That’s a lot of exclamation points in one headline. But I kind of get excited when an institution like America’s Test Kitchen gets all up in our gluten-free business by publishing The How Can It Be Gluten-Free Cookbook and creating their own ATK gluten-free flour blend. Woot! The experts are in the hiz-ouse.
These lovely folks sent me the book, a canister of pre-mixed gluten-free flour blend (do they know how lazy I am? I guess so) along with a solid bread pan. Which is why I just had to test out a bread recipe. Since I love the cheese so much I made their Cheddar Cheese Bread and wowza! This bread disappeared in like 5 minutes as my kids grabbed it right out of my hands before I even had a chance to make grilled cheese sandwiches.
Since I hid two pieces behind my back, I was able to make myself a toasted turkey, cheese and arugula sandwich. I say toasted, because I just wanted a little buttery crunch instead of a melty mess since the bread was so light and nice. Lookee –
I SWEAR there was more arugula in there. I’m not just trying to pretend I eat vegetables up in here. Anyhoo. This gluten-free bread was incredibly easy to make, and was ready in no time.
The thing I love about all of the ATK recipes is that they explain why a prep choice was made. In this recipe the instruction is to use a large hole box grater for the Parmesan and talked about why it was crucial. If that had not been there I guarantee you I would have grabbed the microplane. ATK makes sure you’re doing it right. Like your mother. It’s the mother of gluten-free cookbooks.
It really is great for those of us who have been slogging away at this gluten-free cooking thing for awhile, and newbies who may not get why certain things are done in the kitchen. Additionally it’s chock full of information about shopping, substitutions and why everything works. It’s just fab. You want one? Giveaway instructions at the bottom of this post!
Now, you’re probably wondering how you can get some of this gluten-free cheddar cheese bread right up in your mouth asap, right? Here’s how:
Gluten-Free Cheddar Cheese Bread
Makes: 1 Loaf
Substitute for ATK Flour Blend: 2 1/4 cups King Arthur Gluten-Fere Multi-Purpose Flour or 2 1/2 cups of Bob’s Red Mill GF All-Purpose Baking Flour (note-bread made with King Arthur will be somewhat pasty, and bread made with Bob’s Red Mill will be wetter and have a distinct bean flavor).
Ingredients:
3 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated on large holes of box grater (1 cup)
12 1/2 ounces (2 3/4 cups) ATK Gluten-Free Flour Blend (recipe below)
1 Tablespoon gluten-free baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (1 cup)
1 1/4 cups sour cream
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8 1/2 by 4 1/2-inch loaf pan with vegetable spray, then sprinkle 1/2 cup Parmesan evenly in bottom of pan.
2. Whisk flour blend, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pepper, and cayenne together in large bowl. Stir in cheddar, breaking up any clumps, until coated with flour mixture. In separate bowl, whisk together sour cream, melted butter, and eggs until smooth. Using rubber spatula, stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until thoroughly combined (batter will be heavy and thick).
3. Scrape batter into prepared pan, smooth top, and sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan evenly over loaf. Bake until deep golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.
4. Transfer to wire rack and let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove loaf from pan and let cool on rack for at least 1 hour before serving. (Once cooled, bread can be wrapped in double layer of plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 1 day. To serve, warm in 300-degree oven for 10 minutes.)
ATK Gluten-Free Flour Blend
Makes: 42 ounces (about 9 1/3 cups)
Ingredients:
24 ounces (4 1/2 cups plus 1/3 cup) white rice flour
7 1/2 ounces ( 1 2/3 cups) brown rice flour
7 ounces (1 1/3 cups) potato starch
3 ounces (3/4 cup) tapioca starch
3/4 ounce (3 tablespoons) nonfat milk powder
Whisk all ingredients together in large bowl until well combined. Transfer to airtight containers and refrigerate for up to 3 months.
Want a book of your very own? Tell me your biggest gluten-free cooking/baking challenge in the comments below! A random winner will be chosen in one week.
Gluten is my Bitch 
I am so excited about this book! I’ve been gluten and corn free since last September. Still struggling with eating out and getting poisoned. (Why was there a stupid egg noodle mixed in with my rice noodles at the Thai place last Friday??? That prompted one of those awful emergency bathroom trips, from the freeway, on my way to a meeting – UGH!) But overall, I’m much happier and healthier than I’ve been in a long time. And I love your blog!
