gluten-free Baking Cookbooks

[angel42]

Hi,

I have been looking through gluten-free cookbooks and find myself a bit overwhelmed. I was looking at one today that for every recipe seemed to require three different types of flour in different combinations (one part this, two parts that etc) I confess I am no Julia Child. I just want a baking cookbook with simple recipes that will taste great without taking the entire day cooking or spending a fortune on ingredients. Does anyone know of anything like that?

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!

[2Boys4Me]

Hi,

Most recipes do require more than one type of flour for texture and taste. You cannot replace all-purpose flour with only one gluten free flour. Annalise Roberts has a good cookbook called "Gluten Free Baking Classics" (or Open Original Shared Link has some recipes also) but she requires a flour blend of brown rice flour, tapioca starch (same as tapioca flour or starch flour) and potato starch (NOT the same as potato flour). She has a "recipe" for the mix on the above website.

Roben Ryberg has a cookbook called "The Gluten Free Kitchen". She uses only cornstarch and potato starch (along with xanthan) for all her recipes. They are good, but all seem to have the same underlying taste to them. It's not bad, just that her breadsticks are similar to dinner rolls are similar to the dough for her cobbler. Directions are pretty much dump everything in a mixing bowl, mix it, bake it.

Carol Fenster has some recipes on her website, but she also has different flour blends for different recipes. Open Original Shared Link

Good luck with your baking!

[Felidae]

To avoid spending too much on flour, try the asian markets or asian section in your grocery store. You can get rice flour and tapioca starch really cheap. I find cornstarch to be cheap anywhere. I've been taking gluten-free cookbooks out from my local library to test them before I buy them. This may be an option for you too.

[larry mac]

The two large Asian Supermarkets I've been to lately had White Rice Flour for about $1 a pound, or less. They also have Tapioca Starch and Potato Starch @ .67 to 1.05 a pound. There are probably 4 or 5 different brands, and they usually come in 12 or 16 oz packages.

Also got some Sweet Rice Flour, Glutinous Rice Flour, Mung Bean Powder, and Sweet Potato (Starch) Powder. Have no idea what to do with these!

Visiting these places is somewhat of an experience. I've always been the only non-Asian there. The sounds & smells make you feel like being in another country. Also, be prepared to do some searching for this stuff. Every isle is cram packed with unidentifiable stuff, and there are many bags of products that look just like what we are looking for, but are assorted batters, mixes and such, most containing wheat flour. After you find the primary Rice Flour area, and get what you can find there, go to the Korean products isle and there will be more flours and starches. Basically the same stuff, but different brands and prices.

While you're there, check out the live fish, crabs, frogs and seafood offerings. Have fun. lm

[ViewsAskew]

Hi Angel,

It is a hard transition, isn't it? To bake gluten-free, as another person mentioned, you really do need several flours. But, here are some things that might work.

First, buy a ready-made gluten-free mix. Several companies sell them. Then, in your recipes, add up the total cups of different flours, and just sub this mix. For example, if it calls for 1 cup brown rice, 1/2 cup tapioca, 1/4 c potato starch, then add 1 3/4 cup of your mix instead. Just be careful, as some of these include the xanthan. If it does, you need to NOT add it if it's listed in the recipe.

Second, make a mix like this for yourself - it's much less expensive The most common ingredients in mixes are brown rice, white rice, tapioca starch, potato starch, or corn starch. I think that the most common mix is about 2 cups brown rice, 2/3 cup potato starch, and 1/3 cup tapioca starch. The brown rice is the hardest to find, but you can order on line. The potato starch is most easily obtained at a Jewish food store, especially during Passover. The tapioca starch is also easily available online. As another writer mentioned, you can find all of these (maybe not the brown rice) at an Asian grocer. I just went yesterday and paid 50 cents for 16 ounces of white rice and tapioca. I paid 89 cents for 12 ounces of potato starch.

