MMMM! Soul satisfying baguette!

I love to play with food and I am blessed because there are very few foods that I don't digest well. The magic in food comes not only from eating primarily whole, unprocessed foods, but also from eating a wide variety of them. This helps to get lots of different kinds of nutrients in your diet, helps keep you from getting bored and opens the way to finding ways to fix foods that even the pickiest eaters will love.

When we eat the same things over and over again, we can develop sensitivities to certain foods. In America, one of the things we eat over and over again - in fact for most of us this may be 3 meals a day - is wheat. Wheat, especially refined flour is in almost all processed foods. If you disagree, try avoiding all wheat for a week and see how difficult it can be!

For many of us, we may have wheat sensitivities without being aware of it as we attribute various symptoms to other causes. For people diagnosed with Celiac disease, wheat can be literally life threatening for them.

So this wonderful baguette recipe is wheat free and really easy to make! My sister sent it to me. You can get all the ingredients at Whole Foods Market, but most of these are also available in regular grocery stores as well - usually in their "Health Food" or "Healthy Living" areas. HyVee in the Kansas City area probably has the best selection, but Target, WalMart, Hen House and Target carry some of these ingredients as well. Most of these stores are also willing to begin stocking these items if you ask them!

Quick Flaxseed and Chickpea Baguette

From The Wheat-Free Cook (Available on Amazon)

by Jacqueline Mallorca

1/2 cup flaxmeal

1/2 cup chickpea (garbanzo) flour

1/2 cup brown rice flour

1/2 cup tapioca starch (tapioca flour)

1 tsp xanthan gum

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

1/4 tsp anise seeds

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp molasses

1 large egg

1 cup water

1/2 tsp sesame seeds

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In food processor or large bowl, combine flaxmeal, chickpea flour, rice flour, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt and anise seeds. Process until well mixed, 10 seconds, stir well. In separate bowl, combine olive oil, molasses, egg and water. Stir to blend.

3. Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients all at once. Process long enough to form a firm, sticky batter about 20 seconds, or beat hard with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes.

4. Using rubber spatula, scoop out batter in large dollops and drop them, touching each other, in a diagonal line across baking sheet. Using spatula, form batter gently into a 14-inch long torpedo shape with humps. Do this as lightly as possible so as not to press air out of batter.

5. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake until brown and crusty, about 25 minutes. Transfer loaf to wire rack and let cool.

My notes: My sister and I make this loaf a little bit shorter and wider and bake it 5 minutes longer. You can use fennel seeds or other seasonings like rosemary in lieu of the anise seeds. Feel free to use plenty of sesame seeds on the top. Jars of sesame seeds can be expensive. I get mine from the bulk section at Whole Foods where they are quite inexpensive.

Get creative with different spices!

Xanthan gum is expensive, however, you only use a little at a time so it lasts forever! Keep it in the freezer to keep it fresh. When you start using more of the gluten free flours (and I will be posting some recipes), you will need the xanthan gum to bind the ingredients.