Types Of Flour?

[thehauffamily]

I'm sure it's been asked but I can't find it when I searched.  I'm trying to buy a good flour for my daughter (our whole family).  Every flour I've tried is gritty or dense when I bake.  Is there something I'm doing wrong?

We've tried making our own blend, we've tried all the bob mills brands, we've tried King Arthur All purpose.

Am I baking wrong or is there a better flour I have yet to find? Or is this just an acquired taste we are going to have to get use to?

 

Thank you!
 

[cyclinglady]

I use Pamela's AP blend. I hear K A. Is good, but Bobs is beanie. How long have you been gluten-free? It helps to avoid baked goods for a while to forget what wheat-based products taste like. However, my gluten eating family can not taste the difference when I bake apple spice or chocolate mayonnaise cupcakes with homemade frosting. My old toll house chocolate chip cookies are good too. gluten-free goods do not have a long shelf life, so bake, frost and freeze. Defrost on the counter.

[Adalaide]

I use Premium Gold AP flour. My gluten eating husband enjoys all of my baked goods. There are gluten-free recipes on their site that I use, and I use it as a replacement for regular flour in my favorite recipes straight from my old cookbooks. There are also many recipes I have from online and other sources that have specific flours listed, and I continue to use what is listed in the recipe rather than switching to an AP because I am happy with how those turn out as is.

[LauraTX]

I use King Arthur Flour all purpose and baking mix.  There are two things you may want to take into account when testing gluten-free flour blends.  1 is the relative weight of the flour blend to the flour in the recipe you are using it in.  King arthur flour blend weighs more than bobs red mill blend, etc. so the cup amount is not going to be the same.  Go by weight if you can.  Usually I sub in KAF baking mix for self rising flour in regular recipes, but I go by weight, not cups.  (I want to say a cup of all purpose wheat flour is a cup minus a tablespoon of KAF flour blend) If you are doing a recipe with a couple cups of flour, that extra weight really adds up and sucks up all the liquid making it dense and gritty.

 

Also, for a lot of recipes if they turn out gritty, letting the batter sit for about 15 minutes before baking (don't go past 30 minutes if they use chemical leaveners) will help the starches fully develop and evenly distribute the moisture.  This is especially true for the more delicate things.  Also, for delicate things like muffins, you need to go against conventional wisdom and mix the crap out of it.  The mix just until blended and walk away thing is for gluten containing flours so the gluten doesn't overdevelop and make things tough, therefore it doesn't generally apply to gluten-free baking.

 

If these tips don't work, I got the America's Test Kitchen gluten-free cookbook recently and they have a flour blend recipe in there that they test a lot and claim to work in most things, and they have notations on all their recipes for the bobs and KAF blends.  With their flour blend recipe they have a ton of notations on the different brands of rice flours and how well they each worked, etc.  They also go through the science behind stuff a little bit, so it definitely aided my understanding of gluten-free baking.  I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to get a little better at the gluten-free baking thing, because you really do have to kind of re-teach yourself.

[mamaw]

better gluten-free  flour  blends:   others  posted  are  also  on the  better  list!

 

Better Batter ( great  recipes  on that  site)

 

Jules

 

Meister

 

Cup for Cup

[thehauffamily]

Thank you! My daughter is 14 months and we have been gluten free (or trying with lots of tears) since about 7-8 months.

She didnt get a birthday cake (still brings tears to my eyes) and I just havent figured out what to fix her!

I honestly have no idea what to do with this child. I dont understand why she is having all these reactions. Ok im totally off topic here.

I will try a few of these flours (ive already spent hundreds failing at what we've tried so far) so a few more wont hurt to try if we find the right blend!

Please keep the suggestions coming. We will find out "officially" today or tomorrow what her blood tests say.

She wants what her siblings eat and we thats just not possible.

[1desperateladysaved]

. The blood test may false negative if the child isn't eating gluten.  She may be getting enough by accident to have tripped the tests   You won't be certain if she has celiac even if the test is negative.  As you continue the gluten free diet, it is a good thing to attempt for the whole family to follow the diet.  Maybe you will discover other children or parents that also have gluten issues.

 

I am following a grain free diet that works well for my healing.  I use nuts (which I grind into meal) and then mix my baked goods in a food processor.  The varieties of nuts I have used includes almond, pecans, walnuts, and hazlenuts.  I printed these in order of how well the family here likes them.  I have also used Macademia nuts, but they are very expensive.  Some other nuts may also work for you and your family.  There are many grain free diet recipes on the internet.

 

Dee

[mamaw]

Dee  is correct.. If  she  was not eating  enough  gluten  her  test  will not  be  accurate.....

We  have  put two  kids  through school being  gluten-free.. The youngest  was  dx'd  at  age 2 1/2   & the other  was  7-8 yrs  old.....We  matched  every  party   at  school ie:  birthdays  where  parents  brought in the  treat  or  Halloween party & so on.... Most  times  the  kids  wanted to try  the gluten-free  so  I just   made  whole  batches to  share  with  whoever  wanted to try....

