Update to My Newest Gluten-Free Bake Mix

Even later update:  I am all over the map trying to figure out what causes the intestinal distress.  I have read that Xanthan gum can do that in excess, so thinking I might actually reduce the gum in the bake mix.  I have had a ton of my baking in the last few days and I think that is part of the problem.  My son who has had much less is fine, plus he doesn't suffer from IBS like I do.  Plus, I used some raisins instead of chocolate chips at one point and even raisins can cause a problem for me. Creating a lovely gluten-free and low-carb bake mix has proven to be more of a challenge than I thought it would be.  Update re sore tummy issues:  It's definitely the high-fiber coconut flour (so little that I'm using and still it is a bit of a problem) causing the problem for me, but thankfully not everyone reacts this way.  The Xanthan gum doesn't cause the problem as I've made muffins using it without coconut flour and I was fine.  Turns out Xanthan gum is very beneficial in helping one to lose weight.  All my recent baking put on not one pound - in fact, I lost a pound.  That's pretty amazing!


Update 22/02/2011:  Still working on the bake mix, and so far this is what I came up with:

1 1/2 cups ground almonds or almond flour
1 cup certified gluten-free oat flour
2 tbsp sifted coconut flour, OR 1/4 cup golden flax meal (with flax use 1 tsp Xanthan gum)
1 1/2 tsp Xanthan gum

Yield:  2 1/2 cups, 1/4 cup servings: (coconut flour option)
122.8 calories; 4.7 g protein; 8.0 g fat; 6.1 g carbs

Notes:  So far, I really like it.  It's not perfect but it is the best I've come up with yet.  There's not a whole lot to work with.  The coconut flour in greater quantities than 2 tbsp is too much fiber for us.  The Xanthan gum increased slightly helps to give the properties of gluten and binds the components of the bake mix to prevent crumbly outcomes. Using 1/4 cup more bake mix than white flour makes it possible to follow the regular recipe exactly, however, there are some gotcha's.  Sometimes, depending on the recipe, more liquid may be required to get the correct batter consistency as coconut flour absorbs so much moisture.  If subbing this bake mix for my Splendid Low-Carb Bake Mix, use 2 tbsp less.  The muffins I made rose and fell slightly but kept a good height.  They were beautifully browned but had irregular tops (kinda fun actually and added interest and texture compared to perfectly rounded muffins).  The muffins have a soft, moist crumb - perfect!  My banana loaf rose beautifully, was perfectly rounded and sank minimally all over.  It was dense, moist with a soft crumb.  I'm thinking I might try another version - the carbs go up 0.3 grams to see if "drying" out the bake mix a bit by mixing up some of the ingredients will help the baking to keep its rise and not fall at all.  Failing that, I'm going to stick with this bake mix as I really am not a miracle worker and have limited ingredients to work with and overall it tastes like baking made with real white flour.  My eldest son who is not one for baked goods has really enjoyed my baking experiments and cannot believe that the muffins, loaves and cookies are gluten-free and low-carb!  He said, "Nobody would guess".  High praise! :)

Phew!  I've been a busy bee!