Baking Help

[WendyG]

Hello there,

I have been gluten free since January and haven't really started baking. I have gained 10 pounds so decided not to learn how to bake yummy things to save my belly from further expansion... Well my 8 year old daughter has just tested positive so I need to learn how to bake.

What the heck is Xhanthum gum?

I have purchased a pre packed gluten-free flour mix. Can I just use this in place of regular flour in my recipes. These item are not cheap so I thought I'd ask you all first!

Where do I start?

Wendy

[ShayFL]

Bob's Red Mill site has a ton of FREE recipes. And I like "Cooking Free" as a cookbook. I have yet to throw anything out for lack of taste. Some things are ubber yummy and some are just edible. But you have to experiment to find out.

Xanthum gum is a "binder" which replaces gluten in flour. I dont use it. I use ground chia seeds. But you can find xanthum at health food stores or online. And it lasts a very long time. So dont worry about the price as you wont need to buy it very often.

I recommend Bob's Teff peanut butter cookies. A family favorite already here at a little over 2 mo. gluten-free.

[Takala]

Hey ShayFl, where do you get the chia seeds and do they come pre ground and how much are you using per cup of flour ?

As for starting baking, the difference between wheat and other stuff is that the protein in wheat is gluey/sticky so when we use other flours we add something to replace that function. Besides Xanthan gum, I've also heard of people using flax seed that had boiling water added to it to make flax jelly, or using eggs, or using gelatin, or using combinations of all.

Also, many recipes call for a small amount of safe vinegar or lemon juice, this makes the alternate flours behave a little bit better and also acts as a starter to fizz up the baking soda for leavening.

It is easier to start with quick breads than to try to get a yeast bread to work at first.

It is a lot easier also to start with muffins, which only take 15 minutes to bake. The smaller the pan, the better the gluten free bread behaves, I use a 4x 8" pan or mini loaf pan instead of a 5x9". I cut down the recipes into smaller amounts first to make one small loaf or 6 muffins, to see if it works.

How to test to see if something is really done: take a flat bladed table knife and stick it all the way thru to the bottom of the baking good. Pull it out. If the knife is clean and dry, it's done. If the knife is sticky/gooey/wet on the end, it's not done. Put it back in the oven for 5 to 10 minute intervals and retest. This simple test has saved me LOTS of underdone baked goods.

Flours: you can use a pre- mix. If the premix tastes nasty when done, and has bean flour in it, you might not like bean flour, so use something else. I can't taste it but some people here despise it.

If the premix does not have xanthan gum you will have to add it.

Store the flours in the refrigerator or freezer, because they will keep fresher longer.

Cookies, cakes. I tend to use regular recipes and convert them. I buy packages of different flours and mix them by proportions in a big cup, add xantham gum, baking soda, and vinegar, and make most recipes work that way. I can't eat much of this, I'm too good at it.

Breads. Temperamental. Instead I use a non yeast recipe based on Bette Hagman's Bread cookbook, the quick bread with honey and yogurt. Except that right now I'm off cow dairy pretty much again, and am using pumpkin puree as a substitute. But you can make a quick bread out of almost anything.

I didn't eat grain hardly at all for several years, using ground nut meal instead. I still prefer this for pancakes and I think my nutmeal pizza crust is better than my grain one so far.

Extra virgin olive oil is a dandy butter substitute for a lot of recipes for those avoiding all dairy, or you can also use coconut oil or a combination.

Your own flour mixes : Depending on what you end up being able to find in the stores or tolerate or like, you can make basic flour mixes consisting of 1/3 rice, 1/3 corn starch, 1/3 tapioca, or 1/3 rice /potato/tapioca, or 1/3 rice/ tapioca/ sorghum and almond, or 1/3 rice, 1/3 corn, 1/3bean-sorghum, etc.

The trick is to use several different flour blends as this makes the result a better texture and taste better.

I grind my own nuts in a blender because it's cheaper that way.

Oh, almost forgot, treat yourself to new clean baking pans and spatulas so you don't accidentally contaminate yourself with old gluten residue. And stainless steel is your friend.

[ShayFL]

I get the chia seeds at whole foods. But another health food store here sells them pre-ground. But it is no bid deal to put them in a coffee grinder and wizzz away. I use the same amount of ground chia as xanthum. Now I will tell you again, I have never used xanthum, so I do not know the difference. But my cakes, muffins and breads all turn out great and do not fall apart. This is all I know. So experiment at your own risk. I like that the chia has fiber and nutrition (Iron and good fats). If I can add something with nutrition over something with zero, I always will.

[RiceGuy]

I find cookies almost always turn out well, though I have found that making a sugar-free peanut butter cookie is tricky unless I use far less peanut butter than I'd like. Apparently the fat content keeps them from holding together, probably because I don't use sugar (I use pure Open Original Shared Link powder). So I think I'd suggest starting with cookies, but don't add any fatty ingredients unless you use enough sugar to act as a binder. A basic cinnamon raisin cookie always seems to work for me. And yes, you'll need xanthan gum unless you use a mix which already has it.

[ShayFL]

I have yet to "need" xanthum gum. The chia works great!!

I tried Stevia powder and it tasted kinda bitter. So I then tried Chicory root which made it sweet, but caused gas later.

[RiceGuy]

I have yet to "need" xanthum gum. The chia works great!!

I tried Stevia powder and it tasted kinda bitter. So I then tried Chicory root which made it sweet, but caused gas later.

Where do you get chia seeds economically enough to use in place of other binders? I wanted to try it, but last I looked I couldn't find them cheap enough to make it worth even trying them.

On the Stevia, I guess not everyone can taste it the same way. I saw something on TV about a flavor which only 40% of the population can taste (I don't recall what it was), so maybe Stevia is like that too. Wouldn't it be interesting if there's a "Stevia gene"?! LOL Anyway, since purification has improved quite a bit in recent years, but does still differ from brand to brand, I looked around and tried a few different brands and formulas. Both liquid and powder. I'm glad the highest purity product is from Brazil, as most brands actually come from China, which doesn't exactly entice me even though it's less money. Comparing the two for taste, it's clear to me that you get what you pay for. The most obvious aftertaste I found was from a liquid, which had grapefruit seed extract as a preservative.

[ShayFL]

You can get chia for 8.95 a lb here:

Open Original Shared Link

Keep in mind that you dont use A LOT of them for baking. I have a pound I bought 4 months ago and I was eating a 1/2 scoop every few days in my smoothies (and now with baking) and I still have not finished it. Chia do not go rancid quickly like most nuts and seeds. Can be stored in the fridge for a long time.

Everyone has their own idea of economical. But to me, these are not expensive. Something that costs under 20 bucks and can last me for 4 -6 months. I wish I could say this about the gluten free grains. Now they are expensive compared to wheat!!

[RiceGuy]

You can get chia for 8.95 a lb here:

Open Original Shared Link

Wow, thanks! I hope the chia seeds work well enough, as it would save money over what it's costing me for the xanthan. They also have vanilla beans way cheaper than anyplace I've seen yet! Maybe I'll try the grownd one first, since I don't have a coffee grinder. Then if it works, I'll make the investment.