olive oil
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1-2 tsp. honey
- Saute Brussels sprouts in 1-2 tbsp. olive oil until wilted.
- Add balsamic vinegar and honey. Stir to coat.
- Serve.
Stay Hungry!
