Ingredients for Gluten-Free Baking

Sometimes when we look at a recipe for just regular home made bread and compare it to a recipe for gluten free bread, we might think, wow, baking gluten free is so much more complicated. But to my mind, adding three or four ingredients that you're going to be using again anyways does not signify complication. It's simply a repetition of the process you are already engaging in: 1. locate ingredient. 2. measure. 3. Add to mix.

Ironically, because I have done almost zero baking that's not gluten free, I look at a "all purpose flour" recipe and go.... that really makes something that tastes good? How? Also, keep in mind that when it comes to making bread and other dough recipes, when baking GF, You don't have to let it rise. Gluten, with some help from yeast, is part of what makes bread rise in the first place. The majority of the bread recipes I have are often more of a thick batter in their raw form and are baked in a bread pan to form the traditional bread shape. I have encountered some store-bought mixes for pizza crusts and so forth that instruct to allow the dough to rise but, I really didn't see any difference after an hour.

So the ingredients that go into GF foods are often a little different, because different science rules need to be taken into account. However, the majority of these ingredients are extremely easy to find, and quite affordable. In my last post I mentioned two ingredients that are crucial to gluten-free baking and a little explanation of their use and where you can find them. I thought I'd make a proper list of the kind of things you'll be seeing, and things to keep in mind if you experiment for yourself.

Corn starch: This is a really fantastic flour (yes that's right, flour!) to use, especially for foods that you want to have a very fine grain, such as crackers. Corn starch is also used in confectioner's sugar, which is what goes into frosting, and something about its texture is just addictive! A corn stach based cake frosted with confectioner's sugar frosting is DELICIOUS because the textures just meld. Occasionally in the more challenging baked goods, I use corn starch accompanied by rice flour, just to help bulk it out a little, as corn starch is extremely light and powdery. You can buy mass amounts of it in stores with bulk sections. Careful! It gets everywhere.

Note that when using corn starch, if you don't have an electronic mixer (I certainly don't), corn starch does tend to clump when added to oil, eggs, or milk. Don't despair when these cement like chunks appear, because they do break apart. It just takes a little elbow grease. Similarly, don't worry if there are little white balls of corn starch that just won't break apart in your cookie dough or other batter. After baking, they'll disappear.

Other flours- I listed rice flour in yesterday's post, and my recipes will be based primarily using those two flours. However, I have recipes using several other flours and there are many options out there. Potato starch is apparently quite effective in a lot of recipes. It's a little harder to find but I believe that Market of Choice carries it. Oat flour is also very commonly used, especially in commerically produced gluten free foods. However, if you are like me and you are sensitive to oats that have been processed with wheat, check the lable. Some oat flour has been processed with wheat, and depending on your tolerance, you'll want to buy it accordingly. I have also heard of people using Tapioca flour to great success, chickpea flour, and other variations of rice flour.

Butter- This is quite a staple in both GF cooking and regular baking. Though it's not necessary in breads, it's essential for tight grain goods such as cookies, cakes, pies, and crackers. I have never payed much attention to whether i'm using sweet cream, unsalted, or salted, so use what you have on hand.

Milk- This ingredient is used surprisingly sparingly, unless a batter is being used rather than a dough. I find that milk is especially useful for use in store bought mixes, that can turn out rather dry otherwise. Small amounts of milk or other dairy are often used to react with baking soda or powder, to produce air bubbles. As a side note, some friends have requested to try experimenting with soy milk for those who can't handle dairy. I have used rice milk occasionally but I don't know the full extent of the food science changes this causes, or the pros or cons of using soymilk in it's stead. I plan to do some experiments with non-dairy alternatives in the future.

Yogurt- Surpisingly, yogurt is incredibly useful in GF cooking. It is especially helpful in creating doughs that taste delicious and creamy AND hold together, which is often the real test when creating more challenging goodies. When I have a dough-like food that just has a little too much grain to its taste, I add some yogurt, and it goes away like magic!

Cream cheese- Combined with butter, this is also extremely effective for creating a base for doughs, especially dessert pastries, because the creamy thickness just holds together better after being combined with dry ingredients. It's a must if you are interested in exploring the advanced baked goods like pies and danishes.

Eggs- Always a staple in normal baking, these are still quite common in GF cooking, however there are often less of them used. Furthermore, what is even more common is egg whites. From what i've read on the subject, a whole egg will often bring in that earthy, you-can-tell-it's-gluten-free taste, which I try to avoid, whereas egg whites, when beat until frothy, are a great source of air bubbles, and make for a lighter taste in the finished product.

Baking soda- You can buy a box of it, put it in your refridgerator, and it will last you months and months. Baking soda reacts with acidic ingredients such as dairy, citrus or apply juice, and vinegar, to create air bubbles. When used with baking powder, the after taste that is sometimes associated with baking soda is eliminated.

Baking powder- also extremely easy to find, one bag will last you ages, though it goes a little faster than baking soda. Approximately twice as much baking powder is used as baking soda. It too reacts with acidic ingredients.

Salt- a small amount of this in each goodie helps it from being too bland or too sweet.

Sugar- a small amount of white sugar appears in most bread-like goods, so even when you're not making a dessert, you'll need it.

Brown sugar- this sugar is used in most of my cookie recipes and it helps to give a slightly darker flavor and color to desserts.

Vanilla- I think this ingredient is one of my favorites. It somehow transforms and okay tasting ball of cookie dough to something delicious. And it smells so wonderful! Imitation vanilla flavoring is just find. No need to get really expensive.

Apple cider vinegar- This was a new one for me when I first started baking. It was only 2 or 3 dollars for a big bottle that lasted me months. The vinegar acts as the acid to react with the baking powder and baking soda, AND because it's apple cider vinegar, it contains yeast, so you get that yeasty taste without having to try to get your gluten free dough to rise. You may think, do I really need a yeasty taste? I didn't think it was that important, until I drew up a recipe for gluten free challah bread (coming soon..). My previous batch had been rather bland, but when I added more sugar, vanilla, and included apple cider vinegar, the improve in taste was astounding!

Apple juice- Yes, you will actually be putting apple juice in your bread recipes! Like I said before, apples have yeast in them, and apples alone are also acidic. So apple juice is often used in place of milk in bread recipes as the liquid, because milk is simply not as effective or tasty for bread. I buy the $0.69 cans of frozen apple juice at the grocery store and make a batch whenever I need it, and it works quite well.

Other ingredients to consider having around for GF cooking: Balsamic vingar, garlic salt, wheat free soysauce, cinnamon, confectioner's sugar, semi sweet chocolate chips, cocoa powder, various kinds of nuts and fruits.

If I have all these ingredients stocked, I consider myself a very happy person, as it means I can make just about anything in the world!