Anyone On Here Not A Baker?

[strawberrygm]

i am concerned about how i am gonna make it. my dd has recently been diagnosed, so i am trying super hard to keep things normal for her and keep us all eating the same meals.

i refuse to cook regular biscuits, cinamon rolls, etc and her smell them and not be able to eat them.

i love to cook, but we are such a busy busy family. but i love to cook, when i am not rushed.

i live in a small town, so alot of the ingredients i see you all talking about i have never seen or heard of.

i created a meal the other night for our whole family and we loved it. chicken, white rice, potato brocolli and cheese soup, mixed it all together in a casserole. then added cheese. it was yummy! (i was SO thankful that rice was gluten free)

anyway, i need to know that we are gonna make it work, without me being super chef??

[missy'smom]

Just like you did with the new dish you created. We give up some things and gain others. It's an adjustment but you'll find a comfortable balance. I gave up baking for the most part. I found a few mixes and recipes for basic things like a chocolate cake and banana bread that I like and that's enough. I just don't enjoy it anymore and now that I feel better don't crave it as much either. It's just not realistic to recreate all the baked goods that others around us eat. My son doesn't have to be gluten-free but I don't bake gluten stuff anymore and don't buy gluten snacks so all he gets(at home) is the few gluten-free things I bake or buy and he is fine. There are still PLENTY of gluten-free, kid-friendly, tasty snacks that can be made or bought. Many aren't even specialty gluten-free products. That being said, if you're up to it, there are quite a variety of great things out there that others have recreated and recipes. WE eat alot of fruit based desserts and snacks. As a family, we don't eat much in the way of breads anymore, mostly potatoes and rice. Don't be afraid to approach the managers of local grocery or healthfood stores, they can sometimes order products for you if they are available from their suppliers.

[celiac-mommy]

I used to be a great baker, one of the few talents I will own up to For a year after my dd was diagnosed I did no baking. I just stuck with the basics and was depressed during the holiday's when I usually go into over-drive and bake EVERYDAY. Well, this past Christmas I said screw it, and I started to bake. The more I experimented, the more I wanted to keep trying until I achieved perfection. I have recreated most of the same gluten-filled baked goods of years past, and no one can tell the difference. After parties now, I have people call me for recipes and are surprised and somewhat disappointed when I give them the recipe--cuz they don't know where to get the ingredients I buy a lot of my baking stuff from amazon and Bob's RedMill directly (I live near the plant so shipping is pretty minimal)

I guess what I'm saying is not to get overwhelmed right now. Do one thing at a time, one recipe at a time and you'll be fine. If you're looking for a specific recipe, try the recipe section here--like my chocolate chip cookies . Most people will post recipes they've tried and love, so you don't need to 2nd guess if it will turn out right. I also refuse to bake with a million different flours for one recipe, so I've learned a balance (and 1 particular baking mix--Pamela's) for direct substiutions. You may find that you want to play around with different flours once you're a little more comfortable to see what you and your family like best-it took me over a year. (and it doesn't need to be super expensive either--it's a lot cheaper than buying the pre-made stuff)

[Puddy]

I'm not much of a baker myself, but for the few things I've made I love Pamela's Baking Mix, too. And I, also, buy alot of my stuff from Amazon. You do have to buy in bulk but it's usually only 6 boxes or packages. And if it's perishable, just keep it in the fridge. Spend more than $25 and they very often throw in free shipping.

[Darn210]

I'm not much of a baker myself, but for the few things I've made I love Pamela's Baking Mix, too. And I, also, buy alot of my stuff from Amazon. You do have to buy in bulk but it's usually only 6 boxes or packages. And if it's perishable, just keep it in the fridge. Spend more than $25 and they very often throw in free shipping.

