Better Luck Next Time
Not everything turns out perfect. I just don’t usually brag about the things I make that deserve a spot on Nailed It. But it kind of comes with the territory of exploring new gluten free baking options. Sometimes things just don’t come out the way I wanted them to.
I’ve been busy the last few months trying to figure out a few different recipes. And though I like to consider myself a decent baker, there are definitely times that things just don’t work.
Take donuts for example. My daughter loves donuts—but really, who doesn’t? I can make cake donuts no problem——they bake nicely in the oven in our cute little donut pan, and taste great. I’ve made the cider donuts in the fall, and a variety of other flavors. And as good as they are, they really aren’t what I usually think of when I think about a donut. So I’ve been on a journey of finding something….anything….that would work. A lot of the recipes were really involved step and time wise, with tons of random ingredients that I’d need to buy. I don’t want that—-I want something fairly simple that I could make on a Sunday morning and enjoy a fresh made donut. We’ve been able to scoot by so far by finding store bought donuts at Aldis, but they’re pretty limited on flavors. It’s also hit or miss if they’re in stock. Her favorite so far has been the liveGfree Glazed Donut—so when we find them, we stock up and freeze a few boxes.
After some searching, I finally found a recipe for a yeasted, fried donut. When I stumbled on a yeasted donut from Chef Alina, I was actually giddy. I’ve had so much success with her recipes, and I’ve seen others post on social media about their successful bakes. I actually watched her video on how to make the donuts while I was sitting in the airport recently because I was so excited and wanted to start them as soon as I got home.
For my first try, I decided on a chocolate glazed donut. That’s one of my daughter’s favorites, and I didn’t want to start off too strong out of the gate. Figured I’d get a basic donut down first, and then I can get more creative with fillings and flavors. Like a good little baker, I gathered up all my ingredients. I read through the recipe, and I got started. Everything seemed to be going perfectly. Maybe even a little too perfectly. I was SO excited to try these little guys and to let my girls try them out. They looked great, they smelled great——and all was great…until I actually bit into one. It had the consistency of a bagel, but looked like a donut. It wasn’t awful if that’s what you were going for…but it certainly wasn’t a light and fluffy donut. The flavor didn’t bother me, but the texture was just bizarre. Maybe I should pretend it was on purpose and just give it some sort of catchy name. Dagel? Bagnut? Yeah….no. Those went right in the trash.
My other experiment lately, and that I was determined to figure out, has been making gluten-free sourdough. I honestly am trying to keep up with the Jones’ here. I feel like everyone else can make sourdough, except me. But I really tried! I spent almost a week feeding this stupid starter like a weirdo, oogling the little air pockets that were developing thinking how fantastic this bread is going to be. The starter actually did look beautiful! At least I think? All seemed like it was again going perfectly, until I shaped the bread dough and set it to rise in the basket. Something happens every time with my second rise. Or I should say doesn’t happen every time. It doesn’t rise, no matter what I do. I’ve tried putting it in a warmer spot in the kitchen, giving it extra time, and I end up with the exact same looking loaf as when I started. I still bake it anways…and looks pretty when it comes out of the oven. But has a gross, weird, gummy consistency.
My daughter appreciated my efforts. She’s always happy to taste test, and critique whatever I’ve made. I’ll keep practicing, and look forward to when I can share that I’ve successfully made both of these recipes. For now, and for everyone’s sake, I’ll just keep using the store bought versions.
