Wheat-Free, Dairy-Free Baking Experiments Begin

This weekend marked the advent of a new research project. I want to make tasty wheat-free, dairy-free baked goods. I would also like to include whole grains if possible, and if not, at least include whole-grain flours. I won't be using refined sugar, or any sugar cane products. I'll be using rice syrup, maple syrup and agave nectar. This weekend I make a cranberry/raisin pie with cooked buckwheat as a crust and finely chopped almonds as a topping. Mike couldn't get over the strange whole grain crust, but I liked it. He also didn't like the sourness of the cranberries as much as I did. But ah well. I ate most of it anyway. I also made some baked quash muffin like items. I was trying to stick with the whole grain theme and mixed sweet brown rice (cooked), some maple syrup, raisins and cooked buttercup squash together. I scooped the mixture into greased muffin tins, topped with chopped pine nuts and baked. The rice particles got a little hard, but they were kind of like individual little squash puddings. Sunday I tried my hand at using the other half of my butternut squash to make muffins. I used 100% whole buckwheat flour and a little baking soda. I stuck with the squash-raisin theme and added some chopped walnuts. For liquid I used corn oil and a little water. I didn't think about an emulsifier (the role eggs usually fill) so the muffins came out a little flat. I've been fishing around the internet, however, and I'm coming up with some good ideas. I'll post more this week and I'll include some photos of this new experimental phase. Good times are ahead.