Beginning the Year with Organization
Some people begin the New Year with resolutions for dieting, exercise and other life goals. For me, the New Year means it’s time to clean and organize. The packing away of the Christmas tree, finishing the last of the holiday leftovers and tidying up the kitchen. It’s time to make room for some new things that Santa brought me, and donate anything that is gathering dust.
Along with that, it’s time to give the pantry an overhaul. That means wiping down the shelves, getting rid of ingredients that are past the expiration date and putting everything in order for a New Year of baking!
What’s in my (gluten free) pantry?
For several years now I have wanted to give you a tour of my home pantry with all the gluten free must haves! So why the procrastination? Well, with all of the myriad cooking and baking ingredients I have purchased since going gluten free, things had gotten out of hand.
My pantry areas were so full of stuff, that often I would purchase something only to find that there was already a full box or bag in the cupboard that had gotten lost behind all the other ingredients!
The New Year is a great time to pull everything out for a good look at what I have on hand and reorganize how I store it. For those who are just beginning the gluten free diet, I hope this post will be helpful in understanding where to get started.
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One of the first things that I did after my Celiac diagnosis was to designate pantry areas where no gluten is allowed. Pull everything out and scrub the shelves clean. Segregate all gluten containing ingredients to be donated or thrown away. Give unopened items to the food pantry or family members. Discard opened items, or if your household is not 100% gluten free move all gluten containing ingredients to a separate area of the kitchen.
As you will see in the photos, I like to use ball jars to store my grains. When I set up my gluten free pantry, I washed them in the dishwasher and got some new lids. I also added a few new plastic containers and Lazy Susans to complete my gluten free storage space. A label maker is nice, but sometimes I just make labels from the product packaging and tape them on.
If you are new to gluten free baking you might be overwhelmed by the array of flours, starches and other ingredients used to make breads and pastries. Like many, I invested quite a bit of time and money stocking my pantry to get started. Over time I learned which ingredients I would use most often and pared down my list accordingly. Today, grains that I use frequently are purchased in bulk and those occasional ingredients are kept in small quantities.
Keeping a well-stocked pantry means that I can experiment with new recipes without having to run to the store. But an organized storage area is essential to not getting overwhelmed.
So, what should you buy first? My “Frequent use” list is a great place to start. I also provide you with a full list of what’s in my pantry by category; Grain/Flour, Starch, Seeds, Nuts and Other/Misc. I also made you a printable checklist to take along when you go shopping. You’re welcome!
It takes a while to know what you like. For me it was trial and error baking many loaves of bread, rolls, pancakes and sweets. Some ended up in the trash, and others I choked down but would never make again. Today, after 5+ years gluten free I have my go to recipes, the ones that taste good not only to me but also my gluten eating family. These are the ones that I make again and again, with consistent results. The ingredients become part of my master list.
Frequent use list:
- Baking powder (gluten free)
- Baking soda
- Brown rice flour
- Potato starch
- Tapioca starch
- Unflavored Gelatin (pectin)
- White rice flour
- Xanthan gum
- Instant Yeast
- Gluten Free All Purpose Flour Blend
Master List:
Grain/Flour
- Almonds / almond flour
- Brown Rice / brown rice flour
- Buckwheat groats / buckwheat flour
- Cassava flour
- Coconut flour
- Corn flour / corn meal
- Millet grain / millet flour
- Sorghum grain / sorghum flour
- Teff grain / teff flour
- White rice / white rice flour
Check out my post on Using a Grain Mill to learn why I stock whole grains like millet and buckwheat that I can easily mill into flour for baking.
Starch
- Arrowroot starch
- Corn starch
- Potato starch
- Tapioca starch
Seeds
- Chia seeds
- Flax seeds
- Poppy seeds
- Pumpkin seeds
- Sesame seeds
- Sunflower seeds
Nuts
- Almonds
- Pecans
- Walnuts
Other Baking Ingredients:
- Gelatin
- Non-fat dry milk
- Psyllium husks
- Xanthan gum
Misc:
- Gluten free bouillon
- Gluten free broth
- Gluten free spices
- Gluten free coconut aminos
- Gluten free oyster sauce
- Gluten free pasta
- Gluten free rice noodles
- Gluten free soy sauce (tamari)
Here is your printable Gluten Free Ingredient Shopping List! What are some pantry items that you can’t be without? Let me know in the comments!
Notes ♪♫ You may be unfamiliar with ingredients like xanthan gum and psyllium husk, but they are key in baking gluten free and will help with the structure and consistency of your gluten free breads.
