5 Tips for Gluten-Free Baking

Are you new to gluten-free? If you are, or even if you have been doing it awhile, you might need some tips. Gluten-free baking is a whole new territory but one that can easily be mastered. Here are 5 tips for how to bake gluten-free:

• Flour blends: Find a gluten-free flour blend without xanthan gum that you like and stick with it. It's much easier to measure from one flour blend instead of measuring multiple flours each time. This is a blend that I use for most of my baking. It seems to be very close to all-purpose flour.
• Adding gum to your recipe:  Gums, like xanthan and guar, are very useful to hold baked goods together. Don't worry; they are both made from natural products (corn or cabbage, I believe). I prefer xanthan gum. I always add it to my recipes because the amount varies based on what I am making.
• Converting recipes: I use my flour mix, cup for cup, with most of my recipes that used to have all-purpose flour. To convert simple recipes like muffins and cakes, use a ratio of 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum to 2 cups of flour; that works very well. Cookies might need about 3/4 teaspoon for every 2 cups. Breads and pizza are tricky to convert; use a mix or a good recipe as you also need to add other ingredients like vinegar and eggs. The bread and pizza recipes in my book are excellent (and easy!).
• Use the same baking methods: Make sure to still use proper baking techniques like making sure your ingredients are at room temperature, measuring the flour by leveling the top and not packing it in, using cold shortening or butter when making a pie crust, etc. This will make a difference in whether or not your product is successful or not.
• Add ground ginger to batter or dough: Ginger is a natural preservative so I use it in most of my baking. 1/8 of a teaspoon of ground ginger will give my gluten-free baked goods an extra day or two of shelf life. I add it to the dry ingredients. I found it really works and it does not affect the flavor. How easy!