Almost Embarrassed To Say This.

[hipretty]

Hi All,

It has been quite some time since I posted. I used to post quite a bit under the old format....and then it changed...and life happens. I only posted a few times in the last coule of years. (Is Shirley still here???)

Since then my youngest child has been diagnosed with Celiac as well, so now there are 2 in our household of 5 that are Celiac. So bread goes a lot faster, so I bake a lot more than my previous HFS purchase days. Not necessarily from scratch, but, there is a store around here that discounts gluten-free baking products sometimes when new ones come in and they need to make more room. So I bought several at a time at a reduced price. I was so excited to try them. The dates are still good, just to set you up before I tell my dilemma.

Here is where my embarrassment comes in.

Gluten-free Pantry seems to be the most used, revered products to buy on all the gluten-free sites, and I never hear any complaints. So imagine my embarrassment when time after time I am not happy with the turn out of the product. I find them VERY dry and very crumbly. Am I the only one?

A few weeks back, the scones I made from the scone mix fell apart they were SO dry and crumbly, I crumbled them up completely and made them into crumbs to use at a later date for cheesecake crust, the pizza crust was like a cracker, the Danielles Chocolate Cake mix was also so dry I crumbled that cake up completely to use at a later date for cheesecake crust. I mean that was a good save, but to invest that kind of time and ingredients into baking a product, to end up making crumbs for cheesecake? It was supposed to be a chocolate birthday cake and I had to whip up a cheesecake in a hurry using the crumbs as the bottom. I can do that with gluten-free cookies and save all the other steps and eggs!

Earlier this morning I tried the scone mix as muffins (mini muffins) I used lemon extract and some lemon zest and poppy seeds (I used to bake before Celiac and missed this flavor) there was double the mix with the minimuffin pan that would fit in a standard muffin pan (good thing) because when the first batch came out (and they are NOT being over cooked) the smell was heavenly and I could not wait to try it...crum-BLY! It is so disappointing, they are falling apart as I bite into it.

I tried to trouble shoot this by adding an egg to the remaining 1/2 batch of batter that was left. They rose higher, they looked good, but they were only barely better...still dry. In the end I buttered the tops, and while I served my 2 gluten kids waffles and suryp I gave some syrup to the gluten-free kid to dip the dry muffins in.

In the past I remember hearing that you can convert your old Gluten recipes to gluten-free by adding an extra egg, but this is ridiculous. Now I am adding extra eggs than a gluten-free company is calling for and it is still chokingly dry.

Now I am thinking 2 eggs more than gluten-free Pantry's recipes call for? What gives??

I will tell you I am at this time about to embark on baking their choocolate chip cookies, (supposedly like Toll House) I will let you know how that goes. It looks very dry and not cohesive barely coming together. This recipe does not call for eggs, so I cannot save it with an egg, I added an extra 2 spoons of butter, now it is somewhat holding together. How can you roll dough into cookies that are not "rolling" together into a ball?

Does anyone here agree with me about having the same trouble or disappointment I have had? Can anyone here lend any advice. Yes I can try other products (in the future) but as it is now I have a load of gluten-free Pantry's products here that cannot be returned. Any input is welcomed.

Stay Healthy!

[mamaw]

Hi

Since we all have differenet taste what one person likes another may not but that is with everything.I will say in the last few years so many excellent products have become available I think some of the older products that are just pkay should be put to sleep... as with anything there is things that are good , tehn the better, & then the beast available. There are two adults & two kids in my family gluten-free & a couple who are still on a reg diet. If it were not because of the expense everyone would eat gluten-free. I can say we all eat the gluten-free goodies & like them.

I use my old wheat recipes & just change the flour to gluten-free blend & I don't have a problem as they taste & feel just the same as the wheat recipe did. I do alot of home baking & cooking but at times I need things ready-made ..

I use better batter flour ( a one to one ratio ) , I use Annalise Roberts flour blend & We love her cookbook. & I use b. hageman four bean blend. That's it. Other favorite cookbooks are Gourmet Dessert by Mike & Laura Eberhart ( this book looks like food porn & there is a pic for everything) plus they use several gluten-free grains to add more protein & fiber to things. Roben Ryberg is coming out with a new book in March08 which I hear is going tobe a good one (amazon is taking pre-orders for it) & I use Shari Sanderson's book that kids love.. I have other books but these are very good ones. There is even a wedding cake recipe in the Annalise book.

