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Gluten-Free Baking Classics
For celiacs and others unable to eat wheat, it’s not just the dessert tray that’s hearty staples like bread and pizza are also off limits. Now, this exciting cookbook allows allergy sufferers to indulge in a wide variety of baked goods, all delicious and all gluten-free. Featured are more than 100 recipes, including homey treats like biscuits and blueberry muffins; chocolate chip and other cookie jar classics; old-fashioned favorites such as eclairs, pie crust, and lemon squares; artisan style breads; and more than 20 cakes, from a simple vanilla layer cake to a decadent German chocolate cake. A thorough grounding in classic baking techniques, as well as detailed instructions in how to buy, mix, and measure gluten-free flours, ensure success for even novice gluten-free bakers. Rounding out the book is a pertinent discussion on how readers can incorporate baking into busy schedules, and why it is so important for emotional, as well as physical, well-being.
190 pages, Paperback
First published April 6, 2006
70 people are currently reading
358 people want to read
About the author
Annalise G. Roberts
9 books14 followersAfter being diagnosed with celiac disease in late 2002, Annalise Roberts devoted herself to developing gluten-free baked goods that taste just as good, if not better, than their wheat flour counterparts. Gourmet magazine featured several of her recipes in its November 2005 issue; she was the first gluten-free writer to have her work published in a mainstream food magazine. Since then, her recipes have been featured in newspapers and magazines across the country.
Annalise is the author of four gluten-free cookbooks that are sold in North America and overseas. Translated editions are available in South America and Eastern Europe. An expanded and revised edition of her best-selling book, Gluten-Free Baking Classics (April 2006), was released in September 2008. Gluten-Free Baking Classics for the Bread Machine, a collection of recipes developed for the Zojirushi bread machine, was released in April 2009. The Gluten-Free-Good Health Cookbook (January 2010), her third book written with her sister Claudia Pillow, provides food choice explanations and guidance, cooking advice, and more than 140 flavorful, culturally diverse, gluten-free recipes. Her new work, Gluten-Free Baking Classics - The Heirloom Collection was released in November 2014. It contains 90 timeless, culturally diverse recipes and insightful instruction for converting recipes yourself.
Annalise works with gluten-intolerant individuals and support groups across North America and give talks about gluten-free cooking and baking. After years of writing for her foodphilosopher.com website (one of the first gluten-free websites in the country, dating back to 2003), she now blogs sporadically at mygluten-freetable.com. She lives in the New York metropolitan area.
Annalise is the author of four gluten-free cookbooks that are sold in North America and overseas. Translated editions are available in South America and Eastern Europe. An expanded and revised edition of her best-selling book, Gluten-Free Baking Classics (April 2006), was released in September 2008. Gluten-Free Baking Classics for the Bread Machine, a collection of recipes developed for the Zojirushi bread machine, was released in April 2009. The Gluten-Free-Good Health Cookbook (January 2010), her third book written with her sister Claudia Pillow, provides food choice explanations and guidance, cooking advice, and more than 140 flavorful, culturally diverse, gluten-free recipes. Her new work, Gluten-Free Baking Classics - The Heirloom Collection was released in November 2014. It contains 90 timeless, culturally diverse recipes and insightful instruction for converting recipes yourself.
Annalise works with gluten-intolerant individuals and support groups across North America and give talks about gluten-free cooking and baking. After years of writing for her foodphilosopher.com website (one of the first gluten-free websites in the country, dating back to 2003), she now blogs sporadically at mygluten-freetable.com. She lives in the New York metropolitan area.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
December 22, 2008
I've read through all the non-recipe portions of this book. I'm excited to try the recipes because the book got a 5 star rating on amazon, and all the reviewers just raved about it. (I'm reserving a rating until I've tried some of the recipes, though.) I've got the cornbread in the oven right now!
ETA: I am in Lemon Cupcake Heaven! They really turned out to be the best GF cupcakes I have ever had. And they actually rank up there with the best ever - GF or not! As everyone who finds they have to maintain a gluten-free diet, I have eaten my share of bad baked goods in the search for "real" food. Well, I think I've found it.].
I was trying my best to keep my expectations low while these were baking. "Just because they smell so good doesn't mean they'll taste good", I thought. "After all, they're gluten-free." But, lo and behold, when I bit into the first one, I found myself eating "real" cake. The cake itself is very slightly crispy on the top and the inside is moist, tender, and fluffy - just like "real" cake. Plus, it didn't crumble or fall apart and they didn't seem to have that weird aftertaste or mouth feel. (If you've eaten any amount of gluten-free baked goods, you probably know what I mean!)
It was, in a word, delicious.
