Polenta pastry help needed please

charlottegrace1

charlottegrace1

Gold Member
Morning all,

Can anyone help me out with a post I read a short while ago about someone (sorry cann't remember who) who had put polenta in the oven (think they may have been trying to make pizza bases) and thought it came out similar to pastry? I'm makeing a tomatoe and basil tart for the others tonight for tea and sudenly thought that if this polenta "pastry" came out ok, I could use that and make me some for the freezer. There seemed to be some discussion as to whether it would be free or not so any info on that would be appreciated, also how was it made.
Thank you, have a great day everyone. xx
 
Hi hun.

I made muffins with polenta using the recipe in the recipe section where the Big Polenta Debate was. I don't know about a pastry recipe but I do know from my consultant in class that polenta if used for cooking something OTHER than straightforward polenta (or eating the ready cooked version you can get from Tesco) you must now syn it.

The SW plan evolves over the years and at the point the original poster of the polenta muffin recipe bought the book containing this recipe which stated that it was free, polenta was indeed free. But now it is not if it is used for cooking muffins or pastry type products.

I hope this helps. xxx
 
They are nice, but I would say that if you are going to make them, don't deviate from buying Splenda and substituting for a lower-priced sweetener. Splenda, I found out to my chagrin, is awesome, and other ones are not as effective when cooking SW products.

My OH loves the muffins, but they were a bit bland because I used tesco own brand sweetner. He puts butter and jam on them and defeats the purpose, grrrr, men! :D
 
Yeah polenta is high when you syn it, though the muffins are so very very filling! So maybe that's why polenta is a free food. Maybe buy some ready cooked stuff from the supermarket, fry light it in a pan like it says, sprinkle with some Splenda, top with quark mixed with splenda, fruit or vanilla essence and a spoonful of fruity Muller of your choice, and eat it as Polenta cake?

I dunno how pre-cooked Polenta tastes though, maybe you can trial it and come back to us? It's very very very cheap and can be found in International food aisles of places like Tesco and Asda or near the Italian aisle by the spaghettis.

xxxx
 
Vixxster said:
Hi hun.

I don't know about a pastry recipe but I do know from my consultant in class that polenta if used for cooking something OTHER than straightforward polenta (or eating the ready cooked version you can get from Tesco) you must now syn it.

hope this helps. xxx
Click to expand...

This is where I get confussed! I would be making it as straightforward polenta but then just rolling it out and baking it, nothing else added etc. just to use a base for tomatoes and basil so why isn't it still free? Cann't see the logic in it.
 
Maybe use the ready cooked stuff, roll it out and top it instead of using the coarse stuff and mixing and baking it then?

Polenta is a tricky beast, so cheap and versatile and yet so grey and murky when comes to synning it! Do you have a consultant to ask the Big Boys at SW the direct question? xxx
 
I made the mini pizzas out of the ready made stuff
Maybe use the ready cooked stuff, roll it out and top it instead of using the coarse stuff and mixing and baking it then?
Click to expand...
You cant roll it out as it falls apart (strange stuff) You just have to cut it into slices, half bake it and then put the filling on the top. The ready to roll palenta is free, its the other stuff thats debateable
 
Thanks peeps, looks like I'm not gonna be able to use polenta then really, never mind will just do a pastry free quiche instead. Unless someone knows different!!! Any suggestions?
 
If you take the dry polenta and make it up as it says on the pack then use it to cook it should be free.......after all this makes it exactly the same as the ready made stuff.

I think it is not free in the muffins because you are using the dry stuff as flour substitute and not as it is meant to be used. ie made up with water.

The same logic would apply to semolina for instance. So if you took the dry semolina and made it up as per the pack instructions that is fine, BUT if you took the dry semolina and used it instead of flour it would not be fine because it is not meant to be used as flour.
 
c27858 said:
If you take the dry polenta and make it up as it says on the pack then use it to cook it should be free.......after all this makes it exactly the same as the ready made stuff.

I think it is not free in the muffins because you are using the dry stuff as flour substitute and not as it is meant to be used. ie made up with water.

The same logic would apply to semolina for instance. So if you took the dry semolina and made it up as per the pack instructions that is fine, BUT if you took the dry semolina and used it instead of flour it would not be fine because it is not meant to be used as flour.
Click to expand...

This is the way I was thinking but I'm not sure anymore, I just need somebody to tell me deffinately free if just mixed with water and baked. Please please please, I was so looking forward to having this but I don't want to do anything wrong syn wise.
 
charlottegrace1 said:
This is the way I was thinking but I'm not sure anymore, I just need somebody to tell me deffinately free if just mixed with water and baked. Please please please, I was so looking forward to having this but I don't want to do anything wrong syn wise.
Click to expand...

Hi

Me and my mum have this problem at the moment, we would like to try and replace the flour Using polenta to save syns, we were trying to make potato cakes with it, would this be syn free?

we use the polenta to mix with the potato to bind it and then cook them on a hot plate?
 
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