What's Your Biggest Frustration With gluten-free Baking?

[gfcfmomof3]

I'm a mom who's been gluten-free for five years. I'm passionate about using this experience for good- for all of us. I'm curious, what's your biggest frustration with gluten free baking? What problem in the kitchen would you love to have solved? I have some ideas, but I know that my experience isn't necessarily the same as yours, so I'd love to hear about your baking issues! Thanks!

[notme]

it's taken a while, but i am slowly collecting recipes for replicating things i have always baked.  sometimes, it's just the flour blend - and the wierd goopy dough is hard to get used to.  in the beginning i was trying to replicate the *dough* lolz but it would turn out wierd, dense and gritty.  sometimes goopy dough is the way to go   i have experimented with different flour blends, but it really depends on what you're making.  some will tell you they use a specific brand, cup for cup, but i just mix - i like to sub in almond flour if you can have that, it's great for making cakes nice and moist and crispy cookies.  sometimes i will add some applesauce to cakes, etc.  i buy it in the little lunch sizes that way i have it around.   i like to play with my food, so i'm always experimenting:)

[Kassia]

Honestly? Time. I find myself envious of all the great gluten-free baked goods people prepare, and I wonder they have the time to do it. These recipes seem to be labors of love, but I'm genuinely curious to know how to make the whole process of gluten-free baking fit into a full-time job and insane lifestyle. Eating gluten-free isn't hard; baking is. 

 

At least for me.

[shadowicewolf]

The cooking times. seriously. When i make a cake or something i have to go for another 30 mins past what is reccomended. Oddly enough, I have never burned anything while doing this.

[cyclinglady]

Sticking, especially with cookies, is different.  Solved that by always using parchment paper (relatively cheap at Costco) to line my baking sheets and pans. 

[cyclinglady]

Honestly? Time. I find myself envious of all the great gluten-free baked goods people prepare, and I wonder they have the time to do it. These recipes seem to be labors of love, but I'm genuinely curious to know how to make the whole process of gluten-free baking fit into a full-time job and insane lifestyle. Eating gluten-free isn't hard; baking is. 

 

At least for me.

Bake on the weekends.  I only bake cupcakes or muffins instead of cakes so that I can easily freeze them (good for portion control).  I freeze all my cookies too.  Try one of the Betty Crocker cookie or cake mixes.  It's easy to do and they are pretty good -- much better than any store bought cookie or cake!!!!!   Later, you can make your own homemade versions, but the mixes are a great place to start.   Use parchment paper on your cookie sheets to prevent sticking.

[psawyer]

The cooking times. seriously. When i make a cake or something i have to go for another 30 mins past what is reccomended. Oddly enough, I have never burned anything while doing this.

Shadow, could high elevation be a factor for you? IIRC, you are about a mile high in Colorado.

[shadowicewolf]

Shadow, could high elevation be a factor for you? IIRC, you are about a mile high in Colorado.

Yep, thats the issue.

[luvs2eat]

I can do great pie/quiche crusts. I think the biggest frustration for me is that I can totally remember exactly what my chocolate chip cookies tasted like (even after more than 10 years) and nothing I've tried comes close. I can't get the old ones out of my head and don't back them anymore.

[Celtic Queen]

Time is a big factor for me too.  When I can grab a few interrupted hours in the kitchen I'll really go to town.

 

My other issue is inconsistency in how stuff comes out.  I'll follow the directions on the recipe but some times my stuff doesn't come out looking anything like it's supposed to.

 

Finally, I always crack up at the portion sizes on recipes.  It will say, "Makes 2 dozen 1 inch cookies."  For me that translates into "makes 16 1 inch cookies."  And I promise I only snuck a little bit of the cookie dough

[cherries]

Well today was my first baking adventure, and although it did come out good I just assumed the cookies I was baking were like the ones I had bake about 100 times. Nope those didn't need the fridge these one did. I placed a batch in the oven before I had realized that I skipped step 3. But the ending was good.

[love2travel]

My frustrations are few as cooking and baking are obsessions of mine. Thankfully I have the time to devote to creating fantastic things. I guess my frustration would be that gluten free breads, no matter what anyone says, are not like their gluten counterparts. They cannot be. Sure, it can smell good and taste relatively good but there simply is no substitute. I will never, ever forget what the gluten stuff tastes like. I do have some recipes for breads, pizza crusts, etc. you form with your hands which is awesome, instead of slapping it into pan(s).

Most gluten free baking can be just as good (and just as easy to make) as gluten. Cookies, cakes, pastry crust, brownies, muffins - they are all easy to replicate. But not quite so with yeast breads (except focaccia). Homemade bagels, doughnuts, English muffins and croissants just are not the same and never will be as gluten is absolutely necessary for a great final product.

But I really am thankful that we can have truly great baking for the most part for those of us who enjoy the process of creating artisan goods.

