Mixing gluten-free dough to create moist, tasty baked goods is an art. It’s perfected over time — no one gets a gluten-free baking project perfect on the first try
When you or someone you love has celiac disease or a gluten sensitivity, it’s wonderful when you can still create the delicious baked goods everyone loves, only with a gluten-free twist.
Follow the six tips below when you’re mixing gluten-free dough to help develop your skills for baking wheatless products.
1. Increase Amount of Leavening Ingredients
When you’re converting a recipe to your own personal gluten-free version, you can’t always just switch the type of flour you use and expect it to come out the same. Sometimes you have to adjust the other ingredients as well.
Two of these ingredients are baking soda and baking powder — the leavening agents. Many experts recommend increasing the amount in each recipe by 25 percent.
2. Don’t Use Just One Type of Flour
Because there are so many different types of gluten-free flours, you can end up with many different tastes. To create baked goods that aren’t predominantly of one flavor, it’s best to mix multiple types of gluten-free flour evenly. For example, you could mix one part brown rice flour, one part almond flour and one part amaranth.
3. Beware of Oats
Think twice before adding oats to your gluten-free dry mix. While oats are inherently gluten-free, many brands are processed in facilities that also process wheat. If the package does not say “certified gluten-free,” cross-contamination could affect your final product.
4. Combine All Dry Ingredients Thoroughly
Since different types of flours have different colors, make sure you evenly mix all the dry ingredients until they blend into one color. You can use a wire whisk for even distribution.
5. Mix the Additives in Before the Wet Ingredients
The gluten in traditional flour is what gives dough its stickiness. Without it, gluten-free products can be dry and crumbly. There is a way to compensate for this however — use xanthan gum. Some bakers also use gelatin or agar. If you’re using additives, mix them thoroughly with the dry ingredients before adding the wet.
6. You Can Mix the Dough Longer
Mixing gluten-free dough doesn’t come with the same stress as regular dough. Since there is no gluten, you don’t run the risk of overdeveloping the dough. In fact, with gluten-free baking, longer mixing times are preferred. This gives the flour time to absorb water. Creating a fluffy dough leads to an airier final product.
Find Your Mixer
Dough Tech carries a selection of professional dough mixers that help you expertly create the gluten-free products your loved ones and customers are demanding. Mixing gluten-free dough doesn’t have to be complex, especially not if you have a quality mixer in your kitchen. Contact us today to find out more.
FAQs
Use a combination of gluten-free flours and mix together thoroughly before adding to other ingredients. Add dry milk solids or cottage cheese into recipe. Use evaporated milk in place of regular milk. Add extra egg or egg white if product is too crumbly.
How to use gluten-free mixing method? ›
Use a combination of gluten-free flours and mix together thoroughly before adding to other ingredients. Add dry milk solids or cottage cheese into recipe. Use evaporated milk in place of regular milk. Add extra egg or egg white if product is too crumbly.
What is the trick to making good gluten-free bread? ›
Tips and Techniques to make better Gluten Free Bread
- Use psyllium husk powder.
- Let the dough rest (not exactly the same as a bulk proof)
- Mix or knead thoroughly.
- Use less yeast.
- Bake in a tin with tall sides.
- Bake for longer, often at a lower temperature.
- Create steam in the oven.
- Use the tangzhong or scalded flour method.
Use xanthan gum or guar gum: Gluten-free flours lack the elasticity and structure that gluten provides, so adding a binder like xanthan or guar gum can help to hold the ingredients together and give your baked goods a better texture.
What is a mixing method in which dough is worked to develop gluten? ›
Another way to develop gluten, in addition to kneading, is by using a method called autolyse. Autolyse is a baking technique where you mix the ingredients, but before you start kneading the dough, you let it rest for 15-30 minutes.
Can you over mix gluten-free dough? ›
While conventional wisdom has taught us not to overmix our batters, we've found most gluten-free batters simply need to be stirred for longer. If you're worried this will turn your muffins and cakes rubbery, have no fear. Gluten-free recipes need to have more structure.
What helps gluten free dough rise? ›
Eggs are natural leaveners that help boost the rise and volume of bread. Eggs also add moisture, flavor, and protein to gluten-free bread recipes. If you select a gluten-free bread recipe that includes eggs, you have a better chance that the resulting bread will have good color, more volume, and softer texture.
How to make gluten free dough more elastic? ›
Xanthan Gum: An essential ingredient in gluten-free baking, xanthan gum is a stabilizer that replicates the elastic properties of gluten, helping to bind the ingredients together and create a stretchy texture.
What is the biggest challenge of making gluten-free bread? ›
However, these alternative flours do not have the same properties as wheat flour, which can make baking gluten-free bread a challenge. One of the main challenges in making gluten-free bread is achieving the same texture and rise as traditional wheat bread.
How to get gluten free dough to stick together? ›
Without gluten you need to add a binder as a substitute. The most popular binders are xanthan gum, guar gum and psyllium husk powder. There are recipes that use flaxmeal, chia seeds or sweet rice flour (aka Mochiko, a type of glutinous rice flour) to assist with binding.
A: Yes, cream of tartar can be used in gluten-free bread recipes to improve dough stability and rise.
How to make gluten free baking less crumbly? ›
Texture Troubleshooting
- Mushy or gummy: Lower the temperature and increase the cooking time.
- Crumbly: Increase the binder, like xanthan gum or psyllium husk.
- Gritty or thin: Rest the batter 30 minutes before baking.
- Dense: Increase the leavener, like baking powder.
- Dry: Add more liquid.
As you mix and knead batters and doughs, you encourage the gluten to develop further. That's because this movement and agitation encourages the gluten strands to link up and form a network, which makes them even stronger.
What are the three stages of mixing dough? ›
Stages of dough mixing
Initial development: dough gets warmer, smoother and drier. Clean up: dough is at maximum stiffness and comes together as one cohesive mass. Final development: Dough is at the correct temperature and handling quality (gluten film is visible, and the dough is ready to be discharged from mixer).
What are two ways to develop gluten in dough? ›
Hot temperatures are what harden gluten networks in place in all types of doughs. The structure you worked diligently to develop—mixing flour with water and kneading or resting the resulting dough—is set in place once the dough is boiled into noodles or baked into bread.
Can I just replace flour with gluten free flour? ›
If the original recipe calls for 260 grams of all-purpose flour, substitute with 260 grams of your blend. Beat the batter more. Because gluten-free flours provide less structure than all-purpose, the batter or dough you make with them may require more beating than that which you are accustomed.
How do you use gluten-free one to one flour? ›
How to Use It. It works well in almost any recipe that calls for all-purpose flour, including cookies, quick breads, pie crust, cakes, brownies, muffins, flatbread, and crackers, as a breading, and more!
What two ingredients need to be mixed to form gluten? ›
What is gluten and how is it formed? Wheat and other related grains (including barley, and rye) contain a mixture of two proteins glutenin and gliadin. When flour made from grinding these grains is mixed with water the two proteins combine and form gluten. Without water, gluten is not formed.
Should you let gluten-free cake batter sit before baking? ›
One of the most common gluten-free baking tips is “let your batter rest”. Letting the batter rest gives the gluten-free flours and starches more time to absorb the moisture. In theory, it will turn your dry, crumbly cakes into delicious, moist masterpieces.
