Alternative Baker: Reinventing Dessert with Gluten-Free Grains and Flours

by Alanna Taylor-Tobin

AN IACP AWARD-WINNING COOKBOOK100+ Recipes Featuring Corn, Oat, Chestnut, Almond, Buckwheat, Sorghum and Other Gluten-Free FloursDiscover a Unique Palette of Textures, Tastes and Fragrances You Never Knew ExistedHave you indulged in a golden corn flour biscuit that tastes like sunshine, or experienced the earthy sweetness of chestnut flour? Did you know teff flour smells of malted chocolate milk, and mesquite flour of freshly-baked gingerbread? Set aside your bland all-purpose flour to celebrate the compelling flavors of a wide array of nut- and grain-based alternative flours that are packed with flavor and are good for you, too. From peak-of-season fruit pies nestled in an irresistibly crunchy crust, to cookies that positively melt in your mouth, author Alanna Taylor-Tobin offers more than 100 wholesome treats utilizing easily accessible alternative grains and flours for every taste and baking level.Now let’s get baking—let’s reinvent dessert.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction

542 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 19, 2016

Reviews

[Isabelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s both difficult and strange to rate cookbooks here, but Alternative Baker is too good not to. Alanna is the GOAT gluten free baker in my opinion, and I love how this book details the different flours for easy substitutions in a pinch (or a pandemic).

[Punk · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, and beautifully arranged, cookbook. Each recipe lists what flours it uses right up top, tells you what to expect from the dough/batter, and describes the taste and texture of the finished product. Occasionally there will be instructions for variations using a different set of flours or spices. Taylor-Tobin loves figs so they're everywhere. Also flavors like lemon verbena, bergamot, and matcha. Stuff you might not have just lying around your kitchen, but she explains how to substitute for them or just leave them out completely.

There are gorgeous color photographs, taken by Taylor-Tobin, accompanying every recipe. The paper is thick and glossy, and even the type is pleasing; it's just a beautiful book and a great reference. It has an index, and if you look under the entry for a flour, all the recipes that use that flour will be listed, and at the front there's a page with recipes sorted into three difficulty levels based on the fussiness and obscurity of the flour. In the middle, the recipes are arranged by type: breakfast, cake, pie, tarts, rustic fruit desserts, custards, puddings and spoon desserts, cookies and bars. At the very end is a section on the flours, describing their characteristics, flavor profiles, and weight by volume, as well as how much is too much in one recipe, and something about the history and where to source the flour. She also tells us what brand name she used in her testing, as grinds vary between brands. She uses a lot of Bob's Red Mill, which is good news for me because I'm lucky enough to live near Bob's actual Red Mill.

The recipes all stand on their own, with measurements in weight or volume, making it easy to substitute flours by weight. There are no pre-prepared flour mixes to mix or buy. Instead of gums, Taylor-Tobin relies on the flours themselves to provide texture and starch, and only occasionally uses psyllium husks or ground chia seeds to act as gum substitutes. She's a big fan of sweet rice flour, made from glutinous rice (which is gluten free despite its name), for its stickiness, and doesn't use white or brown rice flour because of their gritty texture. She also uses millet, corn, sorghum, buckwheat, chestnut, almond, and coconut flours, as well as about five others. In that section at the end, the flours are sorted into groups based on their flavors, and Taylor-Tobin suggests choosing substitutions from within the same group.

Taylor-Tobin can also be found at Bojon Gourmet, where you can get a look at her gorgeous photographs. Her blog has more chatter than the book, though, which is strictly business, and while she talks about the nutritional benefits of the ingredients she uses, she doesn't go on about "health" or take us on any kind of Gluten Free Journey, which I appreciate immensely.

I might have to buy this one.

[Elaine - Small Farm Big Life · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alternative Baker is full of delicious dessert recipes that are all gluten-free. The book is absolutely stunning with lots of full color photos and easy to follow instructions. The problem I ran into with this book is that it asks you to use quite a few different types of flour that I didn't have on hand.

I'm never one to shy away from grocery shopping or trying new ingredients, but unless you plan on making several of these recipes an entire bag of one of these potential costly flours may sit on your shelf. My suggested solution is to plan on making lots of recipes from the book so nothing goes to waste.

I love that the first chapter of this book is "Desserts for Breakfast". Since going gluten-free something I haven't done in a while is eat pie for breakfast. She is suggesting biscuits, sweet-rolls, scones and muffins for breakfast, but I would argue that you could also enjoy a slice of her yummy Meyer Lemon and Vanilla Bean Buttermilk Pie with your morning coffee.

