Wow! All the recipes I have tried have been fantastic! A.R.Clearly has tried and adjusted the recipes until they work. I bought this 2 months ago and have tried several recipes. I did order Authentic Foods flour, as suggested, and am very happy I did so, since the super-fine grind has clearly made a difference.
I have tried the basic sandwich bread and it has far exceeded any others I have bought or made from scratch or a mix (with the possible exception of Whole Foods brand Gluten-Free frozen bread). This week I sat at my desk at work and was eating a sandwich with this bread. A friend stopped by and did a double-take! She said "it's so unusual to see you eating such a yummy-looking sandwich!"
I have also made the soft-pretzels, which were tasty, but I allowed them to rise too much, so the cooking was more difficult. The Blueberry muffins, and Pumpkin Bread look, taste, and have a crumb very much like they were made from wheat. The Walnut Bread was tasty, but crumbly, and may just need smaller walnut pieces added to help it keep its shape. The Almond Biscotti were very tasty and cooked up well - they passed muster with my gluten eating friends. The chocolate chip cookies were tasty, but were very dependant on the oven temperature being correct and my oven tends to run on the low end of temperature. The apple pie was very tasty, but there was too much crumb topping for me, but the rest of my family enjoyed it. I plan to try out several more recipes and I am looking forward to them.
I agree with another person's review that there is a lot of refined sugar and fats - just like most wheat based cookbooks. However A. R. does provide some guidelines about how to make many items a more healthful with whole grains. Also, most things use Canola oil in this book, which tends to be more healthful than butter and creates better results with the GF flours. As a side note, the publisher or A. R. gets kudos for using what appear to be pictures of gluten-free products on the front and back covers (rather than stock picts of wheat-containing breads as other GF cookbooks have done).

I stumbled upon this cookbook in the bookstore and bought it. It has become my favorite and most used GF baking guide. It is the only one I really use anymore. Recipe ingredients are simple, processes are easy, and the end products are DELICIOUS! My Non-Celiac friends are asking for the recipes. I have even started making my own creations using the base recipes in this book. I am ordering of these books as Christmas gifts.

I'm reducing my wheat and gluten intake to see how my body motabilizes food. This book is the best cookbook period. Because it is a gluten and wheat free book is beside the point. I eat as healthy as I can because my immediate family is diabetic and overweight. I have reduced my sugar intake as well. I know the author says to follow directions exactly but I have substited sugar and eggs in her recipe with no problems. I use xyletol, agave, stevia and zero instead of sugar. I also use an egg replacer. So far there is no prolems. the combinations of the recipes are amazing. Thank you to the author for taking the time and energy to pass on this labor of love. It is very much appreciated.

I had an ever-growing collection of gluten-free cookbooks, driven by mediocre recipes or lack of the specific recipes I wanted... but then I found Gluten Free Baking Classics and I no longer need to go looking for bigger or better cookbooks.

Every single recipe is an absolute winner. The shortbread is divine, the chocolate chip cookies are my new standard, the vanilla cupcakes are better than my old wheat-flour ones, and I have total confidence when I try a new recipe that it will turn out wonderfully. Easy recipes and tips make it even better (no running around town looking for 10 different kinds of flour). This book may be smaller and simpler than others, but it is the best; I have recommended it to all of my celiac friends. *****

I finally figured out I was intolerant to dairy and gluten. I'm a TOTAL junk food junkie and I REFUSE to eat subpar desserts simply because they fit my dietary needs. They HAVE to be good enough that I don't feel like I'm missing out. The recipes in this cookbook are incredible.
1. The lemon cake on the front cover? TO DIE FOR!!! I replaced the butter with soy butter and the milk with soy milk and . . . ta da! Dairy-free as well!
2. The chocolate chip cookies are awesome. You would honestly never guess they were gluten-free (or dairy-free for that matter!)
3. The brownies are fantastic, but since I like less of a milk-chocolatey taste to my brownies I make them with Ghirardelli's Bittersweet Chocolate Chips (before I went dairy-free. Those chips are NOT dairy-free)and I think they're far better that way.
4. I love the sandwich bread, although I only needed to bake it for half the time. Must be doing something wrong, but it still tastes great!
5. The pizza crust is fantastic. The "dough" is ridiculously difficult to work with and you'd never think it could possibly bake into something that tasted both crisp and chewy, but surprise surprise!
6. The rustic flat bread (focaccia) recipe is great. I actually use that bread as my sandwich bread. It tastes great toasted. It's just easier to make this bread than the sandwich bread so I usually just use this as my all-purpose bread.

The great thing about this book is that it teaches you how to adapt normal recipes to suit a gluten-free lifestyle. This is truly the only gluten-free cookbook you need to buy because not only are the recipes great, but the basic flour mixes that she teaches you to make will help you make other things that aren't in this cookbook. Buy it! And make the lemon cake! (Although it takes FOREVER!)