Gluten free people

[ladygrey]

Talk to me about GF flour. I'm planning a menu for a dinner party where two of the guests are GF. I'm wondering if I can sub GF flour in a dessert recipe (a chocolate cake), or if that would be a disaster. It doesn't react the same way as regular flour when baking, right?

carrotsmakemefat
tacom
and others

[zelda25]

I wouldn't sub in GF flour in a regular recipe unless you really know what you're doing (because you're right--it's more complicated that that)--better to find recipes for desserts that are specifically GF or already modified to for GF.

I don't cook/bake GF very often--only when I have to for my mother--so I don't have any good recipes; maybe some of the others that you tagged will.

[Deleted]

Could you make a flourless chocolate cake instead?
www.marthastewart.com/344293/flourless-chocolate-cake

If you want to just sub gf flour, Namaste brand is pretty good. I think it's called The Perfect Blend.

[grk2012]

Bob's Red Mill GF AP flour is my go-to. Also King Arthur makes one (blue/white box) that is good; my friend uses it for her pies. In this case, I'd probably pick up a Betty Crocker GF devil's food mix and do cupcakes. If you use GF flour, you are supposed to add some xanthan gum, the amount depending on the type of baked good you're doing.

[sweetiesparkles]

I love a brand called Pamelas. It is super yummy!

[beefjerky]

Oct 12, 2013 19:36:28 GMT -5 carrotsmakemefat said:

I've barely created from scratch GF baked goods. I'm better with the boxed stuff.

Are they celiac. ? You'd need to be very careful with cross contamination.

anna7602 may be helpful.

Ditto the bolded - are they celiac? I personally wouldn't eat any baked good at someone's house due to the risk for cross contamination from the spoons, mixer, etc. For someone who doesn't have celiac this wouldn't be a huge issue but for someone who is celiac it could be a disaster.

[winecat]

Lillabee makes some good mixes too.

I own a bakery and just sub a GF flour for AP flour, but I also add xanthan gum. Without it, it's a hot mess. But it's expensive and you don't use very much which is why I suggested the mix.

Chocolate mousse is also a good option. Or you could make a cheesecake with a GF crust. That's easier than making a cake.

[greencrayon]

I'm not GF, but I've tried making paleo desserts before. It was a mess when I tried to substitute almond or coconut flour straight for regular flower. I'd look for a recipe designed to be GF/paleo!

[pacificrules]

Subbing GF flour is definitely tricky. First...don't just sub 1:1 without adding xanthan gum and/or guar gum. GF flour needs that in baked goods to help the texture. Second...use a good blend (Pamela's artisan blend is our favorite!). 

If you go the boxed route, DON'T use Betty Crocker or some other big brand. Hodgson's Mill, Pamela's, Better Batter, and King Arthur's are all reliable brands and use better mixes of flours than just relying on brown rice flour.

[pacificrules]

Also....anytime I've made a GF chocolate cake, I've added chocolate chips to the batter. The melty goodness of the chips masks the slightly-off texture for people who aren't used to eating gf baked goods.

[Deleted]

I would do the GF dessert from Whole Foods, or I'd do ice cream. Ice cream + hot fudge + toppings = easy! fun GF dessert.

[ladygrey]

Thanks for all the advice. No celiacs, just GF for other health reasons.

After much thought, I've decided to just make a totally different GF dessert instead of trying to adapt my favorite chocolate cake recipe. I think this one's the winner!

www.babble.com/best-recipes/gluten-free-salted-caramel-pumpkin-bars/

[y4m]

You should be able to sub a GF mix with xanthan gum 1:1 for a cake.

[zoidberg]

Oct 12, 2013 21:46:30 GMT -5 pacificrules said:

Subbing GF flour is definitely tricky. First...don't just sub 1:1 without adding xanthan gum and/or guar gum. GF flour needs that in baked goods to help the texture. Second...use a good blend (Pamela's artisan blend is our favorite!). 

If you go the boxed route, DON'T use Betty Crocker or some other big brand. Hodgson's Mill, Pamela's, Better Batter, and King Arthur's are all reliable brands and use better mixes of flours than just relying on brown rice flour.

Agree with all of this. My favorite chocolate cake mix is Pamela's. My non-celiac husband even likes it more than regular chocolate cake mixes.

It rarely works out to just directly sub GF flour for regular in a baking recipe, especially something like cake. I would either buy a premade dessert or use a mix.

[pacificrules]

Oct 13, 2013 0:37:56 GMT -5 ladygrey said:

Thanks for all the advice. No celiacs, just GF for other health reasons.

After much thought, I've decided to just make a totally different GF dessert instead of trying to adapt my favorite chocolate cake recipe. I think this one's the winner!

www.babble.com/best-recipes/gluten-free-salted-caramel-pumpkin-bars/

Yum!! Looks good!

[FishChicks]

I know you found a great alternative, but since I always appreciate any GF ideas I can find, I thought I'd mention this: If you enjoy cooking, this website has the best gluten free baked goods I've found. I love her pie crust, and we've had quite a few other hits using her GF flour recipe. www.artofglutenfreebaking.com/2009/11/the-story-behind-my-gluten-free-flour-mix/