Trini Style Fry Bake or Floats (Puri, Poori)

Floats, fry bake, fried bread, puri, poori all refer to basically the same thing, delicious deep fat fried dough. Practically everyone where I live in Trinidad and Tobago loves floats. As the name suggests when the dough is fried it puffs up and floats to the surface of the oil. It can be served with a number of sides, although when it's hot, butter or cheese is the first option for many. It has become a favourite for beach goers as "bake and shark". In fact, it's almost always served as a savoury breakfast, brunch or dinner item.

Why are floats deep fried? Contrary to some opinions deep fried foods tend to be less greasy overall. This of course does not apply if you are sauteing, searing or pan frying. As your dough deep fries, the inside cooks at the same time as the outside, with only a small amount of oil staying on the crust. Which is why when the floats puff up they are almost done cooking. The remainifastng time is mainly for browning. The other benefit to deep frying is that the crust is crisped, which is a universally appealing outcome. To get the best result make sure that when you put the floats in the skillet that they are evenly and fully submerged in the oil. I would often spoon oil over the top of the float as it fries ensuring that it is consistently covered.

Can you substitute the flour in the recipe with something else? The short answer is yes but the texture might be different. Used on their own I find that starchier flours like rice or corn makes a crispy crackly crust with a more hollow interior. However, I have swapped the oat flour for buckwheat flour and the floats were pretty decent. I have used only rice flour with the starches and still I was not disappointed. So what I am saying is, you can certainly use the recipe with whatever you have in your pantry. A blend of different flours that include starch will generally work better.

Floats are best served warm. They will begin to deflate at some point while they are resting though they are still pretty good.

I would love to hear your feedback if you try the recipe, hope you enjoy it!

Try my recipe for Banana Fried Baked (Banana Puri)

Gluten Free, Vegan Fry Bakes or Floats

Knead your dough until it's smooth

Gluten Free, Vegan Floats (Fry Bake, Puri, Poori) Recipe

Ingredients

½ cup brown rice flour*

2 tbsp potato starch*

2 tbsp tapioca starch*

¼ cup oat flour

½ tsp xanthan gum*

1½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp brown sugar

¼ tsp instant yeast

½ cup warm water (add more by tbsp as needed)

Flour or starch for rolling out the dough

Vegetable oil for deep frying

Notes: You can substitute the rice four and starches with an equivalent amount of a 1 to 1 or all purpose flour blend (i.e. ¾ cup of flour). If your blend already has xanthan gum omit it from this recipe.

Directions

Place the flour, starches, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, sugar and yeast in a mixing bowl, mix well

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add the water and knead or mix until thoroughly combined. The dough should be wet and slightly sticky more liquid than a regular recipe made with wheat. If necessary, keep adding water 1 tbsp at a time until you get that consistency, even if you need more than the recipe specifies. Knead the flour until it forms a smooth ball, this may take some time but keep going, the dough will improve with time.

Set the dough aside to rest for at least ½ hour

Toward the end of the rest, heat oil to medium heat in a skillet, use enough for deep frying

Prepare a floured surface to roll out the floats. Pinch off pieces of the dough, knead again into a ball until smooth. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough and shape as desired. Carefully add the shaped dough to the hot oil and cook until the dough puffs up and floats. Each bake must be completely covered in oil for this to work properly, you can spoon oil over the top of the float as it fries to ensure that it the entire thing puffs up. Once it puffs up, flip and cook until lightly browned. You can make a few at a time but do not over crowd your skillet.

Drain the floats on paper towel and serve while still warm

Delicious Cassava and Buckwheat Brownies

There are many "best brownie" recipes around. You may even have a favorite already. So why write another recipe? This recipe is different enough to stand out. It's made with cassava and buckwheat both of which are better for you than traditional GF recipes using rice flour.

Brownies are also the perfect vehicle for cassava and buckwheat. Cassava is naturally somewhat fudgy and for the most part so are brownies. The strong earthy taste of buckwheat compliments the chocolaty goodness of brownies. There is just no downside to this pairing.

There is still a fair amount of sugar in the recipe, so if you are counting calories or you are diabetic you will still need to pay attention to your portion size.

Though these brownies are gluten free and vegan, the basic principles of brownie making applies. I like a mix of both brown and white sugar so I can get decent caramelization, moisture, fudginess and a somewhat crackly top. Using oil instead of butter (to keep it dairy free) means that the brownie will be less cakey and more fudgy which is okay by me. Oil also allows the chocolate flavor to really shine.

I love mix-ins, chocolate chips, almonds (and other nuts), peanut butter are my favorites. So, if you are so inclined go for it! This brownie recipe is very forgiving, you may only need to adjust your liquid amount and maybe your baking powder.

I hope you enjoy my best cassava and buckwheat brownie recipe!

Delicious Cassava and Buckwheat Brownies

Look at how rich and moist this borwnie is!

