help - wheat free, gluten free diet

[Jacaranda]

Do try exploring uses of spelt flour - you might be one of the lucky intolerants who is intolerant to wheat but not to spelt (I'm sure you already know, but spelt is an ancient variety of grain very similar to wheat, whose gluten is different from modern wheats and for a lot of people does not cause reactions).

I regularly make wholemeal spelt bread loaves for my ma and aunt, both of whom are intolerant of wheat gluten. It's also brilliant for wholemeal scones. It makes a much moister, very flavourful loaf - and takes about half the time of regular wholemeal flour to rise. Do give it a try --

[aklap]

Unfortunately spelt is not gluten free and needs to be avoided for all those on a gluten free diet.

From the National Foundation of Celiac Awareness site:

Is spelt gluten free?


Many folks ask if spelt is gluten free. There has always been confusion regarding spelt. Thanks to Ann Whelan, editor of Gluten-Free Living, it is clear that spelt is NOT gluten free.


Spelt is a whole grain flour. Organic, unbleached spelt flour is the same grain with most of the bran (fiber) removed, and nothing added. Not to be confused with oats or wheat, spelt is a member of the same grain family but is an entirely different species. It is one of the original seven grains mentioned in the Bible. This 9000 year old grain originated in the Fertile Crescent and over the centuries found its way throughout Europe where it remained a very popular grain for hundreds of years. To Germans, it is their beloved "dinkel" and is now found in a wide variety of foods and beverages from bread to beer. To Italians it is called "farro" and is found in gourmet soups, pizza crusts, breads and cakes.

[aklap]

Wheat free and gluten are not the same thing. Gluten is found in wheat, barley, rye & oats...and yes spelt & kamut.

[aklap]

Post #14 so I can post some informational links

[aklap]

Post #15. I am not a spammer, I just want correct information to be disseminated .

[aklap]

Now that I can post some informational links...

Here are the acceptable grains & flours for those that must remain gluten free:

http://www.csaceliacs.org/gluten_grains.php

[katbalou]

to clarify - i'm definitely talking about some of the packaged goods out there - some i think have the same taste and composition of cardboard. yuck!! it was pretty hard at the beginning as i was mis-diagnosed for so long, and was very run down,i had a hard time doing anything physical. never mind the panic attacks and depression that came from it.
i have turned the whole house gluten-free, i'm the cook - so if they don't like it - too bad
i have also lost the cravings i had in the beginning for various wheat products - such as a warm loaf of italian bread - sort of like an addict going thru withdrawal.
kathee

[aklap]

Originally Posted by katbalou

i have turned the whole house gluten-free, i'm the cook - so if they don't like it - too bad

Good for you!!!!

Originally Posted by katbalou

i have also lost the cravings i had in the beginning for various wheat products - such as a warm loaf of italian bread - sort of like an addict going thru withdrawal.

Very common and very normal. You are indeed correct - withdrawal is exactly what you are experiencing. Gluten has an opiate effect on your body, so when it is removed, you do go thru withdrawal.

[Nantzie]

I'm gluten free too! I've been going to Al's forum - celiacforums for quite a while, but mostly lurking there. Hi Al!

I'm also on another message board - glutenfreeforum . com .

These may not be up to standard as far as chef quality foods, but as a home cook, they're wonderful.

Pamela's Wheat Free Bread Mix - a must try. It smells like wheat bread, tastes as close as I can remember, and even BENDS. Soft and yummy.

Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix - great pancakes.

Ener-G Wheat Free Crackers - Reminds me of Carr's Water Crackers.

Gluten-Free Pantry (GFP) 's - Perfect pie crust. I made the pumpkin pie for my non-celiac family Thanksgiving and it turned out great.

GFP's Angel Food Cake - I was stunned at how close this was to the real thing. Same loft. Same texture. Incredible.

I've also been converting old family christmas cookie recipes to gluten free. I've had wonderful success with Annalise Robert's flour mix from her book Gluten-Free Baking Classics, page 6. (Not sure if it's okay to post the recipe for the flour mix?)

I was able to use Annalise's flour mix as a direct 1:1 replacement for regular flour, adding 1/4 tsp xanthan gum per cup of flour mix, for roll and cut cookies, mexican wedding cake type cookies, and even Norwegian Krumkake. If you're familiar with krumkake, I was even able to roll them into tubes and have them keep their shape.

The roll and cut cookies take some extra effort, but they turn out great and are well worth the effort. You have to refrigerate the dough, then roll it out between sheets of waxed paper, back to the fridge, back out to cut, then back to the fridge if needed to get the cookies to the cookie sheet in one piece. But when your only other option is no cut-out cookies for the rest of your life, it's worth the time.

Hope that helps, and hope to see you around the celiac world as well.

