Gluten-Free Baking Fundamentals

The central challenge of gluten-free baking is to achieve delectable texture and flavor without the benefits of wheat gluten’s unique elasticity and rising capacity. It can seem a daunting enterprise. As with any cooking endeavor, there’s a measure of trial and error involved but take heart: if you understand a few fundamental, your gluten-free baking efforts will soon pay off.

Here is a rundown of some basic principles and key ingredients to help get you started.

1) Gluten-free flours: stronger in numbers. Use a combination of two to three different flours to balance flavors and enhance texture and volume. While the purchase of multiple varieties of flours can seem extravagant, you’ll find that using them in combination means that small amounts go a long way. So stock up and store in airtight containers in the refrigerator or freezer for months of gluten-free baking happiness.

2) Get friendly with gums and starches. Xanthan and guar gums have gotten a bad rap – assumed guilty by association with all of the additives they’re listed with on packages or packaged baked goods and other processed foods. Truth is they’re not only innocent, natural, and utterly harmless, but true allies when it comes to gluten-free baking. Combining xanthan or guar gum with a variety of flours helps gluten-free dough cohere and, sometimes with the addition of a starch, also aid in volume and thickening. And though the initial cash outlay on gums and starches can seem steep, very little is used in each recipe, so a single small package can last for months if kept in an airtight container.

3) Don’t scrimp on sugar, fat and flavorings. Sugar, butter, milk and buttermilk are as essential to rich and tender gluten-free treats as they are to traditional baked goods. Likewise, generous use of extracts, spices, fruits, and nuts infuses gluten-free baked goods with nuanced flavors.

4) Don’t fear sticky or slippery dough. You’d never know from the end product that some of the gluten-free baked items that most beautifully mimic wheat-based favorites seem like a slimy or sticky mess – sometimes impossible to roll out – before they go in the oven. And yet, lo and behold under heat these doughs and batters transform into chewy pizza crust of flaky pastry. Wet fingers or utensils are often the key to squishing gluten-free doughs into place without sticking. Gluten-Free pizza crust for example has to be turned out directly onto a pan and patted into place with moistened fingers. Parchment paper is also a boon, as with Easy-as-Pie Gluten-Free Pie Crust which needs to be rolled between two pieces of parchment – but not too thinly lest you end up having to scrape it off the paper.

5) Beat it! No gluten means there’s no risk of overworking the dough. In fact, a sound beating well can help lighten a dough.

6) Keep a watchful eye. Because the texture of gluten-free dough and batters differ not just from those of their traditional counterparts but also from one another, doneness can sometimes be tricky to gauge. Check your oven’s temperature with an accurate thermometer before baking, get to know its quirks, and most importantly, keep a close eye during baking and follow recipes closely for indications of doneness, including color and touch.

Again, trials and error, and a good measure of patience, are essential ingredients.

Flour Types:
1) Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free all-Purpose Baking Flour is a mixture of garbanzo and fava-bean, tapioca, and white sorghoum flours and potato starch-a nicely balanced combination of a variety of flours ideally suited for heartier baked goods. Other gluten-free baked items rely more on the specific flavor or texture that particular flour imparts.
Soy Flour contains all the healthful fiber and oils found in whole soybeans. It is used to condition bread dough and can be added to almost any dough or batter for a nutrition boost. Adding one tablespoon for each cup of flour called for in your favorite bread or muffin recipe will increase the protein content and can produce a higher, lighter loaf.

2) Bean Flours are terrific substitute for wheat flours in heartier baked goods as well as some muffins, especially in combination with one another and with other flours. They are high in protein, and though before cooking they may distinctly smell of the beans from which they are ground, once baked these flours are excellent conductors of other delicious flavors.

3) Potato Starch, first and foremost, is not the same as potato flour and though the two are similar in appearance and are both naturally gluten-free, they cannot be used interchangeably. Potato starch is more brightly white and less dense than potato flour and can be used as a kosher alternative to cornstarch at Passover. While both potato starch and potato flour can be used as thickeners for sauces, soups, and stews, only the starch tolerates higher temperatures than cornstarch when used in this way. Like arrowroot, potato starch adds tenderness to baked goods. (By contrast, potato flour has a strong potato flavor and should be used in combination with other flours in bread and other hearty baked goods.)

4) Tapioca Flour is a grain-free (and gluten-free) flour derived from cassava root. A starchy, slightly sweet white flour, it is best used in combination with other flours to achieve chewier texture with mild flavor. Use about ¼ to ½ cup per recipe to sweeten breads made with rice, millet, or amaranth flour. It’s also excellent as a thickener in pie fillings and handy for dusting muffin tins.

Additional information on Gluten-free Grains from Bob's Red Mill Cookbook: Whole & Healthy Grains For Every Meal of the Day

Gluten-Free Grains

Try some fabulous Gluten-free Recipes from Bob's Red Mill Cookbook: Whole & Healthy Grains For Every Meal of the Day:

Warm Quinoa Salad
Scottish Oatcakes
Roasted Red Pepper Pizza
Quinoa Salad with Hazelnuts and Currents