Are you considering taking up baking? Then you need to read this 10 Can’t-Fail Tips for Delicious Gluten-Free Baking
Because of the pandemic, more people have taken up different hobbies while they’re on lockdown. This helps keep them distracted, improving mental health despite the global health crisis. With all the time most people have in their hands, most often take up hobbies that require a lot of commitment.
This is why a lot of people took up baking during the lockdown. In fact, around 31% of people took it up, making it among the most popular hobbies nowadays. While researching all you can about it, you may have come across gluten free baking.
Tips for Delicious Gluten-Free Baking
This is the notion that you don’t use gluten-based products like wheat to create your bread and pastries. Sounds impossible, right? With these 10 tips, though, you’ll see how you can pull it off without a hitch.
Read on to learn how you can bake delicious gluten-free products without fail!
1. Stick to the Recipe
Most people often go overboard when they’re starting with gluten-free baking. They swap out everything in a regular recipe to make it gluten-free and healthy by their standards. However, it won’t work out the way you think it will.
The ingredients you choose may not work well together. While they may be sensible replacements to traditional baking ingredients, their tastes and textures may conflict with each other.
This is why you should always stick to a recipe. There are a lot of gluten free baking recipes online for you to browse from. It’s better than swapping out the ingredients in a regular recipe and hoping for the best.
2. Keep Mixing Your Mixtures
When it comes to gluten-free baking, you’re likely going to make heavy creations like bread and muffins. These need to puff up to be presentable and airy when you take a bite into them.
A great way to do this is by mixing your batter well. Doing this with traditional batters results in a rubbery dough because it promotes gluten development. With a gluten-free batter, though, there’s no need to worry about this.
Instead of resulting in a rubbery texture, it promotes the structure of your creations. This will help you produce fluffy creations.
3. Let Your Dough and Batter Rest
One issue with most gluten-free baked goods is that they feel gritty when chewed. A great way to avoid the sandy feeling in your mouth and teeth is letting your batter or dough rest. Doing this makes the mixture absorb more of the dry ingredients.
It results in less sticky dough that will come out thicker after baking. It will also make your pancakes come out fluffier if you let the batter sit before cooking.
4. Keep Your Measurements Precise
A lot of people struggle with getting the right measurements when they’re baking. Too much of one ingredient can have a major impact on the product. Your dough can come out too hard to knead or too soupy to manage.
This often happens because people mix volume measurements with weight measurements. People don’t realize that these don’t mix well and will always result in a bad baked product. Keep them separate to ensure a tasty treat at the end of your session.
When measuring by weight, make sure that you’re precise. A tare weight can help you do this.
If you’re measuring by volume, make sure that you don’t overfill the cup. When measuring dry ingredients, scrape skim off the excess with the flat side of a knife.
5. Don’t Let Your Creations Rest in the Pan
A common mistake that new bakers make is that they let their newly baked goods rest in the pan. Doing this can make your bread and other pastries gummy. This is because the heat can’t escape through the bottom, allowing the starch and xanthan gum to absorb the moisture it produces.
To prevent this, place your creations in a cooling rack. This allows the heat to escape through the bottom.
6. Don’t Buy Your Ingredients in Bulk
Buying your ingredients only as you need them is the best way to make fresh and tasty baked goods. This is because gluten-free ingredients have a limited shelf life. Buying them in bulk only ensures that they’ll go bad before you can use them.
7. Invest in Vanilla and Other Spices
Among the most common myths about gluten-free baked goods is that they taste horrible. To prevent this from happening to your baked goods, consider investing in natural flavorings.
Ingredients like vanilla and other spices can improve the taste of your baked goods. This is a great and natural way to help you create a variety of flavors even when you’re baking gluten-free.
8. Keep Your Dough Moist
Gluten-free flour substitutes often absorb more liquid ingredients. This is because they’re made from dehydrated, powdered components. This makes them much more susceptible to hydration.
This also makes it more important to add more liquid to your gluten-free flour when baking. This prevents it from coming out too craggy after baking.
You can take this opportunity to add more flavoring to your baked goods. Consider pureed fruits to add more moisture to your dough. It’s a great way to add natural sweeteners to your bread or pastries.
9. Know Your Ingredient Substitutes
To perfect your baked goods, consider substituting other ingredients as well. Doing this can produce interesting results and flavors as you bake. For gluten free flours for baking, consider using cassava flour.
Mashed bananas or silk tofu can be good alternatives to eggs. They provide a similar consistency and texture without affecting the taste of your creation.
What about baking powder? Is baking powder gluten free? Thankfully, they are, so you don’t have to worry about substituting that.
10. Keep an Eye on Your Food While Baking
The toughest bit of gluten-free baking is that it’s hard to nail down the baking times. This is because the different ingredients have different cooking times. To prevent yourself from overcooking your bread, get a toothpick ready.
Piercing your food with the toothpick shows whether it’s done or not. If the toothpick comes out dry and clean, it’s time to take it out and cool it.
Get Into Gluten Free Baking Today
Gluten free baking doesn’t mean it’s difficult or that you’ll produce tasteless creations. With these tips under your belt, you will master delicious gluten-free baking without a problem. Pre-heat your oven and bake your goodies to perfection today!
Do you want to learn more about lifestyle management and cooking? Check out more of our guides today! Learn more tips and tricks to improve your skills today!
essaark69 says
Very informative