GermanGirlWithCurls

I know this topic is some months old. I just wanted to comment on using 'regular' brown rice flour for the recipes in Annalise's cookbook. I've noticed some people mention they can just go get brown rice flour easily, like Bob's Red Mill. If you want your gluten-free baked goods from this book to turn out almost very close to their gluten-filled counterparts, you CANNOT use regular brown rice flour. It WILL NOT WORK. Yes, the end result still might be palatable, but it is going to still taste like a gluten-free baked good. (Trust me, I tried to be thrifty, too, and do the same thing.) So if you're not concerned about this, then you can certainly use Bob's Red Mill or whatever is your favorite brand of brown rice flour. But if you're like me and you REALLY want to taste a cake that tastes like a cake, please save up the extra money, suck it up, and pay the shipping costs on Authentic Foods' brand. I know...I almost had a cow, too, when I went to Amazon and saw how much the shipping costs were. But it's definitely worth it if you aren't baking tons of cakes and pies every day and do not want to fork out the money for a mill. BTW...I've tried putting Bob's Red Mill brown rice flour in my food processor to get it superfine--doesn't work. It does get more powdery, as someone above mentioned, but it still doesn't give you a superfine texture. Authentic Foods is almost like a wheat flour in how powdery and fine it is. It's WAY less gritty. HTH

The other option is to seek out recipes that do not use any rice flours. Sorghum is my absolute favorite flour to bake with. And when combined with almond flour, some amazing things can be created. Gluten Free Goddess has a wonderful blog and uses mainly these types of flours. Yes, they are a bit pricier than rice flours (and starches), but they can usually be found in your health food or grocery stores if they have a health food section like mine does. The almond flour is the one that's really expensive (or coconut if you use that). And many bakes also mix sorghum with buckwheat, quinoa, or millet if there are nut or coconut allergies present. The taste ends up being a littler 'nuttier', but the end results are usually much better than when using regular-grind rice flours.

Hi everyone! I live in Shawnee and am also newly diagnosed (3 months) and am dying to find some other people in my same situation! I'm struggling to find places to eat out, where the best places to do grocery shopping are, hidden gluten-free gems, and people to talk with in general! Do any of you go to a support group or what is the best way you've found to manage a gluten-free lifestyle?

If you have a Hy-Vee in your area, most of them have newly expanded their Health Market sections, complete with a Gluten-Free section. I live just a few miles north of downtown K.C., and the Hy-Vee I shop at is great. They carry a very full line of Bob's Red Mill gluten-free flours and mixes, Pamela's baking mixes, lots of cookies and breads (including Udi's, which is the best pre-made gluten-free bread you can get), crackers, pastas, soups and gravy mixes all gluten-free, and really a lot of stuff I wouldn't have time to list. Although the prices can get pretty high is you are purchasing too many pre-made items. Best to buy the flours and learn how to make your own. There are tons of other great gluten-free blogs (Gluten Free Goddess, Gluten Free Mommy, Gluten Free Cooking School...just a few of my faves) from where I've really learned to bake some great muffins, cakes, casseroles, etc. Even my husband will eat some of these things, and he thinks going gluten-free is a waste of time. :-) I don't have Celiac, but I do have a very sensitive digestive system (blood type AB, we are complicated) and found that switching to a gluten-free lifestyle really helped a lot...AND I lost weight.

Try (Company Name Removed - They Spammed This Forum and are Banned) for purchasing Bob's Red Mill and other great gluten-free flours and mixes in bulk at discount prices...Amazon offers free shipping for orders over $25. I believe this how some of the serious bakers can really afford to do all the gluten-free treats and breads.

I would also be interested in a support/meet-up group. Has anyone tried searching the MeetUp groups? Or maybe put out a Craigslist ad to try and get one together on your side of the city.