Gluten-Free Baking with the Culinary Institute of America: 150 Flavorful Recipes from the World's Premiere Culinary College

You'll be impressed with the flavours

So far I've baked the Linzer Cookies, Devil's Food Cake and brownies, with great results that exceeded all other recipes and pre-made box mixes, Except for the Devil's Food cake. The cookies came out tender and delicious and I'd be hard pressed to discern the difference between these and ones made with a gluten recipe. However, the recipe only makes about 10 sandwiches, so must be doubled or quadrupled.I set aside a day and baked 4 different brownie recipes/mixes to compare the results. I baked a box mix from King Arthur Flour, box mix by Hodgson Mill, America Test Kitchen Brownie Recipe from their book "The How Can It Be Gluten Free Cookbook #1", and one from this book. By far the recipe from this book was the best. The brownies held together, had an excellent flavor and texture, and didn't gum up ('too fudgey"). The America's Test Kitchen recipe came in as a close second, and were easier to make because you only have one flour mixture to pre-make, but the flavor and texture weren't as good. The box mixes were both so bad, there is no comparison.]I repeated efforts with the Devils food cake, but this recipe came in 3rd (and the cake size is 6 inches-what's up with that. First place was the Chocolate Layer Cake in America's Test Kitchen book mentioned above. Truly a delicious cake with great texture. 2nd place was a mix by King Arthur, and with frosting this would be an acceptable option (King Arthur Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Mix, 22 Oz)There are 5 flour mixtures in this book to pre-mix, and many recipes use a combination of the flour mixtures for each recipe. For example the brownies used 2 Tble of flour mixture #1 and 1/4C of flour mixture #4 ; the Linzer cookies only used flour mixture 2; the cake used flour mix #3 (1.75 oz) plus 1 Tble of Flour #1 (I substituted because it was used for dusting the pan). So there is an investment in making up the different flour mixtures, but I think it's worth it if I continue to get the results I have thus far. Very pleased.

The book is great, explains in good detail the complexity of gluten free baking, and I've tried several of the recipes and the work. I wish the recipes would have some variations, or they would substitutes in some cases. But the thing is that the recipes work, and that's wonderful.

Great Book for anyone new to Gluten free baking.

The author of "Gluten Free Baking with The CIA" is an absolute genious! I have been gluten free for about 7 years now and have done a lot of testing of store bought and homemade gluten free foods. I live in an area that does not have access to freshly baked gluten free items and the result of that is processed gluten free food that is so dry it falls apart and you gag as you are trying to swallow it.I first borrowed this book from my local public library three years ago. After close examination of the book I decided to purchase this book. I committed to purchasing and making all of the flour blends and began working with the book. One measurement difference in this book is a cup is measured as 6 ounces. This is important when blending the flours and when working with a recipe. My flours, ingredients and my fresh baked goods are all stored in a large upright freezer. Freezing my finished product in single portions allows me to have several items in stock giving me as much variety as any person enjoys on a daily basis.Baking of any type relies on the accuracy of measuring ingredients regardless of the type of of recipe being used. The key to successful results rely on understanding and following the techniques stated in each recipe. A lot of the techniques are advanced, but they are all explained in the book. If you do not follow the technique, then the results will not be as expected.