The recipe was easy and didn't use 6 different flours and starches. That's a big gripe for me with a lot of gluten-free cookbooks out there. Who has the money to buy or the room to store all those ingredients?! But the recipes in this book are based on two flour blends that the author has put together - one for cookies, pies, cakes, and quick breads, and another for yeast breads. The first one contains just brown rice flour, potato starch, and tapioca starch! Who knew it really could be that simple.
I for one, am sold. If you need proof of how good these were, first, BF ate one and said, "That's gluten-free?! It's pretty good!" and second, I would totally eat just the cake with no icing! And if you know me, you know that usually icing is the first thing to disappear - it's usually the best part!
On the strength of this recipe alone, I absolutely recommend this book to those on a GF diet.
ETA: I am in Lemon Cupcake Heaven! They really turned out to be the best GF cupcakes I have ever had. And they actually rank up there with the best ever - GF or not! As everyone who finds they have to maintain a gluten-free diet, I have eaten my share of bad baked goods in the search for "real" food. Well, I think I've found it.].
I was trying my best to keep my expectations low while these were baking. "Just because they smell so good doesn't mean they'll taste good", I thought. "After all, they're gluten-free." But, lo and behold, when I bit into the first one, I found myself eating "real" cake. The cake itself is very slightly crispy on the top and the inside is moist, tender, and fluffy - just like "real" cake. Plus, it didn't crumble or fall apart and they didn't seem to have that weird aftertaste or mouth feel. (If you've eaten any amount of gluten-free baked goods, you probably know what I mean!)
It was, in a word, delicious.
The recipe was easy and didn't use 6 different flours and starches. That's a big gripe for me with a lot of gluten-free cookbooks out there. Who has the money to buy or the room to store all those ingredients?! But the recipes in this book are based on two flour blends that the author has put together - one for cookies, pies, cakes, and quick breads, and another for yeast breads. The first one contains just brown rice flour, potato starch, and tapioca starch! Who knew it really could be that simple.
I for one, am sold. If you need proof of how good these were, first, BF ate one and said, "That's gluten-free?! It's pretty good!" and second, I would totally eat just the cake with no icing! And if you know me, you know that usually icing is the first thing to disappear - it's usually the best part!
On the strength of this recipe alone, I absolutely recommend this book to those on a GF diet.
February 6, 2009
This is a great GF cookbook. I've checked out 8-10 books since my son was diagnosed with celiac disease a month ago and this is the only one I've bought. There are very few baked goods that I can think of that aren't in this book (pumpkin cookies, peanut butter cookies). And everything that I have made has been good. Tonight I made GF hamburger buns and they were delicious, reminded me of the homemade buns my school's cooks used to bake. They were definitely better than the buns you buy. My son usually doesn't even eat a bun, but he did tonight. We have also enjoyed the cornbread recipe (I don't think you would ever guess it was GF if you didn't know), the blueberry muffins, and the sandwich bread. The vanilla cupcakes, pie crust, banana bread and chocolate chip cookies were good, although the cookies spread all over even though I chilled my shortening. New: Her pizza crust is surprisingly good.
This book is well written with clear instructions that even a beginning baker can follow. She depends on two basic flour mixes, a rice blend for most goodies, and a millet/sorghum blend for bread, neither use bean flour. I only have two minor complaints. 1) Because I am feeding a diabetic it would be extremely helpful to have a nutrition analysis that included a carb count. 2) I'm not a big fan of working with baking chocolate and I wish her brownie and chocolate cake recipes used cocoa. But like I said, those are minor complaints. One last note: She recommends a specific brand of rice flour, Authentic, because it is ground finer than most other brands. However, I have been using Bob's Red Mill, and haven't thought that it was gritty (well it was in the pie crust on the first day, but not on the second). I did find some Authentic brand, though, and I'll have to try it and see if I can tell the difference.
If you have to eat gluten free, I would definitely recommend this book.
UPDATE: Annalise Roberts now has a pumpkin cookie on her web site, www.foodphilosopher.com, and I'm looking forward to trying it! I also made her chocolate cake with the baking chocolate, and I have to admit, it's not that hard to work with baking chocolate, I guess I was just intimidated. The longer I have this book, the more I love it.
This book is well written with clear instructions that even a beginning baker can follow. She depends on two basic flour mixes, a rice blend for most goodies, and a millet/sorghum blend for bread, neither use bean flour. I only have two minor complaints. 1) Because I am feeding a diabetic it would be extremely helpful to have a nutrition analysis that included a carb count. 2) I'm not a big fan of working with baking chocolate and I wish her brownie and chocolate cake recipes used cocoa. But like I said, those are minor complaints. One last note: She recommends a specific brand of rice flour, Authentic, because it is ground finer than most other brands. However, I have been using Bob's Red Mill, and haven't thought that it was gritty (well it was in the pie crust on the first day, but not on the second). I did find some Authentic brand, though, and I'll have to try it and see if I can tell the difference.
