Many bakers think letting the batter rest is an essential part of successful gluten-free baking. But that’s not always true.
One of the most common gluten-free baking tips is “let your batter rest”. Letting the batter rest gives the gluten-free flours and starches more time to absorb the moisture. In theory, it will turn your dry, crumbly cakes into delicious, moist masterpieces. In reality, while letting it rest is essential in many gluten-free recipes, it’s unnecessary in some cases—and may even hinder the results.
Why let it rest?
Gluten-free baked goods have earned the reputation of being dry and gritty. That grit—that evil grit!—is the result of gluten-free flours that are often high in starches and rice flour, which take longer to absorb moisture than regular “gluten” flour. Letting your cookie dough sit for 60 minutes can make the difference between a cookie with a gritty mouthfeel and one that you would never guess is gluten-free.
When you should let it rest
From my experience, letting the dough rest is especially important for low moisture baked goods like cookies, biscuits, scones, and pastry. These recipes contain a lot of butter and fat, but not a lot of liquid ingredients like milk, water, or oil, which would speed up the softening process. This is an important tip to know as a gluten-free baker. When trying a new recipe, and the resulting texture is a bit dry or gritty, consider letting the dough rest and compare the results. If it’s still dry, you’ll want to try changing up your flour mixture (or adding more fat/liquid).
For reference, here’s the minimum amount of time I let my doughs rest before baking with them. Most often, I let my dough rest in the fridge. However, for very low moisture baked goods, where you don’t need the butter to stay cold (like shortbread cookies), I’ll let it rest at room temperature.
Baked good
Time to rest
Biscuits
30 minutes
Scones
30 minutes
Cookies
60 minutes
Pie Crust
At least 60 minutes, preferably 2-3 hours
Biscuits and scones both contain milk, so they absorb the moisture more quickly. Cookies and pastries mainly contain butter, so they require more time.
When you shouldn’t let it rest
I see people giving this advice all the time:
“Let your cake batter sit on the counter for 20 minutes before putting it in the oven.”
And I want to scream “NOOOOOOO!”
Here’s why:
When you’re working with a high-moisture baked good (like a cake, quick bread, or a muffin), the baking powder begins reacting the moment the liquid is added. That means that while you let your cake sit on the counter for 20 minutes, you’re losing those amazing gasses produced from the baking powder that will make your cake rise. There will still be some oven spring, but not as much as when the batter was first mixed.
Not to mention, that adds an extra 20 minutes of wait time until you can eat your delicious cake (when you don’t have to)!
Tips for best results
If your high-moisture baked goods (cakes, muffins, quick breads, etc.) are turning out dry, you should try:
Add some almond flour: Using a small amount of almond flour in your baking can enhance the taste and texture dramatically. Due to the high moisture and fat content, it can also add moisture, and will help your baked goods to brown. Consider reducing the flour in your recipe by ¼ to ½ cup and swapping it with almond flour. (If you can’t have almonds, try gluten-free oat flour, which also has more protein & fat than the average all-purpose flour).
Add more fat or liquid: It might just be that you need a bit more moisture in your recipe, especially if you’re converting a regular “gluten-ful” recipe to gluten-free. Try adding anywhere from ¼ to ½ cup of liquid or fat to the recipe and see if that helps. My go-to moisture-enhancing ingredients are sour cream, canola oil, or butter.
Use a different gluten-free flour: While I am firm on my stance to not use all-purpose blends, I realize not everyone has jumped on this bandwagon. If you’re using pre-mixed blends, consider trying a different one, as certain blends may be starch-heavy or contain flours that have a dry texture.
Bottom line
In conclusion, if you’re making a low-moisture baked good (cookies, biscuits, pastry), you should absolutely let it rest. If you’re making a high-moisture baked good, get it in the oven ASAP; if you’re not getting a beautifully moist baked good, you need to change up the ingredients. While gluten-free baking has a reputation for being dry, it doesn’t have to be that way!
Did you find this advice helpful? Shoot me an email and let me know!
Happy baking!
Robyn
(P.S. Want to learn more about gluten-free ingredients, techniques, and how to make gluten-free baked goods (that no one would guess are gluten-free)? Check out my free lessons and my baking courses, including The Essentials, The Holidays, and The Bread Course!)
Letting the batter rest gives the gluten-free flours and starches more time to absorb the moisture. In theory, it will turn your dry, crumbly cakes into delicious, moist masterpieces.
Gluten-free flours often contain fine starches, so they absorb more liquid than conventional flour. To address this, gluten-free recipes usually call for more liquid and produce looser batters. They may also call for a larger quantity of leavening, like baking powder, to help add volume and lighten the texture.
