How would you convert this to gluten free?

[Plump82]

This recipe is for feta and spinach brownie. I'm wanting to make it for my in-laws however FIL is celiac. I understand I can't just swap the flour to GF stuff as it doesn't behave the same way. But I'm really not sure how to convert if and would really appreciate any advice anyone has. Thank you!

All purpose flour is plain.

I'd just cook it as a 'crust less' quiche without the pastry base. In a silicon or grease proof paper lined tin.

Much easier, much less risky.

@LucyGru I actually have chickpea flour so could give that a go.
@bellac11 I read about almond flour too but like you, haven't seen it to buy unless you spend a fortune online and I don't have the equipment to make my own. @AdaColeman suggestion of bacon sounds like a good one !

I'd rather make it a bit more interesting. Something you can't just buy. Plus I make crustless quiche often so nice to have something a bit different.

I find that adding an extra egg to recipes using GF flour really helps the texture, particularly with cakes, and you recipe sounds quite “cakey”. It also looks delish - might try it tomorrow.

I would swap the flour 1/1 adding chick pea flour that you have into the gf blend. My own flour blend is 60% carb flour to 40% protein flour using equal millet and chick pea. I also use just a pinch of xanthan.

The main difference is that gf flours hydrate differently (ie more slowly) than wheat flour which is immediate. Make your mix and allow to sit for about an hour. If necessary, a little milk at the very end can be used to loosen the batter.

Duck eggs are more sticky than hens eggs so have their fans.

Cook a bit lower and for a bit longer than the recipe calls for. Do not cut until quite cold.

Great tips. Thank you!

I’d use Asda plain flour and baking powder.

Xantham gum turns your baking into rubber, I find it’s better to put up with crumbs than have rubbery cake

Interesting. As this is a brownie I'd rather it not rubbery. Think I'll need to test it out before I have the in-laws over!

Why would people put xanathan gum into home cooking? Its the sort of thing I see on UPFs and actively avoid in shop bought products?

Is chickpea flour a 'flour' in the way almond flour isnt?

Gluten is the glue that holds things together and is elastic. Think of a loaf of bread and how is springs back when you poke it. Gluten free cooking can be tricky to get to hold together but xanthan gum can help. Also guar gum, agar agar and pectin but I have never used any of them. I only use a pinch in a couple of cups of flour and it works just fine.

Chick pea flour is flour just like any other milled seed is. But it will not do what wheat flour does because it has no gluten. Almond flour has all the fat of almonds so can be very damp and sticky which is useful at holding stuff together. However, it isn’t smooth and has a flavour so that needs taking into account. And you need to think about how much liquid you might plan to use.

Teff also holds things together well. I would use only a tsp in a cake recipe and thought it worked well. Lupin flour bakes beautifully as part of a flour mix (see my post above). However, I believe it is related to peanuts so may need to be declared. I think teff and lupin are fairly high in salicylates as they caused problems here. Soy is a natural emulsifier so a small amount of that may work well in holding your baking together - whether soy flour or milk. I don’t know. I have never tried it. Soy does have a flavour.

I think with xantham gum it’s about the amount. So when I first started making stuff gf I followed gf recipes religiously and yes they could sometimes be rubbery. So experimenting about there’s a balance, reduce the amount of xantham gum and it’s not rubbery but not as crumbly as it can be without it.

In all honesty, I'd probably switch out the dough for premade GF pastry and make sure the vegetable mix wasn't too wet. Might use a tiny bit of GF flour to help dry the mix a little, but I find the bread/cake approximations largely disappointing, if not practically inedible.

Needs nutmeg, in my opinion, though. And rainbow chard is incredibly nice as an alternative to either a bag of spinach or a bag of spinach/rocket/watercress (which also works really well).

But it's a brownie so the flour is mixed through the rest of the ingredients. It's not a pie.

And where I am, I'd be lucky to get chard never mind rainbow chard 😄

I use like for like in lots of recipes. It's a bit hit and miss but could be user error! Agree with PP about doves flour. That's my go to.

Double check the baking powder though!! Most are made with cornstarch but some use wheat. I've been caught out by this before!

Yeah, I know. The pie thing (the recipe seems to be a way of taking Spankopita and making it into a cake for American palates/expectations) would just be nicer!

I have an exceedingly low opinion of GF bread and cakes, so I'd appreciate the effort but probably not enjoy the outcome. GF pastry is a lot better in terms of both taste and texture in my experience.

Nutmeg would be great but not very greek. This surely is a pastryless version of spanakopita (I bet Ive spelt that wrong)

You've done better than me at it. I blame typing before doing my nails...

Oh well, I must have an American palate as I think it sounds delicious.