Tapioca Flour: Soft on the Stomach and Soft on the Tastebuds

I wanted to cook with cassava, and I thought a great way to do that would be with flour made from the root. Another name for cassava flour is tapioca flour. It is made mostly from bitter cassava, the kind with the most poison. However, the processing removes the poisons and what is left is wonderfully easy to digest. Therefore, foods made with tapioca flour are quite useful for people with digestive system disorders and allergies to gluten. The taste is quite mild with slightly sweet tones. 

Tapioca flour is mixed with other types of flour in most recipes I have seen. I chose the recipe from the back of the package of Bob's Red Mill Tapioca Flour, and modified it slightly.

Tapioca/Rice Flour Quick Bread

4 eggs, separated

1 tablespoon orange juice concentrate

1 teaspoon vegetable oil (I used almond oil.)

1/2 cup tapioca flour

1/2 cup rice flour

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoons baking soda

I preheated the oven to 375. I separated the eggs and whipped the egg whites until stiff. I slowly whipped egg the egg yolks (one at a time) into the egg whites. I then whipped the orange juice concentrate into the mixture. I next added the oil and mixed. After that I added the dry ingredients and mixed well. I poured the mixture into a lightly greased 9 x 5 x 2 1/4" bread pan and baked it for 25 minutes. 

The bread reminds me of corn bread in consistency, but its taste is milder. It makes a perfect base for jellies and jams because of its subtle taste.  

Apple Muffins with a Twist

I wanted to make something interesting during apple season and I came upon the perfect recipe at the blog http://cannelle-vanille.blogspot.com/2010/09/apple-gruyere-and-sage-muffins-and.html. I suggest that you visit this site for a visual delight. Aran Goyoaga, the author is a mom, photographer, and cook. Her photography is soft and elegant, with gorgeous props and backgrounds!

I modified the recipe a bit, but the combination of the apple sweetness, gruyere earthiness, and the "piney" sage taste was a great blend. I am partial to the taste of rice flour, and the gruyere is a cheese that blends well with other flavors and does well during baking. The topping that you see on the top of my loaf in the photograph is melted, shredded gruyere.

The recipe makes 6 muffins and a small loaf or 2 small loaves. To make them you will need

1 cup (150 grams) superfine brown rice flour
1/2 cup (75 grams) millet flour
2 Tbs (30 grams) potato starch (flour)
2 Tbs (20 grams) tapioca starch (flour)
1/3 cup (70 grams) cane sugar
1 tsp (8 grams) baking powder
1/2 tsp (3 grams) baking soda
1/2 tsp (5 grams) salt
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1 Tbs fresh sage, finely chopped
1 cup (55 grams) shredded Gruyere
1 egg
1 cup (250 ml) buttermilk
1/4 cup (55 ml) olive oil
2 apples, peeled and small diced
Extra shredded Gruyere for topping

In a large bowl, whisk together the first 11 ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk and olive oil. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until combined. Fold in the diced apples.

Scoop batter into muffin tins or loaf pans. Bake at 400F for 20 minutes for the muffins and 40 minutes for the loaf.

This is a closer view of my results.