Gluten-free diets/breads/crackers? (Gluten Free - General Guidance)
Posted by adagio on Mar 19, 2008 · Member since Aug 2005 · 228 posts
Does anybody have a recipe for wheat free, gluten-free bread that is not too rock-like? I have a lot of experience making bread but have never needed to make gluten-free bread, so feel somewhat at a loss. Indeed, I would feel extremely happy if anyone has any useful and practical information about a wheat free, gluten-free diet. I look forward to your responses.
Cheers!
Rebecca (New Zealand)
Post
It's been about 48 hours since I posted this and I must admit to being rather surprised that no one has any information to offer. Is there no one else out there who is on a gluten-free diet? I would really like to hear of your experiences, especially insofar as bread is concerned. I am also wondering about making crackers, rather than bread. So any recipes for gluten-free crackers would also not go amiss. Thanking you.
Rebecca
There were some people here who were, but since vegweb was taken down and put back up, I haven't seen them.
I am gluten free. Someone here recommended The Food Allergy Survival Guide and I love that. I have a book by Bette Hagman. She has several books out. I have lost my bookmarks, unfortunately, and I don't have the links I did have. There is a place on the internet where they sell Bette's flours premixed and it is MUCH cheaper than trying to buy all the stuff separately and make your own flours.
I have her bread book. There is French bread stuff...bagels, pizza crust, pretzels. There is a "universal" flour substitute that is 1:1 with wheat flour and I have not tried that yet. There is a light bean flour and a heavy-weight bean flour. Lots of recipes.
The survival guide has a bit of everything. I am anxious to find time to make the chocolate crinkle cookies. There is a pizza crust in there, but I didn't care for it.
I think I got the polenta pizza crust I use off of here, but I don't remember. I make that a lot with crimini mushrooms and pizza sauce and I love it.
One thing I will say, try to stay away from Bob's Red Mill stuff because it is grainy, especially the rice flours. Tapioca flour and arrowroot from there is fine. Sometimes, that is all I can find and I have no choice. I am looking at getting a grain mill so I can do my own flours, but I have not had the time to figure all that out.
It is a pain in the neck to have to be gluten free. Maltodextrin is one of my worst problems. If it is a domestic, US source it will be corn. If it is from outside the US, it is going to be wheat. That has been trial and error. I have never bought rice bread ready made, it just looks awful and it is very expensive. I am the kind of celiac who can't tolerate oatmeal so my grain choices are limited.
Another vote for the Food Allergy Survival Guide. It is free of yeast, soy, gluten, dairy, eggs, fish, tree nuts... It has some quick breads I have yet to try.
I am recently wheat free, working towards taking all gluten out. I must say, I am also on the look-out for a decent yeast bread recipe. I know that adding guar gum or xanthan gum to a GF recipe will help it 'stick'.
I do have a really yummy banana bread recipe that is classic.
What types of flours do you have readily available?
Perhaps this thread will get more attention in the Vegan Food and Cooking' part of the forum?
I really don't know much about gluten free diets, aside from the fact that there are some people that have allergies/conditions that prevent them from being able to eat wheat. Aside from such conditions, is there any health or other benefits to a gluten free diet?
No benefits to being gluten free. The grains that celiacs have to eliminate (celiac sprue is an autoimmune disorder) have many nutrients that are more difficult to get elsewhere. Wheat, rye and barley all have the gluten that had to be avoided. Oatmeal also contains gluten, but it is different than the other glutens in wheat grass type of grains. Some celiacs can tolerate, some cannot, but you have to buy special oats that are not cross contaminated. In the US, you cannot buy ANY type of grain that is Quaker brand because they are ALL cross contaminated and dangerously so. Before I knew this and was going gluten free I had some Quaker oats and had a rather ummm uncomfortable experience, shall we say.
Bette Hagmen's bread baking book relies on garfava flour and sorghum (milo) flour, along with things like tapioca flour, potato starch, cornstarch, arrowroot flour and so on. As a rule, you have to add xanthan gum as you are doing the mixing, not before. Bette has one where you put it in the flour mix, but it is the exception to this rule. Xanthan gum, and a little less so with guar gum, gives baked goods that "spring" that flour has making bread less dense. You can't really bake gluten free without it.
I have found that since going gluten free, I have gotten into a rhythm. I can have every fruit or vegetable, nothing I am allergic to there. Beans are not a perfect replacement for the nutrients in wheat, but they aren't bad. I eat lots and lots and lots of beans. I have brown rice some and quinoa some, but not as much as I am sure that I need. I am not wanting to mess with my diet much right now because I have gotten down to things I can eat and feel well afterwards and I am rarely feeling sick after a meal. Whatever it is I am doing, I think it is probably fine and I am feeling well...so...?
Sitting here munching on some wilted kale with cremini mushrooms and Korean BBQ tofu for my supper.
My apologies for not replying sooner. It has been a little difficult to do so. Very many thanks to all those who replied to my query, all the responses had something to offer. My first plan of attack is to try finding gluten-free related websites. Books are somewhat problematic because I literally cannot handle them and therefore need somebody to read books to me. A website will be much simpler, as long as it is compatible with the voice activated software I am now using. I shall start looking today. If I come across any successful recipes for gluten-free breads and crackers, I will let you know.
Cheers!
Rebecca :)
I wanted to post these to my resource directory, but I can't find it since vw was revamped.
Children's Hospital Boston: Celiac Disease Program and Support Group
Celiac.com (& Gluten Free Forum)
E-Zine Articles: Baking Without Gluten - Cake Recipes for Celiac Sufferers
Gluten Free Blog
Gluten Free: The Celiac Site
Tastes Like Real Food
here is a website for some baking hints and mixes:
http://www.ellenskitchen.com/faqs/glutfree.html