Loading

3.03.2008

Buckwheat Coconut Caraway Biscuits [Low Carb]



1/2 c. organic buckwheat flour
a generous 1/4 c. organic coconut flour*
1 t. non-aluminum baking powder
sea salt
1 t. organic raw apple cider vinegar
1-2 t. freshly ground caraway seeds (fruit)
onion and garlic powder
punch oregano
2 T. smart balance light, melted or 2 T. organic coconut oil
2 eggs
2 T. agave
1 T. flax (optional)

* You can add water or coconut milk a few tablespoons at a time if yours thickens too much for a biscuit dough

In a medium bowl, mix the eggs (or egg substitute with 3 T. ground flaxseed), melted vegan smart balance (or organic coconut oil, whichever you are using), agave, sea salt, and apple cider vinegar. Add in the coconut flour, buckwheat flour, baking powder, flax (whole or ground) to the bowl of liquids. Stir the batter as you add the coconut flour and flax so that no lumps are formed and the moisture is distributed evenly. You can add a few tablespoons of water or unsweetened applesauce if the dough becomes too thick and tough to stir. The high fiber content of the coconut flour, flax, and buckwheat will absorb the moisture quickly. Grind the caraway seeds in your mortar by hand, with a little coffee grinder or blender, or just use pre-ground caraway. I prefer the smell of freshly ground caraway seeds and it only take a few seconds to take out any morning aggression on those poor whole seeds with my marble mortar :)

Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray and drop the dough onto the sheet. You can also use a regular muffin tin as I did. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. Keep your eye out after 13 minutes so the muffins do not brown too fast. Remember coconut flour tends to need to cook a little longer than other flours, but it remains moist throughout the longer baking period.


Jon's sunflower seed and shredded cheese variation

Coconut flour and flax are excellent low carb, high fiber healthy flours for gluten and dairy free baking. Flax is a great vegan source of essential Omega 3 fatty acids and is more bioavailable to the body in ground form. You can, of course, chew the whole seeds throughly, but if you're anything like me then you tend to gulp your food, so freshly ground flax is a better option. If you do cook with flax, keep the heat to a minimum (I know, I'm using it here! However, when baked inside a dish the temperature is not as high as the crust or outside of the food. This means the flax is somewhat safer baked into a food then otherwise. Ideally, you would not really bake with flax since the high heat can damage the delicate Omega 3 fats, causing rancidity.) Buckwheat flour is also high in fiber and thus low in "net carbs," making it a great nutritious flour to add to your low glycemic index/low carb gluten free pantry.

Most people know caraway better for its use in rye bread, a gluten grain. I love the smell and taste of rye bread, but after more thought I realized that it was only the smell and robust flavor of the caraway seed which I enjoyed. If you are gluten free and remember that rye bread smell with longing, I suggest just adding some fresh caraway seeds to your gluten free bread. It really does give that rye smell and feel (minus the gluten, of course :) ) Rye bread also has an interesting past shrewed in mystery where it is theorized to have caused hallucinations leading to the Salem witch trials whereby the accusers ingested rye bread contaminated with mold (ergot poisoning, like LSD). Its an interesting tidbit you can ponder as you munch on gluten free coconut caraway biscuits in glee, eh?

Cindalou's Kitchen Blues: Healthy Celiac / Coeliac Gluten and Dairy Free Recipes

12 comments:

  1. Yum! I love when I find recipes with ingredients that I have on hand -- I have some coconut flour and buckwheat flour I've been meaning to use.

    Quick question, I may have missed it, but I didn't see an amount listed for the coconut flour?

    ReplyDelete
  2. LOL, I sure missed the amount of coconut flour, eh? I have that written down @ home and I'll be sure to fix it later. Thanks for keeping me on my toes :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. These look SO good and although I'm currently on a no-dairy binge, Jon's version with the cheese oozing from the buckwheat almost makes me jump ship and go for the gold (cheddar). Did you make this recipe up, Cindy Lou? Good job -- and we seem to have the same ingredients lying around. I'll try this.

    Love all your health notes and nutrition tips! Plus, you're just so darn creative with your food alchemy. I probably should use the word "chemistry" rather than "alchemy" but since you brought up magic and sorcery, alchemy seemed a good fit. Magical muffins! Yum!

    Melissa

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lovely biscuits...I like the sound of the ones with cheese. Yummm....

