One the most frequent questions to blaze through me email is, “How can I bake without gluten or white sugar and still get great results?”
I understand why you want an answer to that question even before you start baking. Ingredients are expensive and your time is priceless. I know you want to be able to share tasty, memorable dishes with your family and friends, too.
Before you start out on your next baking adventure, read through these tips. Use them in your kitchen. They’ll make your life easier. Your baked goods will speak for themselves – and no one will suspect they’re gluten-free.
- Use the type of gluten-free flour called for in the recipe. Each flour produces a different result. Unless you understand how the different flours work, substitutions can be disastrous. Once you’ve got some experience with different flours, experiment away!
- Measure xanthan gum and guar gum, which mimic the gluten in wheat flour, exactly and away from your ingredient bowl. They’re powerful ingredients and even 1/4 teaspoon can change the final product. If the recipe uses chia meal, flaxseed meal, or psyllim husks as a binder, make sure to use them as indicated.
- Get your recipes from quality sources and trust the recipe. Follow it as written, even if it feels like the recipe is wrong. Gluten-free, refined sugar-free batters behave differently than wheat and white sugar batters do and sometimes need different mixing methods.
- Lightly oil your scooping and spreading utensils to help keep the batter off the utensils and in the pan. Gluten-free batters can be sticky.
- Stock up on silicone baking mats and parchment paper. Silicone mats help your cookies brown evenly and release perfectly. Parchment paper is perfect for rolling out gluten-free pie crusts and crackers.
- When measuring flour, stir it then use a large spoon to scoop the flour into a dry ingredient measuring cup. Use a flat edge to level off the flour. Never pack flour – you’ll end up with dry, crumbly cupcakes.
- Most liquid refined sugar-free liquid sweeteners except liquid stevia can be swapped out one to one as long as they’re about the same consistency. Be warned that if you use Grade B maple syrup instead of agave nectar in your vanilla cupcakes, they’ll have a mild maple syrup flavor.
- Use alcohol-free, sugar-free vanilla extract in anything that won’t be baked, such as frostings and puddings. Without any sugar, vanilla extract in an alcohol base leaves your icing with an unwelcome boozy taste.
- Use the pan size called for in the recipe until you’ve baked the recipe at least once. Changing pan size affects bake time and can also impact the structure of the product. A smaller pan often helps the structure of gluten-free bread and cakes.
- When making changes to a recipe, only change one or two ingredients at a time. You’ll be able to pinpoint what was successful and what caused a problem.
Have questions about substitutions? Stop by my Substitutions page and bookmark it for easy reference.
Most of all, have fun in the kitchen! I failed a hundred times over before I was able to make my first successful gluten-free, refined sugar-free cake. Still, I learned something each time. My hope is that my failures will help you reach success much quicker.
Do you have a gluten-free baking success tip? Please share!
Lauren T
posted on June 7, 2012 at 2:38 pm
Thanks for the baking tips! My mom is gluten intolerant, and baking is probably one of the most difficult things to get right because as you said gluten free ingredients don’t behave the same way as gluten ingredients. One thing we have figured out pretty well over the years is how to make a gluten free pie crust (my mom LOVES pumpkin pie, so she always makes that for thanksgiving and christmas). My sister and I ofter help her make them each year, and one thing we found to be difficult is that the dough is crumbly making it hard to roll it out and have it stick together in one piece. We figured out that if we add a tiny bit of milk at a time it will become more moist and will stick together easier. Adding a tiny bit at a time is the key though because you can go overboard. Thanks again for the tips! I’ll have to share them with my mom!
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Amy Reply:
June 8th, 2012 at 1:01 pm
@Lauren T, That is a great tip, Lauren. I have never added milk to my crusts. I use psyllium husks and it rolls out easily – here is a link to my recipe:
http://simplysugarandglutenfree.com/pie-crust/
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Caralyn @ glutenfreehappytummy
posted on June 7, 2012 at 2:54 pm
What a great post! Your tips are SO helpful! thanks for sharing!!
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Shelley Alexander
posted on June 7, 2012 at 4:14 pm
Great tips Amy! With your suggestions anyone should be able to bake gluten-free treats easily. Thanks for sharing.
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Amy Reply:
June 8th, 2012 at 12:59 pm
@Shelley Alexander, Thanks, Shelly! I hope it helps save some ingredients from ending up in the trash can.
xoxo,
Amy
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Alyssa @ Queen of Quinoa
posted on June 8, 2012 at 9:27 am
Fantastic tips Amy! It still frustrates me when I spend time on a recipe and it doesn’t come out the way I’ve planned. Swapping is my biggest problem – I sometimes just swap without thinking about how it will affect the recipe – and it usually turns out disastrous! Experimenting is key and writing down my recipes helps.
xo Alyssa
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Amy Reply:
June 8th, 2012 at 12:52 pm
@Alyssa @ Queen of Quinoa, The more you experiment, the better you’ll understand how substitutions will affect the final product. It’s a real learning process. You make great food though so you’re well on your way.
xoxo!!
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Susan Jacobs
posted on June 8, 2012 at 12:39 pm
Thanks for the great tips. My husband has celiac disease and is also a Type 1 diabetic and I have made the biggest messes trying to bake for him. Thanks for sharing on your blog and pinterest.
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Amy Reply:
June 8th, 2012 at 12:47 pm
@Susan Jacobs, I know what it’s like to struggle in the kitchen. My recipes have all been tested over and over so they should work for you as long as you follow them as written. Have fun baking!
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Jerri
posted on June 11, 2012 at 1:18 pm
Wow! These look great!
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