Gluten Free, Vegan, Cassava and Buckwheat Brownies Recipe

Ingredients

¾ cup cassava flour

½ cup buckwheat flour

¼ cup potato starch

¼ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp baking powder

½ tsp xanthan gum

1/3 tsp salt

½ cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder*

¼ cup packed brown sugar (more to preference)

½ cup white sugar

¾ – 1 cup coconut milk

½ cup coconut oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

*If you’re using unsweetened natural or regular powder omit the baking powder and use ½ tsp baking soda. You can also use a mix of dark and natural cocoa powder, no adjustments to the baking soda or powder will be needed.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F

Spray or line an 8” x 8” baking tray or pan (preferably metal) with parchment paper for easy removal

Combine dry ingredients except the white sugar and set aside

Combine 3/4 cup of milk, oil, vanilla and the white sugar. Mix well to dissolve the sugar, let the mixture sit for a few minutes if necessary

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the sugar mixture. Mix well to combine, by hand or using a mixer. The batter will be somewhat shiny and thick but spreadable. Add more milk 1 tablespoon at the time to thin the batter if necessary. Evenly spread the batter in your baking tray

Bake 15 -18 minutes. The brownie should be set all around, the center can be slightly softer. If you insert a pick at center to test for doneness you should have a few moist crumbs sticking to the pick.

Using the parchment paper take the brownie out of the tray and unto a wire rack. Allow to cool completely before cutting

Soft, Flexible Cassava Flour Wraps

Where I live there are quite a few street vendors and retail food outlets selling wraps of all kinds. Some wraps are thick somewhat like pita bread, others are thin with a slight crisp on the edges. What stays fairly consistent wherever you buy is that the wrap must be flexible enough so that when filled it does not break and the wraps should not get soggy too quickly. These gluten free and vegan cassava wraps meet those 2 main criteria.

Cassava flour is perfect here because it is naturally a "sticky" type of flour. Doing the flour scald recommended in the recipe adds extra elasticity and chew to the wraps. The wraps also hold up really when they are filled. I prefer thinner wraps for their flexibility and because I do not want more flour than filling. These wraps are also distinct from any of the roti recipes I've shared, but I suppose you could use either somewhat interchangeably, even though roti is not as "bendy" as wraps.

With just one main type of flour, these wraps are also easier to budget for. You could even substitute the tapioca starch or the flaxmeal with an equivalent amount of cassava flour. However, I rather like the flaxmeal in this recipe for added fiber and because it holds moisture adding to the soft texture of the wraps.

On to the recipe...

Notice how sticky the scald becomes, thhere are no dry bits

As the wrap cooks it will form bubbles on the surface

Soft, Flexible Cassava Flour Wraps

Gluten Free and Vegan Cassava Flour Wraps Recipe

Ingredients

1¾ cup cassava flour

2 tbsp tapioca starch

2 tbsp flaxmeal

¼ tsp xanthan gum

¾ tsp salt

1/3 cup oil

¾ – 1 cup water (room temp or lukewarm)

1 cup of hot water

tapioca starch to roll out the dough

Directions

Bring a cup of water to boil. To ¼ cup of the cassava flour add ½ cup of hot water and stir until the cassava looks like a ball of jelly. If you need more boiling water add 1 tablespoon at a time so that all of the cassava flour is mixed properly. Set this aside to cool. You will not need hot water from here on

While you are waiting for the cassava flour scald mix to cool, add the rest of the dry ingredients to a bowl and mix well

Add the cooled cooked flour and other wet ingredients but not the water to the dry ingredients and begin to mix or knead. Using the lukewarm water add it to your dough in small increments until it holds together and is fairly smooth. The dough should be somewhat sticky and not stiff, you may need more or less water than what the recipe specifies

Lightly flour your work surface.

Pinch off pieces of dough to form balls 3”- 3½” in diameter. Knead and roll the dough lightly around on the floured surface to form a smooth ball. Use a light touch and as little flour as possible. You can add a little oil to the palm of your hands while you work. Set the rounds aside on a greased surface or bowl and cover with a tea cloth or plastic wrap. Repeat the process with the remaining pieces of dough. Leave the rounds to rest for at least ½ hour

Once the dough has rested, heat a tawa, grill or skillet to moderate

Keeping the remaining pieces covered, on a lightly floured surface gently roll out one of the dough balls to your desired thickness. I roll mine to just less than 1/8” thick (which is thin). Turn the dough occasionally and add a little tapioca starch at a time to prevent the dough from sticking to the surface or tearing

Place the wrap on the tawa to cook. Small bubbles will appear and the edges of the wrap will set. The wrap will not colour as richly as it's wheat based relative. Once the edges are set and the wrap has pulled away from the tawa, flip and cook the other side. Brushing the wraps lightly with a little bit of oil as they cook, helps them to remain soft

Once the wrap has finished cooking stack on a plate and cover with a warm tea cloth or two

The wrap is best served warm. To store wrap and freeze immediately as it's cooled. Reheat and serve at once.