Best Gluten-free Baking Book?

[AliceW]

OK, so I LOVE to bake bread...I have a bread stone, a peel, baguette pans, I've made my own starters, you name it. People love my bread (if I may say so myself! ) and look forward to it at my dinner parties. My BF is a total bread fiend and really loves my homemade bread, too.

This is all great...except that I have a growing suspicion that I have a sensitivity to gluten (WAAAAAAAAH! :( ). So, I'm about to embark upon the great gluten-free diet experiment! My freezer and pantry are well-stocked with gluten-free foods. BUT, the obvious next question is: how am I going to re-learn how to bake with gluten-free flours?? Are any of you bread bakers, and can you recommend good gluten-free bread baking books???

And, the next obvious question: assuming I still bake regular bread for my BF and friends out of the goodness of my heart, how about all that flour flying around? I am assuming that giving the counters a good wipedown afterwards should do the trick, but I am a little worried about flour finding its way into my food. I have not been diagnosed as a celiac (I'm actually awaiting results of blood testing now), and my only symptoms are acid reflux and constipation/gas...so I kind of have a hard time believing that a minute amount of cross-contamination could make me sick. I ate shredded wheat for breakfast this morning and a whole-wheat bagel for lunch today (obviously not gluten-free yet), for example, and I feel basically fine (albeit a bit gassy and heartburny), so I can't imagine that I'd ever become violently ill from flour...?

Any insights or recommendations from anyone??

Alice

[Matilda]

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[lpellegr]

I agree with the cookbook suggestions. If you're going to try it just a few times, you might want to get a pre-packaged gluten free flour mix rather than going out and trying to find rice flour, potato starch flour, xanthan gum, etc if you're not sure you're going to need them. Look online to save time - you can probably find other posts in this forum about where people find them. I loved to bake too - made pizza dough every week, Christmas cookies, etc. At first I tried making both regular and gluten-free, but it's too easy to get cross-contamination. I gave away 5 pounds of sugar because I wasn't thinking and dipped a cup in that had been used for wheat flour. The wheat flour gets into the air and might be settling out for days, and gets up in your mixer. And if you start baking gluten-free you'll have to unlearn a lot of what you think you know, and you'll never have to knead again - it's all batters. You should also have a Kitchenaid mixer, because mixing these recipes by hand can be hard, especially once the xanthan gum meets the liquid. I also find these recipes to be a lot more variable than regular ones - the same recipe comes out great sometimes, full of holes and crumbly another time. Phase of the moon? Who knows. But you'll have fun experimenting if you like to bake, and you can save the crumbs from any failures. Sometimes I bake a loaf of bread just to break it down into crumbs for other uses. Cookie and cake crumbs can be saved, too, for pie crusts and desserts. Go for it.

[AndreaB]

I like Gluten Free Baking Classics by Annalise Roberts. I has muffins, breads, cakes, cookies, etc. She does use dairy and egg.

The gluten flour in the air could cause you problems with cc. If you are intolerant and go gluten free you body will begin to react to cc.

[randils]

OK, so I LOVE to bake bread...I have a bread stone, a peel, baguette pans, I've made my own starters, you name it. People love my bread (if I may say so myself! ) and look forward to it at my dinner parties. My BF is a total bread fiend and really loves my homemade bread, too.

This is all great...except that I have a growing suspicion that I have a sensitivity to gluten (WAAAAAAAAH! :( ). So, I'm about to embark upon the great gluten-free diet experiment! My freezer and pantry are well-stocked with gluten-free foods. BUT, the obvious next question is: how am I going to re-learn how to bake with gluten-free flours?? Are any of you bread bakers, and can you recommend good gluten-free bread baking books???

And, the next obvious question: assuming I still bake regular bread for my BF and friends out of the goodness of my heart, how about all that flour flying around? I am assuming that giving the counters a good wipedown afterwards should do the trick, but I am a little worried about flour finding its way into my food. I have not been diagnosed as a celiac (I'm actually awaiting results of blood testing now), and my only symptoms are acid reflux and constipation/gas...so I kind of have a hard time believing that a minute amount of cross-contamination could make me sick. I ate shredded wheat for breakfast this morning and a whole-wheat bagel for lunch today (obviously not gluten-free yet), for example, and I feel basically fine (albeit a bit gassy and heartburny), so I can't imagine that I'd ever become violently ill from flour...?

Any insights or recommendations from anyone??

Alice

Hi, I recently purchased "The Gluten Free Kitchen" by Roben Ryberg. It's a basic cookbook with a lot of normal recipes (not gourmet or exotic). What I like about it is that she doesn't use the fancy flour mixes, she only uses cornstarch and potato starch. So far I've only made corn bread and banana bread, but both were excellent. I've also made some cookies and they were delicious. And everything has been easy to make.

[ehrin]

OK, so I LOVE to bake bread...I have a bread stone, a peel, baguette pans, I've made my own starters, you name it. People love my bread (if I may say so myself! ) and look forward to it at my dinner parties. My BF is a total bread fiend and really loves my homemade bread, too.

