Uncategorized – BAREFOOT BAKING

First GF Focaccia

May 14, 2020Leave a comment

Gluten free baking is tough, especially with bread. Gluten holds the bread together and it also helps the dough rise and stay all fluffy by trapping the bubbles from the fermentation with the added yeast.

Yesterday evening after a particularly hard day with work, I got to take some time to just step back and do a little baking. We were already making a roast chicken with sweet potatoes and I just wanted something savory with the same herbs. On a whim, I looked up a few recipes and with some modifications and… pulled out a delicious gluten free focaccia out of the oven! I got a little nervous after I checked up on how the dough was rising (in an empty closet with a space heater since the oven was preoccupied with the chicken at too high a temperature) since many bread attempts went very poorly. Very relieved that it came out beautifully golden and very tasty. Reminds me of Italian bread dipped in some herbed olive oil… yum!

During the past few weeks there have been many baking fails with bread… and just dough in general. May get into that more some other time but for now these are some tidbits we’ve learned…

Measuring gluten free flour by volume (such as with a measuring cup) doesn’t work very well. The consistency of many gluten free flour blends is much more “fluffy” than all-purpose wheat flour. Even with a blend that says 1-to-1 measuring to flour you need to be careful. Packing the flour down lightly before leveling leads to PLENTY of inconsistent human error. Multiple doughs ended up just too mushy/wet and unable to hold any real three dimensional shape. Use a scale.
Just because the dough rises, it doesn’t mean it will stay. Gluten helped keep it all airy with that lovely texture. Without it, it often just falls flat and becomes dense. Make sure you have something that helps provide that sticky structure like xanthan gum. May want to experiment with the quantity. Psyllium husk powder can help make the dough more elastic yet stay together too.
Just accept that sometimes your dough isn’t going to hold itself up and consider baking it in a container in the shape you want your bread to be anyway…
Be patient with yourself. Have some fun.
Since we have the great option of a local compost drop off site there is at least the comfort that if there is an epic baking fail, it can get dropped off on the other side of town to return to the earth…

Happy Thursday! Time to figure out what’s for dinner …

-Feier

THE Cookie

May 9, 2020May 9, 2020Leave a comment

Macronutrients per THE Cookie:

220 calories
3g of protein
17g of net carbs
2g of sugar

THE Cookie was inspired by the desire from both of us to have a gluten and dairy free cookie without excess sugar, soy, crappy oils, and with a mouth-feel and taste of a real cookie. Often, the “healthy” cookie options break easily, dissolve in your mouth, feel like cardboard or taste similar to a piece of bark…

The process of making the cookies went very smoothly. Feier prepped the ingredients and rolled the cookie balls, and I helped with timing, transferring the cookies in and out of the oven, and calculated the macronutrients of the cookies. All in all, there were 24 cookies. It was a solid team effort, but Feier’s hands were sore later in the evening because the process of rolling this dough was tough! These cookies were dense…and they smelled amazing. The majority of the ingredients were one or all of the following: organic, non-gmo, free range, and all of the other “frees”… and low carb!

The birth of Barefoot Baking started with the “bread-making” (see About Us), but the idea of creating Barefoot Baking came while making these cookies. We thought of our logo, our name, and what we want to get out of this donation-based home bakery. We want to bake enough to create some goodies for us and share with others.

THE Cookie was and will continue to be a go-to staple!

-Adam

A little introduction to Barefoot Baking

May 9, 2020May 9, 2020Leave a comment

Barefoot Baking is a healthy baking duo, consisting of Feier Cheng and Adam Gloyeske. Feier loves to make things, is active, and enjoys healthy food. Adam is a licensed acupuncturist, hardcore runner that runs in those “toe-shoes”, and health enthusiast. Feier will enjoy a nice scoop of ice cream, a cookie, or piece of banana bread. Adam, on the other hand, is slightly picky about what he puts in his mouth. This rigidity is annoying to himself and at times, Feier. However, when 7:00PM rolls around each night, Adam is always complaining about how he’s still hungry. This seemingly constant hunger is due to his caloric expenditure from his running. He needs to eat about 3,000 calories of food a day just to break even on calories burned for the day, and that amount could get as high as 4,500 calories a day of expended calories. Adam’s complaints during these evenings usually sound something like like this…”I want pancakes”…”I want a cookie”…”Oh my god, gooey-gooey cinnamon rolls!” Feier’s typical responses were along the lines of “Then eat the cookie!”

Feier and Adam have a moderate amount of experience in the kitchen with simple dishes such as roasts, salads, sautéed vegetables, etc. However, baking is a whole different story. Feier is far more experienced than Adam from a baking perspective. With baking, the recipe matters, as well as the precise measurements. Adam had attempted baking in the past, but he didn’t take into account anything important regarding baking. His baking involved blended ingredients (in a blender) poured into a random pan, the oven set to 400 degrees and calling it good. It was NEVER good…

So, what did the duo do? During the COVID-19 stay-at-home order, they were forced to take matters into their own hands. If you’re wondering about the logo, it is inspired by the first attempt to make a gluten free bread. Feier prepped the ingredients for the recipe and Adam was doing the dirty work of trying to form a shape. It was time to mix the ingredients with the hand mixer. Adam, having never used a hand mixer before, thought he was getting ready to press the “ON” button, but, instead, hit the “EJECT” button. Of course, the beaters flew out of the hand mixer and into the wall. Epic fail. So, that’s how it all started and why the logo is of Adam running with a hand mixer.

Barefoot Baking’s goal is to improve as bakers, have fun, and make healthy baking options for people that are trying to have their cake and eat it, too. Simply put, to have a baked good without some of the common side effects that come with the consumption of excess sugar, gluten, dairy, soy, and industrial seed oils. The goods made will have catchy names inspired by personal stories, health goals, and other fun things. The nutrition of the goods will also be given for people to know, such as macronutrient levels and the potential health benefits of the goods. Anything the duo don’t eat (Adam is always hungry) will be shared with others!

We are excited to share our journey with you!

Adam Gloyeske & Feier Cheng