Holiday Baking with a Gluten-Free Twist!

A couple of years ago, my husband found out that he cannot tolerate gluten (not celiac but still challenging). This time of year is all about yummy holiday foods! Oh, and his birthday! He LOVES all the sides for a turkey dinner like stuffing, gravy, and rolls. (Yup - all the gluten items on the menu.) He hasn’t been able to enjoy that for a while. He mentioned a couple of months ago how much he misses banana breads and cakes. 

I decided to try my hand at baking gluten-free (“GF”) flour. For anyone who has struggled with the challenges of baking GF, I want to share a few tips that I have tried and worked on. Some of these I figured out on my own through trial and error and some were shared with me and I’ve added to my baking routine.

1. Buy the 1:1 flour GF flour mix (1 cup to 1 cup ratio). I’ve used Krusteaz and Namaste (from Costco), and both brands work great. (Not gritty like some brands.) GF flour is more expensive than regular flour, so I started using the Costco bag more since it is more cost-effective.
2. Add an extra egg to the recipe (this helps with the binding to help keep it from being too crumbly). 
3. Let the batter “rest” (cover the bowl with a towel and leave it alone) for 15-30 minutes before baking. This will help the GF flour absorb the moisture better.
4. Add an extra splash of Vanilla extract (for basically all quick breads, cakes, or cookies).
5. Add a bit more Baking Power (helps the GF flour rise/fluffier).
6. Store them in an airtight container, and after 24 hours, put them in the fridge or freezer to be thawed as needed (15-20 seconds in the microwave should do the trick).

I have my favorite baking book and simply substitute the all-purpose flour for the GF flour and use the other tricks mentioned above to make cakes, cookies, banana bread, etc. So far, I'm happy to say that have all turned out great.

For pie crust - I did not want to take on this challenge. Never made a pie crust and everything I read online recommended just buying one. I found Wholly pie crust at Fred Meyer and it was delicious! Made pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving and was so happy with this crust. I used this recipe for the filling and so very happy with it - but I did add ¼ teaspoon cloves and reduced the ginger to ¼ teaspoon. (We like the flavor combo with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.)

For stuffing, I found Aleia’s on Amazon. I didn’t add carrots like the box called for and I added two cloves of garlic and sauteed with the onion and celery. This was so yummy!

For dinner rolls, I found a “no knead” recipe and converted it to GF. I did the rolls in a “drop” style so they didn’t look great, but I’ll do better next time. The roll recipe calls for “rest” time and I followed it but, next time I try them I’ll add even more “rest” time so they can rise a little more. Overall, the rolls turned out good but they were a little more dense than I expected. 

My husband is so happy to be able to have treats again and a traditional Thanksgiving meal.

Wishing everyone a happy holiday season and happy baking! 

#glutenfreebaking #glutenfreelife #holidaybaking #gfholidaybaking
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