Gluten Free Baking is More Than One-to-One Flours

My wife doesn't eat any gluten, hasn't since before I knew her and we started dating.  I do.  I can't imagine not being able to eat wheat flour, as someone who loves baking it plays a pretty big role in my life!

Still, I love her and I love to learn, so even before we got married, I started studying and trying to make things that were gluten free.  I've found a few things out along the way that I thought I'd share.  These are some basics that can help you get the best results out of your gluten free baking.

There are two basic ways that you can make gluten free recipes.  You can start with a recipe that was specifically designed to be gluten free, or you can adapt a recipe that was not made to be gluten free.  The former will be easier to zero in on, the latter may take more time, but might be more worth it in the end if the recipe is one that has, say, some sentimental value.

Regardless of which you're doing, the details matter.  Going from wheat flour to other flours in recipes is not always as easy as the wording on the bags of gluten free flours has it.  You can buy 1 to 1 substitution flours (if you go this route, I'd say probably that King Arthur is probably best), but simply subbing in that for regular flour is not going to get you what you want.  Even if you go with a recipe made to be gluten free, you should take careful note of what your gluten free flour is made of.  I bought some once that was made from chickpeas to make biscuits to top a cobbler.  The recipe was made for gluten free flours and what I got was the delightful flavor of a blueberry cobbler with chickpea topping!  If you don't want to have off flavors in cookies and cakes, stick with mainly the starch-type flours.  

Having chosen a flour, take note that even the act of measuring flour in gluten free baking requires care.  Gluten free flours are all starch and tend to mill down to finer powders than wheat and so they'll pack tighter in a measuring cup than wheat flour will.    The gold standard on baking, gluten free or gluten filled, is weighing it out.  If you plan to do a lot of gluten free baking, invest in a scale.  It has so many uses, you will want to anyway.  If you absolutely, positively will not, then take extra care in measuring out your gluten free flour:  put a paper towel out on the counter, put your measuring cup on it, spoon your gluten free flour into the cup til mounded above the level of the cup, level it with the back of a straight knife, and then use the paper towel to return any excess to the bag of gluten free flour.   

The good news is that with the rise in gluten free baking you now have access to a bunch of different kinds of flours that you didn't before--flours that enhance even regular baking.  There are now a variety of nut flours commonly available, with almond being the most common.  I don't know that I'd recommend doing entirely nut flours (the one exception here would be a purpose-built gluten free flour recipe built around entirely using nut flour), but I would recommend experimenting with mixing in some nut flour into a gluten free recipe or into one you're converting.  Nut flours can add some welcome flavor to things like muffins and cookies; it replaces some of the lost nuttiness when you don't use wheat flour (hell, it's even sometimes a good flavor boost to add to regular baking).

Nuts are often rich in oil.  Since fat "shortens" (makes tender) a dough, your baked goods will be more tender right off the bat.  Good for cakes, not good for chewy breads.  You need to back off other fats in the recipe, and find a way to boost the structure.  Start by only substituting 1/4 cup of, say, almond flour for 1/4 cup of your other gluten free flour and back off your fat (butter, oil) by one tablespoon.  If you need more structure, add in a little extra egg.  

Adding parts of an egg is a challenge, so here's how I recommend doing it.  If your recipe calls for 2 eggs and you need to boost by one half an egg, put the two eggs in like normal.  Then, take one extra egg, crack it in a bowl, whisk with a fork, pour in half the bowl.  Increase slowly from there.  Last thing on nut flours in baked goods:  they will not look the same as the regular nut-free batter.  Almost always including a nut flour will make your batters/doughs thicker.  Do not (repeat do not) add more liquid.  It won't bake up right.

Let's stay with fat for one more thing.  Gluten free flours don't absorb and hold fats (liquid fats especially but even those that are present from nut flours) as well as regular wheat flour.  A frequent complaint of converting existing recipes over to gluten free is that the results bake up greasy.  And I mean really greasy:  the kind of greasy where not only does it soak through a napkin, but it can make a plate see-through.  If you run into this problem, back off your fat but keep the richness by substituting a little sour cream, chocolate, or cream cheese.  

