Since finding out about my gluten intolerance, Becky Excell’s gluten-free cookbook has transformed my cooking repertoire.
As you probably already know from my food blog and podcast, I love to cook. But having the gluten intolerance has made me rediscover cooking some of the basics like bread and pastry. If you’ve ever tried shop-bought gluten-free bakery goods, the bread and pastry are particularly dry and cardboard-like.
During a recent cookery competition with one of my PR clients, I was challenged to make some delicious sausage rolls. In the previous 5 weeks, I’d not been able to sample any of the entries due to the glutenous pastry and filling. So in true Milly style with my ‘dare to be different’ motto, I set about preparing a gluten-free sausage roll for the Great British Bake Off style office competition.
And here is the final article:
Recipe as follows:
Pastry
295g gluten free plain flour
1 tsp of Xanthan Gum
1 egg white
225g salted butter
130 ml ice cold water
Parmesan cheese
Sesame seeds
1 egg for pastry brushing
Filling
6 x farmhouse sausages – remove the meat from the skins
Pinch of salt and pepper
1 tsp of dried sage
1 jar of cranberry sauce
1 pack of mozzarella cheese
Method
Place the flour, xanthan gum and salt into a bowl and mix.
Chop up the cold salted butter into 1cm chunks and place in the flour mixture
Breakdown the butter into the flour mixture but avoid the temptation to rub the mixture into a breadcrumb like state. Basically smoosh the butter around with the flour.
Mix the egg white and ice cold water together.
Add 1/3 of the mixture and slowly bring the contents together. As the mixture combines, start to add a little at a time until the mixture forms a dough like ball. It shouldn’t be too dry or sticky.
Place the pastry onto a floured ball and roll until it is around 1cm thick. Fold the pastry like it’s and envelope back on itself and form a rectangle block.
Wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.
Meanwhile prepare the filling.
Mix the sausage meat, salt, pepper and sage together and add to a pan on a medium heat. Allow the meat to brown slightly and remove from heat. Allow to cool.
Bring the pastry out of the fridge and roll out again until the pastry is 1cm thick. Fold back onto itself like an envelope again and form another rectangle. Wrap back up in cling film and put back in the fridge for 15 mins.
Repeat this step 1 or 2 more times which helps to strengthen the pastry.
Once completed these processed roll your pastry onto a sheet of baking paper into a rectangle and cut in half length ways.
Spoon some cranberry sauce along the centre of both pieces of pastry
Place your sausage meat mixture on the top of the cranberry sauce in the middle of the two pieces of pastry
On top of the sausage place tiny pieces of chopped up mozzarella
Brush some egg around the edges of the pastry and gentle roll the pastry to allow the mixture to seal inside the pastry. Press slightly.
Brush the whole of the sausage roll pastry with an egg wash then sprinkle with parmesan cheese and a covering of sesame seeds.
Finally score the sausage rolls at an angle to allow the sausage meat to cook through and steam to escape. Chop the sausage rolls into equally sized pieces.
Place the sausage rolls in the oven at 210c for around 30 minutes. I cook mine in an everhot (similar to an AGA and can take slightly longer than a fan oven.
Remove the sausage rolls from the oven when they are golden brown.
Eat warm or cold. Warm always tastes better in my books.
So will you give this recipe a go? It’s a bit more of a challenge but very buttery for gluten free pastry. It was a treat for me after several months without a decent sausage roll!!
