Tips for Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free Baking

[The Purple Fuzzy]

Melodya, this made me think of you.

Baking without gluten and refined sugar can produce desserts that will please even the pickiest eater. Having a few tricks in your back pocket helps. Here's nine tips to ensure your success.

1. 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, switching flours can be disastrous.

2. 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.

3. Trust the recipe and 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 can sometimes need different mixing methods.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. Use alcohol-free, sugar-free pure 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.

9. Use the pan size called for in the recipe until you've baked the recipe at least once. This is especially important in bread recipes because there's no gluten to give the bread structure and strength.

Amy Green, M.Ed., authors Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free, a popular food blog about eating well, eliminating refined sugars and wheat, and maintaining a healthy weight. She has been living free from white sugar and wheat since 2004 and, as a result, is maintaining a 60+ pound weight loss. Over the years she's learned that eating healthier doesn't equal deprivation.


http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/tips-gluten-free-refined-sugar-free-baking-success/story?id=13799820

[Melody]

Thanks! 

So far I haven't found any gluten free bread that even comes close to as good as real bread.  After months of trying and trying, wasting so much $$ on different kinds of flours to follow the recipes, it leaves much to be desired.  There are a few sweet things that can be enjoyable, like brownies and quick breads, but none are comparable to a soft doughy roll. 

[Lynx]

Believe it or else... Er, I mean believe it or not, amazon.com is recommended for gluten-free seekers.  They have a lot of gluten-free stuff you can't get locally.  Copy-paste from a news article:

4. Gluten-Free Foods

The demand for gluten-free foods is growing rapidly as an increasing number of people are diagnosed with celiac disease, and told to avoid eating the protein. (Tennis star Novak Djokovic even attributes his standout performance this year to eliminating gluten from his diet.) The gluten-free section at Amazon Grocery offers thousands of such products, including breakfast items, baking goods, baby food, and boxed meals. Amazon began offering the goods in 2004 and has seen sales triple in the past two years, according to Anya Waring, a spokesperson for Amazon.

"While more and more stores are carrying gluten-free products, there are still places in the country where there isn't a Whole Foods or a grocery store that has embraced them," says Kendall Egan, director of marketing for "Gluten-Free Living" magazine. "You can also find products on Amazon that you usually can't find on store shelves, like Food Tek microwave cakes."

[Melody]

It is! Lots of good staples to buy in bulk. Almond flour is the best one I've used yet & it's still about $10/lb on there.

I've pretty much just increased my cultures & watch my gluten & sugar intake. I've been pretty well.

It's just too much of a challenge to learn all tricks just for me, & expensive. I'm a fail in this dept. It can be done, it can be yummy. But. I still do some things GF because there are some things that are equal.

I still haven't tried sweet potato flour yet...

[The Purple Fuzzy]

This made me think of you Mellow:

http://todayhealth.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/21/10437409-gluten-free-diet-may-be-a-waste-of-money-for-some-new-research-suggests

[Melody]

That is true.  That is why if you are going gluten free, you can't just use anything.  You could get really fat. 

I'm so glad I have lost 100% of my issues, including breaking oor since I switched.  I'm not big on drs, I don't think up sicknesses.  I think I'm pretty critical when it comes to claiming any ailment. 

[The Purple Fuzzy]

Anytime I hear gluten free, it makes me think of you.  Not trying to insinuate anything.

[The Purple Fuzzy]

Another gulten free article.

The Best Gluten-Free Products You've Never Heard Of

http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/best-5-gluten-free-products-8217-ve-never-225500361.html

[Melody]

Sorry I didn't respond to this!  I haven't heard of most of those.  My SIL has actual celiac disease and for Christmas I am making up a giant pkg of GF products.  She has hardly ANY choices where she lives and the few she has are expensive.

Here's a recent discovery:

100% Natural Pancakes Recipe – Gluten Free, Flourless, Low Calorie, Easy



Check this ingredient list:

- 1 ripe banana

- 2 whole eggs

Bam!!! That's it. Just mix in a bowl and make sure the banana is all mashed. Then spray your pan with some PAM, EVO), or coconut oil on low to medium heat, scoop some of the batter on there, give it about 20-30 sec, flip, and done! Serve and eat!

http://www.blogilates.com/recipe-index/100-natural-pancakes-recipe-gluten-free-flourless-low-calorie

[The Purple Fuzzy]

Bean batter base provides tasty gluten-free treats
By Angela Ward award@news-journal.com

Anna Purdum's family has been gluten free for a long time, but she's recently discovered a way for them to have bread, brownies, waffles, pancakes and other goodies usually made with wheat or corn flour: she uses a bean batter base. (cont.)

http://www.news-journal.com/features/food/bean-batter-base-provides-tasty-gluten-free-treats/article_f38e6208-c8c2-52bc-8a9e-258378cbccd0.html

[Lynx]

My alliterative brain immediately rang up "Bean batter base bakes better breads."