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gluten_freeThese gingerbread bars from Cafe Johnsonia are chewy, spicy, and super delicious. The edges are chewy like a brownie, with the center being a little more dense and sticky. You can pick the bars up and eat them without them falling apart in your hands, but the crumb is still nice and light, and they're not gritty in the slightest.
Ingredients:
1 cup brown rice flour (140 grams)
1/2 cup sorghum flour (70 grams)
1/4 cup cornstarch (30 grams)
1/4 cup tapioca starch or sweet rice flour
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp fine salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup oil
1 cup granulated sugar (225 grams)
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped crystallized ginger (optional)
Time: Around 15 minutes of work, and around 30 minutes in the oven.
Tools: This recipe calls for an 8 x 11 pan which throughly boggled my kitchen so I use a 9 x 9 pan. An 8 x 8 would probably work, too, but whatever you have in that region is good. Otherwise no special tools except for maybe a stand or hand mixer.
Instructions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 9 inch pan and line it with a strip of parchment paper so that the extra drapes over opposite sides of the pan. You can use it as handles later.
2. In a medium bowl, add your dry ingredients and whisk together.
3. In another bowl, beat your eggs a little, then add your oil, granulated sugar, and molasses, and whisk together.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and use a mixer or a sturdy spoon to combine. Add in your crystallized ginger if you're using it. The batter will be very stiff, but not dry.
5. Spread the batter into your pan. It will sit very low in there. It barely covers the bottom of my 9 x 9 pan, but don't be tempted to put it in a smaller pan; it expands a lot in the oven, and the top smooths itself out while it cooks, so don't worry about it being swirled or funky while you're wrestling it into the pan
6. Bake in the center of your oven for 30-35 minutes. It will puff up A LOT. It's done when the center is set and a toothpick comes out mostly clean, but maybe a little sticky, like a brownie.
7. Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool. The middle will sink during this time.
8. Cut into bars and eat!
9. Store in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to three days. The bars will soften, the edges not quite so chewy, but they'll still be tender and moist, and they're just as good on day three. It's possible they could last longer on the counter, but they get eaten too fast. You can also freeze these: Cut into bars, individually wrap in saran, and store in a ziplock bag. Let defrost naturally, and then maybe a quick zap in the microwave before eating.
Notes: Measurements in grams are mine. I measured by volume, then weighed the result.
The recipe wants you to cook these at 375°F, but I dropped the heat because mine got a little too brown on the edges. They still get brown at this temp, but they're not burnt, so I called it good. If yours are getting too brown, you can always put some aluminum foil over the pan for the remainder of the cooking time. Or turn the heat down even more, which will probably require them to be in the oven slightly longer.
Ingredient-wise, I used sweet rice flour instead of the tapioca starch, and I didn't put in the white ground pepper or the crystallized ginger. My gingerbread had a slight heat to it in the background, but it wasn't overwhelming. I was using some elderly ginger, though; I think with a fresh jar it'd be just about right. For the fat I used avocado oil.isis tried it with butter, check out their version down below.
I considered dropping the baking soda, so that it wouldn't rise as much in the oven and thus not fall as far as it cooled, but never got around to it.
If your body parts are troublesome, you might want to use an electric mixer instead of mixing the batter by hand. The first time I made these I used a whisk and regretted it. Also the whisk wasn't strong enough, and I had to switch to a silicon spatula at the end. But it doesn't take much stirring, so a strong spoon and a strong arm will get the job done.
Variations: To make these egg-free, the recipe says you can use 2 flax eggs: 2 tablespoons ground flax seed with 6 tablespoons of water. Let that sit for fifteen minutes to get nice and slimy.
isis made these at high altitude with butter and experimented with some of the ingredients.
jesse_the_k also experimented with different combinations of flours.
Questions? Ask 'em!
This recipe appeared on my journal in a different form.
Ingredients:
1 cup brown rice flour (140 grams)
1/2 cup sorghum flour (70 grams)
1/4 cup cornstarch (30 grams)
1/4 cup tapioca starch or sweet rice flour
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp fine salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup oil
1 cup granulated sugar (225 grams)
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped crystallized ginger (optional)
Time: Around 15 minutes of work, and around 30 minutes in the oven.
Tools: This recipe calls for an 8 x 11 pan which throughly boggled my kitchen so I use a 9 x 9 pan. An 8 x 8 would probably work, too, but whatever you have in that region is good. Otherwise no special tools except for maybe a stand or hand mixer.
Instructions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 9 inch pan and line it with a strip of parchment paper so that the extra drapes over opposite sides of the pan. You can use it as handles later.
2. In a medium bowl, add your dry ingredients and whisk together.
3. In another bowl, beat your eggs a little, then add your oil, granulated sugar, and molasses, and whisk together.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and use a mixer or a sturdy spoon to combine. Add in your crystallized ginger if you're using it. The batter will be very stiff, but not dry.
5. Spread the batter into your pan. It will sit very low in there. It barely covers the bottom of my 9 x 9 pan, but don't be tempted to put it in a smaller pan; it expands a lot in the oven, and the top smooths itself out while it cooks, so don't worry about it being swirled or funky while you're wrestling it into the pan
6. Bake in the center of your oven for 30-35 minutes. It will puff up A LOT. It's done when the center is set and a toothpick comes out mostly clean, but maybe a little sticky, like a brownie.
7. Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool. The middle will sink during this time.
8. Cut into bars and eat!
9. Store in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to three days. The bars will soften, the edges not quite so chewy, but they'll still be tender and moist, and they're just as good on day three. It's possible they could last longer on the counter, but they get eaten too fast. You can also freeze these: Cut into bars, individually wrap in saran, and store in a ziplock bag. Let defrost naturally, and then maybe a quick zap in the microwave before eating.
Notes: Measurements in grams are mine. I measured by volume, then weighed the result.
The recipe wants you to cook these at 375°F, but I dropped the heat because mine got a little too brown on the edges. They still get brown at this temp, but they're not burnt, so I called it good. If yours are getting too brown, you can always put some aluminum foil over the pan for the remainder of the cooking time. Or turn the heat down even more, which will probably require them to be in the oven slightly longer.
Ingredient-wise, I used sweet rice flour instead of the tapioca starch, and I didn't put in the white ground pepper or the crystallized ginger. My gingerbread had a slight heat to it in the background, but it wasn't overwhelming. I was using some elderly ginger, though; I think with a fresh jar it'd be just about right. For the fat I used avocado oil.
isis tried it with butter, check out their version down below.I considered dropping the baking soda, so that it wouldn't rise as much in the oven and thus not fall as far as it cooled, but never got around to it.
If your body parts are troublesome, you might want to use an electric mixer instead of mixing the batter by hand. The first time I made these I used a whisk and regretted it. Also the whisk wasn't strong enough, and I had to switch to a silicon spatula at the end. But it doesn't take much stirring, so a strong spoon and a strong arm will get the job done.
Variations: To make these egg-free, the recipe says you can use 2 flax eggs: 2 tablespoons ground flax seed with 6 tablespoons of water. Let that sit for fifteen minutes to get nice and slimy.
isis made these at high altitude with butter and experimented with some of the ingredients.jesse_the_k also experimented with different combinations of flours.Questions? Ask 'em!
This recipe appeared on my journal in a different form.
Mmmmmm, ginger bars.
Date: 2019-09-11 03:10 pm (UTC)Re: Mmmmmm, ginger bars.
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