If you have to eat gluten free, I would definitely recommend this book.
UPDATE: Annalise Roberts now has a pumpkin cookie on her web site, www.foodphilosopher.com, and I'm looking forward to trying it! I also made her chocolate cake with the baking chocolate, and I have to admit, it's not that hard to work with baking chocolate, I guess I was just intimidated. The longer I have this book, the more I love it.
January 4, 2010
The best Gluten-Free (GF)baking cookbook I've been able to find. I serve the desserts to everyone and they taste as good and sometimes better than traditional baking.
I love how she uses the same type of GF flour mix for most of the recipes so you don't have to have an army of GF flours taking up valuable cupboard space. I've only had two of the recipes not work out the scones and the pie pastry doesn't make enough. Not bad for GF baking. I got a stand up mixer for a Christmas gift so I'm ready to tackle the bread recipes in her book.
I love how she uses the same type of GF flour mix for most of the recipes so you don't have to have an army of GF flours taking up valuable cupboard space. I've only had two of the recipes not work out the scones and the pie pastry doesn't make enough. Not bad for GF baking. I got a stand up mixer for a Christmas gift so I'm ready to tackle the bread recipes in her book.
June 11, 2019
Who knew that a slice of bread made me do the Happy Dance?
The commercial gluten free breads in the store all have a texture that quickly reminds me of poorly cooked, weirdly plain pound cake. The basic sandwich bread recipe in this book is worth the rice of the whole book, it really is that good - the bread has a weight and a heft to it, giving a satisfying chew, while having a great texture with a beautiful rise to it.
I made the Hot Cross Buns for Easter, and nobody at our church realised they were gluten free.
Serious kudos to the author. These recipes are brilliant.
The commercial gluten free breads in the store all have a texture that quickly reminds me of poorly cooked, weirdly plain pound cake. The basic sandwich bread recipe in this book is worth the rice of the whole book, it really is that good - the bread has a weight and a heft to it, giving a satisfying chew, while having a great texture with a beautiful rise to it.
I made the Hot Cross Buns for Easter, and nobody at our church realised they were gluten free.
Serious kudos to the author. These recipes are brilliant.
February 16, 2021
Good recipes!
January 8, 2011
Love, love, LOVE this book!! When I first found out I couldn't have white or wheat flour I didn't know what I would do. I LOVE to bake and was stumped as to what I could still eat and cook. I honestly thought my days of cooking, let alone eating, baked goods were gone. Stumbled upon the book at a local bookstore and felt the door to possibilities open. I cannot speak highly enough of this book! You make a simple mix and use it as a blend for all the recipes. The Lemon Bars are always a big hit. They are almost always what people request when we have potlucks. I love the pie crust recipe, which is by far the best one I've found to date. I have made many, many recipes from this book and have enjoyed all of them.
January 4, 2017
This is currently my go-to cookbook for baking. The recipes have been outstanding. You will need to create a flour mix from brown rice flour, potato starch and tapioca starch. Once you have this on hand, most of recipes are a snap to make and more delicious than box mixes or store bought gluten free baked goods. The cake and muffin recipes rival regular wheat flour versions and are not discernable as gluten free options. The cakes have won over people who do not have any gluten restrictions--the unique flavor combinations make the cakes and muffins memorable. I have been particularly obsessed with the Maple Walnut Cake with Espresso buttercream frosting. Chocolate Ricotta muffins and European custard cake are both delectable treats.
January 15, 2011
The two things that make this GF baking cookbook stand apart from the rest is that the author has her own recipe blend of flour that's used for the recipes, and while the recipes are not vegan, it's specifically addressed and noted that most of the recipes can have eggs and dairy exchanged for their vegan replacements.
Putting this into practice for the Chocolate Fudge Cake, I find that true, and unlike many GF baked goods, it wasn't dry with a strange, almost beany after taste (something I've noticed especially with the Bob's Red Mill GF All-Purpose Flour). Definitely worth the slight hassle of blending your own flour.
Putting this into practice for the Chocolate Fudge Cake, I find that true, and unlike many GF baked goods, it wasn't dry with a strange, almost beany after taste (something I've noticed especially with the Bob's Red Mill GF All-Purpose Flour). Definitely worth the slight hassle of blending your own flour.
March 4, 2011
I've had a lot of fun with this book, experimenting with many of the recipes in my journey of becoming gluten-free for breastfeeding baby George! Most of her recipes are right on...but I've found that some need to be modified a little - usually by adding a bit more sweetener. The Lemon Coconut muffins are delicious, as well as the tart crust. I used that particular recipe to make a Coconut Cream pie which Josh said was the best thing he ever ate!!! Eating gluten-free isn't so bad after all!
