I often like to attack vegan recipe challenges with gusto, spearing my spatula into the air while whisking a flax egg like a crazy person. However, as much as I like to consider myself a fearless vegan baker, there is one type of baking that makes me shake in my boots: Gluten-free baking.
I was recently asked to participate in a gluten-free and vegan recipe challenge with a group of bloggers, organized by Marly. The challenge is to create a gluten-free, vegan baked good, which will be appearing on our blogs on June 30th.
Fear set in.
Questions began to swirl through my mind.
Vegan…and gluten-free?…ahhhh! Would my oven burst into flames protesting the task? Would my husband disown me if I brought home one more ingredient from the grocery store?
Naturally, I hit reply and said I would love to participate. There would be no shaking in my apron allowed!
Given that the deadline is June 30th, I thought I would use the next few weeks to ‘get my toes wet’ with gluten-free baking. The recipe that I agreed to make for the challenge is a muffin recipe, but I decided to start with a cookie because it was ‘fail-proof’.
I think you know where this is going…heh.
I picked up Bob’s Red Mill All-purpose GF flour from the Superstore. I already had some Xanthan Gum, which has been collecting dust in my cupboard for about 2 years (it was originally purchased at Bulk Barn).
I was now armed to make GF and vegan baking magic happen! whohoo.
Mistake #1: Assuming that I could play around with a gluten-free and vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe….
Recipe called for too much oil.
Less oil, more applesauce, duh.
Too much sugar.
Less sugar, more…something, duh.
Uh oh, the batter is too wet.
More GF flour, duh.
As you can see, I’m a scientist in the kitchen.
Well, it wasn’t pretty. The batter- for lack of a better description- was like the coating on a worm. Glossy, and elastic. Not cool.
Mistake #2: I figured the oven could fix mistake #1.
The timer started to beep and I ran into the kitchen with nervous anticipation. I opened the door and saw a sight that no cookie lover should ever witness…
Mushy & puffy chocolate chip cookies that even Eric refused to touch. And this is coming from a man who would probably eat worms if they were covered in chocolate. I wouldn’t even go as far to say that they were ‘cake-like’ or ‘muffin-like’; they did not deserve such accolades.
‘Puffy cookie mush’ is all I can tell you.
And what the heck is going on with the cookie on the right? It looks like it exploded chocolate chips!
Alas, it might take me a few days to work up my GF and vegan baking courage again!
Fortunately, there’s always a vegan recipe that never lets me down. Ok, that was a lie.
It rarely lets me down…
That would be the Green Monster of course. A delight to the taste buds. A thank-you to the body. A reason why you should always check your teeth and green moustache before going out in public!
I knew today was going to be a hot one, so I set out for a 4-mile run just after sunrise. Before leaving for a morning run, I typically have 1/2 a banana for a bit of fuel. After the run, I did a sweaty 7-minute Whittle My Middle session (KILLER!) and then I made breakfast- a Cherry Banana Green Monster made up of 1 cup non-dairy milk, 1/2 cup frozen cherries, 1 frozen banana, 2 handfuls spinach, protein powder, and 1 tbsp chia seeds.
Perfecto!
Lately, I’ve been adding Nature’s Path Kamut puff cereal for fun. This is the good kind of puff. Those cookies were not.
[FYI- My Chilled No Bake Double Chocolate Torte is vegan and gluten-free if you are looking for a successful GF + vegan dessert recipe.]
Now, this whole challenge has me curious- do I have many gluten-free readers out there?
Have you ever tried gluten-free baking? Do you have any tips for me?
I have about 20 days to get my act together…or bust!
Angela, is it just me, or does your second GM photo look like it’s …smiling? I’m seeing the kamut puffs as hair, and in the actual mason jar, what are probably actually little air bubbles seem like a smile and two eyes. Right below the screw part of the jar.
Could be just me, but I saw it right away and it struck me as cute as hell.
My husband and I are currently reducing gluten and cow dairy in our diet, so this is right up my alley! Get this: i have even done grain-free baking! It’s possible, and quite tasty. I haven’t done too much gf baking, but I hear apple cider vinegar and flax are key ingredients. Good luck, I look forward to your experiments!
We are gluten free! Baking GF is so much different than it is with gluten! I used to make wedding cakes before I found out we have Celiac Disease and now I would looooove to have a G Free cake shop but it’s a lot of work! Experiment with lots of different flour combinations, a heavy flour and a light flour are usually needed to bring the flavors together better, there are also medium grade flours. Sorghum, teff, coconut ( a fave!), millett, buckwheat, gluten free oat, brown rice…..be creative and you will be surprised!
