Alternative Baker: Reinventing Dessert with Gluten-Free Grains and Flours

Creative and delicious gf desserts, accessible and enjoyable for all
Alanna has produced an utterly gorgeous (no surprise) cookbook on baking with alternative (gluten-free) flours. I follow the Bojon Gourmet, so I was expecting jaw-dropping photographs, meticulously crafted recipes, easy-to-follow instructions, and tasty results. That’s exactly what I got.In a slight departure from what feels like normal, the discussion of each individual gluten-free flour, where to find it, what brand Alanna tested her recipes with, how to store it, how to use it, and it’s nutritional impact is at the back of the book. The cookbook jumps quickly into recipes after a brief intro and a how-to-use-this-book list of the “easy”, “intermediate”, and “advanced” gluten-free flours and associated recipes.Each recipe is accompanied by a photo of the finished product and a cute little header about where the recipe stems from. I’ve found several recipes that I’m extra excited to try because Alanna references them as being inspired by some of my favorite places in SF: Plow in Potrero Hill (Millet Skillet Cornbread with Cherries and Honey), Josey Baker Bread (Nut and Seed Loaf), and Tartine (Buckwheat Pear Galettes). Aside from an astonishing array of various gluten-free flours, Alanna’s desserts rely on (delicious) ingredients like butter, creme fraiche or sour cream, cream, buttermilk, yogurt, maple syrup, and brown sugar. There are some (4) vegan recipes and one recipe I noticed labelled lactose-free. Many of these recipes could be adapted to specific dietary needs as necessary, but it may take a fair amount of trial and error for perfectly-created recipes like the pie and tart doughs.The section on pies/tarts spans what feels like a third of the book, so if you aren’t a huge fan of pies and/or making your own pie crust, that may not be an ideal proportion. However, I would strongly encourage everyone to give it a try. There’s a very detailed two-page photo spread on making the perfect gluten-free pie crust, and the variety of pies is outstanding. I’ve already learned something new just from my quick read of Alternative Baker – maybe if I position my pies lower in the oven I’ll have less trouble with soggy crusts. That seems like a “duh” idea now, but I’d never considered it.These recipes range considerably in amount of time and energy required to prepare them. Plenty can be accomplished in under and hour, and some, like pies with fresh pie crust, will take more planning ahead. While I can do the math in my head, I do wish there was some indication at the top of each recipe for expected prep time.In buying this cookbook, you are purchasing about 6 repeat recipes that are available on her blog (maybe more as time goes on). It’s all upfront as celebratory posts gearing up or after release of this cookbook. In her blog posts she says they are from the book or slightly adapted from the cookbook. At first I thought I noticed even more and was a little disappointed, but spot-checking seems to indicate I was mistaken.So far I’ve made only the blondies (with white chocolate, coconut flour (to avoid the weird texture of the flakes – hurray!), and cashews). They are fantastic, and any one, gluten-free or not, will love them. I’m looking forward to testing a lot of other recipes – I’m excited about at least 2/3 of the 140 recipes included in this cookbook.

Looks like it was driven over
I am super excited about this book. It has great reviews and everything looks amazing. However, I don’t think it was a new copy, it looks like it was driven over several times and has a torn page. It came wrapped in plastic inside the mailing package but was dirty and scratched up. I think it might have been a return that was not checked.

Recipes that actually work!
I’ve been following Alanna’s blog for many years. So why it took me so long to buy the book is beyond me. I should not have waited! The book is amazing! I cook a lot, I read a lot of recipes on the Internet, and I tend to try new things. Frequently, they are a flop. But this book totally delivers, the recipes are so incredibly well researched and tested that I know they will be reliable. And delicious! Frequently better than similar gluten containing recipes if you ask me.I love the blog, but I think I love the book even more, if that’s possible. I want to make almost everything listed. Also, the book is beautifully printed, full of stunning photographs, and easy to read. There is a great index and the interior is organized into sensible sections.One of the things that I love about Alanna’s recipes is that she lists both weights and volumes for all. At home, I only cook by weighing things, so it takes a ton of time for me to convert everyone else’s recipes into measurements that use weight. I don’t have to fuss with that when making the recipes in Alternative Baker. It’s such a thoughtful and precise book, and the writing style has made me chuckle a number of times. Love it! It will also be my new go-to gift to friends who enjoy baking.

Personally I have little patience with recipes that shower you with a list of exotic, pretentious ingredients, take lots of time to make and then even have the guts to turn out mediocre. That’s not the case here. While some of the flours used can be hard to find and, as in most gluten-free cookbooks, you will be required to use 3 or more flours on average, the results speak for themselves (and the author does usually list more easily-found substitutes in most of her recipes). To be blunt, Alanna Taylor-Tobin is one of the most consistently outperforming bakers whose recipes I have tried and one I would gladly hire to make a cake for my birthday. But alas, I can’t; at least with this book I can choose from a wide selection of her recipes, with ingredients measured both in cups and grams (thank God!!) and whose success is almost foolproof. I haven’t even mentioned the gluten issue yet: I don’t have to eat gluten-free, thankfully, nor do I want to. I am, however, a lover of buckwheat and other strongly-flavored grains and this book fully satisfies my love for hearty bran-speckled desserts, which are so rare to find. If you absolutely HAVE to eat gluten-free, then be prepared to use certified glutinous rice flour, which is in almost every recipe and which can probably be substituted by an all-purpose GF blend, though you would miss on its peculiar lovely bouncy texture; if not, I have found you can substitute it gram for gram for AP white flour, and same for the starches if you wish, though again it won’t have that ‘bouncy’ feeling. This just to say that you don’t have to be gluten-free to cook from and enjoy this book: it is the ideal book for anyone who loves rustic grain flavors.Alanna’s striving for perfection is evident in both instructions and results; the book has been thoroughly tested and it shows. I can’t think of any valid reasons not to give this book a full 5 stars; sure, it’s not an everyday cookbook as the effort required in some recipes is not compatible with fifteen minutes in the kitchen, and every recipe is (deliciously) most assuredly not diet-friendly. But I believe in quality of dessert over quantity and the book delivers that in spades. Recommended!

I bought this cookbook hoping to learn about gluten free alternatives to wheat flour. It is indeed full of lovely recipes with all sorts of gluten free flours. I hoped to find more vegan options but I am very pleased with this purchase.