Gluten-Free Baking: More Than 125 Recipes for Delectable Sweet and Savory Baked Goods, Including Cakes, Pies, Quick Breads, Muffins, and O

I love this book. It gave me such hope when I was first diagnosed four years ago. I held it to my heart and rejoiced. Up to that point I thought I was doomed to a pretty boring culinary life. This book really helped me to learn how to make wonderful gluten free desserts for my family. I am celiac, and I also have a celiac son and daughter who LOVE anything I make from this book - as do any non-celaic family and friends. Some people remark that the items taste "too sweet" - really they are made to resemble traditional recipes when you need them They don't shriek "health food"! I love health food - but where does a celiac go when you sometimes want something absolutely delicious - for a treat or a special event? This book opens up the possibilities. Rebecca still looks healthy and trim - and she is a mother of two kids - so she must have found a balance somewhere. Sometimes when things are DELICIOUS you don't need or want to overeat them. Also most of her recipes use brown rice flour in her blends - so that is pretty healthy. In other words - in traditonal recipes you could never get this good flavor if you used whole wheat flour - but she gets a refined taste while using a healthy dose of brown rice flour. I learned the deeper secrets of good gluten free bakig from this book. I now experiment - but i also use her recipes 'straight up'. I also sometimes use stevia whne I want to cut back on sugar in recipes. The trick is to only replace some of the sweetener with stevia - even up to 75%. Then use "normal" sweetener for the rest, and you won't get the bitter after taste of stevia. Finally - it gave me heart that her introduction was not some long lament on "what celiac can do to you" but rather it was a lovely chapter on her love of cooking and its place in a joyful home. Thank you Rebecca Reilly...

Rebecca Reilly is a Cordon Bleu trained chef. She used to be the owner of two restaurants, a catering business and a cooking school, all in Portland, Maine. She has also received a diploma from Madeleine Kamman's Modern Gourmet Cooking School in Boston. She was also the host the television series New England Kitchen. Upon the discovery that she and her daughters are gluten-intolerant, she became a private caterer and a nutritional consultant. One of the major reasons why I liek this book so much is that Rebecca Reilly is a trained chef. She understands the basic science behind a recipe, the texture one is looking for, and is able to troubleshoot to find the required results she needs. This, coupled with her and her daughters' gluten intolerance, make her the ideal person to write a cookbook on Gluten-Free Baking. There are some delicious photos of some of the baked goods that you can produce by following this book. The recipes are easy-to-understand, and Reilly provides sufficient information on the suitable substitutions for wheat flour. She, also, wants you to feel creative and independent once you are armed with the knowledge on how to bake for yourself. Some of the wonderful recipes you can find in this book are: Blueberry Scones, Boston Cream Pie, Almond Butter Cookies and Black Forest Cake.

Yahoo!! FINALLY (and I mean finally), a book that makes eating a gluten-free diet a pleasure, instead of a chore. For those who have a real dietary threat due to wheat, and other gluten grains, this is a book that will give you some ability to have some control in what you eat, rather than be a slave to labels as well as remove fears from the unknown food. First of all, it looks like a regular cookbook instead of the usual anemic-looking, bland, thin-spined books that are out there; it looks like any other cookbook out on the store shelves. The colorful photography of the finished recipes make them look as good as they taste. With that in mind, the "Boston Creme Pie" should be your first recipe. For someone who has had to look at others enjoy "flour" desserts (cakes, pastries, cookies, etc.) while having yet another slice of fruit or an incredibly boring ricecake, this was a gift from heaven. And I believe that knowing that both the author, and her children, have this food intolerance, makes you believe in the cookbook even more. Add to the fact that she is a highly trained culinary chef, and you know that you have purchased the right book. I've only gotten to a couple of recipes, but this will become my bible for having some semblance of a normal diet. And Chef Reilly has made the effort and knowledge needed to create these dishes, incredibly easy and simple to follow. The information is all there. So, for all those celiacs who want to enjoy this part of life, open the book, pick a dish, and savor every bite!!

I'm not a celiac, but I am allergic to wheat, so for many years, I have sought out gluten-free recipes for the breads and pastries I've been deprived of. After trying countless recipes turning out crumbly cookies, hard, dry bread, and odd-tasting pastries, I found Gluten-Free Baking by Rebecca Reilly, the best book out there. The results of these recipes taste as good as (no kidding) the ones served at a high-end pastry shop.No wonder, since the author was trained not only at Le Cordon Bleu, but also at Le Notre Patissier, the leading pastry school. She has the experience of running her own restaurant, cafe, and catering businesses as well as teaching others how to cook. She'd been exploring gluten-free baking for her clientele even before her son and daughter were diagnosed as celiacs! All these credentials add up to a well-tested, easy-to-understand, and enlightening collection of recipes. But the highest recommendation comes from my wheat-eating friends, who really DON'T realize that anything is missing or "weird" about these treats, something they've never been able to say about my past efforts, despite claims by the authors of those recipes that they'd never tell the difference.Reilly's training allows her to explain how certain classic baking techniques can provide air and lightness to gluten-free recipes, which can otherwise suffer from the density of particular alternative ingredients. She reveals which ingredients can create elasticity and provide structure in lieu of gluten, so that readers can feel empowered knowing not only how to make these recipes, but also why they work. I gained so much confidence in baking that I even made the scrumptious Black Forest Cake, a labor I probably wouldn't have even attempted in my wheat-eating days. (By the way, it's totally worth the effort.) Amazingly, the recipes range from the simplest brownies to baklava, so there's something for all palates and skill levels.With all due respect to Bette Hagman, author of The Gluten-Free Gourmet books and an undisputed pioneer in the gluten-free quest, I would love to see Reilly's take on yeast breads as well as on gluten-free cooking. I think there's enough of the gluten-free pie to go around, and all of us in the wheat-free community (and our friends) would benefit.

My son is allergic to gluten and two others of us in the family are sensitive to it. For the past year I have purchased many cookbooks and the most difficult task for me has been to bake muffins, cakes, cookies which were appealing to my son. Though several books were very good, this one is the best! I have made three recipes so far and they are all hits in this family. My son is also allergic to eggs and so far none of the recipes rely as heavily on eggs and other GF cookbooks. The book is also informative and her list of resources is invaluable!