Also used sometimes are bean flours, sorghum, almond meal, etc. Use a mix from Annalisa Roberts, Betty Hagman, Rebecca Reilly, or Connie Sarros. If you want any of these, just let us know. I have all the cookbooks and can post any of their mixes. Then, just buy the ingredients for that mix and make up 5 pounds worth. Then use it in your recipes.

Third, try a different cookbook. Do you live in a metro area where you have a library that has any of these cookbooks? I went to the library and checked out, or ordered from other libraries in my system, EVERY gluten-free cookbook available. I looked to see what recipes they have, if they were similar to what I liked, how hard they were, etc. From this, I can tell you the following:

If you like to bake and want high quality, bakery type goods, try Rebecca Reilly's book. She is clear in her explanations, but does make things that are not run of the mill. She uses the same mix in most recipes (brown rice, tapioca, potato) though does add some other flours occasionally (usually almond).

Carol Fenster doesn't use any outlandish ingredients - usually brown rice, tapioca, and potato, though she doesn't make a mix ahead of time. I think you could easily make a mix of your own to use in place of this. I use this cookbook rarely.

Annalise Roberts uses a mix that she has you make and store. The recipes are easy to follow. I use this rarely, but mostly because it's recipes I don't make often ( I tend to bake exotic stuff), but for a beginning gluten-free baker, I think this would work well.

Connie Sarros is also very easy to follow. She just says to use gluten-free flour mixture. You can use her's or one that you make or buy. She has some very interesting things and a lot of things that can be made quickly and easily. This sounds like a winner for you.

Washburn and Butt have some very good recipes. I love their ciabatta bread. But, they tend to use different flour mixes in each recipe. If you keep them on hand like I do, not a problem. But, if you want to simplify, you'd have to sub a mix of your own stuff. This would probably work fine, but just makes more work for you.

Someone else mentioned Robin Ryberg. Also great for beginners. But, things to taste a lot a like, as the other person said. And, there it's all carbs and NO nutrition at all. At least with brown rice flour there is a little nutrition! Not much, but a little :-) I have this and used it five years ago when I started baking. I haven't made anything from it in several years, basically because I like a different flour mix now.

Bette Hagman is last but not least (out of my collection). I tend to use her cookbook on breads more often, but her desserts are fine. What I like about her cookbook is that when possible, she tells you to use one of her mixes (and you can sub for the one she recommends - I don't like the bean mix at all, so when it recommends that, I use the gluten-free mix). But, when the recipe benefits from using something else, she doesn't try to make it work with the mix and tells you to use other flours. So, you can stick to the items using the mix.

I don't know how long you've been doing this, but you did say you weren't Julia Childs. It definitely helps to LIKE to bake when you have to be gluten-free. You may discover that you like it after you do it for awhile. But, getting the right start might be really important so you aren't frustrated. Try to find some cookbooks you can look at. Maybe you have a local celiac group and some members can let you borrow theirs. Or, just try a new one - order two at Amazon to make it $25 or more and shipping is free if your budget isn't too tight. Try the Connie Sarros and the Roberts.

Oops - sorry about the long post!

Hi,

I have been looking through gluten-free cookbooks and find myself a bit overwhelmed. I was looking at one today that for every recipe seemed to require three different types of flour in different combinations (one part this, two parts that etc) I confess I am no Julia Child. I just want a baking cookbook with simple recipes that will taste great without taking the entire day cooking or spending a fortune on ingredients. Does anyone know of anything like that?

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!

[ViewsAskew]

Also got some Sweet Rice Flour, Glutinous Rice Flour, Mung Bean Powder, and Sweet Potato (Starch) Powder. Have no idea what to do with these!

Larry, sweet rice flour is great in making gravy and helps keeping things more "stuck" together. Use a small amount in pancakes and cookies and pie crusts. Sweet rice and glutinous rice are the same thing! Mung bean is one of my favorites, but use it sparingly! A teaspoon or two per cup of other flours really adds the chewiness. Sweet potato starch, I've found, works almost identical to potato starch. I haven't found any differences between them.

Happy baking!