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!
Cooking gluten free can be really fun and tasty once you get the hang of the ingredients :)
Check out Elena’s Pantry http://www.elanaspantry.com/ for some great recipes
or Spunky Coconut http://www.thespunkycoconut.com/
Good luck!
I am also quite intimidated by GF baking and im not a fan of the gluten free flours I prefer mixing my own. I did a GF challenge for a month and really had to get creative I have been successful with gluten free breads & muffins but have had my share of flops as well. I love brown rice flour as well as tapioca starch I think the two of those usually end up with good results
Gluten-free smoothies certainly are much easier. I just had an oatmeal cookie green monster myself. Yum!
Looking forward to seeing what you come up with.
Can’t wait to see what you come up with next! Practice definitely makes perfect, I think it would be very hard to cook gluten free, let alone attempt baking so bravo to you!
I might start my own little challenge of trying new vegan meals here and there, it’s always fun to mix things up in the kitchen :)
Good luck! Gluten free vegan baking is hard – no structure from gluten and no structure from eggs is a challenge. Here are some tips just from my personal experience:
I recommend not using x-gum, you don’t really need it unless you’re making something that requires a lot of gluten (like bread).
Baking by weight is key for gluten free baking – especially if you make your own flour mix, all those flours have different weights and densities.
Vegan gluten free batter is much stickier than regular batter or vegan batter.
Other than that, it just takes a lot of research and experimentation! I hope those tips help!
Try a brownie or cupcake recipe – they do nicely when vegan and gluten free.
I agree completely with you on everything! Xantham gum really isn’t needed in most GF baking unless it’s something like bread (even leave it out of pizza crust if making that GF). And GF batter is absolutely much stickier than regular batter!
I’ll add another suggestion, while I absolutely love the Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose Flour, it isn’t necessarily best to use in everything. For baking, you might be better off using the individual flours (rice, tapioca, potato starch, arrowroot, etc.). The ratio of the flours in the all-purpose might not be right for what you are making.
I would love to experiment with GF cooking! Sounds daunting but a worthy challenge!
I’ve actually never tried gluten free or vegan baking yet, but I’m hoping to change that this weekend when I make your chocolate torte for a barbecue! Wish me luck ;)
Hi! My BIG tip is to NOT use Bobs Red Mill All purpose. In a pinch or when you need quick gf goods, it will work. But if you want something to taste like it’s not gluten free, stick with making your own flour blend. I recommend 1 1/2 cups brown rice flour
1 cup soy flour (can substitute garbanzo, fava, sorghum)
3/4 cup potato starch (can substitute corn, arrowroot)
3/4 cup tapioca starch (can substitute corn, arrowroot)
1/2 cup masa harina (can substitute almond meal
Bean flour also leaves an iffy taste, so for mose things I avoid it.
With Gf baking, you don’t often need to bake things as long. An overdone gf cookie has a whole different flavor than a wheat based one.
Good luck!!
I have to second this one…I am gluten free as well as my 3 yr old and after lots of experience, I stay away from Bobs Red Mill. You could definitely make your own as suggested, or you could use Pamela’s baking mix. It is so good!! Everything by Pamelas is awesome! Good luck!!!
heheh I KNEW someone was going to say that! Figures…it’s never as easy as a pre-made mix right?
I’ll third this one. My husband is GF and he has a reaction to the Bob’s Red Mill all purpose flour. We do a mix very similar to yours minus the masa harina. I do use xantham gum and usually add more if I am making a crust for pie etc. Pamelas is excellent-he loves the pancake waffle mix. A great cookie recipe that I started with to experiment with flour was from Vegetarian Times called The Heart-healthiest chocolate chip cookie, here’s the link, http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/10870.
Good Luck :o)
I find you can make less expensive and healthier mixes too! I try to use a flour like buckwheat in my mix (just grinding the groats in the Vita Mix) vs. brown rice because it has more nutrients. Sorghum is fantastic, as is teff (can find at Bulk Barn). I actually have GREAT results with muffins using teff flour…my teff blueberry muffins with coconut oil (really helps with moistness), coconut palm sugar among a few other things turn out awesome. Hope this helps!
Hey Dana,
Do you suggest ivory or brown teff in the muffins? Tks!
My closest Bulk Barn only sells the brown teff flour, so that’s what I’ve used. Ivory would probably work well too though!
thanks Dana!
Pamela’s is the best gf mix I’ve found so far!
