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Gf cookbooks or blogs

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asweet

Sun, Dec 08 2013, 9:27 pm

I'm pretty new to gf and would love to purchase a cookbook but they're so many choices- I've spend so much time reading reviews on amazon and I'm not much smarter - what cookbooks do you have that you like?

I've spend the last few months experimenting with different gf recipes, I got recipes of blogs and from
magazine clippings. or I use my regular recipes and sub with gf authentic all purpose flour.

I find it confusing that every author will use their own blend of flours or a certain company.

I'd love to hear from people that have been gf for a while.

thanks !

sarachana

Sun, Dec 08 2013, 11:58 pm

the blog pennilessparenting has some of the most amazing gf recipes I have ever made!!!

cbsmommy

Mon, Dec 09 2013, 12:12 am

You actually summed up the issue pretty well - almost all authors use their own blend that suits their personal needs. Everyone is trying to recreate the fiber, fats, protein, and starch in wheat flour, but their are thousands of different methods to achieve the madness. For example, say you are on weight watchers and you need a 100 calorie snack that is high in protein. One person might choose a no-fat yogurt. Someone else might hate the texture of yogurt and have peanut butter and celery. A third person might decide to go for a cheese stick. Which person is following the diet "better"? Well nobody is better and nobody is worse. Everyone is following their own personal favorites.

So, to put this in gluten free terms, some people like a recipe that is 2/3 rice flour and the remaining 1/3 is corn starch and tapioca starch. Well, if your child has a corn allergy, that recipe is no good. So authors with corn intolerances won't use that recipe and will use potato starch instead. I like a recipe that uses more "whole grains" and is higher in fiber, so I'll add almond flour, sorghum flour, and/or oat flour when I'm baking cookies. A friend of mine also wants to avoid "white flour" but because of nut allergies, she uses a totally different recipe and relies on bean flours for added proteins and fats. Since bean flours make my stomach upset, I don't use her recipes.

Decide what you are going for and then find a cookbook author (or blog, really there is nothing wrong with a well-written blog) that you can test out. Some priorities to think of:
1) Do you need recipes that are dairy free? Bette Hagman relies heavily on powdered dry milk in her recipes. She also uses a lot of bean flours, and if bean flours don't agree with your digestive tracts, skip the recipes in her books, but peruse the introduction. She does a good job of explaining the properties of different gluten free flours and comparing them to wheat (it helps to think of gluten free baking like the world's worst algebra problem)
2) Do you need to be low sugar? Egg free? Karina from Gluten free Goddess tries to keep her recipes vegan and low in glycemic index.
3) Do you want to avoid processed grains? Elana from Elana's Pantry is a paleo queen.
4) Do you want to avoid nuts? Elana relies on almond flour so she's not the blogger for a nut free household.
5) Are you just trying to get dinner on the table using whatever processed shortcuts you can find? If you are more concerned with mimicking standard gluten free "kids food" try out crockpot365.blogspot.com. Not all of the recipes are kosher, but they are tried and true for the busy mommy.
6) Are you hoping to save money by avoiding processed foods? I happen to like the gluten free bible for their all purpose bread mix. It churns out a decent pizza and waffle recipe. Carol Fenster's recipes are also decent.

Hope this helps!

asweet

Mon, Dec 09 2013, 11:35 am

thanks for your replies, I'm looking for regular recipes not healthy recipes...doesn't have to be egg free or sugar free or nut free,although almond flour is so expensive

I'm really not a health nut and those recipes just don't talk to me...I need recipes for kokosh cake, yeast cakes, cookies that kids will like, flaky dough for knishes, rolls etc...( I did try some but would love a recipe book that I know is good!)

it really bothers me that most gluten free stuff has to be "healthy" too! why make it more tasteless that it is?

cbsmommy

Wed, Dec 11 2013, 12:03 am

asweet wrote:

I'm really not a health nut and those recipes just don't talk to me...I need recipes for kokosh cake, yeast cakes, cookies that kids will like, flaky dough for knishes, rolls etc...( I did try some but would love a recipe book that I know is good!)

it really bothers me that most gluten free stuff has to be "healthy" too! why make it more tasteless that it is?

Alright, to break this down a little:
1) People write/blog about what they know. The fact of the matter is, kokosh cake and yeast cakes are not really popular outside of frum circles. You might have to start re-inventing the wheel and create your own recipe for rugalach because almost all of the gf recipes I've seen are either wayyyy more time consuming than the typical parent has time for, or 100% dairy (calling for cream cheese, milk, cream, and butter). While you could technically sub, I can't handle that much soy, and I find if you sub too much you end up with disastrous results.

2) With regards to cookies that kids will like -- um...what does that mean to you? I make gf chocolate chip cookies. My kids inhale them. My babysitters inhale them. DH's family inhales them. I've posted the recipe and links on imamother more times than I can count. If chocolate chips don't do it for you, well, there are LOADS of good gluten free cookies online. Gluten free baking isn't quite like regular baking and you'll need to become a kitchen witch. That's just kinda how life is.

