Before your first bake
A Beginner’s Guide to Gluten-Free Baking
For your first bake, choose a recipe written for the flour you have. A premixed blend and a scale are a straightforward place to start; this guide walks through the binder and baking steps you'll need.
What changes when you leave out gluten?
Structure
Check the recipe’s flour and binder
Elasticity
Follow its dough consistency cues
Binding
Review gum already in your blend
When you choose a gluten-free recipe, keep its flour, liquid and binder amounts together. They each play a part:
- Structure: Keep the flour and liquid weights together
- Elasticity: Use the recipe’s mixing and shaping method
- Binding: Check package ingredients before adding gum
Gluten-free flours differ in density, flavor, and how they absorb liquid. Use the recipe's binder instructions instead of adding gum by habit. Start with a recipe developed for your flour, then use the tools here when you need help with a swap.
Choose a flour for the recipe
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For non-yeast baking, consider a premixed blend
King Arthur Measure for Measure, Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Baking Flour, and similar blends already include xanthan gum. For yeast bread, choose a bread blend with its own recipe rather than swapping in a non-yeast 1-for-1 blend.
For a single flour such as almond or coconut, start with a recipe written for it. Sorghum also needs a recipe that defines its share of a blend.
Five checks before baking
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Check how the flour is measured
If your recipe gives grams, use them. A heaped cup holds more than a level one, which makes cup measurements hard to repeat. Weigh the flour with a kitchen scale and measure in grams.
Follow any specified rest
Give the batter any rest your recipe asks for. The flour and binders hydrate during that time, so keep the rest tied to the recipe's leavening and method.
Check the binder ingredients
Look for gum in your blend's ingredient list before adding more. Your recipe may already use eggs or another binder; keep its binder instructions together with the flour it calls for.
Check the oven setting
Begin at the temperature in a recipe written for your flour. If the outside browns while the middle stays raw, look at the oven temperature and pan choice before the next batch.
Use the recipe’s doneness checks
Watch through the oven window while the bake is still setting. Open the door when your recipe tells you to start checking doneness.
Equipment and ingredients to have ready
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Weigh flour straight into the bowl so you can repeat the amount next time.
View product on Amazon →King Arthur Measure for Measure flour
This blend includes xanthan gum and suits non-yeast baking. Choose a recipe that supports it.
View King Arthur Measure for Measure →Xanthan gum (for single-grain recipes)
Buy it when your recipe calls for it. A blend with binder already included may save you the extra ingredient.
View xanthan gum on Amazon →Line the pan as your recipe directs so you can lift the bake out.
Measure the center against the recipe's doneness target, alongside its other cues.
View product on Amazon →Choose a recipe everyone can eat
When baking for a family, start with ingredient restrictions and a recipe you can follow together:
- Choose a cookie or muffin recipe written for the flour you have.
- For a premixed blend, follow its package’s substitution guidance and recipe limits.
- For almond flour, use an almond-flour recipe and check that nuts suit everyone eating it.
- For coconut flour, follow a coconut-flour recipe’s egg and liquid amounts.
Get the flour cheat sheet and beginner tips
Get the printable flour cheat sheet and emails about flour choice and recipe adjustments.
Plan your next bake
Use the flour converter to get starting measurements for your recipe.