If you wan to order by mailorder I know most of the vendors & bakers tell me wha tyou are looking for & I can guide you in the direction of the best available..... I also test for many....

hth

mamaw

[JNBunnie1]

hipretty, I've actually had number of successes with the GFP line of products. Are you maybe at a strange altitude?

[hipretty]

hipretty, I've actually had number of successes with the GFP line of products. Are you maybe at a strange altitude?

No I am not.

[hipretty]

hipretty, I've actually had number of successes with the GFP line of products. Are you maybe at a strange altitude?

First to mamaw,

I don't think my results are about a matter of taste, the taste is not the problem at all. It is the dryness and falling to a pile of crumbs at the first bite. Does that really sound like it is about taste or opinion? The taste (when the broken up pieces) are washed down with lots of fluids isn't bad. It is that seemingly very few things I have made through this company's products hold up or hold together.

Second to JNBunnie1,

No I am not at a strange altitude.

[JNBunnie1]

No I am not.

I'm not really sure what to suggest then, I've always followed the directions and everything's been lovely.

[debmidge]

All:

I got this as a result in some of my baking too.....made me afraid to try to make new things.

I do Ok with GFP favorite white bread...and Pamela's Brownies

[mamaw]

Usually in my opinion when something is dry & crumbles the taste is also altered....... Now, this is just a thought : Is your oven a correct temp? What I mean by that is have you checked the temp control to make sure it is actually at 350 when you set it at 350 degrees. I know someone had temp problems & had to have it adjusted because it was baking hotter than 350 when they had it set at 350.....That can dry out any thing you are baking.

I realize you have alot of these products but I would suggest you try another brand to see if also the results end up the same.

I wish you luck in solving the problem....

mamaw

[Lisa]

I have had the crumbly issue with GFP Scone Mix. I add vanilla yogurt, cranraisens and sugar. The taste is good, but it won't hold together.

Now, Pamela's cake mixes and brownies are wonderful. The Chocolate Cake Mix is to die for. You can make it dense and more torte-like, which we love. My husband swears it's better than any Duncan Hines or Pillsbury mix.

Trust me, they have come a LONG way in a few short years to improve gluten free mixes. I am pleased.

[hipretty]

It really do not believe it to be the oven, because it is new and because numerous other products of all different brands work out well.

Bob's Red Mill Bread has always turned out very well. It is our fave.

Pamela's products has been really good (their frosting mix in a bag excellent as well although not a baked product)

A surprisingly good product (that I never hear mentioned) has been Hol-Grain Baking Mixes (the maker of those wafer thin brown rice crackers) specifically their Brownie Mix is SO good and fudgey all our "glutens" not only enjoy this, but cannot wait for them to be finished (we also use this brand's brown rice bread crumbs a lot for breading things.

By far the best Chocolate Chip (Toll House Type ) Cookies for us has been Arrowhead Mills Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix! EXCELLENT! another brand we don't hear mentioned. We are extremely sensitive and often react to pasta that also make gluten pasta, but we have never reacted to Arrowhead mills.

Even the least expensive brand of all is that age old standby Fearns! (yeast free) Quick Bread Mix for when I am really in a hurry for bread (for only a couple of bucks a box) It doesn't rise up very high but it is good in a pinch.

All these various products turn out well in our oven, so I do think it is fine. But so many of the GFP's products seemed consistently a problem so I wanted to check with others. I wanted to know how others got around the dryness. Maybe it hasn't been a problem for many. I just went and bought so many dern products because the price was so good, now I am wondering how I can make them more tolerable.

Thanks to all who have commentd.

[mischka]

hipretty...i know you want to give the best that you can for yourself and for you celiac child. i came across this site just now Open Original Shared Link

. i think they are taking orders now and its at a discount too...so since you are trying out other celiac safe baking products you might want to try this one...

the online shop is www.tasteslikerealfood.com sorry for your mishaps with the GFP products...

