A Beginner's Guide To Gluten-Free Baking

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If you are new to gluten-free baking or a seasoned gluten-free baker then this short and sweet guide will help you achieve more consistently successful results. Help is at hand so you know what to expect with gluten-free baking and is a great introduction for all home bakers if you or a loved one has been diagnosed with coeliac disease, a wheat allergy or have a gluten intolerance.

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Gluten-free baking can seem so overwhelming at first with so many different gluten-free flours. If you have tried swapping them in 1:1 but have seen crumbly, dry, gritty or sunken results then I can assure you that is a gluten-free baking rite of passage. But it doesn’t have to continue that way. This guide will briefly explain the role of gluten in baking, the differences you can expect from wheat flour baking and how you can navigate these differences.

We’ll discuss common gluten-free ingredients you will need to familiarise yourself with, essential tools for gluten-free baking, and finally some essential tips, tricks and recipes to get your gluten-free baking journey off to an amazing start.

I want you start baking with confidence and navigate the gluten-free diet with ease. I’d love to prove to you straight away that gluten-free baking doesn’t have to mean inferior results. And I want you to fall in love with baking with gluten-free flours (although you don’t have to become obsessed like me).

So, shall we start baking?

The Role of Gluten

Gluten is the reason why wheat flour has become the default flour in baking. Most traditional baking recipes were developed with the idea of wheat flour being the ingredient used, so it can leave gluten-free bakers feeling a bit adrift once it is taken off the menu.

Gluten is the collection of strong elastic protein bonds found in wheat flour and it doesn’t do just one job but several. No one can fault the strength and power of gluten. It helps create the familiar texture, taste and structure that we are used to in baked goods:

• Texture. Gluten traps air bubbles in its strong bonds which allows baked goods to rise with a light airy texture with a bounce. It helps retain moisture so results are soft and tender.
• Taste. Wheat flour has a relatively neutral flavour so can pretty much be used in any recipe sweet, savoury and goes with everything and anything.
• Structure. It also adds elasticity and stretch so pastry dough doesn’t tear and bread can hold its shape whilst proofing and cakes will rise tall and proud.

So, once we eliminate gluten without making any accommodations for using gluten-free flours we’ll suddenly see our baked goods crumbling, sinking, taste weird and often have a gummy texture. Don’t worry, we can fix this.

Gluten-Free Baking vs. Wheat Flour Baking

It’s best to expect slightly different results in your gluten-free recipes so you don’t get immediately discouraged. Gluten-free baking is different to baking with all purpose wheat flour and may take you slightly out of your comfort zone. But it can be an easier learning curve if you know the differences to expect and how to adjust your ingredients and method to accommodate the lack of gluten (which does so much heavy lifting in traditional baking).

Hydration. Gluten-free flours absorb more liquid which means batters may be wetter and thinner. This can look strange in bread recipes in particular. The recipe may suggest resting the gluten-free batters so the flours have a head start in absorbing the liquid ingredients properly.

Additional ingredients. Gluten-free recipes are always looking to find ways to mimic the strong protein bonds. So you might find unfamiliar ingredients in the recipe like xanthan gum or psyllium husk which help bind the ingredients together (see below). Extra eggs might be called for to increase moisture and strengthen the recipe. Plus you might find more than one flour is called for in the ingredients list as one flour alone isn’t going to be enough to cover all the different roles that gluten provides in wheat recipes.

More choice. The gluten-free baking aisle will reflect the sheer choice of gluten-free flours. You will find branded gluten-free all purpose flour (like the Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour or Doves Farm Freee Gluten-Free Plain White Flour) and single origin flours (like almond flour or coconut flour). There are so many flours to choose from for your recipe and it can get overwhelming. Focus on the flour your recipe suggests and when you first start baking gluten-free experiment with one new gluten-free flour at a time.

Additional time. More time might be added to a recipe to allow the batter to rest before baking, different recipes might need longer baking times in the oven and it’s usually required for a finished bake to be totally cooled to room temperature before serving. Gluten-free baking takes longer than baking with regular flour.

Different flavours. Wheat flour has a relatively neutral flavour but gluten-free flours cover a range of different tastes from the toasted buttery flavour of oat flour to the deep molasses flavour of teff flour. All-purpose gluten-free flour blends aim to balance out the flavour to create something more neutral but some gluten-free recipes rely upon and relish the unique flavour that certain flours bring to the table, providing greater depth and interest.