Since gluten free baking necessarily eliminates gluten, your baked goods will need some structure.  Structure-building is critical for gluten free recipes, whether it's that you're trying to convert an existing recipe of your own or using an existing gluten free recipe and assess how well it would work. Eggs, as I mentioned above, are one way to add structure (and moisture).  If you want to go the egg route in converting, a good rule is cutting 1/4 C of fat and replacing it with one whole large egg.  

Xanthan gum is another thing to keep handy if doing gluten free baking.  It takes the place of the gluten in wheat flour, acting as a binder.  I have seen recipes use anywhere from none up to 1/4 tsp per cup of gluten free flour.  A good general rule would be this:  if you are using gluten free flour in place of wheat flour in a regular recipe, check your flour replacement to see if it has xanthan in it.  If it does not, substitute about 1/4 tsp per cup (or weight equivalent of one cup) of xanthan-free flour substitute.  

Okay, enough problems.  It turns out that the picture isn't all grim.  Gluten free baking does have some freedoms that regular baking does not, it can be forgiving in some ways.  Overmixing cakes, muffins, and other tender items in regular baking can cause toughness in the end product along with tunneling (bubbles are allowed to get bigger with more structure from overmixing and you'll end up with a network of connected holes which would rival NYC's subway system).  Not so with gluten free baking.  In fact, extra mixing often HELPS gluten free items like muffins.  Without the gluten you need to mix more to build up the structure enough to suspend things like mixed in blueberries.  Same with cakes.  The margin of error just got larger.  

Mixing and then walking away, while sometimes a problem in regular baking, is a help in gluten free baking because it reduces the grittiness in the finished product.  Gluten free flours don't hydrate exactly the same as regular flours.  This can lead to gritty mouthfeel; the gluten free baked goods just won't slide off your teeth right.  Learn to walk away.  Letting your gluten free batters rest, covered at room temp, for up to 30 minutes will let the starches in the flour absorb the liquid so they can soften.  It also allows your batter to firm up a little and become easier to portion.

Lastly, gluten free baked goods, especially those that you've added extra egg or other liquid to, benefit from extra baking, often at a lower temperature.  To get the texture right, to avoid mushy and gummy mouthfeels, you'll want to bake a little beyond what you'd do for regular baked goods.  If it's a cake or muffin where you bake until a toothpick comes out clean, get to the clean-toothpick-point and leave it in the oven an extra 3 or 4 minutes.  Some extra time in the pan post-baking can either substitute for more time in the oven or augment it.  Again, if nothing else, note that your margin of error expands a bit.

A caution.  Having just said the above, remember that the visual clues you use with regular baked goods don't apply in gluten free country.  Gluten free items often look underdone and too soft.  Use toothpicks and extra time and follow any suggested times for gluten free items in a purpose-built gluten free recipe religiously.  Careful at turning them out of pans too.  Until cooled gluten free items are more sensitive to breaking!

Phew!  A whole lot there.  Let's recap quickly.

• Don't blindly buy a 1 to 1 flour and try your existing recipes.  Watch your flour, what it's made from, what it has in it, what it doesn't, and augment as needed.

• Using nut flours can add flavor, but have caution in how you do it.  Adjust your recipe.

• Watch your fats.  Gluten free flours might have their own and/or don't absorb fat as well.  Cut back on fat to avoid greasiness, substituting some sour cream or cream cheese in for richness and mouthfeel.

• Watch your structure.  You can add some egg (removing some liquid and/or fat as needed) along with possibly some xanthan gum to take the place of that missing gluten.

• Take advantage of gluten free baking's good qualities:  mix a little longer and let that batter rest out at room temp.

Gluten free baked goods will never taste exactly like the regular kind.  No matter how careful you are, there will always be that slight bit of difference.  This doesn't mean that gluten free baked goods have to have a bad taste, be greasy, be rock hard or too soft, or not hold together long enough to get to your mouth, however.  If you follow the tips above and are willing to tolerate some things not coming out exactly right while you learn, you'll be fine and will have racked up a lot of good experience.

If you live in or around the Sterling, CO area and want to have me make you some gluten free treats (like my carrot cake, muffins, biscuits, cookies, cornbreads), message me or email info@goodthingsfromcoryskitchenandyard.com  and I'm happy to help.  You are also welcome to email me at that same address if you have a question.  I can't promise I'll have every answer, but I can usually help you figure out simple things.