My gluten free journey & The Apple Pie mochi doughnuts

My whole life revolves around food. Besides,being a Greek requires to love food and get involved in the kitchen,no matter what. I’ve been countless time in the kitchen with the rest of my family,which means not just the siblings and parents but aunts,cousins and grandmothers,as well. Cooking for hours and laughing wholeheartedly. I remember my father and I baking for hours his precious apple pie cake.  But what if a Greek suddenly couldn’t consume gluten,because of a celiac disease? In Greece,these words where completely unknown,almost ten years ago.

My journey started ten years ago,while I was in college. I noticed that I was getting sick every day. After a lot of pain and bloating,I finally paid a visit to the doctor where everything became more clear. I was diagnosed with celiac disease,still unknown to many people. You see,living in a country with such a great cuisine like Greece,without the necessary knowledge of that disease,made everything worst. The gluten-free products weren’t available in the supermarkets,there was a procedure that needed to be followed every month. I had to place an order of gluten free products to my pharmacist and they were extremely expensive.

Nerves and depression took over in my house. You could barely hear any laughter. My creativity as a cook,started to fade out. I was missing all those simple food in life that someone else could enjoy. Like my father’s perfectly spiced apple pie cake or a slice of bread. Gluten is everywhere,commonly used as a preservative in food. In a severe gluten intolerance there is no cheating for a day,nor I will try just a little bit. You have to adjust quick  in your gluten free diet and it’s not always easy.

Five years ago,I came to live permanently to America. My concern about finding gluten free products was huge. Living on the budget with the responsibility of supporting financially my family in Greece,was stressing me. Eventually,I found my own way,and adapted easily to the American way of life. They were and still are plethora of gluten free products,available at the super markets.

As the years passed by,I tried to develop new gluten free recipes or recreate. One of them was doughnuts that I missed so much. These doughnuts are not any kind of doughnuts,these are “Apple pie mochi doughnuts“. The addition of my father’s apple pie filling was just superb! I might seem a long process but it’s very easy,even my three year old daughter help me with the doughnut dough.

Soft,fragrant doughnuts packed with caramelized apples and spices,ooze with caramel and a touch of rum. These babies,will definitely put a smile on your face!

 

Apple pie mochi doughnuts

Ingredients:

for the doughnuts:

• starter-dough:
  • 1/4 cup (30 grams) of sticky rice flour
  • 2 tbsp (31 grams) of whole milk
• 1 3/4 cup (225 grams) of sticky rice flour
• 1/2 cup (120 grams) of whole milk
• 2 1/2 tbsp (35 grams) of unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup (50 grams) of granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp of baking powder

For the apple pie filling:

• 3 medium apples
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 3 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• ⅛ tsp cardamom
• ½ tsp lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp Dark rum

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Instructions:

To make the apple pie filling:

1. Peel, core and dice apples.
2. In a small saucepan, over medium heat, start to melt butter and brown sugar. When butter is melted, add diced apples, lemon juice and spices.
3. Set temperature to medium-low, cover and cook for about 15 minutes or until apples are soft. Stir occasionally.
4. Strain apples and set aside all the juice from cooked apples for later.
5. Preheat oil in a fryer, dutch oven or a pot to 350°F. (If using a pot on a stove top, I recommend a setting between medium and medium-low.)

To make the starter-dough:  Mix 1/4 cup of sticky rice flour and 2 tbsp of whole milk together in a microwave-proof bowl.  Microwave on high for 50 ~ 60 seconds until the dough is cooked through, which will look opaque and feel very “bouncy”.  Set aside to cool for 5 min.

To form and fry the donuts:

Add 1 3/4 cup of sticky rice flour, 1/2 cup of milk, melted butter, granulated sugar, egg and baking powder in a stand-mixer bowl with dough-hook.

Add the cooled starter-dough and knead the mixture on low until everything comes roughly together, then increase the speed to medium and knead until the starter dough has completely blended into the mixture.  The dough will be wet and sticky, but you should be able to lightly touch it without it glued to your finger.

Scrape the dough onto a surface that’s dusted more sticky rice flour.  Sprinkle just enough sticky rice flour onto the dough to prevent sticking, then roll it into 1/2″ (1.3 cm) thick.

With a well-floured cutter, cut as many donuts out as you can (I just use 1 large and 1 small biscuit-cutter to do this), then gather the scraps and press/knead it back into a smooth dough (without adding too much more flour), and cut as  many donuts out as you can again.  You should be able to get 10 ~ 12 donuts.

Spoon a spoonful of apples onto the center of each flattened dougnut. (Don’t over stuff. )Pull edges together and press them as well as possible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Place doughnuts seam down while waiting to be fried.

Add enough canola oil to a frying-pot to reach 1 1/2″ deep (the bigger the pot, the more oil you’ll need), and set on medium-high heat to bring the oil to 330ºF/165ºC, then turn the heat down to medium-low.  If you don’t have a thermometer, just insert a wooden chopstick into the oil, and if small bubbles form around the chopstick quickly, the oil is ready.  Without crowding the pot, carefully drop a few donuts into the oil, which will sink to the bottom for the first 30 seconds then float back up.  Fry for a few minutes on each side until the donuts are puffed up and golden browned.  Transfer to a cooling rack to drain.

Let it cool,and dust with powdered sugar.