Marie has recently had to learn to go GF. Her little guy is celiac. She is a trooper and is adapting pretty well as far as I can tell. She did however, have some cake baking concerns. I have been thinking about Ree's issues and just pondering GF baking in general lately.
I was so overwhelmed when I first went gluten free. I just did not bake. When I think back on it I am surprised that I didn't. I was a chronic baker pre my GF life. I baked bread all the time; cakes, cookies, cheesecakes, pies, pizza...you name it - I baked it. I even own a Madeleine pan, how many 22 year old's buy madeleine pans? Anyway, the change was so overwhelming for me that I just did not bake - FOR YEARS. About 4 years into GF life I started trying some of the pre-made mixes that were becoming popular. They pretty much sucked. I thought that it was too poor of a substitute to bother consuming. (Are you starting to wonder if I am a foodie? I am.)
Somewhere along the way I got brave. I started hunting for a few recipes or started converting my own. My sister found Carol Fenster. I am sure I owe this woman at least a thank you note, if not my first born. Her flour blends are great and her recipes work, not an easy thing to find. My mom got fed up with not having goodies for her grand kids and started converting all our childhood favorites.
We are now in a new era in our gluten free family. This year at Christmas my mom did all the baking gluten-free, the gluten eaters were none the wiser! We had cookies, marshmallows, fudge, peanut brittle, maple pancakes, quiche.... and it was FUN to make.
I digress.....back to baking. I am finding that GF cakes and cupcakes often do best if baked early and frozen. It seems to help them retain moisture. I also find that getting them into a Tupperware or Ziplock before they are completely cool works too. I usually keep all my baked goods in the fridge after the first 24 hours. It keeps longer and again, seems to help with moisture retention.
When mixing up baked goods remember that the consistency is different for GF baking. Gluten-free breads are much more like thick cake batter or glutenous quick bread consistency than a wheat bread is. GF cakes are often more runny than a gluten cake mix would be. I find it helps to make notes about texture and consistency in my cookbooks and on my recipe's when I get one that I really like. That way I can remember what I am shooting for. If I made any changes to the recipe I notate that as well.
The best advise I can offer you if you are venturing into gluten free baking is, try try again. It is not an easy thing to master - even for those of us who consider ourselves bakers. Once you start to catch onto what works and how a well made GF baked good should look before you stick it in the oven - you will be fine. Also know that failures happen and sometimes you can create something out of that failure.
Overcooked or hard bread? Pulverize it in your food processor and freeze it to use as bread crumbs. French bread not tasting so good two days after you make it? Tear it into pieces and poor french toast batter over it. Bake it in the oven on 350 until it is done (should spring back to touch), viola - breakfast. Brownies too hard or chewy? pulverize those and use them to press into a pan as a crust for a cheesecake....be creative!
Just don't give up. Once you begin to have more success than failure in your GF kitchen, it will have been worth the time and the effort. Now the fun is trying something new. I am really thinking of working out the glitches in my cinnamon rolls and learning to make really good donuts and bagels.
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