My gluten-free baking is half spontaneous, half planned. I don’t mind stopping at a store (or several) to pick up something specific for a special recipe from time to time, but I am too busy to do that every time the baking bug bites. Instead, I keep some staples on hand that I can use to make most of my recipes. Here’s my list of must-haves:
Dry ingredients
Shelf-stable, long, lasting, and basic to pretty much everything, I always have these gluten-free baking basics on hand. When I move to a new home, they are among the items I buy on my first trip to the grocery store.
Rice flour from the Asian Market
Sweet rice flour from the Asian Market
Corn starch
Granulated sugar
Baking powder
Baking soda (bicarbonate)
Cocoa powder
Ground almonds
One ingredient you usually won’t find in my gluten-free pantry is a pre-made gluten-free baking mix. Why? Well, they are more expensive than my rice flours, aren’t as flexible, and don’t behave consistently across recipes. When I need one mix for cookies, another for cakes, and another for coating chicken pieces, I’m spending too much money.
Wet ingredients
These are also basic ingredients, with one or more of them showing up in nearly every baked good. They are also common in other recipes, so I’m not buying anything “just for baking.”
Eggs
Milk (I keep a box of long-life milk on hand, though most of my recipes can use juice, sparkling water, or almost any other liquid instead)
Butter
Cooking oil: olive oil and/or a light oil like sunflower oil
Fun stuff
These are the bits and bobs that make baking fun. They add a bit of pizzazz to a recipe. Although I generally keep them on hand, many recipes can be made without them.
Dark chocolate – I keep chocolate with between 70 and 80% cocoa content in the house, for nibbles and for cooking. I am not a huge fan of milk chocolate so you won’t find it in my pantry, though of course I will not turn it down if offered!
Spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom
Ready, set, bake!
And that’s it! I find all of these gluten-free baking basics in my regular supermarket or the Asian market. After the initial stocking up, I just replace items individually as I run out.
The nicest part about keeping these all stocked in my pantry is that I can use them whenever the mood strikes. No special shopping trip needed: just these ingredients will make almost a third of the recipes in Easy, Tasty Gluten Free, and many more just need one addition, like juice, fruit or peanut butter
It’s an easy, convenient, inexpensive way of being ready to bake a delicious, heart-warming gluten-free treat - any day, any time, for any reason!