Am I Crazy?

[Auntie-Manda]

I like to make baked goodies & then freeze most of them, and pull out a few cookies or whatever at a time. I'm finding that whenever I freeze & then thaw pancakes (King Arthur brand) or cookies (Betty Crocker mix or King Arthur brand), it tastes grainy. The cookies weren't as bad as the pancakes. I loved the pancakes freshly made, and even as leftovers from the frige, but thawed... yuck!  Am I crazy? Does this happen? It's such a pain in the butt to make just a little, several times. But I'm the only one in my house who eats that stuff- I can't eat all the cookies or 8 servings of pancakes before it goes bad! 

[kareng]

Maybe.... Just joking.

Could you make the batter and freeze it in small amounts then thaw and cook? Same with the cookie dough. Portion it out into little unbaked cookies and then bake them later. Pancake batter should keep, maybe a week, in the fridge. I know I have been picky about frozen baked goods in my previous gluten life.

[GottaSki]

I make cookies - then freeze.  I find it easier to make them all at once and then put in quart size ziplocks or -- if ambitious the sealer.  They taste great when pulled outta the freeze - or so I am told by my hubby and sons.

 

edited to add....i saw something about batter...pancake, waffle or aebleskeiver batter lasts for AT LEAST a week in the frig.

[Adalaide]

I freeze cookies, but I only freeze things that are not from box mixes. I find them to be grainier than made from scratch baked goods are, right from the get go. I haven't had a problem with my cookies. My Christmas cookies are coming out of the freezer still just as good last week as they were Christmas day. I have yet to try this with pancakes or waffles. My husband is a huge fan of my pancakes and waffles whenever I make them and they never last.

[Takala]

No, you're not imagining it.  You may be one of those people with more taste buds, or even a "supertaster."  (I'm not, but there really are such people, and they don't like a lot of stuff we normals can't detect as well. )  But leftover pancakes are just difficult, I grind my own buckwheat or almonds, and they are very nice fresh and just okay as a refrigeratored leftover, and frozen....     I make about enough pancakes for 2 to 3 days, max, at a time.  I mean, I have taken old leftover pancakes along with me as my gluten free food, bitten into one when hungry, and seriously wondered how it is I could have had the thing deteriorate in taste in just a few hours to this extent.     I don't eat syrup but a few times a year, so .... there it is.  Like a hockey puck with wings. 

 

I would go through your freezer and seriously clean out any old leftovers, which may be contributing to the off tastes and transferring this to the butter or oil in the recipe.  You may want to even... clean the thing.   Be sure to double bag your fresh items you want to freeze.  As for the texture, you may want to, in the future, experiment with different types of flours and gums or gum substitutes, since the mixes are not quite behaving the same way as regular gluten flour.  You can also try soaking your batters several minutes in the bowl before baking, to soften up the raw uncooked rice flour, which can be notoriously gritty.   I also put a tiny bit of vinegar and a pinch of cumin and a pinch of a sweet spice such as chinese 5 spice mix, or cinnamon or a dash of molasses in almost every baked good, I think this helps with the taste. 

[Auntie-Manda]

Thanks, everyone!

 

Takala- actually, I AM a supertaster!!! My friend told me about that a couple months ago, and said she thought I was one. After looking it up, I'm 90% sure I am one. Crazy that you mention that!

 

I'm pretty new to gluten-free life (1 month as of yesterday!!), and I'm a little overwhelmed ny the idea of making anything from scratch. I'm guessing all the flours are pretty expensive. My mother in law has bought me some mixes, which was very sweet, I thought. I can eat and enjoy the cookies, but I'm just goig to have to make half a box of pancakes at a time. The reason why I asked was because my mother in law just got me some muffin mix, and I'd love to make a gazillion mini muffins and freeze them, but I don't want to ruin them! I don't know what to do- maybe I'll freeze a few and keep the rest out for a  few days, and then try to thaw them & see how they are. Otherwise, my poor family will just have to help me eat them... King Arthur stuff is pretty tasty- I'm sure they won't mind.