Similarly to using expired leaveners, letting your batter sit for too long before cooking will result in a heavy and dense cake. Fortunately, the solution is simple — be sure to preheat your oven as you mix up your batter, and pop the cake in to cook as soon as possible.
A – Ideally make your batter and let it rest for about 30 minutes before cooking. This allows the flour to absorb the liquid, making the pancakes lighter and fluffier. Q – Why buttermilk? The acidity of buttermilk reacts with the raising agents to make you pancakes lighter and fluffier.
Don't overmix: Overmixing can cause gluten-free baked goods to become tough and dry. Mix your ingredients until just combined and avoid overworking the dough. Doughs and batters tend to gelatinize the gums (xanthan & guar) in flour blends/mixes, so you could end up with a 'slimy' texture if you over do it.
Avoid cooking gluten-containing foods and gluten-free foods together in the oven - do it separately. Also, do not use the convection feature when cooking gluten-free because there might be flour in the fan from when regular bread/food was baked that can recirculate and potentially contaminate the food.
Dissolving leaveners in liquid prior to adding to dough will give a better rise to the product. Gluten-free baking at high altitude requires less liquid and either a higher oven temperature or a longer baking time. Start with omitting 2 tablespoons of liquid and increasing the oven temperature by 25° F.
If your “all-purpose” gluten free flour blend does not have a gum in it already, you should add it, and in general you should add 1/4 tsp per 1 cup of gluten free flour.
The potential outcomes you might encounter if you don't let your dough rest are given below. The yeast will not get ample time to release carbon dioxide (CO2), which will make the dough unpleasant and flat.The dough might end up with a rubbery and denser texture.
In addition, during the sheeting process, dough resting can also improve processing properties and facilitate the formation of gluten by relaxing the gluten structure formed during the mixing process (Fu, 2008).
One of the most common gluten-free baking tips is “let your batter rest”. Letting the batter rest gives the gluten-free flours and starches more time to absorb the moisture. In theory, it will turn your dry, crumbly cakes into delicious, moist masterpieces.
Gluten-free goods tend to brown faster and take longer to cook through. So they need to be baked at a slightly lower temperature, for a slightly longer time. Every recipe is different, but in general, try lowering the temperature by 25 degrees and baking the item for 15 minutes longer.
Other flours such as corn flour, teff flour, and quinoa flours are all a bit gritty. You'll need to grind them finely in a food processor to produce a finer texture. Some gluten-free baked goods can be denser than their wheat counterparts. However, many of the newer gluten-free recipes are remarkably light.
Some starchy blends need more flour because the starch softens when the liquid ingredients are added. This also happens with the Cup4Cup flour blend due to the dried milk powder.
If you don't let the pancake batter rest, the pancakes may turn out dense and chewy instead of light and fluffy. The gluten in the flour will not have a chance to relax, resulting in a less tender texture.
Increase liquids to fully hydrate flour. You may also want to go with a full-fat liquid, as the fats in whole milk, cream or coconut milk can improve tenderness. Another easy way to add moisture and fats? Include almond flour in your gluten-free blends for healthy fats, plus protein and nutrients.
Gluten-Free Flours Require Special Measuring Techniques
Most home bakers use the dip-and-sweep method when measuring flour, but this doesn't work well with gluten-free flours and starches. These flours and starches are finer than wheat flours, making them hard to pack evenly and consistently into a measuring cup.
The lack of wheat flour and gluten in the products significantly reduces the moisture retention capacity of the product, thereby resulting in gluten-free products typically having a very low shelf life.
Remember, baking times for gluten-free foods vary greatly, and it's important to keep a constant eye on your creation to monitor for the colors and textures that indicate doneness. These recipes often call for longer baking times at a lower temperature compared to traditional recipes.
Gummy on the inside- bake for a longer time. Gluten free bread takes much longer than a regular loaf to bake and therefore a sticky crumb is generally the result of under baking. It is easy to see why this can happen, gluten free bread dough needs more moisture and is often difficult to knead with conventional methods.
If you can let the gluten free bread dough rise overnight in a cool — not warm — place, the slower rise will provide a stronger cell structure and more of a sourdough flavor when baked the next day. A refrigerated overnight rise is a great way to get a longer proof without weakening the bread's structure.
To successfully make a gluten-free pie crust that won't fall apart, add one egg to your dry ingredients before adding any water. Fully combine the egg and then add only the amount of water you need to form the dough.
Introduction: My name is Eusebia Nader, I am a encouraging, brainy, lively, nice, famous, healthy, clever person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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