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Hi All~~

I apologize for not getting this summary out sooner... I submitted a couple
of questions to the group (below) and received great replies and recipes. I
didn't include the recipes in this summary - if anyone wants them, email me
and I'll send you a Word file with all of the recipes people submitted,
including the recipe I used, which turned out beautifully!!! Forgive me if I
overlooked your reply...this should teach me not to forget to put summaries
together in a timely fashion. Thanks so much to everyone who responded...
Cheers~~Ayn in Kansas

*My questions:

*

1.  Do I use baking soda or baking powder? The non-GF recipe calls for 1 tsp
soda, 1/2 tsp salt, but a GF recipe I looked at called for baking

powder...I've always been confused about when to use one or the other or
both.



2.  How much xanthan gum do I use for a quick bread? I'm using 2 cups of
flour mix - the recipe, as is, before conversion, rich and not heavy, but

also not a sandwich bread. I don't want my GF verson to be too dense, but
not crumbly (not asking for much, huh?)
___________________
*Responses:*

You'll need to increase leavening (baking powder or baking soda) by 50%. You
may need to cut back on the flour just a tad. This is experimental stuff,
and you may want to ultimately make some adjustments in flour, sugar, eggs,
spices.

Baking powder will give you more leavening. Try that first.

Use 1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon xanthan or guar gum per cup of flour.

My brother, a gourmet cook, believes if you mash the bananas, you'll get a
rubbery bread. He cuts his into small chunks and mixes them in by hand.

Use plenty of cinnamon and spices. Many banana breads lack zip. If your
recipe has none, try 1 teaspoon. It's not bad to add raisins and nuts.
Featherlight is a good choice.
_____
Whether you use baking powder or soda usually depends upon whether you are
using honey or sugar. If honey, baking soda is best. If sugar, baking powder
is best. However, some recipes include both baking powder and soda.

_____

As a rule baking soda is used in recipes contain an acid (most fruits,
citrus, & also honey) that it can react with to make gas for leavening. It
start immediately upon contact so batter need to go from bowl to oven
without delay. Baking powder may contain some baking soda (for a 'double
acting' process) but the chemicals that do most of the leavening are
activated by the heat in the oven.  My recipe  calls for baking soda plus
a bit of lemon juice to insure the acid/base reaction.

I don't add xanthan.  If recipe has lots of bananas, there is natural fiber
to hold things together. (Same is true with with applesauce & pumpkin
breads.)  Eggs also help so recipes with two are better than one for GF.
(That's about 1 egg for each 1 to 1 1/2 c. of GF flour...It kinds of depends
on the size of the 'large' eggs.)

I use a mix for plain flours but some of the commercial flour blends have
xanthan in them, which is not a big deal. I do bake my banana bread in my
non-stick cupcake pans. Muffin-size cooks quicker than a loaf so outside
doesn't burned before inside is done. I pop extras in the freezer.

I ''pam' the pans but DON'T use paper liners. The liners are never non-stick
& I hate to waste a crumb!  The crust on the outside helps hold things
together & it makes them easier to pack & also control.

______
I made some gf banana bread this morning that turned out fantastic.  It had
2 ¼ cup flour (I used mostly brown rice, and about ¼ c each of oat, sorghum,
sweet rice and tapioca—to create a mix and use of mostly empty bags!)



I used 1 ¼  tsp each of baking powder and baking soda and 1 tsp of xanthan
gum.



My recipe called for buttermilk which I think reacts with the b. soda.
Since I never have buttermilk on hand, I always just mix a spoonful of plain
yogurt in with regular milk and let a sit a few minutes while combining
everything else.

_____
I would try baking powder instead, and use a bit more than normal recipe. No
xanthan gum should be necessary, but you can add a small amount if you like.
Use an extra banana. Make sure the batter is not too thick but not runny.
_____
With any kind of fruity bread or cake (apple, banana, zucchini, etc.), I
follow the recipe and just sub my flours.  If I'm not using a gf mix that
already has xanthan gum, like Pamela's, I add about a generous tsp for the
whole recipe. I will say that if I've forgotten either the baking powder or
baking soda, it doesn't seem to matter. Baking requires some salt, but
sometimes, if it's a really salty recipe, I cut back.

I've switched to low-glycemic flours....sorghum with some potato or corn
starch to cut it.  Brown rice, not white rice.  Maybe 2 cups sorghum to one
cup lighter flour.  Not an exact science. This is only for flax muffins,
apple, banana, etc.  The only time I have to use something like featherlight
is in sponge cakes or birthday type cakes.The low-glycemic flours are good
in breads, too.
_____
I have not used the flour mix you use but I did convert my regular banana
bread recipe to gf simply by exchanging the flour 1-1. I did not need to
change anything else. I use gf pantry's country bread and pizza dough mix
for my flour.  This mix does have some baking soda in it already but I still
did not change the called for amounts in my recipe, I just treated it as
regular flour.
_____
I've found that quick breads convert beautifully to gluten free! I follow
the recipe as-is, substitute gf flour cup for cup, and add 3/4 tsp of
xanthan gum. The biggest help I've found for insuring success it to bake
smaller loaves. Otherwise I've found it hard to get the batter to bake all
the way through. I buy small loaf pans at Christmas Tree Shop for $1 a piece
and use them. Not to brag (ok, to brag a little), when I gave little loaves
as gifts last Christmas, I received notes asking for the recipe, saying it
was the best banana bread they'd ever had. (They had no idea it was gluten
free.) Hope that gives you hope!
_____

I use the Namaste GF flour mix in equal measures to my old recipes.  It
always comes out good.   I would say use the baking soda or baking powder or
both, however the recipe calls for it and don't substitute as they have
tested their recipe to know what works best in it.  With the Namaste mix, I
don't ever add any extra xanthan gum, as it is included.  Sorry, can’t
answer the difference or why to use one or the other of baking soda or
powder-have wondered that myself …

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