There are many reasons gluten-free baked goods can turn out poorly. And by poorly, I mean crumble, sink, explode, and appear to be useful only as a doorstop.

Sure, there are lots of factors, however, you can simply ruin any baked good by using old baking powder. Yep. If your baking powder isn’t fresh enough, it won’t work properly, making the end result have the wrong texture and rise.

So, if your like me and have no idea how long your baking powder has been sitting on your pantry shelf, do yourself a favor before you tackle your next baking experiment and test your baking powder to make sure it is still fresh enough to do it’s job.

Testing Baking Powder for Freshness

1. Place about 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder in 1/4 cup of hot water. If the baking powder is still fresh, the water will bubble. If no bubbles, throw the baking powder out and buy a new container.

Kitchen Essentials, Kitchen Extras, Kitchen Tips testing baking powder for freshness

Perhaps it’s my love of all things retro (well, and all things food), but I was super excited when I read about the first ever national Can-It-Forward Day. Whether you are a veteran canner or a novice, there is so much to learn about preserving food, and that’s why gardeners, cooks, and the people at Jarden Home Brands (Ball & Kerr) and Canning Across America joined to together to create this excitingl event.

There will be how-to demonstrations streaming live form Seattle’s Pike Place from 8am til 4pm this Saturday, August 13 at FreshPreserving.com. And viewers can even ask questions and post comments. How cool is that?

They are also encouraging people to join in the action and can at home this weekend. And although preserving food is lots of fun, I’ll be honest, it’s also a little work. Okay, so maybe a LOT of work, depending one what you choose to preserve. So getting a couple friends or family members together and hosting a Canning Party is highly suggested.

Speaking of canning, I should note that my mom is a master preserver. Throughout my childhood, as summer drew to a close, her real work would just begin. Well water, small (non-air conditioned) kitchens, kids and pets underfoot, it didn’t matter, that food got processed. These visions of my mom and her best friend, fruit stained, sweating, and hauling hot pressure cookers across the kitchen have stayed with me for years; and has kept me away from experimenting too much with canning.

However, I have enjoyed, freezing, drying, and pickling; and they seem less of a hassle (or a danger). However, as I get older, and perhaps wiser, I realize the value in knowing where you food comes from and the importance of knowing what’s really in it. Not to mention the joy you have in the December when you open a jar of produce that you personally picked and canned at it’s peak so many months before!

So this year I am going to join the movement and do some canning. I hope you’ll join me and learn about canning this weekend. Go to FreshPreserving.com for more details!

Holidays & Special Occasions, Kitchen Essentials, Kitchen Extras, Kitchen Tips Can-It-Forward, learning to can

Do you ever wonder what ends up in the grocery cart, and ultimately on the table, of other gluten free cooks? Well, I do. So I thought I would share a few of my favorite gluten free brands and hopefully you’ll let me know if I missed any of yours.

Tinkyada Pasta: Rice Pasta, cooks up fairly well and tastes great.

Goldbaum’s Natural Food Co.: So far we have just tried the pasta, but it was a hit so I am eager to find more of their products, especially the ice cream cones!

Crunchmaster: These are our absolute favorite gf crackers. The taste great and offer a variety of flavors.

Kettle Chips: Seriously good potato chips. They are everything a potato chips should be (flavorful, crispy, and wonderful) without all the weird ingredients and preservatives.

Food Should Taste Good: Like the name implies, this company makes some really good chips, in a variety of flavors.

Bob’s Red Mill: I love Bob’s Red Mill. And it is not an understatement to say that  I would be lost without their products. I have been purchasing Bob’s products for years, really without much thought; but now that we are gluten free, I no longer take this local gem for granted. With the exception of fine rice flour and yeast, I believe I buy only Bob’s Red Mill baking products and hot cereals. Crazy I know. But they are very reliable, local, and certified gluten free.

Authentic Foods: They make a variety of baking products and mixes, but I have only tried the flours. I really do love their superfine brown rice flour. My only complaint is how hard it is to find and shipping is outrageous. If you can get it local I would definitely give it a try.

SAF Yeast: This is my favorite yeast, very inexpensive, always reliable, and no need to proof. I can find it in some grocery stores, but can also be purchased online.

San-J: This company makes soy sauce and other Asia-inspired sauces, dressings and products. Thankfully, they have a large selection of gluten free products! This is my go-to brand for gf soy sauce.

