Starting a gluten-free baking pantry can be so intimidating, whether you’re jumping in solo or making over the diet of your entire family. BUT I want to make it easier for you! These are my most loved gluten-free pantry items plus a few extras depending on your wants and needs.
Baking gluten-free needs to be done with a sense of humor and some patience. Sometimes it turns out AMAZING and sometimes things are a total flop. But that’s true of most things, right? If I’m baking bread, regardless of gluten levels, it’s always a “hold your breath” moment. My point is, you can’t be afraid to experiment and have fun!
I’ll start by saying, this is a link to my Amazon Storefront. I try to keep adding items there as I notice I’ve been using them more and more. It’s an easy, comprehensive list. I always keep a link to this Storefront in the right sidebar of this blog, too.
FLOUR
As far as 1-1 swap flours go, I haven’t absolutely loved one. But I have used the Bob’s 1-1 baking flour with pretty great results. When you’re just starting gluten-free baking (or really don’t want to dive too deep into it), a 1-1 flour is your BEST FRIEND. Cup4Cup was the original and is still highly revered in the gluten-free community.
As far as “extra” flours go, this is where it’s all dependent on your taste and liking. But the ones I love the most are:
- Sweet White Rice Flour
- Brown Rice Flour
- Almond Flour (blanched, superfine)
- Buckwheat Flour
- Teff Flour
- Cornmeal/flour
STARCH
You need starch for a binding. It’s almost always required
in a mixed-flour recipe. And here’s a secret: they’re almost always
interchangeable. Yup, so if you have a giant bag of tapioca starch/flour and
the recipe calls for 2 Tbs. potato starch, use the tapioca starch. Done.
Xanthan gum used to be the universally used choice. But over the years xanthan
gum has started to be weeded out. So, if you use it and love it, good on you.
If you are anti-xanthan, there are many choices.
My favorite starches are:
- Tapioca Starch/flour
- Potato Starch/flour
FLAX/CHIA
I am NOT an egg-substitute kind of baker. I can use eggs, so I do. But if you can’t, your choices are Flaxseed or Chia.
SPRINKLES/DYES
Sometimes sprinkles contain wheat starch, sometimes they don’t! And the worst part is, they’re almost never labeled. So go for a brand that is always gluten-free and you’re in the clear. I use India Tree for all of my sprinkles and dyes. Period.
Money saving tip: sign up for emails from Sur la Table. Every so often they send out a coupon for 20% off an item. Use it for a container of India Tree sprinkles! Easy discount right there.
EVERYTHING ELSE
Almost everything else in baking wouldn’t contain gluten (always read labels though) BUT here are my favorite extras.
- Baking soda & Baking powder
- Coconut sugar
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Coconut oil
- Butter
- Grapeseed oil/Safflower Oil/neutral oil
- Parchment
- Yeast
- Honey
- Maple Syrup
BAKING SPRAY
I honestly NEVER use a non-stick spray now. I never found one I loved that wouldn’t get clogged or didn’t have a ton of tiny hidden ingredients in it. Back to basics: use butter or coconut oil to grease your pan, and tap in some flour to make it non-stick.
SUGARS
The only cane sugar I purposefully use is powdered sugar. I love the stuff! But otherwise, I use a ton of coconut sugar, pure maple syrup and honey. I have found that’s all I need!
COOKBOOKS
When it comes to new baking, finding a cookbook that reflects what you want to make is really important. Choose one that fits your commitment level to the project (ie don’t choose one that is WAY too complicated, because you’re setting yourself up for failure). These are a few of my favorites to flip through for inspiration or for straight up following the recipe.
- Alternative Baker
- Gluten-Free Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day
- Blackbird Bakery
- Against All Grain: Celebrations
- Babycakes
SHOPPING
I do a lot of my shopping at Trader Joe’s. If they have it, I’ll buy it. But that being said, I get a lot of my baking flours from a Kroger store, Whole Foods or Amazon.
NOTE: this post contains affiliate links. All opinions are my own.
This is such a good overview for those who are new to gluten free baking, great post!