7 Secrets of Whole Grain, Gluten-Free Baking

Throw away the processed starches and gummy stuff! Includes proof-of-concept recipe for Coconut Cake with Orange-Lemon Glaze.

I used to be a professional baker. I was also chronically depressed. Sometime during my mid-twenties, I discovered I was allergic to gluten.

Gluten went. The depression lifted. My baking career was done.

“Luckily” I found some gluten-free breads, pastas, and cookies. As time went by, the availability and variety of these increased exponentially.

But why was my digestion falling apart?

Here’s a typical gluten-free cookie ingredient list. Ya gotta ask yourself: Is this even food?

| What’s Wrong with Gluten Free?

In order to mask their unnatural, horrible taste, commercial gluten-free baked goods often contain way more sugar than their gluten-full counterparts. They feature a lot of highly processed starches and low to no whole grain.

Some gluten-free goods, such as gf pretzels, are made entirely of starches.

Recipes for home gluten-free baking also advise using highly-processed starches and gums in an attempt to mimic the gluey gluten in wheat.

But gluten is a protein. It’s actually pretty good for you if you aren’t allergic to it. It’s not even a distant relative of corn, rice, or tapioca starch, xanthan gum, or guar gum.

With all of the excess sugar and starch, many gluten-free baked goods are just terrible for your gut biome. So you might be trading one bad situation for another. You certainly aren’t doing your gut any favors.

| 7 Steps to Winning Healthy Gluten Free Baking

After 30+ years of experimentation, I’ve pretty much won healthy gluten-free baking. You can, too!

Here are my 7 secrets.

1 Use only whole grain flour. If you can grind the flour yourself, you’ll achieve lighter textures. I don’t use bean flours in baked goods as they have a distinctive taste that doesn’t “go” with also keeping the sugar levels down.

2 Use healthier, lower glycemic index sugars such as coconut sugar, date sugar, and maple syrup

3 Categorize flours in terms of how heavy or light and wet or dry they are. Think of what you want the end result to be, and choose mixes of flours accordingly. Choosing a proper mix of flours is absolutely key to success

Here’s a table of the flours that I commonly use.

4 Use eggs to bind. If you are converting a formerly gluten-full receipe, add an extra egg or two. You can also separate out the yolks and whisk the whites until they are peaky. Then fold them in gently for an extra light texture.

5 Use healthy, saturated fats and fat-laden foods to bind and create moistness. The fats and foods I use are ghee, butter, coconut oil, cheese (cream cheese, ricotta, and homemade labneh or farmer’s cheese) full-fat greek yogurt, and full-fat coconut milk.

If you are converting a recipe, using melted fat instead of room temperature fat may improve the consistency of the end result. This does not apply to scones. Scones (one of my favorite baked goods) require cold butter to be cut into the batter.

6 Learn how to use baking powder and baking soda. For gluten free baking, you need about 1 teaspoon of baking powder for each cup of flour.

Baking soda, either on its own or in combination with baking powder, is only used in recipes that also contain something acidic such as yogurt, sour cream, or molasses. Use about 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda per cup of flour.

7 Give up on the idea of ever making (or eating) a decent croissant or bagel. You can’t make everything without gluten and still keep it healthy. Sad, but maybe the recipe below will help you to get over it.

| Coconut Cake with Orange-Lemon Glaze

Apologies for the lack of pictures. I made this last night and forgot to photograph before everyone ate it!

Cake Ingredients — organic is always best

1 cup millet flour
1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1.5 cup coconut sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup full-fat, organic coconut milk
10 tablespoon butter, melted
1.5 cups fresh grated coconut or 1 cup dried coconut
1/4 cup hazelnut flour (optional)

Cake Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Mix all dry ingredients thoroughly except for the coconut
3. Mix extracts, eggs, and coconut milk in a separate bowl
4. Slowly pour in melted butter while whisking
5. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in wet ingredients.
6. Fold until mixed (don’t use an electric beater)
7. Add fresh or dry coconut
8. Put into buttered round pan
9. Cook for approximately 50 minutes until top of cake is firm and bounces back to the touch and cake pulls away from the sides of the pan.
10. Let cool in pan on a cake rack.
11. Unpan the cake and place on a rack with wax paper on the counter underneath to catch the excess glaze.

Orange-Lemon Glaze Ingredients

2 cups powdered organic cane or coconut sugar
4 tablespoons melted butter
Juice of two oranges
1 teaspoon lemon extract

Orange-Lemon Glaze Instructions

1. Grind sugar until powdered.
2. Mix all ingredients until smooth either with an electric mixer or whisk.
3. Pour the glaze over the cake.
4. Let set.
5. Plate and dust with hazelnut flour.