    Sheltie Girl @ Gluten A Go Go

    ReplyDelete
  5. i can't wait to try these! I actually have all of these ingredients!! Yum!! Ps.. I didn't realize you were local until I saw Natalie's post about your cake! I'm in eastern NC!

    ReplyDelete
  6. These look wonderful! I love buckwheat and coconut flours for low carb baking. Do you think I could sub a wee bit of blackstrap molasses for the agave? Been craving biscuits so I will give these a shot. Thanks for much for providing gf AND low carb recipes! I will keep checking back.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I just found - and immediately tried - this recipe. Please tell me why mine were dark brown, dry and on the nasty side. Are there different kinds of buckwheat flour?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Carol,

    I'm glad you gave the biscuits a shot, I"m sorry they didn't work out well for you. As for the difference in buckwheat flours, I do not know since I only use 1 brand-Arrowhead Mills. I have found, however, that the brand of coconut flour matters. I used to use Bob's Red Mill which I really love and bakes well as a portion of a flour gf mixture, but it is more expensive. I now use Tropical Traditions coconut flour which has different nutritional information- much more fiber. The Tropical Traditions flour absorbs more liquid and cooks best with dairy (which I don't use for myself). I have to increase the cooking time for the TT flour or the biscuits will turn out a mushy mess. Perhaps it was your brand of coconut flour which made the difference- that is my experience with it anyways. If so, the cooking time here could be too short or long for you. I hope that helps!
    Traditionally, coconut flour recipes are loaded with dairy (milk, cream, or butter), tons of eggs, oil, and liquid sweeteners like honey. I substitute agave, sometimes use coconut oil or df gf "butter" like Smart Balance or Earth Balance brands. I tend to use ground flax and fewer eggs when making coconut flour pancakes. Coconut flour can be difficult to bake with if you aren't watchful of batter consistency and baking time. I wish you more luck. I make coconut flour based biscuits, pancakes, and mini "cakes" frequently, so I'll give this coconut-buckwheat recipe another whirl here soon and let you know if any ingredients/cooking time or directions worked better for me. (I just don't really ever cook the same dish twice :) )

    Lauren-
    Yess! I am glad others share my affinity for coconut and buckwheat. I think blackstrap molasses would be a fine substitution for the agave, but I'd use less molasses than agave since it has such a strong flavor and is more viscous. Have you tried adding a bit of ground flax? I made pure flax baked goodies too, but they have a completely different taste and texture- they work best for muffins or flat breads (Laura Dolson at About.com's low carb blog has a few good recipes to try there).

    Carrie,
    There seem to be a lot of gf bloggers here in eastern NC. We should meet (in all our free time, I know :) )

    Melissa,
    I bet by now you're back on dairy since I've taken months to comment back :) Yeah, it is a good thing I don't crave cheese biscuits since my usual "cheese" sub of nutritional yeast-based sauce wouldn't work and we know how awful those unfermented soy cheeses are! I am still working on a soy, nut, dairy, gluten, etc free "hard" grateable cheese. Perhaps I should cheat and read a cookbook one of these days, hehe.

    ReplyDelete
  9. This recipe is the first time I have ever used buckwheat flour. What I have from Bob’s Red Mill is so dark I was wondering how it would ever make muffins the color you pictured. Then, since you wrote you comments, I noticed on another site mention made of “unroasted (light) buckwheat flour.” There’s something I have to find out about ... but for now, I have the dark flour.

    I am also new to coconut flour. The bag I have has no nutritional information ... I live in the Philippines and it’s a local product. I realized that about coconut flour - that it needs “tons of eggs” - so I have been slow to use it. The fact that your recipe had so few eggs was one of the reasons why I tried it. Your comments about the about of liquid different coconut flours need was helpful. I will pay attention to that in the future.

    I also cut way back on the agave since I am suppose to be eliminating all sweeteners for a time. (I’ve been good for over a month ... it was time for a small treat!) Maybe that made a difference as well.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Yay! Low carb muffin. Love eating these while having my hot cup of milk before going to bed. I'm working hard to flatten my belly and I think I should include this is my diet.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Yum Yum! This looks just pefect! Thanks for the recipe!

    Best wishes!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi there! The biscuts look very good! Love your posts!

    ReplyDelete

Hi! Thanks for taking the time to comment :) Your comments help drive this healthy gluten free community.

As a token of our appreciation, our blog is DoFollow. In addition, as a top commentator, your blog/website will be linked on our frontpage. Thus, your comments here benefit your website, our website, and, ultimately, celiac awareness.

Blessed be,
Cindy