THE SUGAR-FREE AND GLUTEN-FREE TOOL KIT

The majority of the equipment you'll need to prepare these recipes can be found in any well-stocked kitchen. But there are a few unique items that will be useful, and we also have some advice on a few tools.

Baking dishes: To make the recipes in this book, you'll need a range of baking dishes, including rimmed baking sheets (usually 13 by 18 inches), round or rectangular cake pans, loaf pans, small loaf pans, springform tube pans, Bundt pans, muffin pans, and a few others. But if you don't already have all of these, don't feel obligated to buy them right away. As needed, you can purchase them along the way. In addition, you might start out by using disposable pans while you determine how much baking you'll be doing. The bottoms of products like cookies or scones are protected by double-layered, insulated pans, which cook more evenly and can also be used to double-pan these products if necessary. Depending on how your oven bakes, you'll be able to immediately determine as you start baking these products if you need to double pan or use insulated pans.

If you don't have a food processor or a seed grinder, you can prepare nut and seed flour in a blender. Just be sure to adhere to the directions and avoid over-blending to avoid producing nut or seed butter.

Bowls: Having a variety of stainless steel mixing bowls is practical.

different sizes. Glass and ceramic bowls are also an option, but they are more prone to cracking or chipping.

Bread knife: Compared to typical baked goods, the breads and other baked items in this book are a little more prone to crumbling. A well-made, sharp serrated knife will go a long way toward guaranteeing successful slicing.

The dough for crackers can be easily cut out using cookie or biscuit cutters. The ideal cutter for crackers is a 2-inch round cutter.

Digital kitchen scale: When weighing ingredients, especially flours, the result is always more accurate than when scooping. It is likely that using the weight measures as specified will produce better results without the need to modify the amounts or cooking durations. The volume measurements given will work just fine without a scale.

Electric mixer: Although it is not necessary for the majority of the recipes in this book, an electric mixer will make quick work of the mixing. To use an electric mixer with the recipes in this book, follow the directions.

Food processor: The next best option if you don't have a seed grinder is a food processor. Utilize the metal blade attachment and the guidelines. For creating pesto and grating cheese and other ingredients, a food processor comes in handy.

Ice cream scoops: On special occasions, you'll want to scoop up some sugar-free ice cream to put on top of your baked goods. Ice cream scoops, on the other hand, come in handy every day for scooping batter into muffin pans.

Measurement spoons and cups: It goes without saying that you need a set of measuring spoons and a pair of measuring cups in order to bake. Having two sets of each item is preferable so you can use one set for liquid ingredients and the other for dry ingredients.

Metal spatulas: These are available in a range of designs and are ideal for

many things, from frosting pastries to flipping pancakes.

Mixing spoons: The majority of the doughs and batters in this book come together quickly and easily when mixed by hand. However, the best option is unquestionably a big, sturdy spoon.

Muffin liners: Whether you use paper or foil muffin liners, these will make taking muffins out of the pan so much simpler. They expedite cleanup, too. What could be disliked about that? However, if you don't have any, we provide a different technique for prepping pans so that the muffins will release easily in the recipe section.

It's usually a good idea to line baking pans with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. As a result, your baked items won't stick and the dough is shielded from oxidation.

Pizza cutter: This clever device comes in quite handy for both crackers and, well, pizzas.

Rolling pin: A rolling pin is necessary for evenly and thinly slicing crackers and pie crusts.

Rubber spatulas: You won't want to squander even the tiniest amount of the mouthwatering batters and doughs you'll be producing, aren't you sure? Invest in a few rubber spatulas if you don't already have a lot on hand so you always have a clean one available to scrape the bowl.

The one tool on this list that you are most unlikely to have is the seed grinder, but it is also one of the most crucial. Although you can make nut and seed flours in a food processor or blender, a seed grinder works better because it grinds nuts and seeds into flour without heating them up (see full instructions). Although coffee grinders occasionally become clogged, you can also use an electric coffee or spice grinder for this purpose, and you may find devices marketed for all of these uses. Whatever name they go by, these grinders are frequently sold in cookware departments or stores and can be a very affordable (and enjoyable) purchase. Loves her Cuisinart, says Denene

Peter feels the same way about his Bosch Seed and Spice Grinder ($45), which is comparable to the Nut Seed Grinder ($55).

We found that whisking is the simplest method for combining both dry and wet materials. Of course, when combining dry materials, a dry whisk should be used. And while combining the wet and dry ingredients, you can just keep mixing with a sturdy whisk.

