The Measuring Mistake That's Ruining Your Gluten-Free Bakes

Baking desserts from scratch can be a daunting task and adding gluten-free flour can complicate this process even more. Why is that? Well, gluten-free bakes involve a certain level of precision and attention to detail that some people aren't ready for. The smallest miscalculation or incorrect measurement can drastically affect the texture and structure of your gluten-free dessert or dish. Unfortunately, there's plenty of room for errors when using this delicate substitute for all-purpose flour.

The slim margin for error comes from the texture and weight of gluten-free flour. This flour is very fine which makes it difficult to pack into measuring cups accurately. Compared to all-purpose flour made from only wheat, gluten-free flour is usually made from grains, nuts, or seeds that don't contain gluten, and it's sometimes combined with starches and gum. The addition of extra ingredients means no gluten-free flour is created equally. Each one will have a different weight. This difference in weight makes it impossible to correctly measure out the right amount of flour by volume because a cup won't truly equal that amount. To avoid adding too much gluten-free flour to your bake, you need to rely on grams instead, and the best way to do that is to invest in a digital kitchen scale.

Before you attempt to make that decadent gluten-free chocolate cake or gluten-free almond coffee cake for your next party, make sure you set aside your digital kitchen scale and an extra bowl. The bowl should be large enough to fit on the scale and hold the amount of flour you need. For scales, you want one that can be set back to zero using the tare button, so you don't have to worry about subtracting the weight of the bowl from your measurements.

To properly measure your gluten-free flour, place the empty bowl on the kitchen scale, tare it, and then carefully spoon the flour into the bowl until you reach the amount you need. If you pour too much, you can remove a little at a time until you get back to the correct weight. It's that simple. Using a digital scale is the easiest way to ensure you get the right amount of gluten-free flour every time.

When making a gluten-free bake, it's best to look for recipes that specifically use grams, so you don't have to figure out how many you need. It's also important to pay close attention to the type of gluten-free flour the recipe calls for. If you're using King Arthur, a cup of almond flour weighs 96 grams while the equivalent volume of King Arthur Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour weighs 156 grams. Some brands of flour offer a conversion chart, so bakers know exactly how much gluten-free flour they need.