Strength and fragility. The strength of gluten means that wheat recipes have a much greater stability than gluten-free recipes. You might find pastry doughs are more fragile and need more careful handling, cookies may be a little softer or crumblier. The good news is that if you have a well-balanced flour blend and/or additional binders then you can add strength into your recipes this way and you should still achieve terrific results.

Different colour. Baking with regular wheat flour will often produce a rich golden brown colour that looks as appetising as it smells. Some gluten-free flours just don’t brown the same. So try not to be discouraged if your vanilla cake looks a bit pale when it comes out of the oven, it is probably just the flour blend you used. But that doesn’t mean it won’t taste delicious. If it’s going to be covered in buttercream then it won’t be a drama but if the look really matters then you can usually switch up the flours to ones which will produce a richer colour.

Nutrition. Since we are dealing with a range of different gluten-free flours ground from all kinds of grains, plants and legumes it stands to reason that the nutritional content will vary between flours. Some recipes will be nutrient dense, especially if they include almond flour or oat flour. Some recipes will be less so if they focus on more starchy flours. This may be something you would like to bear in mind. It is always useful to think about the nutritional value of your flour (e.g. high in protein) as this can affect the finished product.

Gluten-free bread recipes. These recipes often won’t need very much kneading as the gluten doesn’t need to develop. They might be made using a wetter dough that needs to be poured into the tin. They will often need a carefully thought out flour blend and additional binders to help keep the structure in tact. Strangely gluten-free breads can contain ingredients like eggs which help strengthen dough and add elasticity.

Essential Gluten-Free Ingredients

If you are following a gluten-free diet because of allergies or coeliac disease then cross contamination will be a key consideration. Ensure your ingredients are certified gluten-free by checking labels.

Gluten-Free Flour

Gluten-free flour is a mix of several different ground wholegrains and starches which may also include ground nut and legumes. These can be blended together to produce an all-purpose gluten-free flour. Each brand has a different mix of ground ingredients that may or may not include thickeners, gums, leavening agents or other additives to mimic wheat flour.

When you start gluten-free baking I recommend being faithful to the brand of gluten-free flour that the recipe suggests. Since the brands are all made up of different flours and ratios of flour they will produce different results to each other. Recipes which have been tested with specific brands of flours shouldn’t really be deviated from.

That said, if you have allergies to a specific flour in the ingredients list, don’t want to bake with xanthan gum or can’t get hold of that flour then you may like to think about creating your own flour blends. This is always the direction I will advise you exploring if you are keen to up level and maintain great results across all your gluten-free baking as it will give you more control over the taste, texture and structure.

Single Origin Gluten-Free Flours

Some of the most widely available single origin flours are:

• Rice flour
• Almond flour
• Coconut flour
• Sorghum flour
• Tapioca flour
• Chickpea flour
• Buckwheat flour
• Oat flour

These flours can be blended together to create homemade flour blends and learning to utilise these flours will allow you to bake a wider variety of gluten-free recipes. We dive into these gluten-free flours in more depth in this Introduction To Gluten-Free Flours where we start thinking about creating our own flour blends and what ratios we might like to use.

Gums and Binders

There is no one magic gluten-free flour which perfectly replicates the strong bonds that gluten provides in baked goods. Even if we create our own beautifully balanced gluten-free flour blend we might need some extra help with additional binders to avoid crumbly results. I would usually turn to these thickeners if I’m baking pastry, bread or if I’m avoiding eggs in my recipe.

Xanthan gum. This ingredient has become synonymous with gluten-free baking but actually it’s a common household thickener also used in toothpaste, beauty products and everyday storecupboard foods (like ketchup) as a stabiliser. I don’t like to use xanthan gum in my gluten-free recipes and despite popular belief it is possible to create delicious gluten-free baked goods without it.

Guar gum. Similar to xanthan gum and less common but useful if you have a xanthan gum intolerance.

Psyllium husk. This is a common ingredient used in gluten-free baking for binding and adding familiar texture as it mimics the elastic properties of gluten found in traditional wheat flour. It’s great to add bounce to bread doughs and pastries but I don’t think is necessary to use in simpler cakes or cookies. To use in recipes, it is typically mixed with water to form a gel-like substance before incorporating it into the recipe.