[bakingbarb]

I do not have any exp with that product but I am finding that recipes that I MAKE gluten free tend to be more crumbly. I have been going over in my mind what the issue is and what the solution is. It is a fine line to add the moistness without making the finished product goopy either. It made me think of when the Have your Cake and Eat it Too book came out and they added fruit purees to replace the fats and aid in texture. My concern with trying this method is that goopy texture I hate in cakes and such.

I am in the experimenting stage. Brownies, now those I CAN make gluten free!

[dawnw007]

Hi All,

It has been quite some time since I posted. I used to post quite a bit under the old format....and then it changed...and life happens. I only posted a few times in the last coule of years. (Is Shirley still here???)

Since then my youngest child has been diagnosed with Celiac as well, so now there are 2 in our household of 5 that are Celiac. So bread goes a lot faster, so I bake a lot more than my previous HFS purchase days. Not necessarily from scratch, but, there is a store around here that discounts gluten-free baking products sometimes when new ones come in and they need to make more room. So I bought several at a time at a reduced price. I was so excited to try them. The dates are still good, just to set you up before I tell my dilemma.

Here is where my embarrassment comes in.

Gluten-free Pantry seems to be the most used, revered products to buy on all the gluten-free sites, and I never hear any complaints. So imagine my embarrassment when time after time I am not happy with the turn out of the product. I find them VERY dry and very crumbly. Am I the only one?

A few weeks back, the scones I made from the scone mix fell apart they were SO dry and crumbly, I crumbled them up completely and made them into crumbs to use at a later date for cheesecake crust, the pizza crust was like a cracker, the Danielles Chocolate Cake mix was also so dry I crumbled that cake up completely to use at a later date for cheesecake crust. I mean that was a good save, but to invest that kind of time and ingredients into baking a product, to end up making crumbs for cheesecake? It was supposed to be a chocolate birthday cake and I had to whip up a cheesecake in a hurry using the crumbs as the bottom. I can do that with gluten-free cookies and save all the other steps and eggs!

Earlier this morning I tried the scone mix as muffins (mini muffins) I used lemon extract and some lemon zest and poppy seeds (I used to bake before Celiac and missed this flavor) there was double the mix with the minimuffin pan that would fit in a standard muffin pan (good thing) because when the first batch came out (and they are NOT being over cooked) the smell was heavenly and I could not wait to try it...crum-BLY! It is so disappointing, they are falling apart as I bite into it.

I tried to trouble shoot this by adding an egg to the remaining 1/2 batch of batter that was left. They rose higher, they looked good, but they were only barely better...still dry. In the end I buttered the tops, and while I served my 2 gluten kids waffles and suryp I gave some syrup to the gluten-free kid to dip the dry muffins in.

In the past I remember hearing that you can convert your old Gluten recipes to gluten-free by adding an extra egg, but this is ridiculous. Now I am adding extra eggs than a gluten-free company is calling for and it is still chokingly dry.

Now I am thinking 2 eggs more than gluten-free Pantry's recipes call for? What gives??

I will tell you I am at this time about to embark on baking their choocolate chip cookies, (supposedly like Toll House) I will let you know how that goes. It looks very dry and not cohesive barely coming together. This recipe does not call for eggs, so I cannot save it with an egg, I added an extra 2 spoons of butter, now it is somewhat holding together. How can you roll dough into cookies that are not "rolling" together into a ball?

Does anyone here agree with me about having the same trouble or disappointment I have had? Can anyone here lend any advice. Yes I can try other products (in the future) but as it is now I have a load of gluten-free Pantry's products here that cannot be returned. Any input is welcomed.

Stay Healthy!

[WW340]

I have not had much luck with the GFP products either. Like you I stocked up on some from amazon because the price was good, but had to buy in bulk. I live out in the boondocks, so it is not easy for me to find a lot of gluten free food.

After many failures following the directions, I started experimenting with other recipes, but used the GFP products for my base. For instance, I used the French Bread and pizza mix just for a gluten free flour in other recipes. This worked better for me and I was able to use up the product.

