Tips for gluten-free baking

We have a wide variety of gluten-free flours available, many of which contain recipes on the back of the packs. It is the gluten in flour that gives the dough its elasticity and so it can be a challenge to bake with gluten-free flours. Here are a few tips which can help to improve the texture and flavour of gluten-free baked goods:

• Add guar gum or xanthan gum to the flour or flour mix or try our Gluten-Free Flour Mix which already has xanthan gum added.

• Adding protein to a recipe can improve the consistency and binding of the dough. Useful examples of protein sources include milk, yoghurt, eggs and cheese. Nut and legume flours such as our Almond Flour and Chickpea Flour can also be added to a mix of flours to add extra protein.

• Almond Flour adds a delicious flavour, as well as being high in fibre.

• Coconut Flour adds a characteristic sweet flavour and is also high in fibre. A useful tip is to start with ½ cup in a flour mix as it tends to soak up moisture. Eggs are especially helpful when baking with coconut flour.

• Use Arrowroot Powder in a flour mix to make baked goods less dense and provide a lighter texture

• Recipes containing pureed fruit, shredded vegetables, yoghurt or sour cream help cakes, muffins and breads stay moist.

• Try adding the following to recipes: coconut, chopped nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips, vanilla extract, cinnamon and nutmeg.

• Using brown instead of white sugar can improve the moistness and flavour of baked goods.

• Honey and agave syrup add moistness and flavour, however some of the other liquid used in the recipe may then need to be reduced.