I love Amazon for Pamela's. I get both the pancake/baking mix and the bread mix. If you use their "subscribe and save" program, you get an additional 15% off plus free shipping (even if it isn't up to $25). You sign up for an "automatic shipment", you select the interval (1 month, 2 months, 3 months, or 6 months). You can cancel anytime (even right after you place your first order). You can change your interval at anytime. You can go in and say select "ship now" if you run out early and I think they send a reminder email at which time you can also defer a shipment. Not all of their items are available through the subscribe and save. For an example of cost, I pay $3.25/bag for Pamela's wheat-free/gluten-free bread on Amazon (you have to buy 6 at a time - but not a problem for us) and I pay $5.69/bag (or something close to that) at Whole Foods. I use Pamela's bread mix to make bread, rolls, cinnamon rolls, and pizza crust. I use the baking mix to make pancakes (many, many pancakes), waffles, muffins, fried chicken coating, and as one of my ingredients in my choc chip cookies. They have excellent recipes on the Pamela's website. . . Can you tell I'm a big Pamela's fan??

Also, just a note on baking in general. . . in the beginning, I bought lots of different flours and I experimented with a lot of different "gluten-free" recipes. I have found that in general, I like my old (preglutenfree) recipes best where now I substitute my favourite gluten-free flour blend (I prefer Annalise Robert's) and add a little xanthan gum and extra baking powder and baking soda. I will look at a couple of "official" gluten free recipes for an item (such as banana bread) and use (approximately) the amount of gum/powder/soda that recipe recommends as long as the other general ingrediant quantities are about the same.

Don't give up on baking . . . homemade tastes so much better, has a lot less additives and is a lot cheaper.

[Darn210]

And another thing . . . . . . seems like I can't shut up . . . . . .

So far, everything that I have made has freezed well. I usually make twice as many muffins as we'll eat, then freeze the rest for a quick breakfast for days we don't have much time (defrosted in the microwave). Same with pancakes (separate with wax paper). I hear cookie dough freezes well . . . but not at my house . . . it calls to me from the freezer and never actually makes it to the oven

[Phyllis28]

Yes, you can make it without being superchef. I only cook gluten free meals and very rarely bake. Also, I don't buy much in the way of specialty gluten free food. I simply live without baked goods most of the time.

[curlyfries]

Yes, you can make it without being superchef. I only cook gluten free meals and very rarely bake. Also, I don't buy much in the way of specialty gluten free food. I simply live without baked goods most of the time.

Same here

And pre-gluten-free I loved my breads and cookies and cakes.........

[Juliebove]

I used to be well known as a good baker. But now... Forget it! I haven't had a lot of luck with gluten-free baking, especially since I can't use eggs or dairy. The only things that really turned out well were some crackers and foccacia.

[purple]

I used to be well known as a good baker. But now... Forget it! I haven't had a lot of luck with gluten-free baking, especially since I can't use eggs or dairy. The only things that really turned out well were some crackers and foccacia.

Here is a pretty good banana bread recipe: recipezaar #301233. Its dairy, egg and gluten free. I made muffins with it and baked them about 20-25 mins. I used sorghum flour for the brown rice flour and next time I will use less cinnamon. I used 1/2 water and 1/2 almond milk. My daughter loved them. The next batch I left out one banana and the cinnamon and added 1/3 cup peanut butter and 2 T of applesauce but I should have used 1/2 cup of peanut butter and 3 T. of applesauce. We then put peanut butter on top. I put chocolate chips on mine...yum! They rose fine and were soft but didn't crumble. They would be good with chips inside!!

[Takala]

I am a baker, but I can't eat very much carbohydrate, so I don't actually make that much on an everyday basis. I do, however, have the ability to make stuff if I want to for special occasions to feed to other people, so I feel like I'm participating in the social world. For example, I made my husband a chocolate gluten free cake for his birthday.

