Okay, so, I decided to try out shepherd’s grain low gluten flour. Heard some good things, figured I’d give it a whirl. Here’s the lowdown on my baking adventure:
First off, I grabbed a bag. You know, the usual – online order, showed up a few days later. Felt kinda lighter than my regular all-purpose, which I guess makes sense since it’s lower in gluten.
My initial plan was simple: cookies. Chocolate chip, classic. Found a recipe online, nothing fancy. The recipe didn’t specifically call for low gluten flour, so I knew I was going in blind-ish.
Started mixing everything up. Creamed the butter and sugar like normal, added the eggs and vanilla. Then came the flour. I noticed the dough was a little… different. Hard to describe, maybe a little less elastic? Definitely not as tough as when I use regular flour.
Folded in the chocolate chips, chilled the dough for about 30 minutes – gotta let those flavors meld, right?
Oven preheated, dropped spoonfuls of dough onto the baking sheet. Baked ’em for the time the recipe said. They spread out a bit more than usual, which I kinda expected. They also browned faster, so I had to keep a close eye on them.
Took ’em out, let ’em cool. Here’s the verdict:
- Texture: Definitely softer, almost cakey. Not as chewy as my usual chocolate chip cookies.
- Taste: Still good! The flavor of the flour itself wasn’t super noticeable. They just tasted like… well, chocolate chip cookies.
- Overall: Not bad! They were a bit more delicate, though. They crumbled a little easier.
Next, I figured I’d try something a bit more challenging: bread. A simple loaf, nothing sourdough or anything crazy.
This time, I actually found a recipe specifically for low gluten flour. Mixed the dough, and man, was it sticky! Like, REALLY sticky. I had to add a bit more flour to get it to a workable consistency.
Let it rise, punched it down, shaped it into a loaf. Let it rise again. Baked it in the oven until golden brown. The loaf didn’t rise as much as I expected. It was kinda dense.
The bread was… okay. It had a slightly different texture. A little bit more crumbly and not as airy as regular bread. The taste was fine, though. Made a decent sandwich.
Final Thoughts
Shepherd’s Grain low gluten flour is definitely interesting. It’s not a one-to-one substitute for all-purpose. You gotta adjust your recipes and expect a different texture. I think it’s great for folks who are sensitive to gluten but still wanna bake. For me, I might use it again for certain things, like cookies where I want a softer texture. But for bread, I’ll probably stick to regular flour. It’s all about experimenting and seeing what works best!
