Making Gluten-Free Glorious

Holly Taylor & Adriana Rabinovich

 

Thinking outside the box to bake better tasting gluten-free food!

For each type of baking, think about the role of gluten:

•Cakes - gives moisture, acts as a binding agent and stops cake from crumbling

•Cookies – gives texture, crunch, flavour

•Pastry - binds, holds pastry together and gives stretch making it easier to work

•Bread – gives structure/architecture, taste, crumb, rise and flavour

Think

Which gluten free ingredient(s) or technique can I use to re-create that specific quality?

Cake

TechniqueThe most important factor in making a good cake

Ingredients- can be adjusted to compensate for lack of gluten:

• Ground nuts- add moisture, flavour and texture (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts)

• Xanthan gum - to stop cake from crumbling• Additional eggs - for structure and rising • Additional liquid - buttermilk, crème fraiche,

soured milk to get a better rise

Cakes

Weigh out ingredients rather than use American style cups, especially liquids

Top tip

Techniques to Consider

•Flourless  

•Oil Based Emulsion

•Classic Emulsion Butter/Sugar/Egg

•All in one

• Roulade/Meringue/ Dacquoise

• Carrot Cake • Victoria Sponge

• Lemon Drizzle

All in one cakes

• For the lazy cook, gluten-free flour blends are perfect for making cakes using the all-in-one method

• No amount of electric whisk action is going to over develop the gluten guaranteeing a beautiful rise that will never go rubbery

Problem…

Cake is crumbly

Xanthan Gum

• Xanthan gum is gluten-free gluten!• It helps to bind ingredients together,

lock moisture in and provide structure to gluten-free bakes

• Just be careful not to use too much, as an excess can make it difficult for breads and cakes to rise and make pastry crunchy rather than short!

• Use 1 tsp per cup of flour in bread recipes and ½ tsp per cup for cakes and pastries

Problem…

Cake is dry

Fruits and vegetables

• Another way to add moisture and improve the texture of gluten free bakes is to add fruits and vegetables

• Try grated carrot, courgette, sweet potato, beetroot or parsnip

• Add mashed banana, cooked carrot, apple puree or even avocado to get a really moist finish

• Use soaked dates or other dried fruits to give a fudgy texture

Nut and seed flours

• Great for cakes and grain-free breads

• Ground almonds, chestnut flour and other ground nuts and seeds can be used to create rich and moist cakes packed with flavour

Glycerine

• Helps to keep gluten-free cake moist and stop drying out

• Around 2 tsp is needed for an average sponge cake recipe

Problem…

Cake is heavy & dense

Solutions• More baking powder • Bicarbonate of soda• Increase egg (white/yolk)• Acidified liquid: yogurt, buttermilk, crème

fraiche • Soured milk

Eggs

• Many gluten-free recipes rely on eggs to provide richness and structure

• They also help to bind the flours together, add colour and aid the leavening process

• Even bakes not traditionally made with eggs like breads and pastries turn out better with an egg added

• Adding a tbsp. of mayonnaise to cake recipes can also help add moisture!

• For vegans use pectin or ground flax in water to add moisture, plus a little extra baking powder

Pastry

Where gluten-free ingredients are actually better!

Ingredients & Technique• Add an egg to improve binding• Roll out between sheets of cling film to help the pastry hold

together• Keep everything well chilled and bake in a hot oven• Roll and shape your pastry straight away to prevent it drying

out• Work pastry into a dough without adding heat (food process

and palette knife)• Use water to bind and give crispness• Use Maillard principle to get better texture and flavour• Increase amount of salt and sugar to improve flavour

Successful Gluten-Free Pastry

• Shortcrust• Hot Water• Pate Sucree (Sweet Pastry)• Choux• Chocolate Pastry• Cornmeal Pastry

Pastry

• Gluten-free pastry is a little more delicate and crumbly than normal pastry but it’s also very forgiving.

• You can over work it, it’s easy to patch up and it doesn’t shrink anywhere near as much as normal pastry!

• It also has the most amazing melt in the mouth texture, that makes it sublime for desserts

• For the same reasons, gluten-free shortbread is far superior to the wheat version!

Hot Water Crust Pastry

• If you love traditional game or pork pies then using a gluten-free hot water crust pastry can help cut down on calories and fat!

• Gluten free flours bind more water but less fat than the traditional wheat based versions

• Check out the Genius website for a great GF hot water crust recipe

Problem…

Pastry falls apart or too hard

Solutions

Egg/Water/Flour

Too much water, not enough fat

Add more water

Fraisering

Clingfilm

Temperature

Seal with egg

Use a tortilla press and or a wooden tartlet shaper to make the job of rolling out pastry easy and fun!

Top tip

Bread

BreadIngredients + Technique + Practice = SUCCESS

• Don’t think traditional bread dough

• Dough will be much wetter

• No kneading required

• Consider what type of yeast or rising agent to use

• How much liquid is needed?

• Which gluten free flours will work best?

• What can I add to improve texture and flavour (gelatine, agar agar, milk powder, herbs, spices, seeds and nuts)

• Size matters

• Proving times

• Oven temperatures and baking times

Bread

Select the size of your baking tin carefully and don’t fill the tin more than half way

Top tip

Problem…

Bread is the wrong texture – too hard or too rubbery

Solutions

Ingredients

• Flour Mix – starch versus protein

•Water quantity

•Dough vs Batter

•Yeast/Rising agents 

Action/Technique

• Proofing

• Tin shape/size

• Oven temperature

• Baking time

• Maillard principle

Water• Gluten-free flours are generally drier than wheat flours• As a result cakes made with GF flour often require a

couple of extra tbsp of water to ensure a good rise• While breads made with gluten free flour work better

when the dough is actually a thick batter – this helps the bread to rise and become fluffy rather than heavy and chewy

• Carbonated liquids can add even more volume!

Starchy flours

•Gluten-free baked goods are known for their pale colour and crumbly texture•Using tapioca starch can help things to brown more in the oven•While potato starch and corn flour can improve the crumb texture of baked goods•Recipes work best when the starchy flours are mixed with other GF flours in a 1:1 or 1:2 ratio

Protein rich flours

• Just like breads made with wheat, high protein content in gluten-free flour adds structure and flavour to bread

• Good choices are sorghum, millet, amaranth, teff, gluten-free oatmeal, soya flour and buckwheat

Vitamin C• Yeast thrive in an acidic environment which promotes

better volume in gluten-free bread recipes• Ascorbic acid also acts as a natural preservative,

increasing shelf-life

Anything is possible

Q&As