But others innovate on classic recipes using unique flours and techniques that get you gluten-free foods indistinguishable from the originals. Some of the books I tested, as with most online recipes, abide by the “beggars can’t be choosers” proverb, yielding bread that won’t rise and far-too-dense cakes. I cooked my way through them all, baking everything from gluten-free cannolis and four-layer cakes to sourdough bread and bagels. Over the next two years, I bought nearly every highly rated, interesting-sounding gluten-free cookbook recommended by gluten-intolerant friends, passionate Amazon reviewers, magazine roundups, mommy bloggers with celiac kids, and anyone willing to offer advice. At a certain point, you need to use specifically gluten-free recipes. And it definitely won’t work as a substitution when making anything fried, like calamari or chicken most of the time the breading congeals into an oil-soaked mess regardless how good your technique is. All those skills felt suddenly useless because, while lots of recipes can easily be adapted with one-to-one gluten-free flour blends ( I prefer King Arthur), you can’t use it for breads or pastries. I later graduated to reading vintage Le Cordon Bleu textbooks that taught me techniques like tempering chocolate and how to properly fill an éclair. As a preteen, I baked my way through Martha Stewart’s catalog, which I, a suburban kid, thought was the epitome of gourmet. I grew up in a half Italian American, half Jewish household with fresh homemade pizza and bagels nearly every week, so I refused to accept a future life of subpar options thanks to a condition I can’t change. The biggest takeaway from all my research: Stop comparing gluten-free products to the “real” thing because you’ll only be disappointed. I went into overdrive, searching for gluten-free pastas, snacks, and other alternatives to the gluten-filled foods I loved. My hunt for the best gluten-free cookbooks began when my doctor diagnosed me with severe gluten intolerance in March of 2020 (yes, I’m aware of the unfortunate timing).
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