Win a copy of Gluten Free Baking by Simon and Dame Alison Holst

Gluten Free Baking, by Simon and Alison Holst, published by Hyndman Publishing. RRP $14.99
Book Review by Susan.
This is a little book packed full of a good variety of recipes for Gluten free baking, and includes a recipe for white bread and one for a pizza base.
There is an easy to read introduction to gluten free baking which explains what gluten does in baking and how you can try to achieve this without it.
There is a common sense section of adjusting oven temperatures and cooking times, and a section on how to measure correctly.
Knowing how important it is to use correct quantities of flour in gluten free baking, I was disappointed to read that after the section on careful measuring the authors stated that they had chosen to give quantities in cup measure rather than weight. When an accurate quantity is important, I prefer to use a weight measurement, as after all 200 grams of flour weighs 200 grams, regardless of how tightly it is packed.
I tested two of the slice recipes and found that they compared favourably with other gluten free recipes I have tried.
The ginger slice had a good strong ginger flavour. I cooked the base for longer than the suggested time, and this produced a firm and slightly crunchy base that went well with the rich icing. I found that the icing took a long time to set, and was better after being chilled in the fridge.
The caramel slice was also improved by chilling.
Some feedback from our taste testers (the staff here at Eldernet) was that the caramel slice was just what would be expected of such a slice, with a soft and gooey topping, although the base was also quite soft, and could be firmer. If making this again I would cook the base for longer, to try to firm it up.
I was rather unsure about using a chocolate icing on the chocolate caramel slice, however it worked well, and the flavours blended nicely.
The bases of both the slices had the slightly powdery texture that I have found with other gluten free recipes, however after storing overnight in the fridge, this was less noticeable.
The Pistachio Macaroon recipe looked inviting, so I was disappointed to find that there was a step missing in the instructions, jumping straight from folding the mixture to baking it. There was no guideline about filling macaroon trays, or spooning the mix onto baking trays. As I don't have a specific tray some help on how much mix to use for each macaroon and how far to space them on baking trays would have been helpful.
Both the bread and the pizza base recipes include instructions for making in a bread maker, and by hand, which was good to see, as I bake bread by hand. I have not yet tried to bake gluten free bread, so will try this sometime.
Overall I found this to be a helpful guide to gluten free baking, which covered a good variety of recipes, and will be useful when catering for friends on a gluten free diet.
To enter the book draw CLICK HERE 2 copies to give away!!
Draw closes 28th April
Open to NZ residents only.