Measuring Gluten Free

Merry Christmas everyone! Okay so I'm a tad late, but the sentiment is still there. This year for Christmas I received a great gift. A kitchen scale. It's not accurate to the hundredth of a gram or whatever but it is so much better than measuring by volume. As you may have noticed, this has changed my little world, most of my recipes are now being notated in ounces, not cups. That may change again after some stuff that I read today. But it's okay, kitchen scales can change modes. Here's what you really need to know. Kitchen scales are invaluable. Whether you are gluten free or not. (And if you aren't it will make it so much easier to convert my recipes!)

Since I started putting myself out into the internet world and sharing my creativity I have begun to research. Not just a little bit of research. I have read at least 20 e-books about cooking, I have perused gluten free blogs by the score, and I have asked my husband lots of science questions (sometimes he too looks things up, and then makes fun of me and threatens to buy me an xkcd shirt for cooking. I think they need to make an apron!). One thing that I keep running across is the proclamation that kitchen scales are by far the best way to measure. Especially if one loves to bake.

After this finally seeped into my thick experimentation loving skull I did a face-palm and it all seemed very obvious to me. Any cook worth their salt knows that cooking is about ratios. Any home cook worth their salt understands this but they may not have put it into words. You know that sometimes Aunt Ida's recipe that calls for 2c flour and 3/4c water doesn't feel right, so you trickle in water until it does. That's a ratio. More than likely your nice 16oz  or 2c of flour was more like 20oz because it got packed into the measuring cup more than normal. That is fine and acceptable. But if you aren't as familiar with the recipe something like 4oz of flour can make your mouth feel dusty and give it a "floury" taste. You know what I'm talking about.

So here's the issue, gluten free flours don't all weigh the same. Yeah, it's not fair but it's true. So you can't just substitute 1c of millet for 1c of sorghum if you run out. If you try you are going to end up with a more dense and dry whatever it is you are making. Now if you have a scale 64g is always 64g. No strange volume issues, no problems with flours being packed down more or less by strange tools or bad moods. If you measure out 64g of whatever the heck flour you want, it will always be 64g. Freeing isn't it?

So when you are in a bind with no millet flour think about what properties the other flours have. Pick something that behaves the same way. Then switch it! The flavor may change a little but the texture won't suffer nearly as much. If you are reading my blog and you have issues with corn and there is a recipe with corn flour, change it! Same goes with oat flour or potato starch or sweet rice or.... You get the idea?

Inevitably something is going to go wrong every once in a while. You will replace corn flour with tapioca flour and you'll end up with a crusty funny pizza crust instead of a sweet soft one. I'm still researching. I'm going to try and update my flour list for you, maybe even put a replacement guide. But don't worry. If it gets messed up it's not the end of the world. In fact please let me know! Tell me what you changed and what happened! Maybe I can figure out the why and it will help us all learn a little more about this gluten free world. Then go into your pantry and pull out a box of Annie's Rice Pasta and Cheddar. Your kids will be happy and you will be fed.

Now if you don't have a kitchen scale and you aren't in a position to buy one, don't worry. You can still figure out the recipes. 8oz is about a cup. 4oz is 1/2, etc.. Maybe I'll put up measurement conversions. If you are still stuck email me at milletmommy@gmail.com and I will help you convert it all to volume.

If you are in a position to buy a scale I use this one. It even comes with a bowl! It's not terribly fancy but it's accurate enough for me.

For more info on cooking ratios check out this book. There is even a thing called the Gluten Free Ratio Rally, started by TheGlutenFreeGirl, You should google it.

Hopefully you will find a kitchen scale as freeing as I do. I also hope you get the opportunity to stretch out those cooking muscles and be a little more independent! It's a fun feeling!

Happy eating!
Tori