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1. Penny Said,

   Having to switch to gluten free baking was challenging enough, but I have to avoid dairy, nuts and nut flours, soy, too. Baked goods have tried my patience for the past 8.5 years. Because my child has sensitivity to soy, I can’t buy a lot of GFCF mixes that are on the market. And many years I lost count of the absolute flops that went straight to the trash can. GFCF baked goods can be gritty and gummy, especially when you are avoiding eggs, too. (Because we rotate eggs, sometimes I need to bake without them.)

   The demands of a child with autism monopolized my time, and I have, over the years, found a cake mix, a brownie mix and a pancake mix that I like and have stuck with them, and that’s pretty much it.

   Gluten free flours, xanthan gum, and all the “tricks” to GFCFSFEF+++ baking are expensive. They take up a lot of space in kitchen cupboards. Spending the money and time to try a recipe only to have turn out gritty or gummy is frustrating, and I admit, I gave up in a big way. (Gluten was the first big allergen that we removed 8.5 years ago, and I remember it being so very challenging at the time. Little did I know I’d have to remove a lot more and that I would envy folks who are simply gluten free — I think that would be so easy!)

   I simply never understood the science to baking GFCFSFEF+++ breads, cookies, cakes and other baked goods. I didn’t have the time or the background to try to figure it out.

   Until now. Now, I’m getting an education about the alchemy of baking without traditional baking ingredients like milk, wheat and eggs: The Allergen-Free Baker’s Handbook, How To Bake without Gluten, Wheat, Dairy, Eggs, Soy, Peanuts, Tree nuts, and Sesame by Cybele Pascal. Cybele Pascal is a chef who happens to be the mother of a child with severe food allergies. She went to work adapting all of our favorite baked items and put her collection of successes into a beautiful cookbook. And yes, there are color photos of some of the recipes (I like photos!).

   I. Adore. This. Cookbook! This book is not just a collection of recipes. Instead, Pascal takes the time to teach me about baking allergen free with almost the same restrictions we have at my house. The section called, “The Dry Goods Pantry” in Chapter 1, Stocking your Allergen-Free Pantry, combined with all of Chapter 2, “How To Bake Allergen-Free” provide a mini-baking school, and I would like these pages + the resource section in the back of the book available in a purse sized tri-fold to take with me to the grocery store. Pascal offers suggestions for replacing eggs, dairy, and wheat flour that have me looking through “regular” cookbooks with a new perspective.

   I wish I’d had this cookbook nine years ago.
   Rating: 5 / 5

2. Linda Rossi Said,

   I was so impressed with this book! It is truly a one of a kind piece of art, from the fantastic recipes to the gorgeous photos. The pantry list contained in the beginning of the book is an extensive, easy to read, detailed list of what to keep on hand, from food items to the types of appliances and tools– wow, what a help! This is one gigantic step in making baking a lot easier and very motivating if you are not someone who normally bakes. Just one flip through this book and you’ll find yourself inspired and preheating the oven!
   
   This book is for everyone because most adults and children, though not considered “allergic” to anything, DO have sensitivities of some kind. Unfortunately, without being tested, most of us just go around feeling “lousy” (headaches, sinus problems, brain fog, ADD/ADHD) after eating the trigger foods. As a busy working mom, I do not have the time to research healthy recipes and figure out what ingredients to eliminate and exchange. It is also so disappointing when you do all that work and the final product doesn’t taste good. This book does the preliminary work and provides delicious recipes with ingredients that “do not disturb”. Knowing that I am giving my kids great desserts that have been “screened” is so satisfying. They absolutely loved the Morning Glory Muffins and the Chocolate Zucchini Bread and have asked for them to be put into their lunchboxes. I am thrilled with this book and consider the whole “allergen-free” experience quite an upgrade for my family– a must have for every kitchen!

   Linda Rossi NY
   Rating: 5 / 5

3. Mary Lenahan Said,

   This book is truly AMAZING! I am a true “foodie” and whether you are a “foodie” or not, have food allergies, prefer vegan foods, or just want to have healthy recipes for baked goods…this book is for you! I am a food allergy support group leader and the mother of a teenager who has a life threatening food allergy to peanuts (we also stay away from nuts due to the cross contamination issue). My daughter also had a severe egg allergy until she thankfully outgrew it a couple of years ago. To add to the challenge of having food allergies in the family, I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease 3 years ago. Back then, when my daughter was still allergic to eggs, trying to find yummy tasting foods and recipes for my daughter and myself, that were safe for both of us…well, let’s just say it was quite the challenge.

