Baking has always been a passion of mine and I’ve counted on Alice Medrich for decades for her clear, foolproof, and, most of all, delicious recipes at home and when I worked as a pastry cook. Her latest book, Flavor Flours, is full of meticulously developed recipes which you, too, can replicate thanks to Alice’s walking you through step by step.
The name, Flavor Flours, refers to Medrich’s feeling that whole grain flours are delicious in their own right, not something to add just as a healthy supplement. New, delicious flavors stimulated her creativity and the result is dozens of recipes featuring rice, oats, corn, sorghum, buckwheat, coconut, chestnuts and other nuts, which are all gluten-free.
Flavor Flours is organized by type of flour; rather than using an all-purpose blend as a substitute for wheat flour, these recipes use one or more of the flours to add flavor and texture in a meaningful way. The goal of the cookbook, in Medrich’s words, “is to celebrate the flavor of the flours, each one…treated as a hero.”
Medrich is a wonderful teacher; in this cookbook her voice is as authoritative and encouraging as ever, with cheerful revelations, such as: A lack of gluten can make baking less complicated. This is because mixing can be done in fewer steps without the need to inhibit gluten’s negative properties. She and Maya Klein – their baking partnership has existed for decades through many projects and books – tackled gingerbread, biscuits, donuts and crackers and more.
The gluten-free flours required exploration and experimentation, the results of which are discussed in the book. They use some techniques and ingredients typical to gluten-free baking, but, surprisingly, they were able to avoid the conventional use of xanthan gum or guar in génoise and chiffon-type sponge cake recipes; thoroughly beaten eggs provided more than enough structure.
Information about buying and storing flours ensures that you will make the most of your investment in perishable whole grain or nut-derived flours. There is crucial information about why it matters which brand of flours you choose. The ubiquitous “Bob’s Red Mill” rice flour is not as finely ground as “Authentic Foods” brand rice flour, which is not as finely ground as Thai rice flour. While this does not make a critical difference in some recipes, the textural difference is noticeable in puddings and pastry cream, which are satiny-smooth when made with the superfine Thai flour.
One of the recipes I tried from the book was Boston Cream Pie, which is not really a pie but a yellow two-layer cake with a pastry cream filling topped with chocolate glaze. The simple corn-and-rice-flour chiffon-type layers rose well and were tender, with a delicate hint of corn flavor. The pastry cream and chocolate glaze were both very easy to make; the plentiful, shiny glaze was a standout and, as suggested, leftovers made a great topping for ice cream.
The Dark Chocolate Soufflés was a recipe I experimented with a bit, out of necessity. I had been given some high quality chocolate which was 52% cacao, and having read Ms. Medrich’s tutorial on chocolate I knew it was important to make an adjustment to match the higher percentage. I deduced that if I used 3 ounces of 52% chocolate and 1 ounce of unsweetened chocolate I would be in the realm of the 4 ounces of 62% chocolate called for. As for the soufflés? These were one of the loveliest desserts I’ve had this cold, cold winter. They were quick to prepare and – contrary to soufflés’ reputation for “fiddly-ness”- could then be refrigerated for up to three days and baked straight out of the refrigerator, an easy and impressive party dessert. I served them dusted with powdered sugar alongside whipped crème fraiche
(another recipe from the book) and berries – heavenly!
This cookbook is a testament to Medrich’s attention to detail; it is visually beautiful and a complete, delicious guide to some new ingredients for many of us. Her sage advice, gleaned from painstaking research, and her enthusiastic coaching style communicate her love of baking and teaching in a most palatable way.
First published April 2015
Corn Flour Tea Cake with Currants and Pistachios
Excerpted from Flavor Flours by Alice Medrich (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2014.
This not-too-sweet quick bread, or teatime loaf cake, is crusty and crunchy on the outside and moist and buttery within. The festive golden cake is laced with pistachios, currants, and fragrant aniseed. After a day or so, refresh slices for a few seconds in the microwave, or butter and then toast them — so decadent! Or toast slices and top with just a drizzle of honey or smear of marmalade. Serve with coffee or black tea with milk.
Ingredients
- •1 cup plus 3 tablespoons (180 grams) white rice flour or 1¾ cups (180 grams) Thai white rice flour
- •¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons (50 grams) corn flour
- •¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons (180 grams) sugar
- •8 tablespoons (1 stick/115 grams) unsalted butter, very soft
- •Scant ½ teaspoon salt
- •1 teaspoon baking powder
- •½ teaspoon baking soda
- •¼ teaspoon xanthan gum
- •¾ cup plain yogurt (any percent fat) or slightly watered down Greek yogurt
- •2 large eggs
- •1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- •½ teaspoon aniseed
- •½ cup dried currants
- •½ cup (50 grams) chopped toasted pistachio nuts
Equipment needed:
Stand mixer with paddle attachment
8½-by-4½-inch / 6-cup (22 cm by 12 cm) loaf pan, bottom and all four sides lined with parchment paper
Preparation
Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 177° C (350°F).
Combine the rice and corn flours, sugar, butter, and salt in the bowl of the stand mixer and beat on medium speed with the paddle attachment until the mixture has the texture of brown sugar, about a minute. Add the baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, yogurt, eggs, vanilla, and aniseed and beat at medium-high speed for 2 to 3 minutes; the batter should be very smooth and fluffy. Beat in the currants and nuts on low speed.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and dry. Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes then carefully turn out onto wire rack to cool completely. The cake keeps for up to 3 days at room temperature in an airtight container.
Silky Saffron Rice Pudding
Excerpted from Flavor Flours by Alice Medrich (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2014.
Saffron makes an otherwise cozy pudding exotic and beautiful to look at, especially when garnished with Cardamom Brittle or with chopped pistachios and a little grated cinnamon stick. Vanilla works for everyone: serve it to the family with a favorite peanut butter or chocolate cookie or just top it with a spoonful of fruit preserves; dress it up for company with Oat and Almond Tuiles, Almond Tuiles, or Crispy Coconut Wafers. For the most luxurious texture, make these puddings a day ahead. This is one of the few recipes that requires superfine or Thai rice flour; get it from either an Asian grocery store or Authentic Foods.
Ingredients
- •30 saffron threads or 1⁄16 teaspoon finely chopped or crushed saffron
- •⅔ cup (130 grams) sugar
- •¼ cup (40 grams) superfine white rice flour or ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon (40 grams) Thai white rice flour
- •Scant ¼ teaspoon salt
- •4 cups (946 ml) half-and-half or 3½ cups (828 ml) whole milk plus ½ cup (118 ml) heavy cream
Equipment needed:
Eight 6-ounce (177 ml) custard cups or ramekins
Preparation
Use your fingers to pinch the saffron with some of the sugar to make the particles smaller, or use a mortar and pestle. Whisk the sugar, saffron, rice flour, and salt in a heavy medium saucepan. Add about ¼ cup of the half-and-half and whisk to form a smooth paste. Whisk in the remaining half-and-half. Using a silicone spatula or a wooden spoon, stir the mixture constantly over medium heat until it is very hot to the touch. Remove from the heat, cover, and let steep for 20 minutes. Reheat the mixture, scraping the bottom, sides, and corners of the pan, until the pudding thickens and begins to bubble. Adjust the heat as necessary to maintain a gentle boil. Continue cooking and stirring for 4 more minutes to fully cook the rice flour.
Take the pan off the heat and immediately pour the pudding into the cups. Let the pudding cool at room temperature for 1 hour, undisturbed (without mixing, jiggling, or spooning out a taste). Cover and refrigerate for at least several hours or (better yet) for 24 hours before serving.
