# Gluten free



## jessiquina (Nov 4, 2005)

at my work we sometimes get requests for gluten free items. i usually offer a flourless chocolate cake, or a crustless cheesecake. but im noticing that Bobs Redmill, and King Arthur Flour offer Gluten Free All Purpose flour. Has anyone used a flour mix like this? do i just use it in a recipe that calls for All Purpose flour? Im guess im going to purchase some and experiment, so if anyone has any tips , i'd greatly appreciate it!

im looking to make things like: brownies, pie crust, cookies....etc.


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## katbalou (Nov 21, 2001)

bob's red mill uses a bean flour. it's disgusting, very strong taste. haven't used the KA yet, just purchased a gluten free baking enhancer from them, haven't  tried it yet.  be very careful with cross contamination - just the wheat flour in the air can make some people sick(learned the hard way). so bake the gluten freee first thing, before your other baking.

i've been gluten free for 5 years now, ask away.

kathee


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## chefelle (Feb 17, 2007)

You're going to need to purchase either some xanthan or guar gum to help with the texture. 

I don't buy any of the flour blends available...I just make my own.  It's a combination of rice flour, cornstarch, potato flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, and tapioca starch.  It reacts well in place of the wheat flour and there is virtually no taste difference.

I'd be happy to post the proportions for the blend if you would like.

For those with extreme allergies you'll also need to purchase gluten free baking powder.

As Kathee mentions cross contamination is a huge issue.  I have a separate work station that is dedicated gluten free.  But I can't guarantee absolutely no cross contamination because flour is air borne...and products requiring refrigeration will be housed in the same display case as the wheat products.  If I have an order for gluten free items I usually bake them, box them, then shrink wrap them to keep any cross contamination to an absolute minimum. 

I developed a flourless chocolate cake and ice cream made with Alexander Keith's pale ale (a local specialty)...most people suffering from celiac's disease could eat the cake and ice cream with no adverse effects BUT those who were extremely gluten intolerant could not stomach it.  We printed an alert for those with gluten sensitivities on our menu alongside this item.

To answer your first question about where and how to sub in gluten free flours...your standard wheat recipes do require some modification in order for things to work out properly.  You need to add either xanthan or guar gum...and sometimes an acid such as apple cider vinegar....to keep from getting that gritty, cornmeal-y texture.


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## jessiquina (Nov 4, 2005)

thanks for your help! we have some xanthan gum at work that ive never used, but i will figure it out.

i still dont quite understand the difference between someone who has Celiacs, and someone with gluten intolerance. urgh! its pretty confusing. i guess i'll do some more research.


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## katbalou (Nov 21, 2001)

and then there are those with a genuine wheat allergy.

as to the xanthum gum, about 1/2 teaspoon to 1 cup flour.


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## jessiquina (Nov 4, 2005)

thanks. i ordered some of the King Arthur gluten free flour. i am just going to experiment with some of my basic recipes, and add some xanthan gum. and once that fails, im going to look for specific gluten free recipes! i'll let you know if anything good comes from this!


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## katbalou (Nov 21, 2001)

if you want post the recipes and i'll help you tweak them. sometimes you can add an extra egg, or more fat to make things more palatable. land o lakes butter has a web sight with a lot of good gluten free recipes on it, should give you an idea of where to start.


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## cactusheart (Aug 23, 2010)

Whenever a customer requests something gluten-free, I go for the chocolate flourless cake, a creme brulee or some bavarois with fruit. I've been experimenting with a flourless crust for cheesecakes as a change of pace (I guess it coincides with fitting into being gluten free), but it's a "pet project", I really haven't had time to work on it *lol*. Something besides coconut macaroons, that's too easy *lol*.

My mother got on a gluten-free kick. She's outranks me in experience as a pastry chef 3 times over *lol*. She's experimented with lots of gluten free baking ingredients. I can say that although alot of them do pretty ok in taste, nothing can replicate the texture and rise of real flour. She's had the best results with blending rice flour w/tapioca flour so far... I think chefelle has the best idea.

And there IS a difference between an allergy and an intolerance...I've spent too much time reading medical journals...cuz I'm nerdy like that /img/vbsmilies/smilies/tongue.gif


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## petemccracken (Sep 18, 2008)

I'm sure I posted this before, but take a look at http://www.kingarthurflour.com/glutenfree/ for not only "product" but recipes and advice.


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## katbalou (Nov 21, 2001)

cheesecake crust - i use trader joe's gluten free gingersnaps ground up, or joseph's gluten free chocolate wafers add some melted butter and your good to go.


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## jessiquina (Nov 4, 2005)

as for the recipes i'd be trying out... something basic like a pound cake, like this one: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pound-Cake-with-Blueberries-and-Lavender-Syrup-109663

i'd also be looking for a good brownie recipe.


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## gypsy2727 (Mar 9, 2010)

PeteMcCracken said:


> I'm sure I posted this before, but take a look at http://www.kingarthurflour.com/glutenfree/ for not only "product" but recipes and advice.


