Can you believe we're about to turn the calendar and be into February?? Yeah, I sure can't. Just seems as if it's going too fast.
But, with each one of these calendar page flips, I take a moment to reassess where I'm at and where I'm going. I do look forward to my assessment time, because I get a chance to shift and realign my goals for the next month. This end of the month reflection has stemmed around this blog. Specifically, its focus.
I've been referencing feeling scattered both on my IG feed and here on this blog. I've been feeling disconnected from myself and my heart.
And one of the ways I've been scattered is in trying to choose the variety of recipes to prepare for the blog. Going back and forth between dinner and breakfast blog worthy recipes put some incredible pressure on me. I constantly felt like I wasn't good enough in anything I was doing. My words felt flat. Not sure if you could feel it, but it was suffocating me. And suffocation isn't a feeling I enjoy at all. Who does though right? I've lived with that feeling for most of my teens, 20's, and early 30's. I vowed once I got diagnosed with chronic fatigue that I'd not feel said feeling again...or at least recognize it immediately and do something different. And so, I am.
Starting today, I'll be focusing my blog on exploring and creating amazing, gluten free waffles for you and yours.
We will delve into a myriad of gluten free flours, binders, and even how to use vegan replacers! We will explore both sweet and savory creations. We'll also explore #funsauce Friday, where I look into some amazing compliments to the waffles I create--jams, jellies, chutneys, and syrups just to name a few. I look forward to sharing with you all of my knowledge and learning together through the ups and downs of my culinary experiments (I'm sure there will be downs, though I'm hopeful they will be few and far between).
Now, onto today's waffles and an introduction to coconut flour? Sure, we've all heard of it, but what exactly is it? And how do we use it in our baking?
Coconut flour is made from drying out the white meat of the coconut and pulverizing it into a flour like texture. It has amazing health benefits: from being high in fiber and trace minerals (keeping you regular and giving you critical nutrients people are typically low in), to being gluten free, hypoallergenic, and not as detrimental to blood sugar (not like regular gluten flour which can cause crazy blood sugar spikes). It's got a completely different make up than other gluten free grain and nut flours, so it needs a bit more tlc than other flours. Okay, how do we use it? First off, the recipes you make with coconut flour will need more eggs as a binder. Why? Because of its high fiber and the way the nutrients make up the flour, it's a bit more delicate than other grains and nut flours. It doesn't have the elastic like texture of gluten when liquid is added. So, it needs more of the binders which eggs have to create a stronger finished product. Otherwise, your waffles will fall apart (trust me on this one) ;) Also, coconut flour recipes need to be followed very closely in regards to the liquids you add. Coconut flour is super moist, so it absorbs a lot more than other types of flour.
There isn't really a lot of room for getting creative by adding and subtracting your liquids. Coconut flour seems to act a bit different from what you think it will. Adding a bit more flour in an effort to absorb liquid will make your final product super dry. Adding more liquid to loosen the consistency of the batter will make the batter too thick.
It's also helpful to sift your coconut flour if your flour is super clumpy. It will give you a more consistent texture. How do you store coconut flour? It's preferable to store this type of flour in an airtight container. If not, coconut flour can absorb a lot of moisture, get clumpy, and spoil very fast. You can store it in a dark pantry at room temperature for a few months. You can also store it in the fridge for about 6 months to a year! And a good rule of thumb--your nose is your guide. Give it the smell test, and when in doubt, throw it out!! These waffles were delicate, even with adding multiple eggs to the batter. So, let them cook a tad longer than you normally would....which is real tough for me to do!! I'm usually right there trying to take waffles off of the iron as soon as my green light dings. This is what happens when you pull it off as soon as your "done" light cuts on....
Whoops lol.....I had much better luck the second time around after letting the waffles cook longer and get a deep golden brown. The result: they were so delicious!! Super caramely, with a hint of almonds. Yummy!! Again, you know me and my no syrup with my waffles thing....I ate these with shredded coconut, pitted dates, and almond butter. My dad ate his with butter and syrup and gave rave reviews for you syrup lovers out there :)
Let me know what you think about this new focus for the blog AND if you've got a gluten free waffle recipe idea you want me to try. I'm looking forward to working for you and taking on this amazing journey!!
adapted from The Beautiful Balance
1 Comment
11/13/2023 10:56:35 am
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