My biggest baking challenge right now – GF batter tastes AWFUL!!! Even when the cookies or cake or brownies are AWESOME, the batter is YUCK! And I still can’t get that through my thick head, so I make something, get some batter on my fingers, lick it and then make a yucky face and get scared that what I’m making is going to taste like cleanser. But somehow, something magical happens in the oven and the end result works out.
Thanks for the give-away and all of the great posts. I hope I win this cookbook, but I will be happy to pay big GF $$$ for it if I don’t!
The biggest challenge for my GF baking is the different kinds of recommended flour mixes for each type of food/cookbook. I realize that “there can be only one” does not quite work for GF, but there should be an easier way than keeping 8 or more diffent types of flour taking up space in my freezer! What happens is that I just give up and do without or make do with “adequate” store bought products. Sigh……
That’s the one thing I really hate about my Carol Fenster cookbook!! All of her baked good recipes involve her “cake blend” which includes her “all-purpose blend” and I do NOT need 13 cups of any flour blend sitting in my pantry. And I can’t do that math for one batch either. HUGE SIGH. But still excited that ATK is doing gluten-free!!!
My biggest complaint in GF baking/cooking is that too many of the flours give everything a grainy texture. Booooo. Finally found one blend I really like (Better Batter), but very keen to try out the ATK recipe–they’re like culinary wizards or something; that they’re now turning their attention to GF makes me SO happy. (and yay for giveaways!)
They are indeed, culinary wizards. I’ve seen them carrying about wands and casting spells.
My biggest challenge in GF baking is that search for the same texture as glutinous food. I know we may never have the exact consistency but I’m always striving for a bread or donut that feels like the kind I was use to before discovering I couldn’t safely eat Gluten. I also must agree with Vicky Cooling above, that keeping tons of different flours on hand for baking has also been a challenge and definitely takes up a lot of space in my kitchen. Thanks!
My biggest challenge as a new gluten free cook is that I had really just mastered cooking non-gf a year or two before I was diagnosed. It’s like just as I was getting into the swing of cooking … and actually enjoying the process … I got knocked right off my horse. I’ve been gf cooking for 10 months now, but I still find myself sticking to exact recipes vs. going out on my own to test things out. I’m hoping I’ll get back to that method of cooking as I gain confidence in my GF kitchen. Thanks for the giveaway!
My biggest GF baking challenge this past week has been getting the cupcakes I’m working on to rise enough! And, my year round GF baking challenge is avoiding tapioca. (It’s a pesky allergy when you’re gluten, dairy, and egg free). We finally found a GF flour mix (pre-packaged) that didn’t contain tapioca, but we didn’t like the taste. I love my own mix, but sometimes I wish baking could be simpler.
Great blog post as per usual! Love following you 🙂
I agree. The biggest challenge is the huge number of flours and extra ingredients you have to keep on hand just to replace plain old flour.
My biggest gf challenge is converting our favorite, long time family recipes. Which flour is best for fried chicken? Is a mixture of flours best? I need this cookbook!
Try crushed gluten free cereal or almond flour. Real good
Thank you!
I need to learn to incorporate more ancient grains like Teff into my GF cooking.
I was diagnosed with Celiac 2 days before Christmas last year (sigh,) I agree with ALL of the previous comments! Eating out is a pain (literally since my main noticable symptom is a sharp pain in my right ribcage!) and having to purchase/store multiple flours has kept me from experimenting in the kitchen. One of these days I’m going to learn to make GF bread so my husband can eat his beloved sandwiches WITHOUT contaminating my kitchen!
CUISINART MAKES A BREAD MACHINE WITH A GLUTEN-FREE SETTING
I agree with Vicky about all the different “blends.” I know people have different tastes, but it just seems like SOMEWHERE there is the best answer for everyone. My biggest challenge for baking GF is not the GF part, but the fact that my husband is a diabetic! Splenda doesn’t always work well with GF flours for me and there aren’t many GF/SF cookbooks out there. I am so glad that ATK has begun testing GF stuff, though. They are awesome and any dishes I’ve ever made from one of their recipes has turned out great! I can’t wait to see this cookbook.
