In the early days when I began creating gluten free recipes it was just a simple transfer. I’d look at a recipe in a cook bookand trial it over and over again until it was perfectly gluten free. It is true that some recipes will work with a straightconversion. However this will depend on the type of gluten free flour mix you use as much as the recipe itself. That’s whymy first suggestion to you is to do a test bake by just swapping the flour as per your chosen ratio (see tip 1 below). If that succeeds, fantastic!If not then continue reading through some of the other waysI suggest for converting a recipe to gluten free.
To understand what you need to do for a recipe to work gluten free it is important to know what gluten itself brings to thetable. Gluten is the protein that helps structure baked goods. It adds elasticity and structure to the creations you aremaking. Without the protein structure the cake, cookies or muffin could crumble, turn out more dry and sometimes they’llcollapse. So if a straight conversion doesn’t work you’ll need to think about how to replicate these properties.
Tip 1: Measure by Weight
Measuring by weight isn’t a gluten free recipe only tip. You’ll find many professional bakers will tell you to bake by weight as it gives you a more accurate idea of measurement. If youdidn’t already know in the UK a Tbsp is 15 ml, American is 16ml and Australian 20ml. At least if you are weighing somethingout you know that it is going to be the same no matter what equipment you use.
There are multiple suggestions on what the ideal cup to gram ratio is for a gluten free conversion. These mostly start at120g and end at the most recommended of 140g. The 140g method is used by well known chefs and that is the one I personally use on the first bake. I’ll then reduce the amount of flour if the item comes out too dense or heavy and increase if the product is too airy or moist.
Tip 2: It’s all about your Gluten Free Flour Mix!
Finding a gluten free flour mix that you can work with is the key. There are many different gluten free flours around but tostart off with your own conversions I would suggest premade plain gluten free flour. These are good because they havegenerally been mixed up to contain the right amount of each element. You see, if you add too much of a starch, like cornstarch or potato starch they can be overly drying and your baked product could be at risk of crumbling.
If you want to mix up your own flours; I like to use the tried and trusted ratio of 40% wholegrain to60% white flour orstarch. For sweet baked goods avoid bean flours asthese are overpowering in flavour.I’ve written another post about many of the gluten free flours available that talks about their differentproperties and flavours that you can read.
2.1 Do I need Xanthan or Guar Gum?
The answer to this question all depends on whether or not your flour mix already contains Xanthan or Guar Gum. If theflour mix does then you probably won’t need to add any more.If your gluten free flour mix doesn’t have xanthan gum then follow the ratio and add ¼ tsp of Xanthan or Guar Gum per cupof flour in the recipe. If you are having trouble finding Xanthan it is located in the bakery aisle of Coles and Woolworths. Do be careful when adding the Xanthan gum as it can easily become over mixed and turn baked goodsrubbery. If you have added xanthan gum and your product is tough and chewy, leave the xanthan gum until all your mixing is completed.
It can be necessary to add more gum to some recipes but that will be a trial and error process. I’d recommend starting offwithout the gum and trying the other binding tips down below. If the result is still crumbly or it falls apart then you could add inabout ¼ tsp of Xanthan gum per cup of flour. If a recipe on my website states Plain Gluten Free Flour as well as Xanthangum in the recipe then it is required even if your flour mix already has xanthan gum in it.
2.2 Baking Powder?
I’ve noticed that quite often the Gluten Free Recipes don’t rise as well as traditional recipes. This is especially true if youhave created your own gluten free self raising flour mixture. If a recipe calls for Baking Soda I generally use Baking Powderinstead. Baking powder features the same components as Baking Soda however it is joined by an acid so that no furtheringredients are required for the chemical rising reaction to occur.
The self raising gluten free flour mixes you can find in the shops should contain raising agents so test the recipe first withjust a simple conversion and if the item doesn’t rise enough add in ½ tsp of baking powder for every cup of flour.If you don’t have any self raising flour, you can create your own by adding 1 and a half tsp of baking soda to 1 cup on glutenfree plain flour. Most self raising flour mixtures also have a bit of salt in them I only add 1/8 to ¼ tsp of salt to the mixture.
Tip 3: Binding &Leavening with eggs
If you’ve tested your recipe and it has come out crumbly and a little too dry then perhaps you need more of the bindingagent. The binding agent is exactly what it sounds like and helps to hold the structure of your baked good. Adding in anextra egg can help with this. If you are having trouble with the rising element of your product then try aerating your eggwhites before adding them to your mixture.
3.1 Can’t eat eggs?
In my Cookies and Cream cupcakes I created the leavening affect by adding in apple cider vinegar to my baking powder.The vinegar helped increase the chemical reaction within the baking powder to create a fluffy cupcake. My mixture wasbound with the flour and extra cookie pieces and their moistening affect was replaced with the oil. If you don’t want to useoil you can also try applesauce. For more egg substitutes you can visitOrganic Authority.
Those are my starting points for converting a recipe to gluten free and I hope they helped you. For subscriber perks, recipes and recalls directly to your inbox sign up to the weekly newsletter.
Until Next Time;
Ashlee; The Aussie Coeliac.
