Recommended Gluten-free Cookbooks
First, let me say that I don’t use cookbooks as much as I used to. Now that I know how to substitute the appropriate gluten-free flour blend, depending on what I’m trying to make, I often use wheat flour recipes and just modify them to suit my needs.
But I have been asked a few times about gluten-free cookbooks and reference books, so I thought I would evaluate the ones I have looked at and/or purchased and give some recommendations. Some, in my opinion, are better according to these criteria:
- I want recipes that taste good – as good as if they were made of wheat flour.
- I like simple recipes with easy-to-find ingredients that aren’t crazy expensive.
- Although I am generally health conscious and try to limit my family’s consumption of sugar and other taboo ingredients, I am not a huge fan of books that rely heavily on alternative ingredients. Plain and simple, I want my chocolate chip cookies to taste like Mrs. Fields or Nestle Toll-House cookies; not like “health food” cookies.
These are the books I have used a lot, and that have taught me a lot about ingredients and what works and doesn’t work. I have included their websites where you can sample recipes before you buy the books.
“Gluten-free Baking Classics” by Annalise G. Roberts
What sold me on this book were the bread recipes. They are VERY good. The sandwich bread is soft and tastes very much like the homemade country white bread my mom used to make. You can easily make rolls and hamburger buns with the same recipe. My only negative comment is that many of the dessert recipes use extra finely ground brown rice flour. This is an expensive ingredient, and not as readily available as other gluten-free flours.
http://www.foodphilosopher.com/
“Wheat-Free Recipes & Menus” by Carol Fenster
This was one of my first cookbooks. Carol Fenster has several, and many are more recent than this one. She introduced me to sorghum flour, and it’s one of my favorite gluten-free flours. One negative is that her bread recipes include ingredients like dry milk powder, soy lecithin granules, and egg replacer powder, which really aren’t necessary. A bonus is the appendix, which includes descriptions of gluten-free flours and how to use them.
http://www.savorypalate.com/
Gluten-Free Diet: A Comprehensive Resource Guide by Shelley Case
This book is not a cookbook, but it is a great resource. Shelley Case is a registered dietician, and the book is loaded with information on how to meet your nutritional needs while following a gluten-free diet. It’s the one reference book you’ll need to buy to answer all your questions about following a gluten-free diet.
http://www.glutenfreediet.ca/
There are MANY great cookbooks out there, and I’d love to hear from you if you have a recommendation that I don’t have listed here.
