I used to bake. A lot. Cookies, cakes, cheesecakes, loaves, muffins, pies, tarts… Especially when there was any kind of occasion – a birthday, a work anniversary, mother’s day, family dinners, getting the laundry done… You did something awesome? We all need to celebrate by eating too much sugar!
This all changed when I discovered that I had a gluten intolerance.
When I went gluten free about four years ago, I attempted baking, only to end up with disaster after disaster. I discovered that it is HARD. Everything I knew about baking no longer applied – it was a whole new ballgame. After a few majorly failed attempts, I was afraid to get back into baking… until the past year or so. Along the way, though, I have learned a few points I wanted to share. Just in case you ever need to make your own foray into gluten free baking.
First – you have to eat gluten free baking almost immediately. It goes stale quickly. Or mouldy. In fact, if you make an awesome and amazing chocolate bundt cake with beautiful chocolate cake glaze, it may do both at the same time. I didn’t think this was possible, but somehow when I woke up one morning, this is what I discovered. (But I’m not bitter. Nope. Not at all.)
Second – gluten free ingredients are COMPLICATED. So… tapioca flour and tapioca starch are the same thing, and recipes seem to use the names interchangeably… but potato flour and potato starch are not. You cannot substitute any one flour for wheat flour – it has to be a mixture plus possibly something like xanthan gum or guar gum to give it a similar consistency to gluten. Unless, of course, you have a sensitivity to either xanthan gum or guar gum as well, in which case you have to find substitutes for the substitutes. Also, even some all purpose gluten free flour blends suggest that you add additional ingredients before using. Confusing much?
Thirdly – don’t expect to your baked good to have the same consistency as if it was made with wheat flour. Oh what I wouldn’t give for a baked good that is light, fluffy, and not grainy at all, instead of something that is dense and heavy. There’s something not nearly as satisfying as eating one cookie and being full as opposed to stuffing as many in your face as you can.
Lastly – there seem to be more disasters than successes at first. Heck, not just at first. There seem to be more disasters than successes in general, at least for me. Like that time I tried to make oatmeal cookies recently. The consistency of the batter should have indicated that it was going to end up badly before I even threw them in the oven… but getting a huge puddle of oatmeal soup on your baking tray instead of cookies is seriously one of the most depressing experiences in the kitchen when all you wanted was one delicious oatmeal cookie.
So, like I said, gluten free baking is hard and complicated. But for some reason that hasn’t stopped me from trying… because every so often something turns out so absolutely wonderfully that it makes all of the challenges so worth it, just to be able to say, “yes! I was able to bake something right!”
… and now I am seriously craving butter tarts.
Courtney Wilson (AKA @Moonsoar), blogger over at Once Upon a Bookshelf, is a blogger. A graphic designer. A bibliophile. A gluten-free foodie. A shipper. A Whovian. A Brown Coat. A Jedi. A Gater. And most importantly, a fangirl.
Cat says
I stopped baking when I started trying to eat a more gluten free diet. I just don’t eat the baked goods fast enough before they go stale. I have yet to have them go mouldy on me though. Yuck. I tend to buy gf cookies (mostly ginger snaps) at the store now because those seem to last a little longer. I experiment with brands because some are great and others… I’d rather eat cardboard. Bright side, gluten free products are getting better as the days go by. I suppose this is due to more people being diagnosed with gluten intolerance than before.
Food Retro says
You can still have baked goods, Cat! I’ve got a couple great GF muffin recipes GF Apple Brown Betty and Roasted Banana Oat. Both are made strictly from oat flour, and yeah, while they don’t have a shelf life much past three days at room temperature, once they are cool, you can wrap them in plastic and pop them in the freezer. I don’t eat gluten free, I just like the texture of oat flour muffins. They’re so moist 🙂
If you’re not required to be gluten free and just want to avoid the hybridized commercial wheat, try spelt flour. It’s low-gluten and an ancient form of wheat. I’ve been pretty pleased so far. I used it in my Spinach Spelt Pasta and Coconut Lemon Shortbread Bars.
Good luck!
Brooke Takhar says
Love it! Learning to bake gf is still a challenge after almost 18 years. Just when I think I have it sorted, I try a new recipe and it stinks. For cookies my secret is letting the batter sit overnight – it’s painful to wait, but it works. I also always use a little less flour than a recipe calls for. I have Bob’s Red Mill all-purpose gf flour and with a pinch of xanthan it works for most recipes cup for cup. Recently I have been trying more paleo recipes and they use coconut flour with more eggs. The results have been pretty light and delicious. FInally – look up a cookie recipe with vanilla pudding as a secret ingredient. My fave local gf bakery makes theirs with that magical ingredient and it keeps the cookies chewy and flavourful for DAYS. My cheater tip – Betty Crocker’s gf devil’s food cake boxed mix topped with a sour cream frosting will trick even your most discerning friend’s palates. It’s that good. (If you’re ever in Vancouver, hit me up. There are some excellent gf spots out here to stuff your face in.)
Suzanne says
Great post! I’ve never been much of a baker and even less of a cook, but I’ve recently discovered I have a gluten (and dairy) intolerance and it’s given me the urge to try different recipes. I love love muffins and am on a quest to make some that don’t taste like dust in my mouth! Great tips for a novice baker/cook-thanks!