Advice, please. Is gluten-free baking worth the trouble?

house_cat · ‎03-09-2010

I'm baking gingerbread cookies this week and was planning to mail some to my son. He suspects he has a gluten intolerance and has been avoiding it for the last several months. Is it worth baking them with gluten-free flour? If the taste and texture will be negatively impacted, I won't even bother.

Also, if I do, can you recommend a flour to use?

I'm heading to the park for some social distance visiting with a friend, but I'll check on this thread when I get back.

Thank you in advance for honest feedback.

~ house cat ~

Shepherd · ‎08-08-2017

I'm not gluten free, but I do bake. Gluten free baking is different than "regular" baking, with all-purpose flour.

I'd support your son and learn how to bake this way or go to a gluten free bakery.

LuvmyLab · ‎06-07-2010

I am not gluten free however when I went to buy spaghetti noodles at the store recently all they had left were the gluten free ones so I bought them. They are terrible! You can't twirl the spaghetti on a fork, it just falls off, and there is no substance to it at all. Just my experience with a gluten free food.

Big Joanie · ‎01-02-2015

I made Oatmeal cookies this summer for my DI L .. with a product

called " Bob's Red Mill .... Gluten free Baking Flour .. they were

excellent .. and yes worth the time .....hope you can find it .....it

is on Amazon if you do that ....a few walnuts and cranasians didn't

hurt .....good luck

SharkE · ‎08-19-2010

@LuvmyLab wrote:
I am not gluten free however when I went to buy spaghetti noodles at the store recently all they had left were the gluten free ones so I bought them. They are terrible! You can't twirl the spaghetti on a fork, it just falls off, and there is no substance to it at all. Just my experience with a gluten free food.

I hate that 'stuff' too. I accidently bought some kind of crackers and they were so hard almost broke a 1,000 crown in my mouth. I'm a yeast person, myself.

Nobody ever heard of gluten free till few yrs. ago makes you wonder how they ever held up in yrs. gone by. LOL

Jersey Born · ‎03-10-2010

Excellent brands of gluten-free flour are Bob's Red Mill and King Arthur. Good luck. Your gingerbread cookies will taste great.

CAcableGirl2 · ‎06-03-2010

@house_cat You can try King Arthur's gluten free flour or Bobs Red Mill. Both are in stock at my local Target.

I have good luck with anything I've purchased from King Arthur brand, so I would give it a try. Lots of good ratings on the target site, and many mention that this is the brand to use since they haven't had much luck with other brands.

You can always make a quick small batch of chocolate chip cookies with it to check on the taste.

......You look like I need a drink.....

dsw503 · ‎08-18-2010

Yes. I only eat GF and have done lots of baking. I have all kinds of different flours and use them as needed. I don't buy GF flour. It's worth it to me to have a variety of flours on hand because I use all of them and prefer to use GF recipes that call for them. You are in a different situation so my advice would be to buy a GF flour and look for a recipe from that specific brand that was developed for the flour. Despite advice that you can sub a particular GF flour for a regular white one, I think you will have better results following a specific recipe from the manufacturer for their product. You will find that GF flour is expensive, so be prepared to pay more for it than you might be accustomed to paying for non GF flour.

Venezia · ‎03-09-2010

@SharkE wrote:
@LuvmyLab wrote:
I am not gluten free however when I went to buy spaghetti noodles at the store recently all they had left were the gluten free ones so I bought them. They are terrible! You can't twirl the spaghetti on a fork, it just falls off, and there is no substance to it at all. Just my experience with a gluten free food.
I hate that 'stuff' too. I accidently bought some kind of crackers and they were so hard almost broke a 1,000 crown in my mouth. I'm a yeast person, myself.

Nobody ever heard of gluten free till few yrs. ago makes you wonder how they ever held up in yrs. gone by. LOL

There are people like my sister-in-law, nephew and others in the family who have celiac disease and they have to avoid gluten at all costs. It isn't simply an intolerance.

Celiac disease has been known about for decades (longer) and, undiagnosed, can cause major damage to the organs of the body. It's not a trend and it's not a laughing matter. It's been very difficult until recent years for these family members to eat out, buy things at a grocery store, attend family get-togethers...you get the idea. So the public awareness of it has been a huge boon for them.

Healthy people without celiac disease do not need to avoid gluten, although some choose to; if they feel better doing that, it's their choice.

Lali1 · ‎08-21-2014

I haven't baked any but I love the Tate's butter crunch cookies. I normally dislike gluten free especially the pizza crusts but these cookies are excellent. If they can make yummy gluten free cookies I'm sure you can as well. Good Luck!