The low carb world has been abuzz with "Oopsie Rolls" - blogger Cleochatra's version of Atkins Rev Rolls. Basically, you make them with double the amount of cream cheese, so 6T instead of 3. Cleo made an "oopsie" in her measurements, but the results were delicious - hence "Oopsie Roll". I usually make mine with mayo but, since I've been using dairy again, I thought I'd give the recipe a try. I'm always happy to add more fat to my recipes. Oh please, twist my arm - more luscious, artery-strengthening, ass-slimming fat. Bring it!
The nice thing about her version is that, unlike the originals, they taste good right out of the oven. My first batch got doused with peanut butter while nice and warm - ooh, I've missed peanut butter toast! You know when the peanut butter gets all melty and goopy...yeahhhhh.
For this batch, I decided to try a pizza crust. In my wayward, high carb gluten-y days, one of my faithful lunch standbys was a pita pizza: tomato sauce, garlic, olive oil, green olives and feta, crisped up in the oven. Why not recreate this with Oopsie batter?
For density, I added about 3T or so of ground flax seeds and a 1/4t of xanthan gum, plus a generous shake of onion and garlic powder, parmesan cheese and oregano (I omitted the sweetener). Rather than piling the batter in mounds, I spread it out flat on a baking sheet and baked for about 30 minutes. After it cooled, I picked it up - held together nicely - and stored it in an open ziploc in the fridge until this afternoon's lunch.
I brushed 2 squares of the dough with olive oil and more garlic and oregano, then crisped it up a bit in the oven. Then, I added my toppings and stuck it back in to heat. My whole kitchen smelled like garlic bread - it was wonderful.
Verdict: pretty damn good! The crust was a bit floppy, not stiff like a regular pizza crust, but I could easily hold a slice in my hand and eat it. It was a bit airy, as is the case with rev rolls, but not in a bad way - just different, if you're used to the density of gluten crusts. Overall, I was THRILLED to have an old favorite again.
As I ate (and ate, and ate), I thought about what a shame it is that the gluten-free folk aren't directed to low carb resources. All I ever see on celiac message boards are starchy, high carb recipes. We LCers have so, so many tweaks and twiddles on old favorites like bread, muffins, pasta and rice, and for people with gut damage and/or overweight they'd be a lifesaver. Besides, they're far less expensive to make, since they generally use ingredients that most of us keep on hand, or at least have easy access to.
For my next batch, I am going to whip the egg whites soft, rather than stiff, because I don't need the puffiness of a roll and want a less airy texture. I'm going to add some almond meal as well as the flax meal, to see if that adds even more density. Spreading the batter flat means there are tons of applications - foccacia bread (you could even dip with it!), wraps, pita...hell, just plain old flat, square sandwich bread. Sloppy Joes, here I come!
People on the Active Low Carbers forum have successfully used this recipe in a million ways: french toast, grilled cheese sandwiches, pancakes, desserts (just make the batter sweet rather than savoury). My personal plans for Oopsie batter?
- Garlic bread with cheese. Mama, I'm coming home.
- Chocolate eclairs, with real whipping cream and 80% choccy melted overtop
- Strawberry shortcake, when the berries are in season
- Onion buns
- Bruschetta
- Fish batter - would it work? I'll try it and see. If it does, then I will make onion rings to go with it, and weep with joyous abandon at their goodness.
- Every (low carb) pizza I've ever seen or read about, including Pizza Rustica. This will be tricky, since I can't fold the dough over the toppings in the same way, but I have a few ideas up my sleeve.
- Meat pie! Oh heavenly mother of christ, meat pie. This'll be at least a two-stager, but if it works I will be mouthgasmic. There's nothing in the world like a real, Quebec-style Tourtiere. If I could eat gluten and/or carbs, I would move to Quebec City and eat nothing but. (Okay - maybe some Maple Syrup Pie for dessert.)
Get cooking!
2 comments:
To each his own - I didn't care for the oopsies too much. They reminded me of supermarket hamburger buns, which are not my idea of gourmet excellence.
No criticism implied of people who are raving over them, of course, just pointing out that not everyone likes 'em.
I like the oopsies personally. The real sell for me was my DH who raved over them and said 'Way better than rice bread'. (We are fellow non-gluten followers!) As a low-carber and gluten-free household having something that we can have as a substitute for bread is really nice. I think that is what people are raving over the most, not necessarily some gourmet excellence.
I made a grilled cheese sandwich with two oopsies. Don't expect the texture like bread but way better than a grilled cheese with rice bread! MMMM melty goodness.
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