LOW-CARB, GLUTEN-FREE BAKING METHODS

This book primarily contains quick bread recipes. As previously stated, the lack of accessible carbs prevents yeast from being employed to leaven these doughs. When we do utilize yeast, it is almost always for taste rather than leavening. The end results are pleasant and fulfilling despite the fact that these recipes don't produce the flavors and textures of traditional breads. As a significant advantage, the preparation time is much reduced. Therefore, preheating the oven and prepping the pans are usually the first steps. Your products should be ready to bake in the oven by the time you've finished combining the dough.

You can follow the most typical steps in the sections below. Although all are simple, if you have any questions, visit our website at www.thejoyofgluten-freesugar-freebaking.com.

Mixing

These recipes are often simple to combine by hand. We include it in the procedure in the few instances where an electric mixer can significantly alter the outcome, but we also include hand-mixing instructions for people without a mixer. You'll observe that we usually instruct you to combine the dry components first, then combine the wet elements in a separate bowl and stir the dry ingredients in afterward. The wet ingredients should be added to the dry ones in most circumstances, but sometimes it does matter, so we advise following the directions exactly as they are stated. Our approach has the benefit that you can utilize the same measuring tools.

If you blend the two recipes, use the same bowl, spoon, and even whisk.

first the dry ingredients. But the truth is that these recipes are so forgiving that unless you measure incorrectly, you can hardly mess them up.

Manual Blending

You can mix these doughs if you can whisk! The majority of recipes instruct you to combine all of the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk them together until thoroughly combined. The liquid ingredients are then added and stirred until well-combined in a separate bowl. You'll notice that eggs are typically listed as the first moist ingredient. Before adding the remaining liquid ingredients, you can whisk them briefly if you put them in the bowl first to speed up mixing, but it isn't necessary.

Simply add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients after the liquid ingredients have been combined, and stir with a big, sturdy spoon until the ingredients are well combined. These recipes don't require the development of any gluten, therefore there's no need to knead and no need to worry about overmixing because there isn't any gluten to toughen up the dough! Usually less than two minutes, mixing only takes as long as it takes to completely combine all of the components. On occasion, we recommend mixing the dough for a few minutes to slightly aerate it, which improves the rise. As with any recipe, it's a good idea to scrape down the bowl's sides a few times as you mix the ingredients to ensure that they are all evenly distributed.

Using an Electric Mixer to Combine

The process is essentially the same when using an electric mixer; it only requires less physical effort. First, combine the dry ingredients in a bowl with a whisk. After that, add all of the liquid ingredients to a separate dish or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and blend well at low speed, if desired, starting with the eggs. The dry components should then be gradually added while the mixer is still operating at low speed. Increase the speed to medium once they are added, then mix until well-combined. where aeration requires longer mixing

The mixture, as stated in the directions. As with hand mixing, periodically scrape down the bowl's sides to ensure that all of the ingredients are combined evenly.

Please take note that a handful of our recipes need whipping the cream or egg whites until peaks form. An electric mixer is your best option in this situation because doing this operation by hand would be difficult. A couple of the mixes, notably those that call for cream cheese, are also somewhat stiff. In each of these situations, we've included hand mixing as a secondary option along with the main instructions to use an electric mixer.

Utilizing Texture as a Model

You can find hints for the texture and appearance of the dough within each recipe. Examples of what we mean are as follows:

• Thick, sticky dough denotes that the dough will be sticky and have the consistency of cooked oats or porridge. If you push a wooden spoon or spatula into the center of the mixture, it will stand up straight. The dough is moldable once it has been moved to a baking sheet and will maintain its shape when dropped from a spoon. Many of the recipes for breads, cookies, hush puppies, and crackers fit this description. When we say something is very thick and sticky, we often mean that it is considerably thicker and nearly rigid.

• In these recipes, we frequently accentuate references to firm dough.

the phrase "playdough-like" because the dough holds its shape when made into scones, biscuits, breadsticks, pretzels, pie crusts, and cookies, as well as when a spatula or spoon is placed into the center of the dough. It peels off like playdough and won't adhere to your fingers the way a thick batter will.

• Smooth, sticky dough, like that for pizza or focaccia, as well as other bread and cake doughs, needs a pan to help it maintain its shape. This dough may be aerated or made fluffy in some recipes and may even be pourable. Rather than being shaped into freestanding shapes, these smooth doughs are frequently poured or smeared into the pans. To prevent the dough from adhering to your hands while working with these doughs, use damp hands and utensils (rubbed with oil or dipped into some water).

• The dough that is utilized in our pancake and waffle recipes is the loosest of the bunch and is somewhat thicker than a milkshake.