This is all great...except that I have a growing suspicion that I have a sensitivity to gluten (WAAAAAAAAH! :( ). So, I'm about to embark upon the great gluten-free diet experiment! My freezer and pantry are well-stocked with gluten-free foods. BUT, the obvious next question is: how am I going to re-learn how to bake with gluten-free flours?? Are any of you bread bakers, and can you recommend good gluten-free bread baking books???

And, the next obvious question: assuming I still bake regular bread for my BF and friends out of the goodness of my heart, how about all that flour flying around? I am assuming that giving the counters a good wipedown afterwards should do the trick, but I am a little worried about flour finding its way into my food. I have not been diagnosed as a celiac (I'm actually awaiting results of blood testing now), and my only symptoms are acid reflux and constipation/gas...so I kind of have a hard time believing that a minute amount of cross-contamination could make me sick. I ate shredded wheat for breakfast this morning and a whole-wheat bagel for lunch today (obviously not gluten-free yet), for example, and I feel basically fine (albeit a bit gassy and heartburny), so I can't imagine that I'd ever become violently ill from flour...?

Any insights or recommendations from anyone??

Alice

Hi Alice - my only symptom, prior to diagnosis was gas & bloating and sometimes a little "d" - otherwise I didn't have many of the horrible symptoms others have experienced. HOWEVER - now that I've been gluten-free for a year, if I get accidentally glutened my symptoms are ten fold. Severe headaches, d & c, bloating, gas, upset stomach and brain fog. My point is that the longer you are gluten-free the more sensitive you will become to gluten and you may experience more symptoms. I do not cook with regular flour anymore. All of my delights are gluten-free and people will either eat them, or they wont! I have yet to have a problem however. Flour becomes airborne, so you should wear a mask, or a bandana while cooking with it. Personally it's just not worth the risk. I also favor Bette Hagman's book.

Unfortunately you will not find that the new bread you will be making will substitute your old bread - it's going to be more dense. There really is no substitute - but experiment and see what works for you!

I hope Queenofhearts chimes in for you - she has nearly mastered gluten-free baking and has some great flour lists.

Good Luck!

Ehrin

[jkmunchkin]

I like Gluten Free Baking Classics by Annalise Roberts. I has muffins, breads, cakes, cookies, etc. She does use dairy and egg.

The gluten flour in the air could cause you problems with cc. If you are intolerant and go gluten free you body will begin to react to cc.

I second the recipes (including breads) in Gluten Free Baking Classics by Annalise Roberts. Every recipe I have tried is incredible and everyone that tries them can't believe they're gluten free.

[Guest motherof6]

My favourite bread book is Betty Hagman's "Gluten Free Gourmet Bakes Bread", because she has lots of advice about how different flours work and what can go wrong.

It sounds like you're an expert baker, so you might also like "Gluten-Free Baking" by Rebecca Reilly. This has some quick bread recipes, but it's best for other baked goods like cakes. She's a Cordon Bleu trained chef, and I find some of the recipes are too advanced for me. They look excellent though.

I never cook with gluten anymore. It takes me so much effort to make anything, I wouldn't dream of spending all that time making something I can't eat! Also, I'm trying to train DH to like gluten-free food. I think the less gluten he gets the easier that will be. I've glutened myself eating a little piece of his pasta to see if it was cooked - not deliberately, of course, it was just automatic. And you're right, flour gets everywhere. My kitchen usually looks like someone's been throwing handfuls of flour around after one of my attempts at baking.

One problem with gluten-free baking is that most recipes include lots of ingredients. A lot of people find it's best to keep their diet simple initially, as that makes it much easier to identify problems.

Best wishes,

Matilda

I have to agree abBetty Hagman'gluten free gourmet. I love all her cook books. especially Gluten-free gourmet comfort foods. There is a french bread recipe in there that is really good. I never thought you could have a gluten free bread with a crunchy crust before. I am working on buying all of them. I found them on amazon for half the price as in the book store.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

I've never liked any of Bette Hagman's recipes very much--not sure why, they just don't taste good to me.

Annalise Roberts has my vote--every recipe so far that I've tried has been superb--absolutely no compromise on flavor or texture!

Roben Ryberg gets my #2 vote. Flavor is very nice, texture not quite up there (her breads don't rise, and the cookies are soft but still good).

My gluten-eating kids scarf down any recipe I make from either book without cmoplaint.

[Japsnoet]

One of my favorite bread cookbooks is Bread, buns and breakfasts by an Australian author Lola Workman Open Original Shared Link click on the title of the book in the link and you will see a few pictures with her recipes. Her recipes are very easy to follow and really tasty.

[ehrin]

I have to agree abBetty Hagman'gluten free gourmet. I love all her cook books. especially Gluten-free gourmet comfort foods. There is a french bread recipe in there that is really good. I never thought you could have a gluten free bread with a crunchy crust before. I am working on buying all of them. I found them on amazon for half the price as in the book store.

Have you made the French Bread recipe in a bread machine? Or did you do it by hand?

I'd like to try it my bread machine and am curious if I'll still get that crunchy crust!

Thanks