My biggest GF baking challenge is well, everything. I loved baking artisan-style breads and beautiful cookies, and now I just feel cheated in the kitchen. I’m now (since December) not only GF, but also, Dairy (except egg), sugar, AND caffeine free and I’M NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT! Right now I’m also “white-stuff” free, so no rice or potatoes of any kind until I get straightened out. So, I feel lost in the grocery store and I’m cooking the same meat and veggies all the time. My family is trying to stick with my diet, but it’s boring. I would like to give them something that is GF and good for you, but also tasty and not flat. And like the others, do I really have to stock every type of GF flour known to mankind just to make a stinkin’ cookie? HELP! Even if I don’t win it, I’ll buy it! Love your post – your humor helps to keep me sane.
Carlotta, you won! Please send me your mailing address and I’ll pass it on to the America’s Test Kitchen peeps.
AWESOME! I can’t wait to start reading it and trying things out. Emailed you my info. Thank you – I love your blog and I’ve passed it on to friends looking for GF info or just for a healthier lifestyle. Can’t wait to also try ATK’s flour blend. Someday (maybe mid-year) I hope to eat some GF white stuff again–in the meantime, I can finish my family’s conversion to better GF goodies. Thank you again! ♥
April – Received my ATK Recipe book this week, and YUMMMM. I can’t wait to get started with the GF CornBread recipe first to go with my chili. I miss that southern specialty! Already diving in to make my own ATK flour mix, and baking this evening!
I want a good raised donut. That is what I miss more than anything. So far I’ve managed to figure out tolerable recipes for other things, but not donuts!
With you, Keri. With you.
I miss real NY bagels. The texture and “chew” is just not right!
The hardest thing is finding all of the ingredients for gluten-free baking! It seems like I’m picking up something new each time I try a recipe. My cabinets are full of a flurry of different flours and powders!
I just want a decent sandwich bread, and I don’t want it to taste like garbanzo beans (Bob’s Red Mill, are you kidding me with that stuff?) I’m not expecting miracles here – I know sourdough is a thing of the past. Very excited to hear that ATK is doing a cookbook. They’ve never steered me wrong.
I was diagnosed with celiac disease 4 years ago and the baked good I miss most is . . . Croissants! I haven’t even been able to find a GF option, in stores or to bake at home! Do you think ATK has an answer for those? Because I miss the buttery, flaky goodness that is the croissant.
Someone had better get on that. Let’s hope ATK keeps moving forward and magically find the answer.
My greatest challenge is getting a good crumb on sandwich bread.
Trying to decide whether it’s really worth it to pay the premium for the “superfine” flours more and more cookbook authors are calling for…flour’s already too darn expensive. Argh!
Your bread looks good. 🙂
My biggest challenge is trying to leave my comfort zone. I’ve done bread with pretty happy results, but I’ve been too chicken to try pie crust.
Bread. The last time I made GF bread it was hard as a rock. I could have hammered in a nail with it!
The biggest challenge is definitely the expense. We’ve tried so many mixes, and found a favorite by far (Namaste for the win!) but man, when you can get a bag of regular flour for a dollar it sure can be hard to swallow the price difference sometimes.
I agree with the challenge of trying to decide if it’s worth it to pay the premium for gf flour, especially when you don’t know if the recipe is even going to turn out. I’m excited about the test kitchen cookbook — they had a recipe on recently where they made crispy fried chicken with corn starch instead of flour, it’s on my list of things to try!
My gluten free challenge in the kitchen is learning about all the different fours I had no idea I am still new to all of these and would love to win this one anything will help me.
My biggest challenge is like many above-too many flours for different baked items needed! Also the bread is sub-par.
My crust really sucks!
All the breads I’ve tried seem heavy (I admit I’m new to GF) so would love to try ATKs cookbook. Lots of testing.
Just found out I need to eat GF….. everything’s a challenge at the moment. I trust ATK recipes tho.
I so agree with the “15 different flours” comments. Frankly I have given up baking. I SO wish I could make my own GF bread that tastes like the gluteny stuff and has the same texture. I have had to make a lot of changes because of this damn celiac, is nice chewy bread too much to ask for?
I just went gf a few months ago and I miss baking immensely. It seems to hard to navigate and understand all of the different flours and binders you need to combine to mimic gluten. I would love to have this cookbook!
My biggest GF challenge is how how HOW can I make some GF croissants? I have a friend who works for King Arthur Flour who teaches a croissant class and, when I explained my desire to make them, she was dubious. Can it be done? I don’t know. To be fair, I haven’t even tried yet, but if I could make a GF croissant and eat that little bastard, I know I would be happy.
Seriously. Croissants need to happen. Now.