3) Flaky dough for knishes = not the easiest thing to make gluten free. The reason dough = flakey is because of the gluten structure. Honestly, aim for perfecting your flaky dough after you've managed to successfully churn out consistently good cakes and cookies.

4) Rolls = again, subjective to what you like. I like adeenas gluten free teff rolls.

5) And with regards to your last bit...honestly, that deals with my original post...you need to find the blogger or cookbook writer that meshes best with your priorities. People go gluten free for different reasons, not just celiac disease. Some people have Type 1 Diabetes and Celiac...no more sugar for them! But they still want yummy gluten free foods, so they need to revamp the recipe to meet their needs. Some people go gf because of autism, so they require a gf/casein-free diet. Some people go gf because they believe it is a life-style choice that goes well with their other choices of following a vegan diet (or following a vegetarian diet). Many people are balancing family members with multiple allergies (child #1 can't have peanuts and tree nuts and child #2 can't have gluten --- well, all of you will be eating peanut, treenut, and gluten free cookies!) Some people have thyroid issues and so they avoid soy. Some people must ferociously avoid sugar. Still other individuals (I fall into this category) realize that since the gf diet is life-long I don't just want to eat bread that has 0 grams of protein and is heavily starch based everyday of my life. I firmly belong to the camp that believes that because processed gluten free products are not vitamin fortified, usually low in fiber, and they often use sugar to compensate for the missing "taste of wheat", it is my responsibility to bake homemade items that are higher in vitamins and fiber, and lower in sugar.

And with regards to making things "tasteless", I'm going to be controversial and say that the first two years of the diet, expect a LOT of failure. You will bake many a tasteless, hopeless doorstop in the beginning. You won't churn out a perfect loaf of bread every time...you need to really experiment first.

curiousgeorge1

Wed, Dec 11 2013, 12:20 am

I am like you op. I am not looking to be healthy and I have no other allergies. I just want to put quick, easy good food on the table.

For cooking, I do my own substitutions. Sometimes it works perfectly and sometimes it does not but over time I am getting more of a feel for it.

Baking is a lot more complicated and you need recipes. I have not found any cookbooks that aren't health food oriented. I never create my own flour blends, but I do buy flour blends which I use for both cooking and baking what I found to be a great resource is king Arthur Flour 's website. http://www.kingarthurflour.com/glutenfree/
They sell a kosher flour blend and cake mixes that are really good. There are also a lot of recipes on their website that use their blends in the recipe and are therefore simpler than typical gf cookbooks.

Another thing you can also do is Google specific recipes using your choice brand of flour mix. For example you might want to Google "gluten free pie she'll with king Arthur Flour blend" or "carrot muffins using king Arthur Gluten free muffin mix". Sometimes you will find a great recipe on a random blog and sometimes you will try it 10 times using different words and you won't find anything.

asweet

Thu, Dec 12 2013, 10:46 pm

Thanks for your replies.

Do any pf you have a tried and tested good recipe for rolls? right now my dd eats the udi's french rolls as "challah" but I'd like to make something homemade - so far she didn't like what I tried.

also when a recipe calls for brown rice flour can I replace with white rice or does it change the textures?
tks !

sarachana

Thu, Dec 12 2013, 11:07 pm

asweet wrote:

you can go from brown rice to white rice, but the other way around might affect the taste...

pennilessparenting offers different options...so if you don't want to make anything too healthy then just add the regular ingredients and use gluten free alternatives.

oliveoil

Sun, Dec 15 2013, 12:19 am

It's funny you say that OP, because when I went gluten free I had a hard time finding recipes that were healthy! A lot of the gluten free recipes load up on sugar and fats to make up for the missing gluten taste.

I think you'll do better buying a few flours and starches so you have more room to play around, rather than using a blend.

I'm going to disagree with a previous poster who mentioned penniless parenting. Her recipes are mostly very healthy and catering to her family's million and one restrictions, not to mention pretty unappetizing looking and sounding.

http://www.barefeetinthekitchen.com/ - has a number of good GF recipes that are not healthy.

There are also a couple of Facebook groups specifically catering to kosher and gluten free.

And then there are all the naturally gluten free junk foods like candy, ice cream, meringues, chocolate, pudding, jello, popcorn (flavored) etc.

asweet

Sun, Dec 15 2013, 9:14 pm

thanks for the link, oliveoil! I kinda got turned off by pennilessparenting pictures, a bit unappetizing.

happens to be with the authentic replacement flour - I made great cupcakes, chocolate cakes, cookies, fritters but for yeast cakes or bread I'm kind of stumped !

do you have a good recipe for rolls, challah or rugelach and kokosh cake dough? no oats though.

