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Rating: 
Summary: Great resource for sweet gluten-free goodies.
Review: First, to establish my credentials, I was diagnosed with celiac sprue four years ago at the age of 46, after over 6 years of being told by doctors that I had "irritable bowel disease" and/or that nothing was wrong with me an antidepressant couldn't fix. (Never let any physician tell you that just because you are an adult and are apparently "well-nourished" that it is impossible for you to have celiac - make them give you the blood test!) So I am well acquainted with coping (or trying to) with a strict GF diet. I have to admit that I have not yet tested any of the recipes in Ms. Reilly's "Gluten-Free Baking" because, being an adult celiac, I hoped the book would have more savory recipes, not cakes, cookies, etc. Still, especially for those who are trying to make gluten-challenged children happy, "Gluten-Free Baking" is a wonderful resource. GF cooking, especially baking without gluten, is a HUGE challenge and Ms. Reilly certainly has the cooking credentials to tackle it, spurred on by finding out that her son had celiac disease. Gluten is the foundation for crusty, light, fine-textured bread, it is what makes dough flexible, able to capture gases during baking and give great volume to the baked item. Without gluten, what you frequently have is a dense, gummy, heavy, dry, crumbly, unappealing, very poor substitute. GF baking is much more successful in recipes where a dense texture is aimed for, e.g. biscotti (dry), corn pudding and pudding cake recipes (moist), fruit quick breads, fruit muffin recipes. In these types of recipes, GF "flour" mixture can be substituted for regular wheat flour fairly successfully. This being the case, it makes sense that GF cookbooks tend to focus on breakfast pastries and desserts. Even so, GF baking is much more complex than regular baking because there are so many more ingredients needed to try to achieve the gluten-effect without gluten. "Gluten Free Baking" has many, many recipes for unusual GF treats such as black forest cake, Boston cream pie, cream puffs, cherry strudel, filo pastries, chocolate praline torte, to name a few. If I ever need to make a GF dessert or batch of cookies, I will certainly turn to Ms. Reilly. For celiac/gluten-sensitive-copers who are looking for savory dishes, I have found "One Potato, Two Potato" to be the most helpful and inspiring cookbook I have found yet. More and more people are being diagnosed with gluten-intolerance in some form or another, and it is heartwarming to know there are trained cooks out there trying to make a GF diet more bearable.
Rating: 
Summary: the best book out there
Review: I'm not a celiac, but I am allergic to wheat, so for many years, I have sought out gluten-free recipes for the breads and pastries I've been deprived of. After trying countless recipes turning out crumbly cookies, hard, dry bread, and odd-tasting pastries, I found Gluten-Free Baking by Rebecca Reilly, the best book out there. The results of these recipes taste as good as (no kidding) the ones served at a high-end pastry shop.No wonder, since the author was trained not only at Le Cordon Bleu, but also at Le Notre Patissier, the leading pastry school. She has the experience of running her own restaurant, cafe, and catering businesses as well as teaching others how to cook. She'd been exploring gluten-free baking for her clientele even before her son and daughter were diagnosed as celiacs! All these credentials add up to a well-tested, easy-to-understand, and enlightening collection of recipes. But the highest recommendation comes from my wheat-eating friends, who really DON'T realize that anything is missing or "weird" about these treats, something they've never been able to say about my past efforts, despite claims by the authors of those recipes that they'd never tell the difference. Reilly's training allows her to explain how certain classic baking techniques can provide air and lightness to gluten-free recipes, which can otherwise suffer from the density of particular alternative ingredients. She reveals which ingredients can create elasticity and provide structure in lieu of gluten, so that readers can feel empowered knowing not only how to make these recipes, but also why they work. I gained so much confidence in baking that I even made the scrumptious Black Forest Cake, a labor I probably wouldn't have even attempted in my wheat-eating days. (By the way, it's totally worth the effort.) Amazingly, the recipes range from the simplest brownies to baklava, so there's something for all palates and skill levels. With all due respect to Bette Hagman, author of The Gluten-Free Gourmet books and an undisputed pioneer in the gluten-free quest, I would love to see Reilly's take on yeast breads as well as on gluten-free cooking. I think there's enough of the gluten-free pie to go around, and all of us in the wheat-free community (and our friends) would benefit.