Chia/flax seeds. These protein packed seeds are great to use as they absorb moisture and form a gel-like consistency when mixed with liquid, which means the dough has a little more elasticity and a moist and tender texture. I tend to use these in lieu of eggs in my vegan recipes and they are also great in bread doughs and pastries where you might need more of a helping hand. For this purpose I prefer using milled seeds in my baking recipes as they are not as noticeable in the finished recipe and breaking them down allows them to be mixed more evenly into the recipe. You can add the seeds directly into the batter or you will achieve even better results by activating them by mixing with water and allowing to rest to create a gel – known as a ‘flax egg’ or ‘chia egg.’

Basic Gluten-Free Baking Tools

Really there is no baking tool which you need specifically for gluten-free baking. However, this simple equipment which you probably already have in your kitchen if you enjoy baking will make the process easier.

It’s also worth mentioning that if you need to avoid cross-contamination if your kitchen also deals with non-gluten-free ingredients then make sure you use separate equipment from your gluten-free recipes.

Digital weighing scales. It is imperative that you use weighing scales if you want to achieve successful gluten-free baking results. That’s because accuracy is essential. Single origin gluten-free flours and gluten-free flour mixes do vary in volume across brands. If you are not getting consistent results using American cup measurements then I urge you to make the switch – I have heard time and time again what an incredible difference this makes. Basic digital weighing scales can be bought for around $10/£10 and these are just fine to use.

Measuring spoons. For smaller amounts up to 1 tablespoon I think measuring spoons are great. I usually weigh my yeast for bread baking but baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, vanilla extract or spices are absolutely fine to measuring using spoons.

Hand whisk. This is essential for whisking together your homemade flour blends. Sifting the flours together is an ultra precise way of doing it but I’m lazy and whisking the flours with the leavening agent works just as well.

Baking parchment. This has become indispensable in my gluten-free kitchen. Gluten-free baked goods are a bit more fragile. Use your baking parchment to line your baking trays when you are making cookies etc. But you can also use it when rolling out pie crusts and pastry. These doughs are prone to breaking and rolling in between parchment gives it a little more protection, avoids you having to add a lot of extra flour to stop sticking and really helps lift and transfer the pastry to the baking tin.

Food processor or blender. Grinding your own single gluten-free flours isn’t essential, but can be a lower cost way of making homemade oat flour or almond flour. You can also make coarsely ground wholegrain flours such as rice flour if you are keen.

Cooling racks. Just in case you are a hobby baker and still don’t have a cooling rack then it is essential in gluten-free baking. Most gluten-free baked goods should only be sliced up or portioned once they are fully cooled. Gluten-free bread can retain gumminess if you slice it when warm and cakes can crumble if not given the opportunity to cool and stabilise.

Quick mentions. Other equipment I love but is pretty obvious is a stand mixer or hand mixer for mixing doughs and batters, silicone spatula for mixing and scraping bowls, rolling pin for doughs, fine mesh sieve for making sure dry ingredients like cocoa powder, icing sugar or brown sugar are sufficiently de-clumped.

How To Start Gluten-Free Baking

Gluten-free baking can be challenging for beginners so my advice is to start slow and easy. The temptation is to dive straight into finding a great gluten-free bread recipe or try to adapt your family favourite cinnamon roll recipe. I don’t recommend doing it this way. There is a reason why my signature baking course which teaches how to use gluten-free flours focuses on gluten-free cakes for the first half of the course. These are the easiest and most forgiving gluten-free baked goods to achieve initial success with. Why?

• They often have moisture rich ingredients so crumbling and dry bakes can easily be avoided.
• You can bake a great cake recipe just using 2 flour blends (no gums or thickeners needed).
• Even a cake which didn’t reach your expectations can be improved with delicious buttercream, made into a trifle or mixed into cake pops.

Once you are achieving (more or less) consistently successful results with cakes then try pies (a good gluten-free pastry is easier to master than you think) then different kinds of desserts, cookies, bread and finally croissants and more complicated pastries.

Easy Gluten-Free Cake Recipes For First Timers

Gluten-Free Baking Tips and Tricks

Read the recipe. The most important tip I can give you is to read through the whole recipe from the top of the ingredients list all the way through to the serving of the recipe. This will give you an accurate view of how long the recipe will take. There might be resting time involved, you might need to create a flax egg, and you might need to factor in cooling the butter.

Double check the ingredients. Does the recipe need whole psyllium husk or ground psyllium husk. Does it call for sweet rice flour or regular white rice flour. Any deviations from the specific ingredients called for can make a huge difference in the finished results.