For the non baker or limited baker, I would make sure to find a source of Lundberg rice cakes (really gluten free, Quaker brands are iffy) and Mission brand corn gluten-free tortillas. Both these items are available in grocery stores where I shop (in CA ), and between those two things, most needs for a grain based bread substitute can be met. A rice cake, besides being used for gluten free peanut butter and jelly, can be crumbled up into a bowl to make instant rice crispy cereal. Add nuts, raisins, and coconut and you have instant granola. Tortillas can be used for pizza bases as well as for open faced or double layered flat enchiladas or roll ups.

The rice cakes can also be mail ordered off of A. m. a. z. on.

Many of the specialty flours can be mail ordered as well.

I grind my own nut meals out of almonds I buy in bulk, to make my own much cheaper. I use a blender dedicated to this. I use almonds alone or mixed with rice, tapicoca flours, sorghum flours, etc.

When I do have some activity coming up, where I'd like to have some quick breads around, I go ahead and bake ahead of time and then store it in the refrigerator or freezer. I can make loaf breads but I find my basic recipe (that gets along with my metabolism) for quick pan breads pretty much covers all my needs. Once you find something that works, just tape the recipe card inside the cupboard door, and work out a system by which you can whip up the "Basic Quick Bread Model" fairly easily without it turning into An Hour of Kitchen Desperation Destruction.

I use a small cast iron pan, heat it up with oil as I prepare the batter, pour the batter into it, cook it on the stove top until the bottom is done and the bubbles come thru to the top, then put it under the broiler to finish, and then move it down a bottom shelf rung and turn off the broiler for a few minutes to let it finish cooking inside if it is a thicker one. This browns the top and bottom nicely and makes it chewy for toast triangles or pizza crust without having to even use xantham gum. Add cheese and rosemary and it's italian, add honey and cinnamon and it's breakfast, it's not difficult to make different flavors. I also will make quick breads in mini loaf pans, which bake MUCH faster than regular loaf breads. If you do this, be sure to test for doneness by running a clean table knife thru the bread to the bottom to check for doneness first. If the knife is coming out sticky, bake it longer and repeat the test. This will save you a tremendous amount of botched breads, as cooking times really vary with gluten free flours because we tend to tweak the recipes constantly.

[Juliebove]

Here is a pretty good banana bread recipe: recipezaar #301233. Its dairy, egg and gluten free. I made muffins with it and baked them about 20-25 mins. I used sorghum flour for the brown rice flour and next time I will use less cinnamon. I used 1/2 water and 1/2 almond milk. My daughter loved them. The next batch I left out one banana and the cinnamon and added 1/3 cup peanut butter and 2 T of applesauce but I should have used 1/2 cup of peanut butter and 3 T. of applesauce. We then put peanut butter on top. I put chocolate chips on mine...yum! They rose fine and were soft but didn't crumble. They would be good with chips inside!!

Daughter is allergic to peanuts and bananas and I am allergic to almonds. But thanks!

[missy'smom]

This discussion reminds me that when you find a recipe that you like for pizza crust or bread, you can mix up batches of the dry ingredients and put them in ziplock bags. Before that, use a sharpie and write the wet ingredients and amounts and baking temp and time on the bag. That way you have mixes ready. Save the empy bags and fill-up again when they are all empty. I'm tempted to mix up batches of completely finished apple crisp topping and store it in the freezer because we love apple crisp for breakfast. That way we can prep the apples and just dump it on and bake. There are ways to save time on busy days or at busy times by prepping ahead. I often mix up dry ingredients one day and then finish the baking project the next.

[rick-spiff]

I don't bake a lot.

Make bread in my bread machine. That's about it, except for my special challah bread.

Since my in-laws have been visiting for a month, I have been using my crock pot for dinner meals, cause I have no time!

After they leave i'm gonna make some deserts. I checked out from the library a gluten free desert book so i will have yummy goodies for my birthday next month.