Many bread products and pizza recipes call for a gluten free flour mix of say 2 cups plus 1/2 cup tapioca flour. So I would use my GFP flour for the 2 cups and then add all the other ingredients.

For whatever item I was making, I would pick the GFP product that was the closest to the flour blend required and then add any other ingredients needed.

I had much better results doing this than just using the package as directed. I was able to use up all my GFP products this way.

[Lisa16]

I have had bad bummers with the GFP french bread dough and just now with the GFP angel food cake mix! The taste is right, but the consistency and density are way off. The cake, when you cut into ti, is not foamy and airy-- and it has a distinct visible division when the bottom half is wetter looking that the top half. It is extremely heavy.

These mixes are expensive and I am getting to the point where I hesitate to buy them because I have not had a good experience with them yet (granted I am pretty new to this.)

I followed the instructions. I am in MN with no alititude issues.

What gives?

I am beginning to get demoralized!

[taweavmo3]

I did not have any luck with GFP cookies, muffins or scones either. They came out really dry for me too. I do like the scone/muffin mix as pancakes though, it just doesn't make very many.

I really like Manna from Anna banana and pumpkin bread, and Namaste products. Those are our favs. I also just recently found Bob's Red Mill all purpose flour, which so far has made great peach cobbler and pancakes. I'm not much of a baker though, I really admire all of you who can add this or that if it doesn't work out. I wouldn't have the first clue what to add!

[hipretty]

[hipretty]

OK , so I am back to report about the chocolate chip cookies, They were good and all three kids enjoyed them, gluten and gluten-free alike.

I am still looking for any other input on gluten-free pantry's products. I see now others have had trouble, I am not so embarrassed about it.

I have the county French Bread and Pizza mix. I am looking to make an Italian style bread for spaghetti night.

gluten-free Pantry has merged with somebody (who was it glutano?) I remember they used to have several downloadable cookbooks. I think they changed their format though, because the cookbooks used to have cute l'il icons of the foods on the page, and now I am not seeing that.

On the bag it gives directions in a machine or loaf pan. I really don't want a loaf pan shaped Italian bread. Sort of takes the thrill out of the break off loaf.

I seem to remember years ago reading you can make this bread in foil shaped to an Italian bread shape. Does this sound right to anyone. IF I like this product, I wouldn't mind investing in one of those nice baquette pans you see in the cooking catalogs, but I want to try this first. Any input?

[WW340]

I have done this using doubled heavy duty foil on a cookie sheet. Once the bread had baked enough to hold its shape, I removed the foil and finished baking. I would suggest putting some cans or something to support the sides while the dough is rising.

The baguette pan makes a huge difference. I have a perforated one and I line it with parchment paper.

I have another thread going currently about a fabulous french bread recipe I found on the internet. It is really good. You might want to try it some time. I have used the gluten free pantry french bread mix as part of my flour and then added the rest of the ingredients.

[RiceGuy]

I haven't read through every post, so this may be repeating, but...

Here are some things I've learned from all my gluten-free baking:

1) Oil makes things less cohesive.

2) Guar gum helps hold stuff together, but too much can make it gummy.

3) Choosing the right flours can make a huge difference.

4) Flours with higher carb content tend to hold moisture better, but can contribute to gumminess.

Based on this, and the trouble you've described, if it where me I'd try adding guar gum. It may also help to lower the fat content (oil, butter, etc). Perhaps some of the mix can be replaced with a specific flour or two? I don't know what the blend is for the stuff you have, so anything I'd suggest here would be a stab in the dark, plus I never use mixes.

I've read that coconut flour is great for cakes, but have yet to try it. Also, soy flour helps hold moisture.

HTH

[sickchick]

I have that problem too. I quit buying it!! I was attempting to make lemon scones the first time, the bottom got reallly hard and the top turned to dust... I tried to make banana bread twice and the bottom got hard and the top was really fluffy in texture, I had to cut it frozen in order to try and eat it. That was yucky and slimy HAHA and so I thought I'd just add another egg next time and it didn't make any difference

Keep chugging I guess

[JNBunnie1]

Also, does everyone have all their ingredients at room temp before baking? Especially eggs and milk, this helped me with texture a lot.