Thai Kitchen: This company offers a wide array of Thai products that are gluten free, everything from coconut milk to rice noodles. And they are easy to find at most grocery stores. My kids are particularly fond of the rice noodle soup bowls. And although we don’t buy them often, they are a great product to take to a friend’s house (often others are intimidated by the need to cook gf, so we send our own food). They have a diet/allergy section on  their website that clearly indicates allergy information for all their products.

Erewhon Cereals: These cold cereals taste great. This company makes some gluten containing products as well, however, they clearly mark the front of the boxes Gluten-Free for the varieties that are. Our family favorite is the Strawberry Crisp.

Nature’s Path: This company offers a variety of gluten free cereals, especially popular is the EnviroKids products. Definitely targeted at the younger audience, they are sure to make a kid feel a little less upset going down the dreaded cereal aisle. These boxes are hard to miss, with lively colors and fun cereal names, like Leapin Lemurs. We think they are a bit sweet for breakfast, but my kids to enjoy them dry for snacks occasionally.

Chex: So glad to have Chex gluten free in so many varieties. There is a certain comfort in knowing you can go into almost any grocery store in the nation and get a box of Chex. And let’s be honest, a party just isn’t a party with Chex Party Mix or Muddy Buddies

Any favorites I missed?

Kitchen Essentials, Kitchen Extras, Kitchen Tips best gluten free brands, favorite gluten free products

This is the all-purpose flour blend from the Gluten-Free Girl. She weighs the ingredients, making it easier to make substitutions. Just replace an equal weight starch for starch or flour for flour. Her post about this blend can be found here.

I have tried many gf blends, and they all work fairly well, but they have been too whole grain tasting for my taste, or the other extreme, and basically all starch with virtually no nutritional value. This seems like a nice balance.

Weighing might seem like a pain, but it really is easy. Just get an inexpensive kitchen scale with a reset or tare option, so you can clear the scale between measuring ingredients.

I am very fortunate to live within in driving distance of Bob’s Red Mill and because it is a local company their products are available to me at my local grocery stores. I realize not everyone can just pick up these ingredients, but they can be ordered directly from Bob’s website or other sources, like Amazon. Arrowroot starch/flour is extremely expensive when purchased in those spice-sized bottles, but rather inexpensive when purchased in larger quantities like this.

200 grams superfine brown rice flour
150 grams sorghum flour
50 grams potato flour
250 grams sweet rice flour
150 grams potato starch
100 grams arrowroot powder
100 grams cornstarch

Combine all the ingredients in a resealable container and shake to combine. I always shake the blend before using, to make sure the flours are well mixed.

Holidays & Special Occasions, Kitchen Essentials

Even though I do enjoy baking, I am like any ordinary mom with hectic, busy days and sometimes I need to get a meal or a dessert ready in a hurry. So, in the 9+ months we’ve been gluten free I have tried my fair share of mixes….and it hasn’t been pretty.

First of all I must ask, who are the kitchen staff, taste-tester, recipe contributors etc that actually tastes these products and states “hey, this is so good we should package it and sell it?”

Seriously, someone tasted this stuff and thought it was delicious. I think not. Overall, gluten free mixes are disgusting, bland, and just plain weird.

Truthfully, I think people in business suits sit in a board room and say, “how can we make a killing in the gluten free market.” And proceed to simply put together anything edible that might sound appealing to consumers.

So, like all other picky gluten free bakers I must find a solution to this dilemma. Thankfully for me I picked up Gluten Free Baking Classics and read how the author suggest you make up your own mixes with the dry ingredients. BRILLIANT!!!!!

I have been trying to list my recipes with the dry ingredients separate from the wet ingredients so making up mixes will be easier; however, you can also do this to many of your favorite recipes.

I find it easiest to store the dry ingredients in a resealable plastic bag with the recipe name and date marked on it.

A couple things to keep in mind. Yeast should always be added with the wet ingredients. And recipes that require creaming butter/shortening with the sugar are typically not suited to breaking down into mixes, for this reason, I choose not to make cookie mixes.

Here are some of my favorite recipes to make mixes out of: Hamburger Buns, Banana Muffins, Banana Bread, Pizza Crust, Sandwich Bread, Cornbread, Pancakes, Chocolate Cake, Pumpkin Cake, and Hummingbird Cake.

I think spending a little bit of time in advance really helps my gluten free kitchen run smoother during my busy weeks. I hope making up mixes at home saves you time and money too! Happy gluten free baking.

Gluten Free Basics, Kitchen Essentials making gluten free mixes at home