So Let's Talk Brands...

As I mentioned in the recipe book, the brand of product you use to create your food will make a big difference in how it comes out! I wish that weren't the case, but it is. I remember as I was looking into making dinner rolls and looking at various recipes, I stumbled upon a gf cheese roll recipe. The author of the site posted pics of what happened based on using different brands of tapioca flour. One was round and puffy and looked yummy, the other...well, it fell flat. Literally! (I was going to put a link to it here, but can no longer find it). Anyway, as I was making bread today I was reminded how much brands seem to matter.

I recently switched sorghum flour brands from Bob's Red Mill to Authentic Foods. I don't know what happened to Bob's. Maybe they switched suppliers or maybe the grain is processed differently, but shortly after we moved a year and a half ago, I started to notice that it wasn't ground as fine and that it was beginning to have a more distinct flavor. Personally, I try and keep my all purpose flours as neutral as possible, and I was beginning to get a "sorghum flour flavor" coming through into the finished food product. That was not what I wanted. As I switched flours right about the time the book was coming out I didn't notice that I would be having to "tweek" every recipe I make now, either by eliminating extra starch that may be in the recipe or by adding a bit more liquid.

I realize this is going to be confusing to a number of people new to gluten free cooking. Shouldn't the recipe just work no matter what brand you use? Yes, that would be nice, but unfortunately isn't the case. I try in my All Purpose Flour Mixes section to make that clear, but until you start working with them, you just don't know how much it can impact the final product. So, if you find yourself having to "tweek" recipes, mine or otherwise. Don't be discouraged. It is normal.

Bread fresh out of the oven!

Also, I have been asked to recommend some premixed all purpose flours. Well, I can make a few suggestions, but as I use my own flour mix I can't tell you for sure how well they work. But, I know that it can be difficult for some people to find the time to mix up their own flour or that they just don't want to be bothered to have to do it. So, with that in mind, if I were to go buy a mix I would probably choose "Pamela's" all purpose blend or "Jules" all purpose blend as both have very similar ingredients to mine. They do have binder in the mix (like my cake flour does) guar gum, in the case of Pamela's and xanthan gum, in the case of Jules, so you will have to adjust the binder in each recipe accordingly. There is also "Mama's blends" (there are several), "King Arthur's," "Arrowhead Mills" and "Authentic Foods" (where I order my sorghum flour) has a couple of mixes as well. What you have available in your area? I don't know. So, you may be limited as to what you can find. You will also need to look to see if the flour contains xanthan or guar gum which will effect how it works in recipes.

The fact is everyone has a different idea what the BEST flour mix is anyway. Just take a look at all the different recipes you can find on the internet! It boils down to taste and texture preferences. I mixed mine originally, to work in my old gluten flour recipes. I wanted the food to taste as close to the original as possible for all the gluten eaters in the house as well as my gluten free daughter. So, although I give a recipe in my book (well, actually two...one is the "all purpose" without xanthan gum and the other is the "cake flour" that is virtually identical except it uses sweet rice flour instead of brown rice and does have xanthan gum in it), I fully expect people to tailor the recipe to their own tastes and needs. Of course, that means that you may have to adjust some of the recipes in my book as well as the blog, to fit the flour mix you are using.

So, I say go ahead and experiment a bit. Find what works for you and your cooking style.

P.S. I have found another correction. Pg 22: "2 teaspoons Ener-G replacer" should read "2 teaspoons Ener-G egg replacer"