Y’all, I just filled my Prime Pantry box with a bevy of gluten free baking products and I am a neeewwww womannnnnn! I believe I’ll dance a happy little jig on my front porch when the UPS guy drops off the box. Maybe to this little ditty right here.
Because amen and hallelujah, we are back in the baking business.
But I’ve gotten ahead of myself.
Do you need some backstory? Here’s my bemused commentary on becoming a gluten free semi-vegetarian. (I know, I know…semi-vegetarian kinda smacks of semi-virgin but you know what I mean.) And if you ever wondered what it’s like to do a detox cleanse, you can read the nitty gritty here. Or this post on how Carrabba’s is the devil when you somehow end up eating three dinners and two desserts that are so not on your “okay foods” list.
There ya go, all caught up.
Crowdsourcing my life has seriously been my most productive use of Facebook to date. Need to find a good plumber? Facebook. Recommendations for luggage or backpacks? Facebook. Pretty sure I’ve forgotten to do something I promised someone? Yep, I put that shit on Facebook and waited to see who’d message me.
So I figured if crowdsourcing has worked this well in so many other areas of my life, why not give it a shot with food? Which brings us back to today’s post.
See how neatly I brought that one full circle? It was a two-cups-of-coffee day. BOOM.
I pretty much gave up baked goods back in January when the doctor dropped the unfortunate news that I have a gluten sensitivity. (And doesn’t that make me sound like a special snowflake? Sheesh.) Cake, breads, cupcakes, breads – it all went out the window because gluten free stuff sucks and I’d rather learn to live without than suffer through a poor substitute.
Fast forward eight months when lo and behold, someone (AHEM! The Chef) made me dee-li-cious gluten free brownies. Have you ever cried over brownies? Well, I have. Solidarity, sisters. It turns out Betty Crocker makes a fabulous gluten free brownie mix – add a scoop of vanilla ice cream to that puppy and you’ll be dancing a happy jig yourself.
It was the very next week when gem offered me a bite of what she called crack cornbread. I declined, not so much because I’m opposed to crack food items (hello buttery popcorn, you sexy snack you) but because I’ve never been a huge cornbread fan. And because I can be stubborn it took me a couple of weeks before I thought hey, what do you have to lose, just make the bread.
And Oh My God, it IS crack cornbread! It’s gluten free crack cornbread!
Because I’m not a tease I’m happy to share the mix is from King Arthur Flour. Our Food Lion carries it, as does Amazon (see happy jig for the UPS guy note above). You can check out their baking mixes here – I’ve already spent time drooling over the page.
Now for the crowdsourcing. Anyone else have a gluten free find to share?
Don’t give up baked cakes even on a gluten free diet!!!! You can find amazing products or bake yourself but it is possible. I am a foodie and cakes and deserts are my things. When I became gluten free and dairy free, it was a struggle but trust me, it is possible! 🙂
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This gives me great hope! Have you found any particular type of flour that works better?
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That’s the thing, it’s better to mix the flours as none of them is ‘complete’ as wheat flour for baking (in terms of their proprieties). I tried different things but I like the following : 50% rice flour, %corn flour, 10% coconut flour. You can also but 20% of maïzena depending on what you cook. It will never have the same taste as a wheat cake but it will be good 🙂
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Great tips. Thanks so much!!
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Things like this remind me you’re not a true southerner, lol! Cornbread is legit gluten-free, cause corn meal is not flour. But then, bacon grease ain’t so vegetarian, and umm, people do add flour, and I like mine with flour and sugar, so I reckon that’s a valid point all around. I looooove cornbread. We eat it regularly. I am delighted you found a good one 🙂
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Whoops! You’re right, just rolling in with the southern crowd but I’m not born and bred. This gluten free thing is so tricky, though — some products can’t claim GF because they’re produced on the same machines as stuff that contains wheat. And sometimes it doesn’t matter, but then there’s times like when I ate the tortilla chips at Chipotle and ended up sick as a dog (though that’s a story you really don’t need to hear)…
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OH NO. OH NO.
Had you inquired on the chips, or just assumed and consumed?
Either way, sad.
And you don’t have to tell me, I gotta hunt red dye in frickin green spinach wraps. Nothing makes sense, Laura!
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I skipped the taco salad because that was a flour tortilla. When I confirmed the chips were corn I figured I was safe. Looked for their posted info afterward & they said possibility of cross contamination.
FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT’S HOLY.
It was a sad day indeed. And embarrassing seeing as we were transporting four teen boys to Appalachia and *I* had to keep calling for potty stops. Lawd.
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Oh bless. 😦
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Coming from the south – cornbread is a must for several occasions. Sorry you are having gluten issues – happy you found gluten free items.
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It’s the little things, right? 😉
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The little things is what glues us together. LOL
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I love cornbread!
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Apparently so do I. Who knew!
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Wow, how awesome that you finally found some truly delicious gluten-free products to make. I’m not gluten sensitive as far as I know, but my mother-in-law experiments a little with “alternative” food trends. These are ready-to-eat so no baking involved by I just love love love gluten-free choco teff fingers.
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Cool! Thanks for the tip, Astrid. Just googled them and those look like a good pantry stash for when I need a quick chocolate fix. 😉
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Yes! King Arthur’s GF cornbread is awesome! I just tried it for the first time last week! 😀 My favorite mix for cornbread is from Aldi’s, though (not sure if you have those stores where you live.) But I tend to like my cornbread really sweet. King Arthur’s brownie mix is also the best I’ve had! And I am a chocolate fiend! I have been on a GF diet for almost six years since I was diagnosed with celiac disease. If you’re looking for donuts, Katz Gluten Free Bakery is awesome and they ship really fast!
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Wait, what?!? There are good DONUTS??? This is by far the most exciting thing I’ve heard about food EVER. 🍩💛
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Yes! Look up Katz gluten free bakery. Some stores stock some of their products, but the website has everything. And DONUTS!!! 😋
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Sooooo Glad you are rediscovering baked goods! And staying well in the process. I enjoy baking special treats for friends with various allergies and sensitivities and have found gluten-free goodies to be rather good, although a little more costly in most instances.
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They’re definitely in a higher price bracket, that’s for sure. Cutting back for all those months helped with that – at least I don’t think of cookies/brownies as an everyday thing now. 🙂
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I think that’s the problem with baked goods & sweet things in general – the more you have them, the more you crave. This is coming from me, the Sweetie Monster!
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