Rating:
Summary: the best book out there
Review: I'm not a celiac, but I am allergic to wheat, so for many years, I have sought out gluten-free recipes for the breads and pastries I've been deprived of. After trying countless recipes turning out crumbly cookies, hard, dry bread, and odd-tasting pastries, I found Gluten-Free Baking by Rebecca Reilly, the best book out there. The results of these recipes taste as good as (no kidding) the ones served at a high-end pastry shop. No wonder, since the author was trained not only at Le Cordon Bleu, but also at Le Notre Patissier, the leading pastry school. She has the experience of running her own restaurant, cafe, and catering businesses as well as teaching others how to cook. She'd been exploring gluten-free baking for her clientele even before her son and daughter were diagnosed as celiacs! All these credentials add up to a well-tested, easy-to-understand, and enlightening collection of recipes. But the highest recommendation comes from my wheat-eating friends, who really DON'T realize that anything is missing or "weird" about these treats, something they've never been able to say about my past efforts, despite claims by the authors of those recipes that they'd never tell the difference. Reilly's training allows her to explain how certain classic baking techniques can provide air and lightness to gluten-free recipes, which can otherwise suffer from the density of particular alternative ingredients. She reveals which ingredients can create elasticity and provide structure in lieu of gluten, so that readers can feel empowered knowing not only how to make these recipes, but also why they work. I gained so much confidence in baking that I even made the scrumptious Black Forest Cake, a labor I probably wouldn't have even attempted in my wheat-eating days. (By the way, it's totally worth the effort.) Amazingly, the recipes range from the simplest brownies to baklava, so there's something for all palates and skill levels. With all due respect to Bette Hagman, author of The Gluten-Free Gourmet books and an undisputed pioneer in the gluten-free quest, I would love to see Reilly's take on yeast breads as well as on gluten-free cooking. I think there's enough of the gluten-free pie to go around, and all of us in the wheat-free community (and our friends) would benefit.
Rating:
Summary: Celiacs rejoice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: I've made several of the recipes in the book and they have all been tasty. I have only one complaint. I wish the author had been just a bit more specific on how thin the streusel dough had to be! She wrote 'as thin as possible'. For someone like myself who has never made streusel that was quite subjective. If she had said 'paper thin, where you almost can see through it...' I would have known what to do. The streusel was the first from this book that did not come out good. Dough was rubbery. It was not nearly sweet enough (and I don't like very sweet desserts). I also noticed that almost everything I've baked had to be baked about 10 minutes longer than what the recipe called for - but that could be MY oven, not the recipe! All in all, a very very good recipe book for gluten-free dieters and I recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Very good recipes
Review: I've made several of the recipes in the book and they have all been tasty. I have only one complaint. I wish the author had been just a bit more specific on how thin the streusel dough had to be! She wrote 'as thin as possible'. For someone like myself who has never made streusel that was quite subjective. If she had said 'paper thin, where you almost can see through it...' I would have known what to do. The streusel was the first from this book that did not come out good. Dough was rubbery. It was not nearly sweet enough (and I don't like very sweet desserts). I also noticed that almost everything I've baked had to be baked about 10 minutes longer than what the recipe called for - but that could be MY oven, not the recipe! All in all, a very very good recipe book for gluten-free dieters and I recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: The best!
Review: My son is allergic to gluten and two others of us in the family are sensitive to it. For the past year I have purchased many cookbooks and the most difficult task for me has been to bake muffins, cakes, cookies which were appealing to my son. Though several books were very good, this one is the best! I have made three recipes so far and they are all hits in this family. My son is also allergic to eggs and so far none of the recipes rely as heavily on eggs and other GF cookbooks. The book is also informative and her list of resources is invaluable!
Rating:
Summary: The best!
Review: My son is allergic to gluten and two others of us in the family are sensitive to it. For the past year I have purchased many cookbooks and the most difficult task for me has been to bake muffins, cakes, cookies which were appealing to my son. Though several books were very good, this one is the best! I have made three recipes so far and they are all hits in this family. My son is also allergic to eggs and so far none of the recipes rely as heavily on eggs and other GF cookbooks. The book is also informative and her list of resources is invaluable!
Rating:
Summary: 100+ recipes for baked goods for gluten-intolerant dieters
Review: Over 100 recipes for baked goods for gluten-intolerant dieters presents a wealth of information for those who struggle to balance the desire for baked goods with an allergy to gluten. Recipes call for different types of flours, from almond flour and potato starch to flax meal: usually all that's needed is access to a good health food store to successfully reproduce these baked goods.
Rating:
Summary: Celiacs rejoice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: Yahoo!! FINALLY (and I mean finally), a book that makes eating a gluten-free diet a pleasure, instead of a chore. For those who have a real dietary threat due to wheat, and other gluten grains, this is a book that will give you some ability to have some control in what you eat, rather than be a slave to labels as well as remove fears from the unknown food. First of all, it looks like a regular cookbook instead of the usual anemic-looking, bland, thin-spined books that are out there; it looks like any other cookbook out on the store shelves. The colorful photography of the finished recipes make them look as good as they taste. With that in mind, the "Boston Creme Pie" should be your first recipe. For someone who has had to look at others enjoy "flour" desserts (cakes, pastries, cookies, etc.) while having yet another slice of fruit or an incredibly boring ricecake, this was a gift from heaven. And I believe that knowing that both the author, and her children, have this food intolerance, makes you believe in the cookbook even more. Add to the fact that she is a highly trained culinary chef, and you know that you have purchased the right book. I've only gotten to a couple of recipes, but this will become my bible for having some semblance of a normal diet. And Chef Reilly has made the effort and knowledge needed to create these dishes, incredibly easy and simple to follow. The information is all there. So, for all those celiacs who want to enjoy this part of life, open the book, pick a dish, and savor every bite!!
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