Specialty Gluten & Casein Free Foods
Australian Distributor of Vance's DariFree, Miss Roben's mixes & Enjoy Life Allergy Friendly foods
Important note regarding Miss Roben's mixes !
As the Miss Roben's mixes are imported from the USA, the cooking directions contain measurements in US format.
Having said that, I am the world's worst cook and tend to be very haphazard in the kitchen and the mixes have always worked out fine using the cup and spoon measurements from my drawer ( which are all Australian ).
For your convenience, here are some of the most common measurements and their conversion into Australian metric.
1 US cup = 240ml (Australian cup 250ml)
Temperature conversions
Fahrenheit Celcius Description
225 110 very cool
Following information is direct from Miss Roben's on how to achieve great results with their mixes.
Baking without gluten can be challenging even for the most experienced bakers.
Use a high powered tabletop mixer and the batter beater ( not the dough hook ).
To determine TRUE batter consistency, ALL liquids ( including eggs, fats ) should be at lukewarm temperature ( unless stated otherwise ).
Let ingredients sit out for at least 30 minutes before using.
Please follow OUR label directions, not the bread machine's or the substitue. Modifications may yield less successful results.
Managing our Mixes with Substitutes
Baking is essentially food chemistry. Each ingredient plays a critical role in the end result taste, texture and flavour of the baked goods.
Milk & Substitutes:
Anything BUT whole cow's milk is technically a "substitute". And most substitutes are higher in water content than whole milk.
Egg & Substitutes :
Recipes and mixes requiring eggs are based on large chicken eggs ( where 1 egg = 1/4 cup liquid ).
Egg substitutes that provide leavening : For each egg use
Fats & substitutes :
Fats come in many forms : solid ( stick, lard, shortening ), liquid ( oil, ghee ), diet/low fat, soft tub, whipped etc.
Using more than one substitute :
Use ALL the egg and/or fat substitute recommended but only 1/2 the milk substitute or liquid.
As that differs from the Australian format ( for example 1 US cup = 240ml, 1 Australian cup = 250ml ), we suggest that when you are making the mixes, you reduce the amount of liquids slightly to compensate for this, so you would use slightly less than an Australian cup measure when the instructions call for 1 cup.
1 US tablespoon = 15ml (Australian tablespoon 20ml)
1 US teaspoon = 5ml (same as Australian)
1 liquid quart = 947mls
1 pint = 450ml
1 ounce = 28.4g
1 pound = 453g
2.2lb = 1kg
1 "stick" of butter or margarine = 8 US tablespoons
275 140 cool
325 170 lukewarm
350 180 moderate
400 200 moderately hot
425 220 hot
475 240 very hot
Gluten free (GF) baked goods lack the gluten structure required to provide the strong and stable foundation to trap the leavening gases and impart elasticity to the dough.
"Regular" bread in inherently high in gluten, unlike cakes and biscuits, which is why GF bread is much more prone to failure than their less gluten-dependent cousins (ie the brick-like result).
GF flours are also very sensitive to changes in the environment and moisture, requiring one to moderate the amount of liquid needed in the raw batter each time before baking.
While GF recipes and mixes can give ballpark estimates on the amount of liquid to add, the actual amount needed may vary 1/4 cup or more with subtle changes in environment, flour, grind and substitutes used.
Although our mixes will tolerate the many substitutes suggested on the label, we have found that your end success is better guaranteed with these few helpful tips.
Give the mixer time to fully blend the ingredients and incorporate air into the batter (to help the rising process or "leavening")
Raw dough texture plays a key role in determining success.
While most GF raw dough/batters should look as expected, raw GF bread doughs are MUCH looser and stickier than their gluten counterparts, ranging from soft-serve ice cream to thick cake batter in consistency.
The lighter dough texture is needed to allow air bubbles to form and create leavening (or rise).
Milk is typically however the least critical ingredient in baked goods, and therefore the key liquid to moderate when preparing the raw batter.
ALWAYS INITIALLY WITHHOLD 1/4 CUP of the milk substitute from the raw batter to start, and blend the mix well.
Use batter consistency as your guide and if it appears too dry, add 1 tablespoon of the reserved liquid and blend again, repeating until the batter consistency is the same as stated on the label.
Eggs serve many functions including binding and/or leavening agents which makes egg substitutions tricky.
When deciding if, when and how to substitute eggs, one must know WHAT function the egg serves in the recipe.
Only 1-2 eggs needed? The egg is most likely serving to hold or "bind" the ingredients together and most egg substitutes would work (eg gelatine, flaxseed, applesauce).
Yet with recipes requiring 3 or more eggs, eggs provide leavening, and ONLY substitues providing leavening will work (see below0.
With GF baking, egg leavening is further boosted to help compensate for the heavier batter.
At times, however, ONLY REAL EGGS will work, especially those needing 4 or more eggs, or Chewy Brownies.
1 heaped tablespn egg replacer + 2 tablespns warm water
1 heaped teaspn baking powder + 2 tablespns water
1 heaped teapsoon baking powder + 1 tablespn warm water + 1 tablespn vinegar
Each has a unique melting & smoke point, and provides for a different end texture to the baked good.
All differ in moisture content too. Proper fat selection is critical to the end texture in most cookies and some cakes.
Make sure the butter/margarine label states "works well for baking". And at times fats (especially stick fats and shortening) can't be substituted or will yield disasterous results. Our mixes note when and which fats/substitutes will work well.
Avoid whipped, diet and low fat versions in baking and if using tub margarine for stick versions, use half the amount of stick margarine.
Coconut butter ( also known as coconut oil ) can be used as a shortening substitute but requires using 1/3 - 1/4 cup less (to account for the extra moisture) and unlike butter, has no flavour or colour to enhance the baked good.
Using batter consistency as your guide for how much more milk/substitute to add, continue to blend 1 tablespoon more at a time as needed.
If no liquid is used but batter is still too dry, add a few tablespoons of oil or butter to moisten the batter.