Substitutions from old recipes

[TracyButler]

I just have a question about Gluten Free baking. I just recently found out that I have to be 100% gluten-free, but I used to love to bake. I was wondering if I can substitute the flour in my old recipes with all-purpose or baking Gluten Free flour? or will it change the consistency of my baked goods? Thanks!

[kareng]

Yes.. and no.

 

You will need something like xanthum gum.  Many all purpose mixes have that.  It replaces the "glueness" of gluten in  a recipe.

 

Then... substituting with a general purpose gluten-free flour for  things like quick breads (banana bread, for example) works well, usually.  For other things, different mixes of flours work better than others.  Many of the pre-mixed all purpose gluten-free flours have rice flour.  I find that a bit gritty in some things. 

You might want to check out some books from the library like - The Americas Test Kitchen book (Can't believe its gluten-free?  or something like that).  And experiment.  I have found that different people have different ideas of what is acceptable or delicious.

[cyclinglady]

For cakes and cookies, I like Pamela's all-purpose gluten-free flour.  It does not contain Xanthan gum which bothers me (personal food intolerance).  I can use the old Toll-House chocolate chip cookie recipe and any of my cake recipes, but I tend to use a little less flour depending on egg size.  I know, hard to gauge, but if you were a baker before you were dx, you will understand.  I do not bake plain vanilla cake as I think gluten eaters can taste the difference.  Homemade frosting is a must.  Everything freezes well.  gluten-free items dry out faster, so freezing is critical in my opinion!  

I do not bake bread anymore as I am a diabetic, so the goodies are treats for my family.  We do without bread for the most part.  

Finally, use parchment paper.  gluten-free items tend to stick otherwise.  

[Fundog]

I realize this is an old thread, but this tidbit of info might help someone:   one cup of all purpose wheat flour is equal to 140 grams (yep, a kitchen scale is very helpful in gluten free baking) of all purpose gluten free flour.  So if I'm using a recipe specified for gluten free, I go by whatever it says, cup for cup, or ounce for ounce.  If I'm using a recipe using wheat, I use my scale and weigh out 140 grams of gluten free flour per cup of all purpose wheat flour called for.