Substitutions. If you are a beginner then avoid substitutions which haven’t been recommended by the recipe developer. Swapping out one flour for another will affect the taste, texture and structure of the bake. If you are trying to make a recipe dairy-free then it might not be as easy as switching the butter out for a plant based alternative. Small tweaks can really make a difference. If you need to switch something out and it’s one of my recipes then send me a quick email and we’ll brainstorm substitutions together.

Measure ingredients accurately. Again, I want to re-iterate how important it is to use digital weighing scales when measuring gluten-free ingredients. Different gluten-free flour blends and even the same single origin flours range in density (1 brand of rice flour may not be the same as another brand of rice flour). The spoon and sweep method of measuring gluten-free flours in cups can mean the amount of flour you are adding to your recipe can vary wildly from the original recipe.

Mixing ingredients. You won’t have the same kind of problems as wheat flour recipes as you can’t toughen up the gluten, so often you can be a little more relaxed about mixing your ingredients together.

Split batters. Many gluten-free recipes require more fat, especially extra eggs to add in the moisture to help hydrate the recipe. This can also result in a split cake batter once you add the eggs into the creamed butter and sugar. It affects the end result minimally so don’t worry too much. However, you can add a tablespoon of flour into the mixture after the addition of every egg to help avoid this. It also helps if all your ingredients are at room temperature to avoid seizing.

Resting batters. You may find that the recipe needs you to rest your batter or dough before baking. This is normal for gluten-free baking as it helps hydrate the flours and soften the courser grains. 20-30 minutes should do the trick, give a brief extra mix before pouring into the tin and baking as per the recipe.

Baking time and temperature. Again, it’s about hydration. Gluten-free recipes often need lower temperatures and a longer baking time in the oven to make sure the flours are given all the time they need to do their job.

After baking. I urge you to wait until your cake, muffin or bread has fully cooled until you cut into it. Breads can still be a little gummy when warm and cakes can crumble if they have not cooled and stabilised properly.

⭐️You will find a bunch more tips and tricks to avoid dense, dry, gritty, crumbly textures and help fix common gluten-free baking problems like getting your cake to rise properly in my free Troubleshooting Guide: How To Achieve Perfect Taste and Texture in Gluten-Free Baking.

How To Store Gluten-Free Baked Goods

There are two common problems with gluten-free baking. Your results could be too moist or too dry and some gluten-free baked goods (bread in particular) can stale more quickly.

Too moist. If your bake is ultra moist due to a little too much starch, thickeners or eggs then you might want to avoid storing it in a plastic airtight container – metal could be best.

Too dry. On the other hand if your cake is a little dry then storing in plastic airtight containers promotes moisture and will help your cake from staling too quickly.

Staling. If your results are staling too quickly then freezing is a great option – particularly with breads. Freeze in slices immediately after the bread has cooled so you always have fresh bread to hand.

Dairy-Free & Egg-Free Baking

Combining gluten-free baking with dairy-free, egg-free or vegan requirements can mean even further complications with how your gluten-free flours work. Here are some quick tips to help you navigate some conversion issues:

• Swap out the butter for oil (but bearing in mind that there is more fat in oil so adding 20% less). I like using olive oil but avocado oil, ground nut oil or coconut oil are great too.
• Swap the eggs for coconut yoghurt or homemade cashew milk.
• Add vinegar and bicarbonate of soda to create more rise.
• Add in a chia or flax egg to help with binding.
• Add in more starchy flours to help with rise and binding.
• Add in more protein packed flours to help with structure.

Check out my Gluten-Free Vegan Vanilla Cake which went through a great deal or trial and error but achieved an incredible flavour, texture and structure by utilising some of the tips above.

I hope this short guide has been motivating in helping you start thinking a little bit differently about gluten-free baking. Yes it’s different but I urge you embrace the differences. Gluten-free baking will never be the same as traditional baking, its differences can really set our bakes apart from others in the best way.

Don’t be afraid to work with the flavour, structure and texture of gluten-free flours and not against them. Creating your own homemade blends will be the ultimate baking goal for you but don’t worry, start slow with the shop bought mixes, adding a little more structure (which is always needed with these mixes) with extra starchy flour, extra egg or some almond flour.

Ultimately enjoy the challenge, by following my tips and tricks your transition will be smooth sailing and remember I’m only an email away if you need some extra advice.

Happy baking!