If any of your doughs deviate from these indications, change the liquid or flour amounts as necessary. A variable consistency typically indicates that one of the ingredients was drier than usual or that the ingredients may not have been properly metered.

Shaping

You don't need to master complicated shaping techniques, as you would for conventional breads, because these baked goods are often created in loaf pans, muffin tins, and other similar pans. Most of the time, the batter or dough is just spooned or placed into pans, then baked. Here are some tips to help ensure success in recipes that call for shaping:

• Using oil, pan spray, or even putting your hands in water will assist prevent sticking when shaping dough by hand, such as when forming dough balls for cloverleaf rolls.

• Because these doughs have a tendency to be soft and sticky, it is important to grease the surface or spray it with oil before working with the dough to avoid sticking.

Baking

These recipes' suggested temperatures are for standard ovens. Convection oven owners should lower the temperature by 25°F or 14°C. Reduce the temperature by 50°F or around 28°C if you have an older convection oven with a powerful fan. These modifications are only estimates because every oven is unique. You'll be able to determine whether and by how much you need to adjust the baking temperatures once you've tried a couple of these recipes.

You'll notice that we frequently recommend using silicone mats or parchment paper to line bakeware. Although brand-new baking pans typically have a coating glaze to protect the metal from contacting the food, with use and time, this glaze wears off and leaves more of the metal exposed. In some cases, the metal may react with the acids in the dough, discoloring or even giving your baked items a metallic taste. Your best option for preventing these issues is to line the pan with a silicone mat, which also has the advantage of making baked goods release from the pan with ease. Although parchment paper is an alternative, it doesn't become truly nonstick until the paper is heated, so we usually advise misting the parchment paper with spray oil to ensure a simple release. Notably, some doughs are sufficiently dry that they don't typically stick, so in these situations we don't recommend misting the parchment. Having said that, you can still bake directly on the pan if you don't have parchment paper or a silicone mat; you might simply want to grease it more heavily. Additionally, we provide instructions on how to grease and flour the interior of shaped baking pans like Bundt pans before freezing them for later use.

We advise placing a single sheet pan for baking on a rack set in the center of the oven. Your best bet is probably to bake just one pan at a time when using two or more pans. In this situation, you should

To guarantee a good rise on foods that will subsequently go into the oven, use double-acting baking powder. Another alternative for two pans is to place two racks in the middle of the oven, allowing space between them for the pans and some air space above and below.

As is typical for all baked items, we advise rotating pans halfway through the baking time (this includes swapping racks, too, if baking in two pans) to achieve even baking because very few ovens bake food equally. The recipes also include this advice. To rotate, though, you might occasionally have to wait until later in the baking process. An illustration would be if a cake hadn't set up in the advised amount of time. Ensure you act morally. There might not be a need to rotate if you discover that your oven bakes uniformly (this is more likely with a convection oven).

Storage and Cooling

Because it happens right before eating, cooling is always a crucial step in baking. But in all seriousness, technically speaking, when baked goods first exit the oven, they are still baking. When baked goods are taken out of the oven, they are no longer enclosed, but the residual heat continues to drive off moisture, intensifying flavors and firming the food in the process. Baking is defined as "the application of heat to a product in an enclosed environment (the oven) for the purpose of driving off moisture." This is particularly true for these thick, moist batters. The freshly baked goods should be allowed to cool completely, uncovered, for at least the amount of time specified in the recipe or until they are cool to the touch. Bread loaves can be cut into slices and consumed after cooling as instructed, but they are even simpler to cut after a thorough cooling in the refrigerator, as instructed opposite. For cooling most baked items, wire racks work best because they enable moisture to evaporate from all sides, including the bottom.

Store your baked products in airtight containers or resealable freezer bags after they have totally cooled. They include more oils than the majority of conventional baked goods since they are created using nut and seed flours.

items, so place a paper towel inside the bag or container to soak up any oil that rises to the surface. Your baked items can be kept at room temperature for about a day, but for the best flavor and freshness, we suggest freezing or refrigerating them. Keep in mind that nut and seed flours are the main ingredients, and their oils are susceptible to rancidity.

SET, GO, BAKE!

You have all the information you require to begin with this chapter of the fundamentals. Now that you have some experience, pick a recipe you like, and try it out. You may always refer back to this chapter if necessary, but once you start preparing these dishes, you'll definitely discover that they're much simpler than you'd ever imagined—not to mention incredibly tasty. You can now stock your house with delectable, healthy, and guilt-free baked products. You can feel good about serving them to your kids, friends, and loved ones. You can enjoy them whenever you want as a treat or as a side to meals. The future of baking is bright.