Gluten-Free Baking
A while back, Jen and I decided it was time to take the gluten-free baking plunge together. Unfortunately, our first gluten-free baking experience did not go particularly well, to say the least. Neither of us knew much about gluten-free baking, but we figured we would wing it. How hard could it be? So Julie pulled out her no-fail recipe for eggless chocolate cake and we tried to figure out how to transform it into a delectable gluten-free chocolate experience.
The first ingredient was (needless to say) three cups of flour (it was a double recipe). This is not a problem, we decided. We’ll just replace the wheat flour with this sweet rice flour Jen had purchased at the health food store. So we poured three cups of rice flour into the mixing bowl. The rest of the ingredients were simple. Sugar, oil, water, vinegar, vanilla, cocoa – we all know the drill. Why do people make such a big deal over this, we found ourselves saying as we carefully placed our masterpiece in the oven on 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
The beeping of the timer summoned us to the oven 45 minutes later. We pulled out the cake and carefully placed it on the counter. But something was wrong. The cake (if we may call it that) did a little jig when we moved the pan. We moved it again and it did another jig. In fact it jiggled and wiggled in the most obnoxious way until it made its point. It was liquid! We had created a completely liquid chocolate cake! It looked more like a thick mud puddle after a rain storm than a cake. But what did we do wrong?
Weeks later (and many liquid cakes later), we were complaining to another friend about our failed gluten-free cakes. While her son is not a celiac she had to take wheat out of his diet for other health reasons, so we knew she would understand our frustrations. “How much xantham gum did you use in your recipe?” she asked. Xantham gum … What the heck is xantham gum?? “Uh, none,” we admitted. That’s when we realized we were in way over our heads and started to study.
Gluten-free baking can be extremely frustrating at first. Your garbage will floweth over from failed experiments, but eventually you will pick it up. But in order to save you the frustration that we went through, here’s a few basics that we learned the hard way.
Gluten is what gives your breads and cakes their structure and elasticity. Think of a warm onion bagel fresh out of the oven. It has a definite structure (it doesn’t crumble up when you bite it), and when you sink your teeth into it, the dough gives a little. That’s elasticity, and a it wouldn’t be the same onion bagel without it.
No one thing can replace the gluten, but a combination of things can. Different types of flours behave differently to contribute to the structure and texture of your cake. In Gluten-Free Baking by Rebecca Reilly (highly recommended), the author gives you several options of gluten-free mixes that work as good substitutes for glutinous flour. Jen and I have learned to use sweet rice flour and corn starch or tapioca flour because we find that this combination has a weak flavor. We don’t enjoy the taste of some of the stronger flavored flours. But there are more healthy combinations (brown rice flour, chick pea flour, or nut flours) that others find more appealing.
The other factor in the gluten-free flour mix is the xantham gum. Xantham gum appears in so many products, but nobody really knows what it is or what it does. It is actually a type of slime produced by a certain bacteria (yummy, let’s eat!). But once it is processed into a powder it serves the function of binding things. Xanthan gum is what will help hold your cake together. Gluten-free food often tastes grainier than foods with gluten, (my kids claim they feel as though they are eating sand), because it lacks gluten – the all-important ingredient that holds all the individual pieces together. Xanthan works to bind the individual ingredients making the texture of the food less grainy.
But don’t put in too much xantham gum!! You will end up with a blob-like substance that you can’t separate with a pitch fork. Usually a quarter teaspoon per cup of flour is the appropriate measurement.
Whatever you do, don’t give up. For the first few months every cake we made was either unrecognizable or wildly rejected by our families. But this week (yes, my friends, a short six months into the diet!!!) we finally made a cake that had our families asking for doubles. The recipe came from Reilly’s book (Gluten-Free Baking) but we adapted it a little to suit our families’ tastes and food allergies. Here it is with our adaptation. For Reilly’s version, it is on page 58 of her book. If you don’t yet own the book…what are you waiting for?!
Coffee Cake
11/3 cup Gluten-free mix
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 tsp. gluten-free baking powder
1 tsp. egg replacer
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. xantham gum
¼ tsp. salt
1 egg (I used egg replacer)
½ cup milk (I used rice milk)
2 T canola oil
2 T applesauce
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Oil a 81/2 x 41/2 inch loaf pan.
Mix dry ingredients Beat wet ingredients and blend them into the dry ingredients.
Bake for 40 minutes. When it’s done keep it in the pan to cool for five minutes and then place on cooling rack.
Enjoy!
5 Responsesto “Gluten-Free Baking”
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There are so many gluten-free flours out there. It is a little overwhelming at first. But with xanthum and patience, it all comes together. I also like potato flour. It too has a mild taste. Thanks for the stories. I really enjoy your blog.
I noticed you put egg replacer then egg(in which you used egg replacer). Is that just once or twice in the recipe? I’m new to this too and love trying out recipes. Good luck and good health!
This is a good anecdote for how learning gluten-free baking tends to go. It’s explanations are easy to understand. It’s a great blog and will be helpful to all gluten-free moms.
Xanthan before it’s bacterial slime comes from corn. For those who are allergic to corn, Guar Gum (comes from guar beans) is a good substitute for the xanthan gum.
Great work!
The recipe called for both 1 tsp. of egg replacer and 1 egg. I had to use the egg replacer twice because my son is allergic to eggs, but if you do not have the same issue you should use both the egg and the egg replacer. Good Luck! I hope it works out for you as well as it did for us!
Have you ever tried Jules flour…she has an awesome graham cracker mix that my kids go crazy for. S’mores are back!