[wheatlessAK]

Baking can be quite daunting at first!! One of the first things I learned to bake gluten-free was peanut butter cookies 1 cup crunchy peanut butter, 1 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla, and a handful or two of chocolate chips if you like. Mix together and drop on baking sheets, bake about 10-12 minutes at 350. There's a ton of recipes and resources for products online. I've had good results with Pamela's mixes and Bob's Red Mill mixes are ok to. The Gluten Free Gourmet was my first gluten-free cook book, and the coconut macaroons are always a big hit. I also like the Gluten Free Kitchen as the recipes don't call for too many hard to find ingredients and the results are generally tasty. Baking extra and freezing is a great tip. Good Luck and Happy Baking!

[2Boys4Me]

I used to be well known as a good baker. But now... Forget it! I haven't had a lot of luck with gluten-free baking, especially since I can't use eggs or dairy. The only things that really turned out well were some crackers and foccacia.

Crackers ?! What are the odds of getting a recipe? Or at least a recipe name/author? I never have gluten crackers in the house, they're too crumby and I can't find the super-delicious gluten-free ones anymore. I bought one box and haven't been able to find them ever again.

[WW340]

I am not a baker. I went on a quest to learn how to cook mine and my families favorites gluten free. The rest of the family has their own bread, but still request my gluten free french bread with spaghetti or lasagna. My sandwich bread is passable, but is not as good as regular.

I have found a few things I love and I stick with those.

I have a coconut cake that everyone loves and always requests the recipe for. I make pamelas chocolate cake and sometimes make that into cupcakes.

I use pamela's baking mix, or Sylvan Border Farms baking mix, because it requires a mix of several flours to get things to come out right.

I have now been using the Sylvan Border mix almost exclusively and substitute about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of tapioca flour and a tsp of xantum gum for almost any regular recipe. This has worked the best for me. I now make all my old favorites, just using my flour in the same amount as required.

I use it for everything. Fried chicken(no need for xanthum gum in this), cakes, cookies, strawberry short cakes, corn bread. It comes out great.

Food tek makes very nice microwave baked goods that take about 1 minute and are very good.

I order everything from Amazon. I live in the boondocks.

[GFinDC]

I am single and anything but a super-chef. I had it in mind to do baking at first but currently am getting along with rice, veggies, and meat. I did make a pancake that came out pretty well but not sure I have the recipe right now.

Anyway, I make a big pot of rice and veggies on the weekend and eat it all week. I usually make enough that I can freeze part of it. So during the week I can thaw out a previous batch and have that for variety. This makes it very easy to get through a week since you basically have something to nuke each day and eat. Nuking your food is good!

I learned to be careful about the spices that I use in the big batch of rice fixins. McCormick Spices are gluten-free in the individual spices but not in the mixes. So avoid spice mixes generally. No problem, just add individual spices instead. It is better for me to be on the simple side of a big batch of rice and add extra spices when I eat a bowl. That way I don't end up having to throw out a big batch of rice because I added something that bothers me. So, big pile of rice and veggies and chicken or of beef on the weekend and freeze some.

I recently bought a pressure cooker and have found that handy for this weekend cooking. I can cook brown rice and veggies and all that much quicker with the pressure cooker. Mine cost $30 at Target.

Other than that I try to keep bananas and fresh fruit around for mornings. In the cold months I eat oatmeal with raisins, peanut butter, nanners, and sometimes dried fruit bits and sunflower seeds. Good stuff.

Corn tortillas for wraps sometimes. And Tostillas corn chips for snacks, or penauts and peanut butter with celery. Oh, and I make tahini dip with lemon juice and garlic also.

I find there is a whole lot of pre-made stuff at the grocery stores that I can't eat. But there are lots of whole ingredients that I can buy and make my own food. Amazingly, people used to eat without factories producing things in boxes! I am learning to do that, and it is not a bad thing! The thing to be aware of, is that many food processors use gluten as a homogneizer or emulsifier, or anti-caking agent in their food products. So it is hidden in many main stream processed foods.

People lived without gluten in all their foods in times past, and it is possible to do that today also! You can do it too, it may be a a learning thing, but it is doable!