Everything crumbles

[Deades 3]

I am trying to bake and have used Pillsbury gluten free all purpose flour and then made my own flour mixture from the Great American Cookbook.  No matter what I use it crumbles. It tastes okay but when you bite a cookie, it falls apart--same with banana bread.  What are you all using?

[Ennis_TX 817]

Depends, my bakery uses different things for different products. Our bread that use eggs we use Psyllium Husk unflavored, about 1-2tsp a loaf, for our vegan baked goods we use different things depending on the base and intended product. Our muffins tend to use a combination of flax eggs (1tbsp ground flax mixed with 2-3tbsp water) and apple sauce.  We used to use guar gum but have found more natural binding agents to be much more appreciated.  OH these might not work with your mixtures, we are grain free and starch free with out bakery using nut and seed flours. Everything we do is super moist, sort of our pride is moist and melt in your mouth unlike the cardboard gluten free products anywhere else.

[cyclinglady 1,663]

The flour you are using is okay.  I personally prefer Pamela's but that is because I have an intolerance to Xanthan Guam and Pamela's uses guard Gum (these gums sub for gluten which is a good binder).  

http://www.pamelasproducts.com/products/baking-mixes/artisan-flour-blend/

However, you can not sub gluten-free flour cup for cup in regular recipes (there actually is a gluten-free flour brand that allows you to do this).  Instead you need to alter the recipe by adding in less gluten-free flour.  So if it calls for 1 cup, add in 1 cup less two tablespoons or so.  (Imagine 9/10 of a cup).  You can always add more flour in, but you can not take it out.  There are other variables like humidity, size of eggs, etc.  So practice makes perfect!  

Try following the gluten-free recipes from the Pillsbury gluten-free website.  They have already converted and tested  a few basic recipes.  

https://www.pillsburybaking.com/products/gluten-free-flour/gluten-free-flour

Bake in parchment paper as gluten-free dough tends to stick.  Make sure those bananas are nice and ripe, really ripe.