Rice Flour

Rice flour is an alternative flour to gluten flour made from wheat, barley and rye.  Often rice flour can be substituted in recipes calling for wheat flour, however the taste and texture may be altered.  Rice flour has less protein that wheat flour.  Rice flour is higher in carbohydrates and lower in fiber that wheat flour.  Both flours are low in fat.  Wheat flour has more protein.  Rice flour is higher in calories.

Rice flour can be made from white rice or browning rice.  The fineness of the flour can be different from wheat flour.  All flours can have different grades of fineness.

Try using rice flour in pancakes and waffles, muffins, cakes, bread, cookies, thickening in soups and sauces, and batters for deep frying.

This Week’s Challenge – Experiment with rice flour

            Try substituting rice flour for all-purpose flour in a recipe.  Decide on a recipe.  Research online for suggestions to help with using rice flour for a substitute.  What were your results?  How was the recipe different?  What did you like about the substitution and what did you not like?  Would other alterations like, more salt, have helped the result?  Remember to record your findings in your journal.

Tip for this Week -  Rice flour

            Rice flour has less protein that wheat flour and can be drier.  It is recommended to and more eggs to baking with rice flour.  Often more liquid is needed, but let the batter set for a few minutes to absorb the liquid before adding more.  Sometimes more salt or baking powder are needed.  It depends on what you are making with this substitution.

This Week in Punkin’s Kitchen

Lemon Cream Cake with Rosewater Glaze

Lemon Cream Cake

½ C     Butter, unsalted at room temperature

2 C      Sugar

4          Eggs

2 C      Rice Flour

2 t        Baking powder

½ C     Cream or buttermilk

1 T       Lemon peel, grated

1 T       Lemon juice

1 t        Vanilla

Glaze

1 C      Water

¾ C     Sugar

1 t        Lemon zest

1 T       Rosewater

The ingredients

1.    Cream the butter and sugar.

2.    Mix in the eggs.

Dry ingredients added to the egg mixture

3.    Add the rice flour and baking powder.

4.    Add the cream, lemon peel, lemon juice and vanilla.

Liquid ingredients added.

5.    Pour into a prepared tart pan.

Mix gently.

Spread in a prepared tart pan.

6.    Bake at 325 degrees 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Allow to cool.

7.    Allow to cool while you make the glaze.

8.    In a small saucepan, add the water and sugar.

Bring to a boil and stir to dissolve the sugar.

9.    Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a boil.  Boil one minute.

10. Remove from the heat and add the lemon zest.

Add the lemon zest.

11. Stir to cool about 1-2 minutes.

12. Add the rosewater.

13. Poke holes with a fork into the cake.

Slowly add the glaze allowing the cake

to absorb all the glaze.

14. Pour the glaze slowly over the cake a little at a time until all the glaze is added.

The lemon zest show be visible on the surface of the cake.

Fish of the Week

Fish & Chips with Rice Flour Batter

2 lb.     Cod Filets

            Vegetable or Canola oil

New potatoes, tri color, sliced

Salt

1 C      Rice flour

1 ½ t   Baking powder

1 t        Salt

            Pepper to taste

1 oz.    Beer

The ingredients

1.    In a heavy frying pan or Dutch oven, add 2-4 inches of oil and heat on high heat.

2.    Wash and scrub, the new potatoes and slice with a knife or crinkle cutter and sprinkle with salt.

I chose to make crinkle chips.  This an old

cutter that I use to cut vegetables and fruit.

I like using different colors to make the dish interesting.

3.    When the oil is hot about 425 degrees, add the potatoes and fry until golden brown.

4.    In a small bowl add the rice flour, baking powder, salt and pepper and blend.

Stir the flour to distribute the seasonings.  This

is a good place to experiment with other seasonings.

5.    Dredge the cod fillets in the flour mixture and set aside.

Add the beer and blend.  The bear will eventually stop foaming.

6.    Add one tablespoon oil and the beer to the flour mixture and stir.  Allow to set to thicken.

7.    When the potatoes are done, remove from the oil to drain on paper towels and sprinkle again with salt.

8.    Drip one filet into the batter and drop into the hot oil.

When the potatoes are done, remove them from the oil

and place on paper towels to drain.  Sprinkle well with

sea salt.  Dredge to cod in the batter and add the cod to the

same oil used for the potatoes.

Add caption

9.    Continue with the other filets until the pan is full.  Do not crown the filets, they should not be touching.

10. Cook until lightly browned on one side and turn to brown the other side.

11. Remove each fillet when done to drain on paper towels.

12. Serve with tartar sauce, cocktail sauce or my favorite Sriracha ketchup.  Also malt vinegar or fresh lemon go well with this.

Note: the rice flour texture is a little different.  It will not turn dark brown, a beautiful light golden brown.  It will be a little more crunchy.  It is hard to get it to stick to the fish, so there may be patches of naked fish.

Happy cooking!