I got vicky perl's from "gluten free goes gourmet" recipe for rugelach my kids were okay with the taste but its not this WOW! this is good! ( I don't bother eating it - and I do not allow regular kokosh cake in my house as its my dd favorite food and it wouldn't be fair to her- I miss kokosh cake!)

ra_mom

Sun, Dec 15 2013, 9:33 pm

asweet wrote:

I recently saw an article in a magazine for a new gluten free cookbook and they mentioned an great sounding flaky dough recipe. It must have been in Mishpacha magazine about 1-2 months ago.

oliveoil

Sun, Dec 15 2013, 9:50 pm

There's a new GF cookbook called Nosh on This. I have it but havne't tried anything yet. I can check and see if it has a kokosh recipe.

I also haven't found anything amazing for Challah or rolls. I've found decent, but nothing that really makes up for that lack of soft fluffy gluteny texture.

oliveoil

Sun, Dec 15 2013, 9:52 pm

This is my favorite GF pizza dough.

I've used potato starch instead of tapioca and it comes out great. Very important to prebake the crust, unlike regular pizza.

http://minimalistbaker.com/the.....auce/

Dolly Welsh

Sun, Dec 15 2013, 10:12 pm

You might look on YouTube. There are a lot of videos showing experienced cooks making all the things you mention. It's interesting and free. You can then print out or type up a recipe, and put into your own three-hole notebook, with plastic sheet covers. You put the best videos in Favorites on your computer.

Alibris dot com has a lot of cheap cookbooks, new and used, but in good condition.

King Arthur flour website has a lot of GF recipes, and an excellent free live-person help line with advice and guidance.

I am going to look at that Penniless Parenting blog.

cbsmommy

Sun, Dec 15 2013, 10:20 pm

We're OBSESSED wtih Adeena's gluten free teff rolls for rolls. I omit all of the spices and make tiny rolls. They get devoured. http://www.tastebook.com/recip.....Rolls

As for kokosh cake - honestly, that was never something I really ate prior to gluten free, and so it's not on my list of priorities. Bread was, and I make bread fairly frequently as a result. Muffins were, and so I currently have pumpkin muffins and cornbread in my freezer. Brownies and chocolate chip cookies were...and I've been very happy with the bojon gourmet.

But...an internet search yielded the following:
http://www.bojongourmet.com/20......html I guarantee that while not necessarily the combo you were initially looking for, this recipe yields something AMAZING. This recipe is milchig though. I would really make it milchig (at least the first time) so that you get the hang of what the texture is supposed to be.

You might also try this recipe: http://blog.bobsredmill.com/gl.....chen/ but again... it looks like all gluten free rugalach doughs use cream cheese as a base.

Oh...and these are awesome (expect to devote your entire morning to slaving in the kitchen though) http://recreatinghappiness.com.....make/

oliveoil

Mon, Dec 16 2013, 1:35 am

Here's a gluten free puff pastry recipe. I haven't tried it, but I trust this blogger very much.

http://www.tarteletteblog.com/......html

asweet

Mon, Dec 16 2013, 4:38 pm

thanks for your replies.

ra-mom - I got the recipe of the gf flaky dough but somehow was reluctant to try it as I did try her rugelach and they were ok but not yum! I did keep the recipe for one day...

thanks cbs mommy - I'll definitely try your rolls and you've given me plenty of sources to check into..all I need is time!

oliveoil- thanks for the link to tartellette's blog it sounds good but quite a job ! is super fine rice flour the same as sweet white rice flour?
- I saw the blog "nosh on this" she also had a croissant recipe but very complicated, most of her recipes have great pictures look very tempting but her instructions are like you have to be so precise and perfect ( I'm more of a quick baker , not so perfect...)

ddsw

Mon, Dec 16 2013, 7:12 pm

Haven't read the whole thread but wanted to share http://allglutenfreedesserts.c.....ober/

Also if u have Facebook join kosher me and gluten free it's very helpful with questions.

asweet

Sun, Feb 02 2014, 10:19 pm

just wanted to thank you all for your links and comments... I got the best rugelach / kokosh cake using the "recreating happiness" copycat cinnamon rolls. I made them pareve and got good results.

lately I've been using almond flour in cakes and cookies as I find it gives the best flavor but perhaps they're a bit moist? do any of you have experience with almond flour do you do an exact replacement? do you use xanthan gum? I have the authentic blend gluten free mix as that's what the gluten free shoppe claimed is the absolute BEST replacement for flour but I don't love the grainy aftertaste ( very subtle but its there and with almond flour there's no aftertaste)

I'm planning to buy a large 25 kilo bag of almond flour as I can get it wholesale but just wondering if anyone has experience with it.

Elana's pantry has a cookbook but she's way into health, more than I can handle, is there anyone else?

ectomorph

Sun, Feb 02 2014, 10:26 pm

girlfriend cookbook?

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