Hard to pick my biggest challenge… I guess I would say a tie between the cost of gf ingredients and finding the time to bake gf bread, treats, etc.
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I am so excited because not only is this gluten free, but it is yeast free! Thanks for blogging this. I am a huge Test Kitchen fan and can’t wait to get my hands on the book.
Oh, and my biggest challenge? I did a tarte tatin challenge in London competing against trained chefs. I am an at home baker. I entered a gluten free version – and came in runner up! It was a blind challenge, and I proved gluten free can hold its own! But I still haven’t mastered bread yet!
Donna, you need to let us know where to find that recipe!!! Runner-up! Amazing.
I used the Cook’s Illustrated recipe, and the Ideas in Food What IiF flour blend – it’s a perfect cup for cup substitute! Let me know if you want the flour link – unlike ATK it includes dried milk powder and xantham to mimic the protein structure of gluten.
>> and the Ideas in Food What IiF flour blend – it’s a perfect cup for cup substitute! Let me know if you want the flour link <<
would love the link!!
Here is the Ideas in Food What IiF flour link I mentioned:
http://blog.ideasinfood.com/ideas_in_food/2012/02/what-iif-flour.html
This flour has milk protein, which when combined with xantham gives the resulting bread that springy feel of wheat bread. It also is a perfect cup for cup substitute.
Like all gluten free blends, when you really think about what you eat it may put you off. I mean the process of getting tapioca flour and corn starch is not very whole food. But the blend works, including in homemade pizza crusts and pie crusts and the bread above. And waffles. And pancakes. So it is perfect for a bit of “gluten free” indulgence!
Challah
My biggest GF challenge has been making light and fluffy french bread, pizza crust and pasta.
The choice of flours is overwhelming. Every recipe and every cookbook advocates a different combo of flour or one particular flour. As a very experienced baker who was forced to go gluten-free for a serious health issue, trying to figure out my way through GF baking has been a big challenge. Any help would be much appreciated and winning a cookbook would be even better!
my biggest challenge is that I have just started the gf route and have no clue. I have bought some gf flour and that’s as far as I have gotten. ATK cookbooks are the best….their stuff always works. Great giveaway and blog…just found you today through a friend.
rrregena@aol.com
Thanks for stopping by! ATK is a great place to start, they really know what they’re doing. It’s hard being gf, but eventually you’ll get the hang of it!
This would be for my 5 year old son. He hasn’t been diagnosed yet, but we’re doing a full on elimination diet. I feel like I am punishing him and we have talks daily about why he can’t eat the things he did a week ago. Breaks my heart. I went and tried to find a bunch of things at the grocery store and couldn’t hardly come up with anything. And I love to cook. So I bought a HUGE bag of potatoes….which he doesn’t even really care for, but at least it’s a normal food that we all eat. I don’t want him to feel like the odd one out. And i can do a million things to a potato. I got some bags of pasta as he LOVES pasta. Some ridiculously priced mini loaves of bread and a couple mini frozen pizza crusts. I am so new to this and thoroughly overwhelmed at the info and underwhelmed at the selection at my local stores. Ugh. Right now I don’t know who I feel worse for. My son or me. Sigh. To make matters worse my son has literally one symptom suggesting a gluten issue so my husband thinks I am a freak for doing this. I know it will get easier and as a mom I will end up owning this whole GF thing! Lol. I know it could be worse.
Oh no, Richelle! Well, one, it might be something else so wait until that awful elimination diet is over and then revisit. But two, you’re right, it does get so much easier. At first it’s just devastating and slowly you get used to it. I realize that sounds sad, but honestly, it does get better.
My biggest challenge is wanting more variety. I would love to win this cookbook, and thank-you for posting this delicious looking recipe!!
My biggest issue is that things taste so dry and…cardboardy (is that a word? It is now). I can get things to be “good,” just never “wow.”
My biggest challenge is that gluten free baking isn’t like regular baking. It’s more like a science experiment. Knowing what goes with what and how it reacts, etc. It’s all a learning curve.
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I enjoy gluten free baking and love new recipes
I just wanted to let you know that I finally got around to making this. My cheese on the inside completely melted down, but in a fantastic way. My husband now says this is the best gluten free bread he has had, and that every day should start with cheesy toast for breakfast. Thanks for sharing this, and I did buy the book as well 🙂
Zeppole. Need I say more?
Actually, I did think of one more thing to say: sfogliatelle.
I like all the things you’re saying.