Some good recipes that you can adapt from are in Erin Mckenna’s Babycakes vegan and mostly gluten free baking book, and the Flying Apron’s vegan and gluten free baking book by Jennnifer Katzinger. the first one still uses a lot of sugar and agave, which I’m not fond of, but the second focuses more on whole grains and sweetening with maple syrup. They are both good for ideas!
I am so intimidated by GF baking! Vegan baking is second nature now, but I’m too afraid to work with GF flours. I commend you! :)
I highly suggest you get your hands on the Babycakes cookbook by Erin McKenna! It is filled with vegan, mostly gluten-free, FABULOUS recipes from her famous NYC bakery. After baking my way through her cookbook, I am comfortable with concocting my own GF recipes. Her chocolate chip cookie recipe is over the moon amazing!
Good luck!!
i have celiac and am vegan–i’m super fun to cook for. i agree with leigh–stay away from Bob’s Red Mill GF All Purpose! makes things taste SOOOO gluten free, which is bad…
Oh, I am so excited to see what things you make for this challenge. I discovered I had a severe wheat allergy about a year ago. Finding gluten free and vegan/vegetarian meals in a cookbook can be challenging but the internet has troves of good recipes!
My advice – stay away from Bob’s All Purpose GF for a baked good. It has too much garbanzo flour in it and often turns bitter in sweets. Took me a while to figure that out, but since then I have a rule in my kitchen – no garbanzo allowed in baked sweets. :) Almond meal (straight or mixed with lighter flours) will give you delicious results.
Good luck! Can’t wait to see what you come up with.
The gf mixes generally have xanthan gum in them. I mostly use almond flour and coconut flour for my gf baking…rice flour mixes (in my opinion) can be bland and gritty. Also, gf products with rice flour mixes can be denser and sit heavier in the tummy. But….
Don’t be afraid!!! :)
Gf baking is like everything else, adopt a “can-do” attitude and try, try, try again.
I am with you on this one! I am not someone who needs to eat gluten free, but some of my favourite recipes happen to be free of wheat/gluten! Quite a few years ago, I tried out coconut and almond flour (after visiting the Elana’s Pantry website) and now I love to use the almond pulp leftover from making almond milk, regular almond flour, coconut flour, chickpea flour…you name it! I definitely prefer single-ingredient ground whole foods to mixes. That said, I have eaten some delicious GF mix-based baked goods! When all else fails, I say, just go flourless! Can’t go wrong with a rich, flourless chocolate cake!
Good luck! I’m always trying to adapt recipes and it’s always so disappointing when something you really hoped was going to be delicious turns out to be a flop. I’m always trying to improve my recipe for challah and I’ve definitely had one or two bad outcomes. I’ve never tried gluten-free baking though. That’s a whole new challenge!
Gluten free baking is definitely something I’m nervous about trying! My mom bought me the newest Babycakes cookbook for Easter, but I’m worried about spending my precious student dollars on gluten free ingredients and have the recipe be a dud. Good luck! I’m looking forward to seeing what you come up with!
I’ve been gluten free for a year now, and baking is tricky! A few big things I’ve learned:
1. The pre-mixed flours are not very good for sweet baking. I’m thinking it’s the use of bean flours in most of them. They lend a strange spongey texture and odd flavor. Some of my family members don’t mind, but I’m not a fan.
2. If you mix your own flours, you have to go by weight due to all the different densities. A kitchen scale was the best investment I ever made.
3. The batter will ALWAYS be sticky! Don’t think you can overcome this by adding more flour – you will ALWAYS have wet, liquidy batter, and if you add too much flour you will just have an end product that crumbles to dust (I know this all-too-well from experience). I actually like making bread this way – no kneading required, just let the liquid batter rise, then bake!
4. A couple websites to go to for really great all-pupose GF flour recipes: glutenfreegirl.com, and noglutennoproblem.blogspot.com.
Good luck! I’m really looking forward to your recipe!!
It is not vegan but Pamela’s AP GF flour (x gum in mix) is the BEST, turns out the same (even better) than other baking. They might have a vegan option. Unlike another comment I think x gum is much needed as I left it out of some GF brownies and it was a flop! Might try other GF flours (check Whole Foods as they have a good selection). Best of luck in your Vegan GF baking! Can’t wait to see what you come up with!
You’ll make some thing GREAT ange!!! You always make the best stuff so I am sure you”ll think of something fabulous! Even though those cookies were a flop they actually look pretty yummy! :)