Yorkshire Pud

Another crucial element in a traditional English roast dinner - and the only really problematic one from the gluten-freedom fighter's point of view - is the Yorkshire Pudding. Extensive profiterole experimentation some while back emboldened me to try baking YorkPuds on a number of previous occasions with happily successful results (no xanthan gum required!). My main challenge had been to find a flour blend that provided sufficiently crisp outsides and tender insides with no hint of a metallic aftertaste. I tried several brands of all-purpose gluten-free baking flours and found I needed to add white rice flour (in varying proportions) to each in order to ensure a satisfactory outcome - until, that is, King Arthur Gluten Free Multi-Purpose Flour came into my life and changed it forever. I found that a one-to-one substitution of KAGFMPF for all-purpose wheat flour worked admirably in my trusty YorkPud recipe (its origins lost to the ages, I'm afraid), removing the last obstacle to a bountiful and time-honored Christmas custom.

We love YorkPuds the whole year round (though I tend not to cook them during the summer). I don't just serve them with roasts, since they add a certain flair to just about any dark protein you care to think of. Similar to popovers, they are a nice change from the usual carbs, although at this time of year they are served as a conspicuous addition to, rather than substitution for, the other stodge on the plate.

There are a couple of service options. Often, the Pud is made in a single big roasting dish (if you layer sausages in the bottom, you get Toad in the Hole, and very delicious it is, too). I never do it this way, however, because the result is lovely fluffy crispy edges that everybody fights over and a big flat eggy pancake in the middle that nobody can get excited about. If you do as I do and make your Puds in muffin tins, each diner gets the perfect balance of inner and outer textures with none of the unseemly scuffling at the table caused by more traditional approaches. Also, roundish puds fit better than square slices on a plate already overladen with beast, potatoes, and two veg.

The real challenge with the Puds when doing a full roast dinner is timing and temperature. In many ways, they are the trickiest of the dishes - the beast can sit for quite a bit, resting, and there is a certain amount of wiggle-room with the potatoes, but the Puds must be served exactly when they choose or they will fall spitefully and cause ruination and gnashing of teeth. Fortunately, experience from many previous holidays has provided me with a detailed timing chart: I put them into the oven ten minutes after I have turned the potatoes (they can share the hotbox if you jiggle the temperature a little bit) and they all come out at the same time.

Here's how to make 'em: this recipe makes about five in a standard muffin tin.

Gluten-free Yorkshire Puddings

• 1 cup KAGFMPF (see above)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• pinch of salt
• some sort of cooking fat (I generally use drippings drawn from the bottom of the roast beast pan, but lard, shortening, or any sort of high-temp cooking oil would work)

Preheat your oven to 450 deg F.

Whisk together all the ingredients except the fat and pour the resulting batter (it should be pretty thin, like crepe batter) into a jug with a lip on it.

Place some cooking fat in your muffin tins to cover the bottoms to a depth of about an eighth of an inch. Whether you are using solid fat or oil, place the tin in the hot oven for a good five minutes or so, until the pan is good and hot and the fat is, too.

Give your batter a final stir and thin it with water if is too thick. Remove the pan from the oven and, moving quickly so it doesn't cool off, pour in the batter so the tins are about two-thirds full each. Your pan should have been hot enough so that the batter sizzles and starts to puff immediately. If not, well, it's too late and you'll know better next time. You'll probably still get perfectly acceptable Puds.

They should be done in 15 to 20 minutes. They will be well-risen and golden brown, with a pale moist center. Their sides should come away from the tin easily - if not, leave them for another couple of minutes.

Eat them piping hot, with a bit of gravy poured into their middles.