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Gluten-free baking is my latest kitchen adventure.
Much of our old stuff can’t be used because of gluten that lingers in scratches and hard-to-clean spots, but so far I’ve resisted ordering all new gluten-free pans and have been making do with disposable aluminum, especially since there’s no family at home to eat a lot of baked goods, now that the holidays are a distant memory.
So the only new baking things we’ve acquired so far are:
Food processor (The old one needed a screwdriver to make it go, so it was time!)
Hand-held mixer (a cheap one, which I regret choosing whenever I use it)
Cookie sheets
Bundt pan
Muffin tin
Stackable cooling racks
Rolling pin & pastry mat
A few new mixing bowls (our old stainless steel ones are OK to use)
Grater
Rubber spatulas
Of course, any kitchen adventure requires new cookbooks, and I have acquired several! So far, my favorite one for baking is Nosh on This: Gluten-Free Baking from a Jewish-American Kitchen by Lisa Stander-Horel and Tim Horel. (Lisa graciously reworked our traditional Christmas morning coffee roll recipe so we could eat a delicious, gluten-free version this year. Lisa and Tim blog about baking at Gluten-Free Canteen, where their motto is “No cookie, strudel, brownie, pie, cake, tart, or treat left behind.”)
Most gluten-free baking cookbook authors have developed their own mixes to simplify their recipes, combining different flours and other ingredients into a mix that can be stored and used in their recipes. The mix recipe in Nosh on This called for superfine brown and white rice flours, which had to be special-ordered (not from the authors) so I made up the mix with regular brown and white rice flour, and the recipes I tried turned out great, anyway, but would probably be even better with the exact ingredients.
Nosh on This has recipes for all the traditional Jewish treat recipes you can think of (rugelach, strudel, babka); others that you might not expect to be possible (gluten-free egg noodles, matzo, challah); and many, many standards that don’t require a holiday as an excuse to eat (brownies, cookies, cakes, candies, and tarts of all varieties.) The recipes are extremely clear and the recipe introductions are chatty and informative. The food photography is excellent!
View an excerpt from the Nosh on This here to see the layout, recipe style, and some great photos.
What I’ve made so far (If recipes are available online, click on the photos to get them.):
Now that I have the superfine flours, I have plenty more recipes from Nosh on This that I want to try, such as Marzipany Gooey Brownies, Braided Challah in the Round, Chocolate Nut Two-Bite Tarts, and Lemon Poppy-Seed Cookies. There is also a candy recipe that I thought of trying – Chocolate-Covered Nutella Hearts – but it looked a little too complicated for me at the time, so I made the truffles instead. Maybe next Valentine’s Day!
Disclosure: I own my own copy of Nosh on This – a gift from my daughter M., who is mentioned in the acknowledgments and works for the publisher.
Nosh on This
Stander-Horel, Lisa and
Horel, Tim
The Experiment, Sept. 2013
9781615190867
288 pp.
$19.95 US