"IS IT DONE YET???" SCD Baking Tips

Baking Specific Carbohydrate Diet items can be a real learning curve. I've had my successes and my flops, but bird-dog that I am, I'm not one to give up until I figure things out, so here is a compilation of stuff I've learned in the process. And I must give credit where credit's due: My daughter in her "test kitchen" in Ann Arbor is my long-distance baking buddy. We commiserate almost daily on all things SCD. Also, hearty thanks to my friend Julie, who encouraged us to take the plunge and try the diet.

One of the initial challenges was knowing when baked goods were done. At first I was producing muffins and cookies that were burned on the outside and goopy in the middle. Then I was told that the recipes in the book, Breaking the Vicious Cycle were written before the advent of digital ovens. Apparently, older ovens, when set at 350 were really closer to 325. I have found that most of the sweet recipes in BTVC bake much more evenly at 300-325... requiring maybe 10 or 15 minutes longer in the oven. (350 is still fine for savory recipes.)

And what to do when trying to manipulate the sticky, SCD doughs, since you can't flour your fingers? I've found that slightly wet fingers work splendidly for shaping SCD doughs: like shaping and smoothing the top of breads, and flattening cookies and rolls... or if you don't like to get messy, using a wet silicone spatula.

I've also had success rolling out cookie dough in the traditional fashion, on my butcher board, using almond flour to flour my hands, the board and the rolling pin. It works best when the dough has been chilled in the refrigerator for several hours.

I discovered a really neat way to simplify my weekly bread baking routine. I simply line the pan with parchment paper and the baked loaf pops right out (after it's cool enough to touch)... no need to butter the pan and it saves clean-up time!

It helps to lightly oil the cup when measuring honey... the honey slides right out. And a Pampered Chef Measure-All cup is the greatest for measuring sticky-stuff like honey and peanut butter...  This nifty gadget has an inner plunger that pushes out the contents from underneath... then a simple final scrape with a spatula, or in my case my finger, gets all the sticky yumminess into the mixing bowl!

I also swear by Pampered Chef Scoops for evenly depositing doughs and batters in their respective baking pans.

Sometimes a batter or dough might seem overly wet. Egg sizes vary and altitude can cause differences in moisture, so it's okay to add a little more almond flour...  but too much almond flour will cause an overly dense product. Also, I always pack my almond flour when measuring to make sure there are no hidden air pockets.

Egg is the glue that sticks things together. Egg is also a leavener and I have found that first lightly beating eggs, (I have them at room temp) then adding the honey, oil or butter, followed by the dry ingredients, a tendered, lighter product results.

Soda is the only other leavener allowed on the SCD and it reacts with acid ingredients (like yogurt) so adding a couple tsp. of yogurt to a recipe might make it rise better. Also be sure to store your baking soda in an airtight container.

And now for that all-important question: "Is it done yet?" In my experience, baking temperature is the most important factor, and as I mentioned before 300-325 degrees seems to be the best temperature for sweet baked goods... at least in my oven (digital/gas). You may have to experiment to find the optimal setting for your oven. Some SCD cookbooks call for oven temps as low as 300. The signs of a baked good being done as far as I'm concerned are: Springy and firm to the touch, nicely browned, starting to pull away from the sides of the pan, toothpick comes out clean, and even falling a bit. (It's perfectly normal for SCD cakes to fall a little.)

Also, I've noticed that all sweet baked goods taste even better the next day!

That's all folks... for now.  I'd love your comments and suggestions!

Gotta' go bake cookies.

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Comments

[Jilluck SCD Pal]

Hi Beth- Thank you for all of the suggestions! How interested about the BTVC book and oven temps. THAT would have been good to know about 3 burnt cakes ago.

Of the butcher, the baker, and the candle stick maker, I think I would be more apt to apprentice at the candle factory. I have never had a knack for baking (though I do try and love the final product).

My two little nieces are visiting me this weekend and we are going to have a bake-off. Should be messy and interesting but fun.

[Sue Gramlich]

My Autistic grandsons can't have honey. I use stevia to sweeten. The amounts needed are guess work. Is there a formula in substituting stevia for honey? We are trying to get the yeast under control. Even fruits we're eliminating at this point.

[Beth]

I am not familiar with the baking/cooking characteristics of Stevia, or how it might behave in the almond flour recipes. Here is a link to an equivalency chart. http://www.steviainfo.com/?page=equivalency_chart.

According to the Breaking the Vicious Cycle Legal/Illegal list, Stevia is illegal.
http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/knowledge_base/kb/stevia.htm

The diet does allow saccharine. I also have zero experience baking with saccharine. This site might be of help. http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Baking-with-Sugar-and-Sugar-Substitutes/Detail.aspx

Good luck!

[Michael]

Just recently found this blog and thought I'd throw my two cents in. I've actually had some success using vegetable glycerin in equal amounts instead of honey. Not quite as sweet, and can make baked goods a little bit more moist, but good nonetheless. It also has the benefit of not raising blood sugar like honey.

Note from Beth: Glycerin is listed as a legal food on the official SCD website.