I have all the gluten free fixin’s in my pantry too but I’ve yet to take the leap of faith. I did finally get around to making your cheesy cracker recipe. I was super worried, because the dough was not my favorite. But like you and your cookies here, I decided to see if the chemical reaction in the oven would be enough to make them delicious…IT WORKED!!! I have a cracker. yum.
My sister Ashley (from Sweet & Natural) and I decided to make three different gluten free cupcakes as the dessert for Christmas dinner two years ago. We never had tried gluten free baking, and we didn’t test the recipes. We tried to modify the cupcake recipes so they were gf and sadly, it was a mess. One of the cupcakes turned into impromptu bread pudding. One of them did work though! And the frosting was quite delicious on all of them.
I have a friend who is gluten intolerant….and Ive learned from her, NEVER USED PRE MIXED FLOUR!!! Potato and tapioca I hear is great-she even make perogies with no problems!!!:) Good luck angela!! gluten free baking scares the bejeebers out of me!!!;)
I am just as lost as you are with GF baking.. seems like a whole other planet to me! Good luck though, I’m sure you’ll be able to figure out a delicious recipe :)
Gluten free, here!
Gluten-free/vegan baking is a challenge, but if you stick with it you start to get some great go-to recipes from it. If I were you I’d start with anything BUT cookies. Cookies are the hardest thing to make since there’s no protein structure to stop them from spreading everywhere. Simple gluten-free starter recipes are cakes and cupcakes because the form helps them to keep their shape until they’re cooked.
I have been baking Gluten-free for ages now….best advice I can pass on is to mix your own flour combo. Bob’s Red Mill isn’t amazing and has only led to failure for me. I am hooked on the flour mix created by the blogger “Hey That Tastes Good” though I mix that one up by adding millet flour occasionally. Feel free to drop me a line if you need any help (I’m pretty local and more than willing to sit down and chat about baking gluten-free)
I’m currently trying to reduce the gluten in my diet…..will definitely be looking forward to your baking adventures! :D
I went gluten free for 3 weeks during a cleanse and now that I’m back to eating foods with gluten, I’m pretty sure I don’t have any issues in that department. Savoury main dishes are so much easier to make GF than baked goods! I tried my hand at a couple of things and they were edible but not fantastic. I can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Coconut flour, coconut oil, bananas, & applesauce are common ingredients I use =)
Angela, vegan AND Gf baking is hard! Very hard for me at least! I think that some people get a knack for it over time, and it becomes more second nature, they can cook more “by feel” and know what to add more of, reduce, fold in, etc but for me, I am not skillful enough that way and so the things I make that are baked + vegan + gf are not works of art…they taste good but they aren’t “pretty”…like my muffins are ok but they wouldnt get on FG or TS. Or my cookies taste great but again, not pretty. It’s an art to make it all come together I think!
One reason I gravitate toward raw/nobake things is that they are vegan and GF and the chances for flops are wayyyy less for me.
You will do wonderfully and can’t wait to see what you come up with!
I’ve been gluten free for years and usually avoid sweets because of it. It’s hard to find good gluten free recipes. I’ve used almond flour and oat flour and they seem to work well. Best of luck!
Man, I wish I were in this challenge!!! I GF bake all the time!!
I have never made anything gluten free and I am really scared to. It just looks too complicated and too much work. I have eaten gluten free cookies and muffins, but that is about it. Good luck.
I used to make gluten free dog treats but since they were made with liver I doubt that will be much help :-)
Vegan baking is do-able, but I never tried vegan and gluten free! I’m sure you will have no problem coming up with delicious recipes, though. That GM looks so refreshing on this killer hot day.
I’m recently gluten-free! After testing my sensitivity, I’m pretty sure I have an intolerance. (I have an official appointment with a gastroenterologist next week.) I’ve only baked one batch of cupcakes thus far, and they came out great! They were not vegan though. One thing I’ve noticed about most gluten-free recipes for baked goods is that they consist of a lot of eggs. I’m talking three or four eggs for about a dozen cupcakes. As for tips, I’ve heard that combining gluten-free flours yields the best results. You should look up different gluten-free flour combinations if that all-purpose GF isn’t impressing you. (By the way, I just bought that same flour, but still haven’t used it. I’ll let you know if I make any successful recipes with it.)