There  is no reason  why  your  daughter  couldn't  of had  a birthday cake....Betty Crocker  is  an  easy find  in almost all stores ....It isn't the  best  one  out  there  but  it is  good....

Kids  are  picky so  try  foods  that  are  kid  friendly....turn them  into  animals  or  funny faces ( there  are sites  to  help  you make  real  food  kid  friendly....ie:  make  a face  with  an apple, banana  cut open  add  a  nut butter   raisins(organic)  called  ants on a log...Penquins  out of  olives  & so on.....

there  are  micro  mac & cheese  cups, chef  Boyardee  has  a  micro  chicken rice  & veggies that is gluten-free...our kids  loved it  in younger  years.... gluten-free pizza,  go picnic  meals, cold  gluten-free  Marconi    with  other  veggie pieces  cut  up (finger food), cut  cheese into  flower  shapes, add  deli  slices ... Cookie  cutters  work  great  for  crafting  unique  things from  food....yogurt  , cottage  cheese...gluten-free pretzels  dipped  in nut  butter  or  nutella... grilled  cheese  on gluten-free  bread... Progresso  has  many gluten-free  soups.... gluten free  café  has  all gluten-free  soups...

If  you have a trader  joe's they  have  ramen  noodle  bowls  that  are gluten-free  for  a buck....

Quackers  is  a  gluten-free  cheese  cracker... made  for kids....

I  don't know  if  you know  about  CC  but  if  she is to be  totally gluten-free    be  sure  to  get a  new  toaster  just  for gluten-free  or  else  they make  toasta  bags    from the  big A  online  store  .. That  way you could  use  just one toaster... Plus  any  utensils  that  are  scratched   or  porous  would need  to be  changed  & used just for gluten-free.....

All meats,  beef, chicken fish  fruits & veggies  are naturally gluten-free  .. Just   buy  them  "naked" without  any  marinades,  coatings,  rubs, or breaded..

It is  very important  to make  her  feel  like  every other  child  so  she  doesn't  become  or  feel food  deprived  ,  jealous  or  sad...

 

Hidden  gluten in malt  products, soy sauce  .....

 

We usually tell  people  to eat  very clean  & healthy when  starting out  to avoid  dining out  so the body has a chance to heal....but  little kids  needs  to have treats... chick f-la , Wendy's ,  dairy queen are  special  places,, chuckie  cheese  has  a gluten-free  pizza, just to name  a couple.....

gluten free  on  a  shoestring  has  several  cookbooks, a  blog,  she  has  several  kids of her  own.... better batter  the  same...

Shari Sanderson has  a cookbook  "cooking  with KIds"  plus  many more....

Lots  of  gluten-free  children's  books that she  made  love  to  have read to her. This also helps  her to understand.......

 

hth

 

.

[cyclinglady]

I read your previous posting. If your daughter has been gluten free for seven months or so, then her celiac blood panel is going to be negative. And if she took an allergy test (scratch), then you already know her responses to wheat, egg or milk based on her skin reaction in the doctor's office yesterday. Other blood tests for allergies are not very accurate or highly endorsed by most medical doctors. I tested negative to wheat (skin test) but I have celiac disease.

Your daughter needs a celiac blood test. Print off the testing requirements from the University of Chicago's celiac website (seriously one of the leading researchers of celiac disease) and take it into your medical doctor. Rule out celiac disease which is an autoimmune disorder that is caused by ingesting wheat. It is NOT an allergy and it can cause over 300 /symptoms throughout the body.

Back to the flour question. You will never get results from baking working with gluten free flours that are comparable to gluten-containing flours. You can come close, but it will never be the same ( though it comes pretty close with practice depending on how good a baker you were to begin with.)

You stated that your daughter has egg allergies and that is even harder to bake using egg replacer, but it is possible. Your daughter will not notice the difference but you will. I would suggest you bake her special desserts and, if you decide to go gluten-free for the entire family because your daughter has a legit gluten issue, bake gluten-free using real eggs for the rest of the gang. Get a baking savvy friend to help. Laura's suggestions were great. I wish had proved those tips, but I am one of those that throws things in by feel......

I wish you well. My heart goes to you. We all know here that getting a diagnosis is hard.

[BridgetteIMcleod]

If you have a Trader Joe's close, they carry a gluten free all purpose flour that is good and cheap (3.99 for one pound). 

also pick up America's Test Kitchen "The How it can be Gluten Free Cookbook" Open Original Shared Link.

There is good information on The science of baking and what works best , because they have tested every possible way.

I bought my copy at Costco, I have been Gluten Free for 16 years, It is a challenge, but you will get used to it. My husband does not even notice the difference any more.

[LauraTX]

I happened to see this article today on gluten-free baking mistakes, made me think of this discussion.  It discusses the weight thing.   Open Original Shared Link