How the buggery bollocks do you cook with gluten free flour?

[HecatesTwopenceworth]

ARRGGHHH!!

kids off school and they want to bake.

I am quite a reasonable cook, well, I used to be! But couldn't get to grips with gf flour so don't really do much now.

However, they want to bake! Yesterday we tried biscuits. Ha. Came out as one very thin cake! (they'd joined up in the oven!)

today tried to bake a cake. It's been in there 2 hours now and it's just gloop! I took it out, realised it was basically still just mixture, wondered if adding some more flour, whizzing it up and putting it back in might help. It hasn't.

So what is the big bloody secret to cooking with gf flour, because I haven't got a fecking CLUE!!!

i generally make cakes that aren't meant to rise much (rich chocolate torte types) or just use polenta and make polenta cakes..

gf flour doesn't bake well.

or do meringues

er.............

no idea>[that was a confused face BTW]

I used to bake gluten-free bread, but that was with a mix and a bread maker, so basically cheating

Do you have any xanthan gum??

I am no expert hecate but have looked into it myself recently as I am working with a woman who has to have gluten free stuff and wanted to bake her a cake for her birthday and lost interest when I realised that I needed this xanthan gum.

Some recipes HERE

Good Luck

this one works but is suspect it is because you don't need much flour nad the beaten egg does all the work. not v. child friendly either

"gf flour doesn't bake well. " understatement of the century It's a bugger to work with, isn't it?

no wonder the ready made stuff is so bloody expensive!

I tried bread once, P. The diamond was the hardest substance on earth...Until I baked that bread! I had the MOD at the door wanting to buy this wonderful new weapon from me

Looks like the kids will be having a bowlful of warm sticky cakey gloop. I'll shove some cream over it and call it a Pudding!

Yes sterling. I use Xanthan gum. Believe it or not - it helps !!!!

Ta chevre

What type of flour are you using?....I use Glutafin or Juvella and they seem to work quite well

harvest mix I think it's called. supposedly all purpose flour! On prescription.

I sometimes use that doves farm stuff. now THAT is a pile of crap!

Anyway. I finally took the 'cake' out of the oven and it had set, but crumbled when I tried to turn it out! So I put it onto a big plate, melted a bar of chocolate and a tub of double cream and poured it over, finishing off with that poncy swirly thing folks do over puds with the last of the cream.

It looks lovely. And almost like it was supposed to be like that!

Now I made bread from the harvest mix the other day and it was "el mingo"....I always have success with Fibre mix and the all purpose one (new white one on prescription)..As for Doves farm...well have to agree that is a pile of the hot stuff!!!

HAve to agree with profiterole muffins always turn out esceptionally well...

HAve a great Lemon cake recipe from Glutafin if your interested will look it out for you it is a tray bake and always is sucessful

oooh, you did the bread worng too then...

I dod remember once trying to cook with said flour when DS2 was on prescription stuff......it seperated somewhat, looked like curdled gloop (in fact, IIRC, looked like breastfed poo.....all bitty and yellowish).

yes please cos.

will also try muffins.

yup P. If you don't stop laughing I will hit you with one!!!!

Yep...can not get away with standard breads..all come out the same pile of hard rocky dry mess....

Have 2 fab recipes that always work and I make them regularly here you go ladies...enjoy and let me know how you get on

www.glutafin.co.uk/Recipes/default.aspx?keywords=lemon&timeToMake=&recipeType=&mealType =&occasion=&product=&recipeID=168bf40a-4c04-4bd1-99ed-2795483c41b2

www.juvela.co.uk/print_ recipes/soda_bread.html

sorry

www.glutafin.co.uk/Recipes/default.aspx?keywords=lemon&timeToMake=&recipeType=&mealType=&occasion=&p roduct=&recipeID=168bf40a-4c04-4bd1-99ed-2795483c41b2
for the yummy lemon cake Physcomum

www.juvela.co.uk/print_recipes/soda_bread.html
for scrummy Irish soda bread like my mum used to make that was made with regular flour ..so i am saying this makes normalish bread that my family ate in Ireland

Sorry that was for you to Hecates!!!

what, along with sausage???

Is there any chance you will ever forget about that?

nope

tis ok, one day you will have something on me

Sausage sounds interesting?

That's fine P. I will make something up.

hmmm... bumsex stories are quite mnish. Or perhaps something involving a sausage roll and a fruit shoot.

Or a combination of all of the above.

Let me have a think and I'll see you around. [menacing emoticon]

diff don't ask. P has clearly been on the sauce.

hehehehehe.....I have indeedy been on the 'sauce'.

as would you be if your eldest child decided to take over the kitchen and cook dinner tonight, then morph into you and tell you off!!

sausages tho diff, I cannot tell..........on pain of death would I tell, but makes hecate squirm

hecate, would shiver know?

I find Dove's farm flour absolutely brilliant. I substitute it in cakes with almost no discernible difference in texture/flavour. It also make excellent crepes. Shortcrust pastry is passable - I tend to compensate with extra tasty fillings! The bread flour doesn't make great bread but it does make excellent American style panckaes, and I imagine it would be good for drop scones, Welsh cakes etc.
What sort of problems have others had with it?

(BTW I don't work for Dove's Farm!)

Hecate

Yoiu need to stop buying ready mixes and do your own mix of rice flour tapioca starch flour and potato flour PLUS a really good xanthum gum

THE best recipes are in this book and most importantly the flour mix is bloody brilliant.
If you can supplement the non dairy for real butter you will get even better results.

I now just use the flour/xanthum gum mix and convert ordinary recipes.