April 13, 2012
There is plenty of solid information about ingredients. So far, I've made blueberry muffins. They turned out fine but had a grainy texture, as though made with cornmeal. That's because I couldn't find extra finely ground brown rice flour, recommended by the author. In my area, I'll need to order it online or find it at an Asian grocery store.
I'll rate the book again later and add more notes as I try more recipes. The required flour has been found, so now I can use proper ingredients. I have finished reading the text portions of the book, so only recipe trials remain.
I'll rate the book again later and add more notes as I try more recipes. The required flour has been found, so now I can use proper ingredients. I have finished reading the text portions of the book, so only recipe trials remain.
July 29, 2011
Baking gluten-free is definitely a challenge! Our first attempts were rather disappointing. Some of the substitute flours either have a disarming taste or leave an after taste. Others are on the gritty side! This book makes gluten-free baking pleasurable! I like this book so much I bought a copy for myself & a copy for Nate. We have had great success with baking with the "Food Philosopher" gluten-free brown rice flour mix. And have even gone on to develop some mixes of our own. We have tried various recipes with success. We love the Coconut Macaroons & Chocolate Chip Cookies.
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December 31, 2015Partial review, as I've not baked from it yet, just read through it. I'm not required to be gluten-free, but I have friends and relatives who are, so I was looking for some good options (I keep a second set of utensils and baking dishes for that purpose). This looks like a good selection, most recipes only require me to purchase xanthan gum and prepare (or purchase) Brown Rice Flour Mix, all the other ingredients are items I keep on hand anyway.
October 25, 2015
I love this cookbook. It is by far my favorite of all the gluten free cookbooks I've tried so far. I think her baking mixes are better than any others I've tried as well. The only thing I've tried that didn't work were the tortillas and the author was nice enough to assist me in figuring out what went wrong.
February 16, 2010
this is the best book for really tasty, gluten-free baked goods i've found. every single recipe i've tried has come out fantastic, and been pronounced delicious by my gluten-eating friends. the pizza and pie crusts have become standards in my repetoire. other highlights include gingerbread cake and scones. yum.
July 11, 2016
This has the best pie crust ever for GF and some great recipes for fun foods. There are other items in here that are worth trying but some of the breads are a challenge for the first timer. Word of advice. Use Betty Hagman's Featherlight Rice flour for pretty much everything. You can get it through Authentic Foods online. Makes these recipes so much better.
March 4, 2008
Horrible baking cookbook. I tried 5 different recipes and couldn't get past the first bite. I think part of the problem is the brown rice flour recipe (that is a staple in the book) just doesn't have the 'right' consistence for baking.
July 16, 2011
This cookbook changed my gluten free lifestyle. I don't have to cheat anymore if I want eatable bread or sweets. It certainly doesn't provide every recipe I need, but it sure is a great jumping off point!
September 5, 2012
Not for me. Most recipes rely on xanthan gum, corn, & dairy, all of which are off limits for me due to allergies. Basic brown rice flour blend tastes awful too - although maybe the superfine flour she recommends tastes better than the brands that are available in Whole Foods?
February 3, 2017
It's okay, but gluten free is just not for me. I have no allergies so it was mainly a "try and see" kind of recipe search. I tried using gluten free recipes and found them difficult -- at least for baking.
June 9, 2010
I am working my way through this book. I do enjoy the pie crust recipe (WOW) and it is better than most wheat/gluten-based crusts (in my opinion as well as others' who have tasted it).
January 20, 2011
This book is very readable and not intimidating- I can't wait to get baking. This book may actually make this new life bearable. Thanks Tiffany for the recommendation.
March 25, 2011
These recipes taste really good. We've tried quite a few of the recipes and every thing we've made has turned out great. Yum.
June 28, 2011
Not the best Gluten Free book and not the worst. I actually found some great recipes in here.
July 4, 2011
The most useful explanations along with the best recipes I discovered during my 90 day gluten-free purgatory. Thanks, Dee!
February 7, 2012
Good variety of basics, simplified instructions and ingredients. Few photos.
September 26, 2014
Everything I've made has been excellent, and I am a real klutz in the kitchen!
December 15, 2014
Good resource to have on hand.
October 21, 2014
Some interesting recipes abide within, and though the recipes are laden with dairy, I did find them interesting.
A great book for the gluten free who aren't dairy free as well......
A great book for the gluten free who aren't dairy free as well......
February 11, 2015
One of my favorite go-to gluten free cookbooks for all of the "basics".
October 6, 2019
the best GF cookbook to date. And we've tried a lot. We use Pamela's or Trader Joes GF total flour instead of her mix, though we did that before those existed.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews