OMG I have the biggest crush right now: The ONLY cookbook you'll ever need for gluten-free baking

 

If gluten-free baking has ever made you sad, I have the solution. 

As an intermittent subscriber to Cook’s Illustrated, I freely admit that I’m often so overwhelmed by their meticulous approach to absolutely everything* that I don’t often cook from the magazines. This is a shame, because the things I’ve made have basically been perfect and ought to become part of my regular rotation.

I also have several of their single-topic cookbooks (“Sous Vide for Everybody,” anyone?) and they’re similarly excellent, if a little intimidating. So I half-thought that the copy of The How Can It Be Gluten-Free Cookbook Collection that I was recently gifted with might be more of the same – I’d page through it, marvel at their precision and detail, and shelve it right next to the baking-only subset of this book, which I already own and haven’t touched.

Wrong! So, so, so wrong. First off, gluten-free baking is a continual source of disappointment for me; but I figured if anyone was going to get it right it was going to be America’s Test Kitchen. In the “Why This Recipe Works” section before each recipe, I actually understand the incremental changes they make; I’ve tried many of these adjustments myself and get how a teaspoon of psyllium husk, for instance, can make all the difference. Also it was a gift and I didn’t want to be ungrateful.

So in I dove. The first, crucial step is making the ATK all-purpose flour blend. The recipes include notes for subbing in King Arthur Flour’s All-Purpose flour mix and Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Flour Blend, but they rightly point out that (1) King Arthur’s turns out pretty well but just isn’t quite right and (2) Bob’s Red Mill stuff always tastes kind of beany. (Try that nasty-ass Chicka pasta monstrosity if you’re not sure what I mean by that.)

The first recipe I made was focaccia, because I crave it occasionally and it went well with dinner. The result was almost too fluffy – something I never in a million, billion years thought I would ever say about something gluten-free. My advice: oil the sides of the pan, because the dough is going to rise more than you expect and you don’t want the middle to look sunken when you pull the final product out of the oven; and pay close attention to the instructions about when exactly to put the baking stone in the oven so your temperatures are accurate. John has never had focaccia before and ate half of it. I consider it a great success.

The next challenge was pie crust. I’ve made the occasional GF pie crust and it’s never bad; in fact, it holds up better than regular pie crust in that it doesn’t get soggy overnight. It’s not tender and flaky, though, and it’s usually a little too gloppy to roll out nicely. Adding bench flour seems to make it tough.

Naturally, the ATK folks have experienced the same things. The resulting pie crust was relatively easy to roll out – I say relatively because I didn’t let it warm up enough before rolling it out and it was an absolute test of my upper-body strength. I was feeling very impatient. It was, however, my first-EVER double-crust pie and I was mostly pleased with it. The crust itself was great where it wasn’t too thin or too thick, because I really need some practice rolling; I’m going to get it when I roll out the crust for tonight’s dessert. Because it was so good and so easy that I’m actually making desserts. They have also thoughtfully provided separate recipes for single- and double-crust pies so I don’t have to do math in my head, a sure formula for not-nearly-as-much success (not an actual disaster, but certainly an inferior product).

Flush with success, I decided to tackle the Light and Fluffy Biscuits. As Anna said, “Holy fucking shit. This is gluten-free?!” which should give you an idea of how actually light and fluffy these were. They were amazing. I did notice a little bit of a tang from the yogurt but it wasn’t enough to take away from the absolute deliciousness – they were just the right amount of moist, the crumb was tender, they were fluffy; they even browned up! They were, in short, perfect. If you buy this cookbook for no other reason than this biscuit recipe, it would be well worth it.

By now my tub of flour mix was getting low. I used the last cup to improvise some self-rising cornmeal for a squash fritter recipe (from a different cookbook) (also delicious) (recipe to follow at some point) and now I need to make a grocery run to fill the tub up again. I’ll be making a double batch this time, since I’m apparently on a baking bender. I’d also like to try the whole grain version, as there’s a graham cracker recipe I’m feeling pretty optimistic about. It would be nice to have s’mores at the fire pit that are made from something other than Deb Perelman’s excellent cookie cake recipe, which is delightful but not really a proper s'more.

The How Can It Be Gluten-Free Cookbook Collection from America’s Test Kitchen. Rating: 5 out of 5. Would definitely recommend to anyone who’s ever felt sad about gluten-free baking. 

 *These are the cooks who will make 100 dozen sugar cookies “so you don’t have to.” Like I would ever make 100 dozen sugar cookies. They can tell you down to the increment of a teaspoon how much salt something needs. It’s insane.