Pete is on the Gluten free trail I am

Pete is always one step ahead

I am Celiac ....I found out not long ago

Some of us live with it all our lives not knowing whats wrong (I think I'm one of them because when I excluded gluten from my diet .....things improved)

Some develop Gluten intolerance over time.

I just stay away from gluten products and do not make substitutes

for the most part we seem to be in a climate that has to constantly substitute for what we cannot have ....I find the taste and the consistency always lacking.

I make my own food not considering gluten at all.....fresh vege and fruit and meat.....dairy to a minimum

Diet also has to do with just getting used to the changes in the body over time


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## katbalou (Nov 21, 2001)

http://www.landolakes.com/recipe/1312/vanilla-pound-cake-gluten-free-recipe http://www.landolakes.com/recipe/428/ultimate-chewy-brownies-gluten-free-recipe try these, they might help.


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## jessiquina (Nov 4, 2005)

thank you for those links! it looks like there is a bunch of great gluten free recipes on there.


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## katbalou (Nov 21, 2001)

your welcome. let me know if you need any more help. i just made a cornbread with some of the KA gluten free flour enhancer and it seemed to have a texture more like wheat flour. i'll try it in a cake next and let you know how it works.


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## jessiquina (Nov 4, 2005)

so i made the land o lakes brownie recipe. in my opinion, they are gross. but interestingly enough, my lip swells after i eat them. i tried them last night and then again this morning, my lip is throbbing. hmm. i will find out what exactly is in that King Arthur flour blend.


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## katbalou (Nov 21, 2001)

i hadn't tried the brownie recipe, it looks pretty much like most other brownie recipes. the flour mix is pretty basic, too. brown rice, white rice, tapioca,and potato starch. 
[h2]gluten-free multi-purpose flour[/h2]
King Arthur's carefully tested blend of white rice and whole-grain (brown) rice flours, tapioca starch, and potato starch is perfect for all of your gluten-free baking recipes. 24-oz. box.

i wonder what it is that is bothering you. maybe the xanthum gum?


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## onepoundofflour (Sep 8, 2010)

> I don't buy any of the flour blends available...I just make my own. It's a combination of rice flour, cornstarch, potato flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, and tapioca starch. It reacts well in place of the wheat flour and there is virtually no taste difference.I'd be happy to post the proportions for the blend if you would like.


If you'd be so kind Chefelle, I would love a copy of this.


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## gigi7 (Feb 13, 2016)

I used to cook for a living eons ago but the food science really comes in handy now after my husband was diagnosed with Celiac...that's a genetic disorder...the person cannot digest gluten which can pierce the stomach wall, lung wall or brain barrier. We had to get a blood test for him as he had no stomach issues but he did have brain issues. I also was diagnosed with a gluten intolerance where the morphine receptors react to the gluteo-morphin an opioid peptide. Took me 4 months to slowly wean myself off of gluten...

I posted these two websites the gluten summit was a life-saver for me to learn and find out about testing. Since you said you were into geeky things I posted this for you!

www.theglutensummit.com/products-page/cyrex/array-3-wheatgluten-proteome-sensitivity-and-autoimmunity/

www.gluten.org/resources/getting-started/celiac-disease-non-celiac-sensitivity-or-wheat-allergy-what-is-the-difference/

One difference that I see is that Celiac is actually life-threatening. Fortunately since I do know how to cook and experiment -- used to make my own ricotta, mozzarella, make my own yeast - for sour dough like the Italians do with yogurt for Panettone, buckwheat crepes, (which I use for Cannelloni) I was able to switch over to adjust a whole lot of my recipes. Mostly Italian since my family is from there and that's where I cooked the most in Italian restaurants that were like Italy not American. We also lived in Malaysia and Laos so I have a whole lot of amazing naturally GF foods to draw from like Dosa, rice & lentil crepes, Thai sticky rice which is really versatile due to it's almost exclusively amylopectin content. I recently used regular Thai rice which I washed dried then parcooked then sauteed with a shallot then added to heated milk to form a pretty good bechamel substitute. The trick was to saute the rice then I used a stick blender to achieve the consistency.

I am excited that there are chefs working with GF foods although my goal is to develop my own science based substitutes to avoid Xanthan Gum which kills gut bacteria & all the other additives. I am in the process of trying out some Potato Gnocchi using fresh potatoes with dried potatoes. I used to make the most light wonderful potato or gnocchi di Zucca with pumpkin.

I used the buckwheat crepes to make a slightly sweetened ricotta filled crepe with a sauce of fresh blueberries. I make them slightly smaller as I wanted to serve them as dessert. I hope to continue the conversation on GF baking especially. Most sites on the internet don't know anything about food science.

I've had some great success with using pecans ground with spices, candied ginger & butter or coconut oil as a par baked crust for just about any pie, tart, cheesecake. I used homemade yogurt that I drained in place of the cream cheese which was fantastic.

Thanks !! Gina ( Gigi7)


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