Basics

Getting into Gluten Free baking is like taking your first Chemistry class. It's totally different than anything else you've ever done, but given the right knowledge you can do anything.

My goal in making this blog is to create and find fabulous gluten free recipes that my family will like just as much, if not more than our gluten full recipes. So I'll only post recipes that fit that criteria. Many of my recipes are converted versions of ones my family loved before I started baking gluten free.

Grinding Your Own Flours

The first thing I did when finding out I needed to start cooking gluten free was to order a grain grinder and some supplies from Amazon. I've been grinding my own wheat to make fresh bread, so I knew I wanted to grind my own grains to make my own baked goods. Freshly ground flours just taste better. If you freeze it or use it immediately, they'll be more nutritious too.

The biggest problem I've found with store bought grains is some of them are gritty, resulting in gritty baked goods. I love Bob's Red Mill Tapioca Starch and Potato Starch, but the rest aren't as finely ground as I liked.

Things I've ground:
Millet
Brown Rice
Sweet Rice
Oats

Other things you can grind:
Dried Green Peas
Dried Corn
Sorghum
Buckwheat
Triticale
Barley
Dried Beans
Legumes
Oyster Shells
Chickpeas
Soybeans
Rye

Converting Your Favorite Recipes

I'm sure, like me, you're going to crave your old favorite recipes. I bought a few cook books and am an avid fan of King Arthur Flour's gluten free recipe page. I tried 3 or 4 different chocolate chip cookie recipes before I broke down and tried my hand in converting my old favorite recipe. After that it wasn't quite as scary.

Something I liked with King Arthur Flour, and a few of the cook book's is most of their recipes used the same flour mix. That way you can mix up your flour and not have to worry about having a different flour mix every time you make a recipe. So I use the same combination:

1 1/2 c brown rice flour
1/2 c potato starch
1/4 c tapioca starch or flour

Here are a few of the guidelines I use when making my conversion.

I switch out my flour blend for the regular flour and add 1/4 t xanthan gum for each cup of flour. Don't add the xanthan gum while mixing for baking, not before. It can react to the flours and mess up your baking. The xanthan gum makes everything stick together and helps it rise well.

Use 1 1/2 to double the baking powder listed in the original recipe. Gluten Free flours don't rise as well as wheat flour, so this is necessary.

Add extra flavoring. Gluten free flours don't have as much flavor as wheat, so it needs more to give it a little more pop.

Add extra eggs. Some sites will tell you to double the eggs. It's not always necessary. With my cookie recipes I moved up an egg classification. I used to use medium, and now I use large or extra large eggs. If you double the eggs, you'll have to decrease the liquid in the eggs by 2 tablespoons per egg.

If your recipe uses butter, make sure butter, milk and eggs are at room temperature. It will allow the butter to perform at it's best. I prefer baking with shortening because it's less temperamental. I especially love the butter flavored Crisco for baking cookies. If you're feeling daring, switch out the butter in your cookie recipe for shortening.

For cookies, chill batter before cooking. This helps them not to spread out.

Follow the directions as stands, but watch it while baking. Make sure you don't over cook it. It's easy to do with gluten free, and you will end up with crispy/crumbly instead of moist. Also, if you use dark/black pans, consider switching to a light colored pan. This helps you to not over bake it.

If you aren't going to eat bread, cookies or muffins within 4 days freeze leftovers so they stay fresh longer.