   Cybele Pascal’s latest book “The Allergen Free Baker’s Handbook” truly is “AMAZING” in that it has made baking fun for us again! Ever since being diagnosed with Celiac I have been struggling to find good recipes that we can all eat and enjoy, not only for our immediate family, but also for our extended family and friends. As all of us “foodies” know…we love to cook and bake for everyone around us and it’s not much fun when we can’t taste test what we are making! Before Cybele came out with this book I had one flop after another, with my friends and family politely and hesitantly saying…”mmm…it’s good…” with the expressions on their faces telling me the real story of what they really thought. Thankfully this is no longer an issue, as with Cybele’s book I have had great success with comments such as “This is DELICIOUS!” and “This is really, really GOOD!”…with a look of delightful surprise when finding out the yummy baked goodie they were eating was completely allergen free.

   My daughter and I have been having so much fun doing the “Julie and Julia” thing (for those of you who are familiar with the movie)…only instead of doing this with Julia Child’s cookbook, we have been making recipes from Cybele’s book (though we do not blog and we are not writing a book). We have all been reaping the rewards…my husband especially…and he doesn’t even have food allergies! We did not think we would be delighted to be using egg replacer again, but we are…yup, who would have thought? We have gone back to using egg replacer and we make the recipes with the ingredients they call for…allergen free…because they are so yummy and healthy! Not only that…we can then eat the raw cookie dough when making cookies! We have made the Classic Choc Chip Cookies, the Double Choco Chunk Cookes, Maple Apple Crumble, Cinnamon Buns, Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut Frosting, Vanilla Cake with Vanilla Frosting, Red Velvet Cake with Velvet Frosting, as well as the Pizza Crust and Focaccia Bread. YUM!!! Next on the list…Blueberry Boy Bait…

   The only challenge I had was in trying to easily find the Authentic Foods Superfine Brown Rice Flour. It can be ordered online, but I am at our local health food store so often that I did not want to pay extra for shipping. Well, it’s worth it to order it online if you have trouble finding it at a local store. I was using Bob’s Red Mill Brown Rice Flour for the Gluten Free Flour Blend and all of the recipes were turning out great…but when it came to the Classic Choc Chip Cookie recipe, my cookies were turning out lacy. Cybele addresses this issue on her website…she talks about the different rice flours and even shows a picture of the difference between the choc chip cookies made with the Authentic Foods Superfine Brown Rice Flour vs. the Bob’s Red Mill Brown Rice Flour. She also states in her book that her recipes can be made with other brown rice flours than Authentic Foods Superfine Brown Rice Flour, but that they may not turn out as well.

   I am very thankful for this book…Cybele definitely did her research and provides all of the information you need to have success with her recipes…from providing resources for purchasing ingredients, to giving instructions on how to have an excellent outcome when making her allergen free goodies and savories. I highly recommend it…not only for “foodies” like myself, but for people who have been recently diagnosed with food allergies or Celiac Disease…as learning how to bake free of the allergens you need to stay away from can be a challenge. This book will help you get started… Enjoy!

   Mary Lenahan
   
   Leader
   
   MOCHA Fox Valley
   
   Food Allergy Support Group
   Rating: 5 / 5

4. L. Wang Said,

   I’ve tried many GF vegan recipes out there(over the past 5 years). Usually there might a handful of gems in an entire cookbook while the rest of the pages never get flipped to again. So far every single recipe in this book is something that I would make again. She includes a wide variety of different treats not just changing 1-2 ingredients and calling that a new recipe on the next page. The ingredients that are called for are easy to find and you won’t break the bank buying them. She doesn’t use any bean flours, which I personally I’m not crazy about the taste of, in her recipes like most GF baking books do. GF Everything about this book is great including the heavy paper that it is printed on and the beautiful pictures. Give this book a try, you really won’t be disappointed.
   Rating: 5 / 5

5. J. Hoover Said,

   I have been diagnosed with several food intolerances: Gluten, soy, egg, and dairy. This book finally addresses these issues in most of its recipes. The chocolate cake recipe with no eggs and dairy is the best GF cake recipe I have made. Even my non GF friends love this cake. The texture and taste is as good if not better than any regular cake I have had in the past. Most recipe books for GF baking still use egg, soy or dairy in their recipes so when I try to substitute ingredients they don’t fare as well. This book has already tried and tested to come up with the perfect final product. With this book, I need no other for perfect desserts.
   Rating: 5 / 5

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