Gluten-Free Baking for Kids

By: Tiffany Rogers

Gluten-free baking is a science that can become quite complex in a short time. If you’re not careful, you can get in over your head pretty quickly… especially if you’re also substituting eggs. But there’s a few simple rules you can follow that will ensure your kids’ gluten-free and plant-based baking experience is a success.

Use Flour Blends

Standard, all-purpose flour is made up of more than just ground wheat. In addition to the grain, starches help add bulk and texture to baked goods.  Gluten-free baking needs texture, too! Instead of using a single-grain flour (like rice or teff) look for pre-mixed flour blends at the store that are designed for 1-for-1 substitution in recipes that call for wheat or gluten-containing flour. These flour blends are usually a mix of a variety of grains and starches, that have been carefully measured to accomplish a specific purpose.  Some grains help provide lift and structure, but have a strong taste to them, while others are more appealing in regard to flavor. Manufacturers selling pre-mixed flour blends have gone through extensive research and testing to find the perfect balance of carefully selected grains and starches to help you achieve the best structure and flavor in baking. In addition, they’ve usually added a binder to their flour that helps simulate the stretchy effect you’re missing when you bake gluten-free.

Accurately Measure Your Flour

Baking is a science and the more accurately you measure your flour, the more likely your product will turn out. Of course, the most accurate way to measure your flour is with a food scale. Different types of flours and grains have different densities. One cup of all-purpose flour weighs approximately 4 1/4 ounces, or 120 grams. If you measure 120 grams of your gluten-free flour blend for every 1 cup of all-purpose flour a regular recipe calls for, you’ll achieve the best end-result. However, most manufacturers of gluten-free flour blends know that the average person will not use a food scale while they are baking, so they’ve already designed their flour blends to be as close as possible to this same density. If you aren’t going to weigh your flour, the next best method for measuring is the spoon and level method. This is where you carefully fill your measuring cup, one spoonful at a time (rather than scooping the cup into the flour container) and then level it off with a straight edge.

Choose Recipes Wisely

Not all flour blends are created equal (even gluten-containing blends).  Have you ever wondered why some recipes call for bread flour or cake flour? This is because bread flours are designed with a higher-ratio of gluten-containing grains, while cake flours are not. Some recipes (like yeast-containing breads and rolls) want more gluten working to provide a chewy texture, while other recipes (like cakes and quick breads) actually benefit from having less gluten.  When baking gluten-free, choose recipes that are naturally better with less gluten, and you’ll find their gluten-free counterparts might actually be more desirably dense and delicious than those made with gluten-containing flours.

Mix Well

If you’re substituting gluten-free flour in a standard recipe that says “mix just until combined” go ahead and ignore that caution. Instead, do the opposite and whip that batter like crazy.  The “just until combined” caution is added because over-mixing a gluten-containing flour over-activates the gluten and can make cakes or muffins less airy and more rubbery. But with gluten-free flours, you have the opposite problem.  There’s usually not enough structure to begin with, but you can create the stucture you need by mixing well.

Let it Rest

A common complaint about gluten-free baked goods is that they often come out a bit gritty in texture. One of the best ways to eliminate the grit is to let your batter or dough rest on the counter for 10 to 30 minutes after it’s mixed, and before you bake it. This gives the the flour time to absorb the liquids and soften before changing their structure when you put them in the oven.

Bake Longer

If your gluten-free baked goods turn out a little gummy, it’s likely that you aren’t cooking them long enough. The nice thing about gluten-free flours is that they usually don’t brown or burn as easily, so you can get away with cooking them a little longer.

Cool Completely

Gluten-free baked goods usually don’t finish cooking until after they’re removed from the oven and allowed to cool. This is why many gluten-free recipes instruct you to cool completely in the pan.  If you’re converting a regular recipe to gluten-free, don’t remove it from the pan as early as the recipe advises you to. Let it cool in the pan instead.

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