Why are my gluten free dog treat recipes so crumbly?
by Sharon
(Murrieta, CA)
I am trying to come up with a few vegan dog treat recipes that I can feed to my little dog who has food allergies. I have to avoid wheat, oats, anything with gluten, corn, soy, dairy and eggs. The recipe I used came out soft and crumbly even after leaving them to air dry in the oven overnight. Can you offer any advice?
Here is the recipe I used:
3 1/2 cups of mixed gluten free flours (made up of 1 1/2 cups of Garbanzo bean flour, 1 cup of tapioca flour, 1 cup brown rice flour and 1/2 cup quinoa flour)
1 3/4 cups of brown rice flour
1/4 flax seed meal
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ginger
1 1/2 cooked sweet potato
1/4 cup safflower oil
1/4 cup molasses
I sifted together my dry ingredients and blended the sweet potato, oil and molasses, then added the dry ingredients a little at a time with a dough hook on my mixer. Then I kneaded the dough a little to blend in the flour that remained in the bowl. I rolled the dough out to about 1/4 inch thick, cut out 3 1/2" bone shapes. They were baked in a 325 degree oven for 25 minutes.
Any advise would be appreciated.
Thank You,
Sharon
Chef's Answer ~ I love that you have taken the initiative to create a recipe just for your dog with food allergies! :)
Crumbly dog treats is definitely not good dog treat eats. However, it sounds like the process you are going through is right on target. I would suggest increasing the amount of moisture in the treats. For example you could increase the amount of cooked sweet potato. You can also add applesauce, plain pumpkin or pureed fruits. Whatever you choose to add, do so gradually. Depending on just how crumbly the treats are, I would recommend starting with about 1/4 cup, maybe even a 1/3 cup. You can test the dog treat dough by taking out a pinch and squeezing it in your hands. How well does it stick together? It should at least keep its shape for a few seconds.
I hope this helps! Please let me know how it goes, and if there is anything else I may do to help! :)