[Smaggle]

I'm a mom who's been gluten-free for five years. I'm passionate about using this experience for good- for all of us. I'm curious, what's your biggest frustration with gluten free baking? What problem in the kitchen would you love to have solved? I have some ideas, but I know that my experience isn't necessarily the same as yours, so I'd love to hear about your baking issues! Thanks!

 

 

I'm a mom who's been gluten-free for five years. I'm passionate about using this experience for good- for all of us. I'm curious, what's your biggest frustration with gluten free baking? What problem in the kitchen would you love to have solved? I have some ideas, but I know that my experience isn't necessarily the same as yours, so I'd love to hear about your baking issues! Thanks!

Oh good question! I don't like how shrunken everything gluten free is. It always looks small and dense. I wish I could do light and fluffy cakes that don't fee l like bricks! 

[WinterSong]

My frustration is a silly one - I love baking and when I go to work I tend to tell people about my last exciting baking creation. I have a lot of different locations that I go to (I'm a fitness instructor), and everyone tells me to bring them something. 

 

In my head I'm thinking, "I used my expensive flours; so many people want me to make them things; it would cost $50 for me to bring everyone bagels. No! And they don't even need to eat gluten free, so why should I share my expensive food when they can go across the street and buy a normal bagel for $1?"

 

Not something that people understand.

[ndw3363]

My biggest frustration is how most things change/go bad so quickly.  I have made some awesome cupcakes, muffins, etc that taste beyond fantastic out of the oven.  But by day two, they are overly moist, falling apart or moldy within a few days.  This has happened so many times, that I just haven't bothered for many months.  And as Wintersong mentioned, all the ingredients are so expensive that it's hard for me to justify baking a batch of muffins that I either have to inhale in one day (delightful yes, but oh the stomachache) or I have to freeze them (never taste the same again after that).  I suppose I'm doing my waistline a favor by not baking, but I do miss the indulgence once in awhile. 

[love2travel]

My frustration is a silly one - I love baking and when I go to work I tend to tell people about my last exciting baking creation. I have a lot of different locations that I go to (I'm a fitness instructor), and everyone tells me to bring them something. 

 

In my head I'm thinking, "I used my expensive flours; so many people want me to make them things; it would cost $50 for me to bring everyone bagels. No! And they don't even need to eat gluten free, so why should I share my expensive food when they can go across the street and buy a normal bagel for $1?"

 

Not something that people understand.

Not silly at all. I catered a gluten-free wedding this year (just for 20 pax) and the desserts were excruciatingly expensive. I felt bad when time came for payment but I explained in advance it would *not* be cheap.

[Adalaide]

Not silly at all. I catered a gluten-free wedding this year (just for 20 pax) and the desserts were excruciatingly expensive. I felt bad when time came for payment but I explained in advance it would *not* be cheap.

 

Feeding a bunch of people desserts? I can't even imagine the cost!

 

I hate the cost also. I love love love to bake. The two frustrating things are that I can't reasonably justify baking for people, and bread. I used to bake for a straight week before Christmas, just for gifts. I'd do 2 or 3 different types of cookies a day, every day for a few days. Then I'd spend 2 days making artisan breads. I'd make up care packages for all our friends and acquaintances and we'd go off on Christmas Eve day and deliver them all before I hit the baking for myself. Pies, cakes, more cookies.

 

Yeah... that ain't happening. Not that I don't want to bake but I'm not throwing what would be hundreds of dollars at baking for a bunch of people who can eat whatever the heck they want. We'll probably do what we did last year and spend a few days making homemade peanut brittle and maybe branch into some other nuts and candies this year.

 

Bread? I just miss kneading it. I made some baguettes tonight that I shaped with my hands, which was moderately satisfying I guess. But nothing will ever compare to spending the time kneading a loaf, knowing when it's just right. My fresh bread tonight is delicious, with a great crust for a baguette. But it isn't the somehow perfectly mingled dense yet airy texture you want when you cut into a fresh loaf. I'll survive, but it will always break my heart just a little that there is so much labor of love missing in a loaf of gluten free bread and the texture I want will never be replicated.

[WinterSong]

I hate the cost also. I love love love to bake. The two frustrating things are that I can't reasonably justify baking for people, and bread. I used to bake for a straight week before Christmas, just for gifts. I'd do 2 or 3 different types of cookies a day, every day for a few days. Then I'd spend 2 days making artisan breads. I'd make up care packages for all our friends and acquaintances and we'd go off on Christmas Eve day and deliver them all before I hit the baking for myself. Pies, cakes, more cookies.

 

Yeah... that ain't happening. Not that I don't want to bake but I'm not throwing what would be hundreds of dollars at baking for a bunch of people who can eat whatever the heck they want. We'll probably do what we did last year and spend a few days making homemade peanut brittle and maybe branch into some other nuts and candies this year.

 

I used to bake hundreds of cookies each year and gave little goodie bags of them to all of my coworkers and friends. I loved, loved doing that. A lot of them were hand decorated with toothpicks. Now, I still make cookies (just not as many), and give them out only to close friends and family who are in town. I'll also bring some with me for my boyfriend's family as a gift when we fly to see them.