Staying Gluten Free

I first began to realize I was gluten intolerant during college. It was a few years before the GF craze really started (god I feel old). I come from a large family, so during my childhood we all ate a lot of pasta and PB&J’s. I just assumed everyone else had terrible stomach aches and shooting pains after they ate too, so I never made much of it. I had gone to doctors, but none of them could give me a clear answer or diagnosis.

After researching a few different diets, I decided to try a gluten free one. To my complete delite, after a month of sticking with it, I began to feel better. I wasn't doubled over in pain after dinner, less headaches, and I even had fewer breakouts. So fast forward a few years and I have honed my gluten free diet to to an art, a modern interpretive flailing dance routine where I narrowly avoid gluten or try to at least.

Favorite GF Recipe

I am an avid bagel lover and while my husband and daughter love to go out for bagels, I haven't found anywhere in Providence with GF bagels. Just because I can’t enjoy bagels out doesn't mean I can’t have piping hot, fresh bagels - even if I haven’t planned ahead. Here's one of my favorite GF bagel recipes.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 1/2 cups (490g) Gluten Free Bread Flour,* plus more for sprinkling

• 2 teaspoons (6g) instant yeast

• 2 tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar

• 1 1/2 teaspoons (9g) kosher salt

• 1 cup + 1 tablespoon (8 1/2 fluid ounces) warm water (about 95°F)

• 6 tablespoons (84g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

• Egg wash (1 egg at room temperature beaten with 1 tablespoon milk)

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper and set it aside. In a medium-sized, covered saucepan, bring the water bath (6 cups of water, 1 tablespoon molasses and 1 teaspoon kosher salt,) to a boil over medium-high heat.

• Make the dough. In the bowl of your stand mixer (or a large bowl with a handheld mixer with dough hooks), place the bread flour, yeast and granulated sugar, and use a handheld whisk to combine well. Add the salt and whisk to combine well. Add the water and butter, and mix on low speed with the dough hook(s) until combined. Raise the mixer speed to medium and knead for about 5 minutes. The dough is a smooth, enriched dough, but it is very thick. Spray a silicone spatula lightly with cooking oil spray, and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill for 10 minutes to make the dough much easier to handle.

• Shape the rolls. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, and transfer it to a surface lightly sprinkled with bread flour. Sprinkle the dough very lightly with more flour and turn it over on itself a few times until the dough is smoother. Using a bench scraper or sharp knife, divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Shape the pieces into rounds of dough and place them on the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart from one another. Place a floured finger in the center of each round of dough, press down to the bottom and move around in a circular motion to create a hole that is at least 1 1/2-inches wide.

• Boil the bagels. Place as many of the raw, shaped bagels in the boiling water bath as can fit without crowding and boil them for about 45 seconds total, turning the bagels over gently to ensure even boiling. Remove the boiled bagels from the water bath and return to the baking sheet. Brush the tops and sides with the egg wash and sprinkle with seeds if using.

• Bake. Place the baking sheet in the center of the preheated oven and bake until the bagels are golden brown all over and the internal temperature reaches about 180°F (18 to 20 minutes). Remove from the oven and allow to cool briefly before serving.

I am a salt fiend, so I put some extra salt on mine :)

Fav GF Restaurants

Staying gluten free when going out can be quite a challenge too. I made a list of some my favorite stops around RI.

1. The Grange/Wildflour

2. Flatbread - So far my favorite Gluten Free Pizza!

3. Two Ten Oyster Bar - Oysters and martinis are gluten free, right?

4. Sakura for Sushi but be careful, some of the soy sauce is not GF.

And when you are unsure if something is GF, don’t be afraid to ask!

More About Elizabeth

Elizabeth Stone, MBA is a Mompreneur in Rhode Island with a focus on Social Enterprises. She loves fitness and health and running around with her toddler Pepper. Her latest projects include BioSci Labs, BI Medical and Pepper’s Closet.  

Pepper’s Closet is a Benefit corp, helping spread ocean literacy and awareness through custom-crafted apparel. They donate 10% of all net profits directly to ocean conservation, education and cleanup efforts. Their goal is to create a movement that is as limitless and unstoppable as the ocean itself. Together, we can preserve and protect one of Earth’s greatest miracles. Support them here.