Monday, March 30, 2009

Egg, Dairy, and Gluten Free French Toast

This is one of the recipes I lost when my hard drive died, but I think I've got it pretty close to the original. My pictures may be blurry and amateur for a while, my oldest daughter lost her camera and I am taking my own pictures again. This recipe does not need to be gluten free. You can use any kind of bread, although a sturdy bread works best. I will first post the recipe for flax egg replacer because it can also be used in other recipes. It is good for binding and moisture retention, but does not help with rising.

Flax Egg Replacer:

Bring 1/2 c of water and 1 T of flax seed to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. There are a few ways to do this. If you don't mind the seeds you can use whole seeds and just leave them in. If you don't want the seeds in you can strain them out, but it is a little bit of work. I opted for the third choice which is to grind the seeds first and leave them in so they are just not as noticeable.

French Toast:

1/2 c Water and 1 T Flax seed as prepared above
2 Eggs worth of prepared Ener-G egg replacer
1/4 c Soy milk
1/2 t Vanilla extract
1 t Cinnamon
About 3 slices of bread-We use Pamela's Wheat Free Bread Mix bread

Preheat a well oiled frying pan to medium-high.
Whisk soy milk and Ener-G egg replacer into flax seed egg replacer. Mix in the vanilla and cinnamon.
You are now looking at a pretty thick goo. Instead of simply dipping your bread in the mixture like you normally would this will require more of a spreading action. I laid my bread into the mixture and flipped it over, then used my hands to spread it around and sort of massage it in. Yes, this is messy, but if your in the right mood it's kind of fun. Wipe off any excess glops.
Place in the frying pan and cook for approximately 3 minutes on each side. If your toast is browning too quickly turn the heat down. Oil pan before each new piece.
This only makes 2 or 3 pieces, so if you are making more simply double the recipe.

11 comments:

Liz said...

So, I've made a very similar french toast and each time, it was horrible. I don't know if it was the soy milk or the egg replacer. Have you tried this without the flax seed? Can I omit it?

TIA!

FoodAllergyMom said...

I have not tried it without the flax seed, but I think that without it they may be more gummy. What was horrible, the texture or the flavor? I love problem solving! :)

Liz said...

The texture for sure. The flavor was fine... but it was very gooey. Like the bread turned into jello that hasn't quite set yet. There was no resemblance to bread anymore.

I tried a few variations and just resigned to eating the egg and dairy version while my daughter wasn't looking. I then make waffles for us. Oh, the guilt! I'd love to make it so we can all eat it without having to hide :-)

FoodAllergyMom said...

Oh yes, I understand the guilt. I am the only one in our family without food allergies. The good news is that kids who are raised on this stuff are a lot less critical than those of us who are used to standard versions. Like I said, I haven't tried this without the flax but I think it may have something to do with the "crisping". Of course you realize this is made from everything that standard french toast is not, so it can never be exactly the same. It is possible too that because my mixture is so thick it barely soaks into the bread instead of saturating it. That might eliminate the jello effect. If you get a chance give this recipe a try and let me know if it works for you. I would love the feedback...good or bad. (fingers crossed for good) :)

Liz said...

My daughter is the only one with allergies, but she always wants to eat off my plate, so we have to be very careful.

Thanks for your help. I might try the flax seed.

Lisa Cooks Allergen Free said...

This looks great, can't wait to try it this weekend!

Sophia Sunshine said...

I've never tried boiling my flax seeds but I use flax meal and water to replace eggs all the time. If you're worried about them showing up, a good alternative is golden flax seed. I used them when baking goods to share with my freaked out coworkers (mind you it wasn't GF).

For GF baking, we've found chia seeds ground up with water bind things even better. It was a completely flukey find but it's what my man uses all the time now.

FoodAllergyMom said...

Thanks for the tip! I've never used chia seeds in anything before.

Anonymous said...

I made the french toast that you stated above, but instead of soy milk i used almond milk. I believe almond milk is a little thinner than soy milk, but i dont know if you are allergic to almonds. Instead of dipping my bread in the mixture, i spread it with a spoon on both sides so the bread was not soaked with the mixture and they turned out great. Thank you for the recipe

FoodAllergyMom said...

Oh, I bet that tasted good too! I have not yet tried almond milk in anything. My kids are OK with almonds but we're still not sure about dad.

Anonymous said...

May God rid your children of these allergies once they grow up.