Gluten free baking can be challenging. I think anyone that has spent time working with gluten free flours will agree with that.
Several people recently recommended the books The Essential Gluten-Free Baking Guide Part 1
and The Essential Gluten-Free Baking Guide Part 2
. They said they were great books for learning about gluten free flours.
Before going gluten free I loved baking and I loved learning about the science behind food. Since going gluten free though I have found baking a little more challenging and have found the science behind gluten free flours a bit confusing.
So, when I heard about these books and read the reviews on them, I knew that I wanted to buy them and I was not disappointed. These two cookbooks are very helpful.
I will say that I have not yet tried any of the recipes out of the books, so I cannot say how good they are, but what I have found very helpful are all the tips and ingredient information that these books contain.
It helps explain the differences in rice flours and in other gluten free flours. It talks about the different sweeteners and how they work. There is a small section on gluten free baking and egg replacement. And each section deals with a different main flour or ingredient.
There is a chapter just on amaranth flour where it gives information and then several recipes that use that flour. What I like about this is that even if I don’t want to make that exact recipe, it helps give me ideas of how to incorporate that flour into other recipes.
These books also contain tips and information from various gluten free authors and experts. Overall I really think both The Essential Gluten-Free Baking Guide Part 1 and The Essential Gluten-Free Baking Guide Part 2 are a great resource for the gluten free kitchen.
I will add though that I would not suggest these to someone really new to baking or very new to gluten free eating. I think these books might be a bit overwhelming to someone that have never done a lot of baking or someone that is not familiar with the various gluten free flours. So, if you are new to gluten free baking, I would say put this on your wish list for when gluten free life is a bit less overwhelming.
But for those of you that have been gluten free for awhile, or really want to figure out gluten free baking, I think you will find these book really helpful.
One more note I will add is that there are quite a few recipes with almond flour in them, so those with nut allergies may want to keep that in mind. I still found the books very helpful and I just skipped over that section.
Have any of you seen or heard of these books?
Thanks for the info Lynn. I love almond flour so I’m sure I would find these recipes helpful. I’m looking forward to checking out these books.
My daughter in law and 3 year old grand daughter have tested positive for celiac. What cook/baking book would you recommend to fairly new to the gluten free lifestyle?
I think the answer would depend on your level of baking skills before going gluten free. Gluten free baking is totally different than regular baking, but if the person has some baking skills and has done quite a bit of baking it is easier. I suggest checking your local library for gluten free cookbooks and start their. If you use a lot of mixes the Cake Mix Doctor’s Gluten Free book is good for dessert type recipes. I like to bake from scratch, but my girls love cooking out of that book. The King Arthur Flour website also has some very good gluten free recipes on it and also has a recipe for a homemade flour blend that is good. I hope that helps.
Thank you so much Lynn for your help. 🙂 I’ll check them out and pass it along.