Nancy

[Culprit]

Originally Posted by katbalou

this morning i found out that you can take everything you thought you knew about the science of baking and throw it out the _________ window. chemical reactions are entirely different. if not for the addition of xanthan gum, your baked goods are very dry. the all-purpose flour from bobs red mill is not pleasing to my taste as it contains bean flours, so there goes a dz. muffins and 2 quiche shells. never mind that w/o gluten pie dough really is a different thing.
trying to access that article through my public library. thanks mike - i really don't know much about this disease, but i feel like i'm on a real fast learning curve.
kathee

I've had some luck with xanthan gum (you will also find it referred to on the web as Zanthan Gum and Xanthan Gun) using rice flour in various recipes. The amount of ingredients does not mirror ingredients in published recipes but once you learn how to use substitute ingredients and how much of one type of flour (i.e. rice) needs to be substituted for wheat flour on a comparative basis you will get pretty good at creating some pretty good meals. A friend of mine with Celiac disease connects with a number of web sites where victims of the disease share recipes and cooking experiences. You might find those quite helpful as support groups.

[OahuAmateurChef]

katbalou, how did you learn about your family's gluten sensitivity?

[katbalou]

oahu,
found out about the sensitivity by ruling out everything else. i had been "sick" for at least 5 yrs.(probably more like 15 actually) - sick being constantly fatigued, always catching every virus, walking around in a brain fog, unable to concentrate, with anxiety attacks and depression thrown in just for fun. I finally did a web search on my symptoms thinking i had chronic fatigue syndrome - that web page directed me to a celiac page and when i went down the symptom list, i had them all. i went to the dr. and had a simple vitamin deficiency test done and it showed that i was not absorbing them correctly - which was all the proof i needed. i immediately withdrew all the gluten from my diet and have felt much better since.
my son's sensitivity showed up in the rash form of dermatitis herpetiformis - a rash with itchy blisters. when i pulled the gluten from his diet it went away. and the bonus was that his acne cleared up also.
culprit,
sometimes the xanthan gum and guar gum can do some great stuff to your intestinal track!!!!
nantzie,
i have tried some of pamela's pre-made cookies and have found them a little lacking, so i was leary to try her mixes. maybe they're better. and some of ener-g's stuff like bread - ick, so i haven't tried any thing else in their line.
i've got a pretty good pie crust recipe down, i use some teff flour in the mix, and i like anna's bread mix with the montina flour in it also. i'm currently trying to tweak a rice flour, tapioca starch, corn starch and potato starch mix for a flour sub. goya puts out a fine grind rice flour that runs about .69/lb. which is much cheaper than bob's red mill.
kathee

[Culprit]

Originally Posted by katbalou

culprit,
sometimes the xanthan gum and guar gum can do some great stuff to your intestinal track!!!!

Excellent point. But I think you'd have to over-do it to cause a severe attack on that "end"; unless of course you're hyper sensitive to that ingredient also.
The itchy blisters that your son suffers from can be very nasty and my heart goes out to him in his discomfort when those develop. A friend of mine is so sensitive to gluten that if she uses a measuring spoon that has traces of wheat flour on it to measure ingredients, no matter how large or small, for a recipe she breaks out in those itchy blisters and they last for days at a time. Best of luck to you in controlling your disease.

[aklap]

Kat,

Yeah, some people do have "issues" with gums. If you tweak each recipe enough using a variety of different flours, you can get by without using them. Something like a peanut butter cookie, you could get by without any gums. There's enough protein to get things to hold together.

Combining several different flours when GF baking is always a good idea. You get a much better product. I guessing you've seen all the different mix ratios from Bette Hagman?

This chart (it's from New Zeland) discusses the combinations of various GF flours and binders. Just scroll down till you see the chart in the link below.

http://www.frot.co.nz/dietnet/resources/gluten2.htm

[psywise]

Hi all, my menu extensively caters for coeliacs and people with other intolerances. I’ll concentrate here on my experiences on providing a gluten free menu.

There is a BIG difference between being gluten intolerant and coeliac. A person intolerant can still consume small amounts, sometimes even flours like spelt may be appropriate without too much of a problem. I play it safe and omit all gluten from GF dishes.

Soy is definitely out, contains wheat. I use Tamari, a Japanese type of soy that’s wheat free.

I’ve yet to find or create an edible pasta substitute. Gnocchi (with just a touch of gluten free flour to help bind) is a good choice to still enjoy the sauces with. Rice noodles are good for Asian style dishes.

Bread is often not very tasty. It does make good acceptable croutons though. I have my baker make it twice a week. He explains that the reason it turns out more expensive commercially is that it is often made in the same bakeries that produce normal baked goods and much time is taken up sterilizing the equipment as well as the need to bake the bread first thing before any other products can be started.

GF flour/rice flour can easily and successfully be used in roux for sauces, soups etc without any taste difference.

I find different types of mash and pilaf’s a saviour when it comes to adding variety. Experiment! I prefer not to try to recreate gluten dishes but instead to create new ones. Easiest to adapt though are recipes that contain not much flour. Choc Brownies are a good example. In cakes ingredients such as almond and walnut meal can successfully be substituted.

My current most popular gluten free dishes are:

Chicken Breast, Asparagus and Snow Pea’s in a garlic cream sauce with sweet potato and caramelized onion mash.

Seared Scallops on Rosti.

Pesto Prawns with Greek Salad.


Hope this helps