Gluten Free Baking Made Easy With My Flour Mix Plus Recipe For Banana Cake And More

Are you gluten sensitive?

Do you have Celiac Disease?

Do you have trouble finding affordable GF baked goods?

Can't find GF flour mixes?

If you answerewd yes to any of these questions then I can help. But first, just in case you happened here and don't really know what Celiac Disease is I'll give you a brief summary...

Celiac disease, also known as sprue, is when your body has a toxic reaction to grains such as Wheat, Barley, Rye, Bran, Malt, and sometimes Oats. This toxic reaction causes the villi that absorbs nutrients in your small intestine to die. Stomache pain and bloating are the common symptoms of this especially after eating any type of food made with these grains. Most people will also become lactose intolerant which is a temporary symptom in most cases. There is no known cause or cure for it but it is said to run in families. Changing your diet to exclude these grains is the only method of treatment. Left untreated you can develope intestional cancer for which there is NO cure.

Now having said that I can tell you I was pretty frustrated when I found out I had it three years ago. Food shopping became a nightmare and I actually cried in the grocery store. Why? Well, you MUST read the labels on EVERYTHING. I had no Idea that wheat and other grains were in so many foods. Processed foods are off limits. Soups have wheat starch or modified starch, which is wheat. Ketchup, BBQ sauces, Beef and Chicken stock, Dark Pop ( sodas like Pepsi etc.) just to name a few, have carmel coloring which I found out is made from malt, and of course ALL, breads, cakes, cookies, crackers, etc. were off limits so what was left? Not much I can tell you that. I lived on vegetables and protein foods till I thought I was turn into some kind of buff veggy.

Not long after, I started searching for flour alternatives on the internet but then most of them you had to go to a health food store to get which was very expensive. There is Tapioca flour, Potato flour or potato starch flour which is hard to make, Cornstarch, Arrowroot, Soy, Almond and a few others. Trying to keep up with this combination and that was very frustrating in itself since none of them have gluten you had to buy xanthyum gum or guar gum, ( which can only be found in a health food store and is quite expensive), to add moisture to these flours and some didn't work well with this or that kind of baking. Let alone the taste was not very appealing with some. So I began to experiment on my own. What I found was that of all the grains, I could have Rice. Although it has gluten it's not in the same family as the others and is quite safe to eat. It also has a very fine texture and taste. In order to use it with out the xanthyum and guar gum I added corstarch to it for moisture and whalla! I found the right blend that works for all my baking needs.

I buy a 24 oz. bag of White rice flour found in most grocery stores now and mix it with

a 1 lb box of Cornstarch.

I put this in a tightly sealed container and and store it in the fridge. If you can't find the rice flour in your local store and have a food processor at home you can make your own by grinding the rice very fine and sifting out any small particles that were missed. I have also found I don't have to have special Gluten Free recipes. I simply substitute my flour for the regular flour and continue on with the ingredients. I've used it to make almost all of my regular cookies, coffee cakes, biscuits, fruit breads, pizza crust, fluffy pancakes, waffles etc., and nobdy could tell the difference. Below are some of my favorite recipes I'd like to share with you to get you started. I just simply changed the type of flour used, nothing else, so you too can still make your favorite things without chasing down new recipes.

So if you have tried the different combinations of flours and found them lacking as I did or are just beginning your gluten free journey try the flour combo above and I'm sure you'll be pleased.

Hope you enjoy these recipes.

Fluffy Pancakes and Waffles

1 1/2 c. GF flour mix

3/4 tsp salt

3 tsp. Baking powder

2 Tbsp. sugar

2 eggs

3 tbsp. butter

2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 c milk

mix all together blending well and pour onto hot greased griddle.

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Peanut Butter Cake

1 1/2 c sugar

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 c peanut butter

2 eggs

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 c milk

blend together then add:

2 c GF flour mix

1 tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp salt

Mix together and pour into greased and floured cake pans.

Bake at 350* till done.

Drizzle with powdered sugar glaze or ice with chocolate icing.

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Pizza Crust

1 1/2 c GF flour mix

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup corn oil mix all together.

The dough can be sticky. Dump onto a well greased pizza pan.

Sprinkle more flour on top of dough as needed so you can easily spread it out with your hands. Don'rt worry you can't add to much. Place in oven till slightly browned then add toppings and finish.

NOTE: Makes smaller rounds on a large cookie sheet . Bake thouroghly, cool, then freeze the crusts for quick pizzas without the hassle of mixing new dough each time.

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Banana Cake

1 2/3 c sugar

2/3 c oil

1 tsp vanilla

2/3 cup milk

1 1/2 c bananas

2 eggs Blend together then add:

2 1/2 c GF flour mix

1 1/4 tsp baking powder

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt Mix all together and pour int greased and floured pans.

Bake at 350* till done

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Banana Icing

1 stick of butter

1 lb powdered sugar

1/2 banana

1 tsp real lemon juice

2/3 c pecans or walnuts

Oh and we can't forget the ever famous... GF Peanut butter cookies which require no flour at all. I love these. Best I ever tasted.

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GF Peanut Butter Cookies

1 c peanut butter, plain or crunchy

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

Drop by tsp, onto ungreased cookie sheet

Flatten with a fork Sprinkle with sugar

Bake at 350* till lightly browned. ( cookies will be chewy still in center)

Place on cloth or cookie rack to cool completely.

ENJOY!