Chapters of the book:
Dessert for Breakfast
Cake
Pie
Tarts
Rustic Fruit Desserts
Custards, Puddings and Spoon Desserts
Cookies and Bars
Basics and Accompaniments

Alternative Baker has at least one recipe for every season and occasion I could think of. I just bought cranberries and can barely wait to make the Pumpkin Cranberry Nut and Seed Loaf. I ordered extra gluten-free rolled oats just for this recipe!

With all the alternative baking supplies if you haven't tried Thrive Market now might be a great time. Living rurally I don't have a lot of options to run out and pick up the supplies for these recipes. I placed my order and had my supplies in three days.

[Brittney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gluten free baking is such a challenge, but we have made a dozen recipes out of this book, and every one of them is a home run. The chestnut brownies are legitimately better than glutinous brownies. So velvety.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hands-down, head-and-shoulders above the next runners up, the best gluten-free cookbook I've tried. I've now made my way through around 10 and have been amazed and in love each time. Every recipe in here was exhaustively tested before printing (not always the case) and each is creative, artistic, and phenomenal--and works exactly the way it's supposed to. I can't recommend it enough. *No xantham or other gums in any of the recipes*, which was a big selling point for me. A lot of the point of the book is to explore and highlight the flavor profiles and benefits of different kinds of flours, so if you're looking for a set of recipes that use an all-purpose GF flour, this isn't your book. If you'd like to try the author's recipes, her blog is at bojongourmet.com. I don't know her, didn't get an advance copy or anything, I've just found hunting for GF recipes that have a wow factor to be frustrating. Amounts are given in both cups/teaspoons and grams/ml.

[Sasha Boersma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Baking book, free of gluten, free of gums, lots of variety of flour types!

It is heavily depended on both fruit and dairy, which isn’t personally my taste. And the recipes are pretty fussy in their steps. This is not a book for beginner chefs, especially if also navigating the gluten free world. With some degree of comfort, then this collection is worth tackling.

I plan to work through at least three recipes this holiday season (pumpkin pie and chocolate cranberry pecan pie, and banana scones).

Edit: just upped my review from 4 to 5 stars. Made the Pumpkin Pie with Buckwheat Crust, Chocolate Cranberry Pecan Tart, and Pumpkin Nut Bread. All very easy to make, instructions super clear and SO GOOD!! Anyone wanting to do amazing GF baking should take a close look at this book.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of the many cookies recipes I made for Christmas this year, 2 of them came from this book. The oatmeal bergamot & the teff whiskey cookies. Both of which turned out fantastic.
The recipes were easy to read. Easy to follow. Easy to make. And they taste great.

I have to admit that the book is filled with recipes that I would normally consider too fancy for my taste. My favourite cookies is still an oatmeal chocolate chip I've been making since I was a kid. I don't need citrus or whiskey to make them better, but I do love cooking with alternative flours and this book does that is spades.

So I will continue to make them for fun and then give it all away.

[Anna Catherman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings on this book. On one hand, it's a delightful gluten-free cookbook that focuses on using different whole grains rather than just white or brown rice. But I'm not sure how many recipes I'll actually bother trying. The recipes tend to be on the creative side, with few traditional dishes. And it had a few other minor foibles which annoyed me. But overall, while I think I like Flavor Flours together, I think this book could have a fantastic little place on the shelf of anyone serious about making gluten free baked goods that aren't just bland, sandy copcyats.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

nonfiction - gluten free baking

beautiful photography, with recipes that focus on the unique qualities of the various flours. You pretty much need to be a specialty baker (with a specialty pantry) to make use of this book, or at the very least make a special trip to the store, but it is a high-quality book.

[Dray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. It’s rare to find a book that covers common ground, pies, tarts, cakes etc but adds a distinctive dimension, in this case lesser known flours. Teff, sorghum, buckwheat, corn, chestnut and more make this a real gem. Recommended.

[Gabrielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an absolutely gorgeous book with beautiful-sounding flavor combinations. Unlike many other gluten-free recipe collections, Taylor-Tobin mostly relies on just a few flour types that are generally accessible, and eschews both guar and xanthan gum. Anyone who needs to eat gluten-free would feel positively spoiled by any of the recipes in this book.

Myself, I can eat gluten, but I have fun experimenting with alternative flour types and textures--but I can't eat dairy. Unfortunately for me, she relies heavily on dairy products for which there are no easy substitutes (heavy cream, various cheeses, yogurt). But I'm happy for the rest of you who can take advantage of all the recipes in this beautiful book!

[Deanna Detchemendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This not only helps me eat my own baked goods again but really inspires creativity. I’m using new and delicious ingredients (Amaranth! Teff Flour!) and I appreciate the stretch. One still has to incorporate one’s own dairy workarounds if that’s an issue (ghee, lactose free milk, coconut products etc) but this author and beautiful cookbook make that piece seem like nothing and are a bright spot in a limited diet life.