There are a number of reasons why people may not eat wheat. One is an allergy to wheat itself, another is true Celiac Sprue disease, and there are a lot of other people who may be on a somewhat faddish bandwagon, and avoid gluten because they think they feel better. (I personally am skeptical of the latter because there seems to be little or no scientific basis.) True Celiacs are sensitive to gluten, which is also found in barley, rye and all the so-called sprouted meals. Gluten is sneakily in foods of all kinds, from soy sauce and BBQ sauce and many additives. Some people could not even use plain vinegar because it could be made from these grains, but labeling rules have greatly improved. Sensitive people will even avoid foods that come off the same production lines as food that is used with wheat-foods. A real celiac will even use a dedicated toaster from the rest of the family, and there is the concern of cross-contamination in a thousand ways in a typical kitchen. If you want to provide something for your instructor, ask exactly why she is sensitive, because just the chance of cross-contamination may bother her. In that case, bring chocolate or fruit or something else that isn't remotely possibly contaminated. If she's avoiding gluten for diet reasons, then she's probably not allergically sensitive. As for baking things yourself, I've tried it,. and it was miserably hit-or-miss with odd (for me) ingredients. While my husband was on a GF diet for more than 6 months, it was just better to buy things at Whole Foods. Hope this helps a little. Others here are really good at baking GF, but it was a pain for me. Listen to them... ;-)

I never liked soft white breads (including burger buns and dinner rolls), void of any fiber and nutrients, before going gluten-free, and I REALLY don't like the gluten-free versions I've tried. I made Cloud Bread once --- thought I was eating scrambled eggs because of the flavor of it. It's interesting all the bread recipes I've tried, especially early on after going gluten-free. In January I made "Gluten-free Sourdough Oat English Muffins" using starter made with quinoa flour (recipe from Cultures For Health: http://www.culturesforhealth.com/gluten-free-sourdough-oat-english-muffin-recipe). They were actually very good, but don't keep well (even frozen), which is another problem with a lot of gluten-free breads - poor keepers, and they also crumble easily the older they get, or after being frozen - yet another characteristic of many gluten-free breads. The next time I make this recipe I will only make 1/2 a recipe. The bread we like currently is a yeasted, dense, seedy bread (more like a traditional steam-baked pumpernickel - looks more like a brown brick kind of bread) which works best toasted. I remember my mother (who had celiac disease) would crave something with yeast in it, so that's why I gave this recipe a try. I find making gluten-free pancakes, waffles, and muffins far better, and more convincing baked goods, than sandwich-style breads. I serve those all the time to family/friends who are visiting and they can't tell the difference. -Grainlady

The cookie cutter will be perfect for the Halloween Cutout Cookies recipe above. :-) King Arthur has "Gluten-Free Measure for Measure Flour", which is their version of Cup4Cup and is available at Wal-Mart in our area. Test kitchen tips for Gluten-Free Measure for Measure Flour This flour is best suited for non-yeasted recipes. Directly swap the amount of all-purpose flour called for with the same amount of Measure for Measure flour: No need for additional specialty ingredients. Works beautifully in your favorite recipes, whether you’re substituting just a few ounces of conventional flour or several cups. Grainlady's soapbox: The biggest drawback with most of the all-purpose gluten-free blends --- rice flour being the main ingredient. I wouldn't recommend using large amounts of rice flour for anyone, and especially children, due to the arsenic associated with it; and nearly all gluten-free flour blends and commercial gluten-free foods contain rice flour. For more information: http://glutenfreecooking.about.com/od/glutenfreecookingbasics/a/Arsenic-In-Rice-And-Gluten-Free-Diets.htm  I also dislike the large amounts of high-glycemic flours and starches they contain. To use an old idiom: Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Trading one health concern for another potential health concern - gluten intolerance followed by diabetes and other health issues due to food choices. Therefore, just as before I was gluten-free, I mill gluten-free wholegrain flour myself and use coconut flour and almond flour over rice flour. The brown rice flour I do use I make myself in order to reduce the amount of arsenic in it by rinsing, soaking, sprouting (which includes more rinsing), dehydrating the sprouted grain, and milling it into flour myself. With that much work involved, you use it sparingly. After a 10-day detox from all grains at the first of the year, I soon realized how other grains, even gluten-free grains, still affect your wellbeing. They initiate inflammation and auto immunity. Phytates block nutrient absorption, and oats contain higher levels of phytates than almost any other grain - unless you know how to soak and prepare them to reduce the phytates. Going gluten-free and maintaining your health is more challenging than just "going gluten-free." Especially with all the commercial gluten-free choices now, and most are really just more junk food - without the gluten. In the end, I would suggest using coconut flour and coconut oil, and a dairy-free margarine for the butter, like in this recipe: http://www.healthextremist.com/coconut-flour-cookies-recipe/ Or this one which uses almond and coconut flour with dairy-free choices: http://blog.meaningfuleats.com/the-best-almond-flour-sugar-cookies-gluten-free-grain-free/ -Grainlady

That sounds really good! Trader Joe's small bag of GF flour is better than others I've tried. It's mostly starch. Egg free gets so much harder, and I totally get the desire for commercial products. They have better ways of producing foods using gums and the like. The commercial GF puff pastry that looks okay has eggs and butter. :( I think by the time you remove the gluten and butter, its not puff even through squinty eyes. You have to have some kind of protein, and I don't think pea protein would work. And the fat globules of vegetable fat probably wouldn't work either. :( I found this blog, but what's in the picture proves she's so far down the rabbit hole, she doesn't know what she's making. OTOH, it looks crisp and flakey and might suit the purpose on the homemade side. There's another one that claims to have made GF vegan profiteroles. Well, I made some savory choux paste puffs last year that looked just the same. They're NOT puffs. They're nasty, dry squatty things. Much better to invent something new with what you have than go to these lengths to make a really bad version. The rice crust I described doesn't have to have egg. That just makes it stick together. You could use chia goo or gum or honey or anything that'll make it stick together enough to get it out of the pan. And from that point of view, something like baklava or spankopita filling could be baked by itself in a glazed baking dish and be scooped out and served on GF/eggF/dairyF water crackers (or gluten free matzah-like squares), or just eaten with a spoon. ;) Or GF toast points. Hm... I wonder what would happen if you toasted GF bread, dampened it, and rolled it out thin then baked it? Moosemac, your zucchini sheets sound interesting. I can definitely see it for something like spanakopita!