November 8, 2009 - 1:33pm
Rice baby cereal
I want to make some of those "crackle top" rolls with the rice flour topping.
I didn't expect our podunkville grocery store to have rice flour but I asked my wife to look for it today anyway since they do occasionally surprise us.
She came home with a box of rice baby cereal, because about the only ingredient in it is rice flour.
I poured some out in my hand and tasted it. It kind of reminds me of Panko.
Any ideas what to do with it, bread baking wise?
I suppose we can eat it for breakfast (it being a sin to throw away food and all) but that idea is not too appealing.
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What do you do with the rice flour, baking wise? Is the stuff in the baby cereal that different from what you were expecting? I know that when my sister and I were really little we always had what's called "kaszka manna" - but they dont sell it in baby food boxes in the states, so I looked up what it was and it turned out that plain old semolina flour in the bulk bins at winco were the exact same thing. When I'm not making kaszka for the kids though, Floyd's always pinching the stuff from my cabinet for his breads.
I tried googling this and came up empty since there was nothing in English. Is it a hot breakfast cereal? Always looking for new things to try - do you mind sharing how you make it? Also, are you originally from Poland? That's what the google responses seemed to be.
Thanks,
Marni
Yes Marni, my family is originally from Poland. Kaszka is the ultimate comfort food though - not just for babies :)
To make:
For every 2 cups of milk, add 3-4 heaping (large sized) spoonfuls of Semolina flour.
Stir in pot over medium heat (careful not to burn the milk on the bottom) until bubbly and thick.
Serve with sugar and berries, berry jam, grated chocolate...or serve with butter.
It's a lot like Cream of Wheat, but smoother and creamier (and better! ;) Well, in my opinion, heh)
Kaszka manna means "grain from heaven" in Polish...in reference to Biblical stories of rains of grain in the desert.
for sharing a family favorite. It's nice how we continue these traditions. I make a simple baked macaroni and cheese that my father's mother made when he was young, I know my children will be making it in their homes one day.
I plan to give this cereal a try. Thanks again.
Marni
This is what I want to make. http://www.cookingbread.com/classes/class_crackle_bread.html
One of our favorite restaurants serves dinner rolls with this topping. It never occured to me that it was a topping that is baked on. I always figured it was how they made the dough or manipulated the baking.
I have never had any rice flour so I don't know for sure what it is supposed to be like but this baby cereal is obviously a cooked and processed product. The directions say to mix with milk or water and stir. No cooking required. It will kind of dissolve on the tongue, very tasteless.
There have been some posts and I think some blog posts about this.
Marni
But you could try to use it, if the only ingredient is rice flour, it should be rice flour. Texture wise, you could run it through a food pro or blender to revert it back to powder/ rice flour.
Either way, good luck & that is an interesting looking recipe. Please let us know how, or if it works out.
Rick
looks like you're trying to make "Dutch Crunch". I just made this topping for some rolls I made. Being familiar with both dutch crunch (well, made it once) and baby cereal- I don't think you could use the baby cereal to make dutch crunch. The rice flour I used was a little more gritty and I think the baby cereal flakes are more similar to instant potato flakes. They must pre-cook the rice and then make it into flakes. They just dissolve into a paste in water.
You might want to try making rice bread with it or something like Struan bread that calls for a small amount of rice. It won't give you the toothsome quality of whole rice, but might still add good flavor...
I second the idea that experimentation couldnt hurt - it may be like instant flaked version of the same thing, but if you think about for example instant oatmeal versus regular oats, both of those work in cookies, for example... with maybe the instant stuff being a bit less grainy... Would be great if you could tell us whether it worked out!
I'm always up for a good experiment! What about making rolls? Spray them with some water (salt water? or milk?) and roll a roll or two in the rice cerial, then roll one or two into instant potatoes and ev. roll some into whatever else popped up in discussion. I would even roll some in corn starch and some in just another flour. Then snap a few pictures when fresh from the oven. Cut up rolls for taste tests and post a group photo here so we can all see how the rolls came out... and do tell us how the taste test ran. :) :) :P
I buy a lot of rice flour and it is nothing like the rice baby cereal. Rice flour looks just like wheat flour but is much more gritty. I actually buy extra finely ground brown rice flour to make breads and cakes because it isn't gritty. I don't think the baby cereal rice is going to work anything like the rice flour.