Gluten Free flours: oh my god, there's SO many!
Okay, so both I, and my mom are gluten intolerant, and I was recently looking at gluten free recipes online and noticed that nearly all of them use about 3 different types of flour combined, most of which I had never heard of..
I always just substitute the regular flour in recipes for Tritamyl Flour (made by Odlums, but I'm not sure what the equivalent would be in different countries) which just an all purpose gluten free flour, and all of my foods come out fine (and don't taste "gluten free"... YAY!) but is using a mixture of flours more effective, or just more expensive?
discuss =P
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
8 Comments:
I looked up that flour online, and it's wheat starch. Since it's made from wheat, depending on the manufacturer, it could be a very low-gluten product, or it could contain quite a bit. And it could vary batch-by-batch. It's kind of like corn starch, which could contain other parts of the corn and no one would care, they just want the corn starch to behave like normal corn starch.
In the US, it would have to have the allergy label about how it contains wheat and is processed in a plant etc. etc. If you're that gluten-intolerant that you need to worry about cross-contamination in small amounts, this stuff for sure wouldn't pass that test.
The recipes that include the other flours are going to be gluten-free for sure, since they're starting with products that naturally have no gluten, rather than trying to take gluten out of wheat.
Apparently some people do well with wheat starch and others don't. And it also might depend on how much of it you consume.
dbcurrie at 1:05PM on 08/04/09
Did I hear correctly, while watching A.B. make crepes, that cake flour is gluten free? I don't bake very much, but this would be good news, if so.
duncan1205 at 1:26PM on 08/04/09
@duncan, cake flour isn't gluten-free. It has less gluten than bread flour, which needs the extra gluten for the structure of the bread. You aren't going to find any wheat flour that's gluten free. Which is why baking is so complicated if you can't have gluten.
dbcurrie at 1:38PM on 08/04/09
Instead of messing with the individual flours (unless the recipe specifically says they're required) I used Bob's Red Mill all-purpose gluten-free mix. Pamela's baking and pancake flour works well, too. My local grocery carries a ton of options, but I believe they can be ordered online.
These work well for pretty much everything in combo with the right amount of xanthan gum - yeast breads, quick breads, desserts, etc.
savecara at 4:09PM on 08/04/09
Whole foods has a mix from their store brand '365', Gluten-Free baking mix. It was actually not very expensive. I saw the Red Mill brand, but that suggested that you add xanthan gum to it, which was about 16 bucks a bag. the 365 brand was all inclusive and it worked really well in a cake I made this weekend, which I had asked people for suggestions for on a different thread on this site!
Gluten-Free Lemon Pistachio Crunch Cake
I think I will stick with the mixes over 30 dollar flour combination any day.
biabiaboiler at 5:18PM on 08/04/09
You all should join a celiac support group in your area. They share food stuff, recipes and can pass on great info. I recently attended a gluten free picnic and the food was outstanding. There is probably a celiac in your area that bakes and sells great bread. It's a cottage industry where I live.
Poultrygeist at 9:13PM on 08/05/09
Lots of cook books and on-line recipes call for their specific flour blend. I have tried a lot, and most disappoint, and they're a lot of work and money. I get good results with Bob's and a little xanthan gum.
I do still make up mixes for certain items, so I have stuff like sorghum, millet, garbanzo bean flours on hand, as well as a variety of starches and rice flour (though I rarely use it. Don't like it).
I love amaranth--it is extremely expensive, though, and you only need a little for the flavor. I replace about a quarter of whatever other flour I'm using with it, and it gives a lovely "wheaty" flavor and improves the texture, too.
grumblekitty at 11:03PM on 08/06/09
Does anyone have a basic blueberry muffin recipe for the 365 GF all purpose baking mix? I am new at the Gluten-Free lifestyle and I don't understand all this.. mixing in stuff (xanthum gum) etc. I just need a very direct recipe for right now till I do more research. This has been so frustrating as I love homemade foods! Ugh... helpppp.... thank you!
gfteri at 9:24PM on 09/13/09