Had a friend comment to me that it should be rather easy to modify any recipe to fit a gluten free diet. I was taken aback. Easy??!! No!! Not really, in fact not at all!! Of course, when we first started the allergy free dieting, we had the same impression. That is until the first few DOZEN loaves ended up in the trash. It was a hard change. There was not alot of information on the internet that had many GOOD recipes to offer or tips. AND there is no flour like wheat that has a protein with the same characteristics as gluten. Gluten is so flexible and stretchable and makes for light and airy breads. Not to mention taste, I mean try a loaf made of pure Garbanzo bean. OH, GAG!!! The flavor is just not something that you seek. Or perhaps straight buckwheat?? SAWDUST ANYONE?? Really, its that bad!! Now maybe if I was raised on the stuff I might feel differently about it, but I was not and my kids knew the 'better' life too, so we DO need to worry about how things taste for success with the way of life.
After losing so many loaves, I took us down to a local Natural Food store and bought a teaspoon sized sample of every gluten free flour they had. I walked out with about 10 samples. My kids and I tasted every sample and chose several we liked. I then built my recipes around those flours and bought a food storage with all the flours and every dough enhancer I could find. I am not sure any Gluten and Dairy Free person ever cared about flavor and texture so much as I do. But I wanted my kids to eat, not just fake like they did.
Because it really is not an easy task to modify a gluten free recipe and failure is highly likely at first, I thought I might write out what I have learned in writing my recipes.
1) Rule number one DO NOT substitute the flour called for in a recipe for only one type of gluten free flour. I always use AT LEAST 4 different types of flours. The more the types of flours the less distinct the flavor and the more 'normal' tasting the outcome. For Dessert breads, use about 50% starches or lighter flours. For a sandwich bread use 50% medium flours. For a Whole Wheat type bread, use at least 25% heavier flours and minimal starch/lighter flours.
2) Always use spices that fit the baked good you are making. Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, in sweet goods and breads; Onion powder, garlic, pepper, etc in items that are not meant to be sweet. This brings the concentration of flavor to familiar items while distracting your senses from any new flavors. Pudding is a good choice for sweet breads too.
3) NEVER pre-mix your flours. You never know if a flour is not going to work for you, or has poor flavor, or if you might develop an allergy to it. Once it is mixed, you cannot take it out; only throw it out. I like being able to choose what flours go into my bread rather than being forced into using one I don't like the flavor of.
4) Always use dough enhancers unless you are intentionally trying to create a rock :o) Dough enhancers can seriously lighten your loaf. They won't create that airy pull-a-part soft dinner roll that Gluten creates, but it will at least make the goods better than what a 100% whole wheat flour could create.
5) Don't like grittiness? Let your dough set out over night (I used to do a few hours, but overnight is truly superior. Thanks C.M.)
6) Usually bigger is better, but with Gluten Free breads, it is the opposite!! I just RE-learned this lesson a couple weeks ago (yes, I forgot for a brief time, but quickly remembered when my toddler toddled a pre-sliced bagged loaf off the counter). Big bread means less crust and more crumbs, so save your self the headache or perhaps backache. Smaller bread stays together a lot better. I use a commercial hamburger bun pan for regular sandwich bread.
7) Did you know that a Gluten Free Diet tends to be more calorie dense?? It truly is! But think about it, less air and more rock to the breads, not to mention the items we add to alter the natural flavor. So yes, be careful with your portions and what you put into your breads. This is one of the reasons you will see lots of vegetables in my breads, over the fruits. Fruits usually have upper of 2 times the calories as vegetables. Likewise, vegetables are good fillers in bread, because they are less calorie dense than flour is. (Knowing this you might want to be careful with using pudding liberally in your sweet breads.)
8) Gluten Free breads need more 'glue', truly in need of anything that can help it stay together. Vegetable purees do wonderfully, fruits too (especially banana or applesauce), eggs, flax, gelatin, guar or xanthan gum. Typically if a recipe calls for 2 eggs I will add 3 in my gluten free items.
9) 1/4 cup of flax in a recipe for a 9" loaf has equivalent nutrients to a 9" whole wheat loaf. (Need I say more)
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