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The Celiac Disease & Gluten-Free Diet Support Page has
provided information and support for people with celiac disease or gluten
intolerance since 1995, including important gluten-free and wheat-free diet
resources. The purpose of this site is to provide people who have celiac
disease or gluten intolerance, and are not aware of it, with a means of
figuring out what their problem is, and to help those who know they have it
lead more comfortable and healthy lives. |
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people following a gluten free diet, finding acceptable gluten-free baked goods
can be extremely challenging. Why do gluten free breads and cakes often pale in
comparison to their gluten-rich cousins? The answer lies in the way traditional
baking methods make use of the properties of gluten. Once you understand these
properties, you can begin to work around them and find or make acceptable
alternatives.
"Gluten" is defined as the mixture of many protein fragments
(called peptide chains or polypeptides) found in common cereal grains such as
wheat, rye, barely and oats. Wheat is the only grain considered to contain true
"gluten" and the peptides that predominate in wheat gluten are gliadin and
glutenin. In baking terminology, "gluten" is defined as a network of intertwined
water insoluble proteins (gliadin and glutenin) with water molecules trapped in
between. The fibrous protein strands of glutenin and gliadin have properties of
elasticity and plasticity that make raised breads possible. Rye flour contains
gluten consisting of only glutenin and not gliadin, making it inferior to wheat
gluten for baking. Other grains such as barley and oats have small amounts of
gluten. This is why wheat flour is often added to rye and other non-wheat flours
when making raised breads.
Gliadins and glutenins are both long molecules. Under a
microscope, gliadins look like compact balls while glutenin molecules resemble
fishing line that has been coiled or folded back upon itself. When mixed
together, as they are in dough, these two proteins form a tangle of strands.
Carbon dioxide gas from yeast and sourdough (as well as other leavening agents
such as baking powder or baking soda used in quick breads and cakes) are trapped
by the strands of gluten which must both expand and simultaneously contain the
gas.
This is where elasticity and plasticity come into play. The
gluten must be plastic enough to stretch with the gas but also elastic enough
(think "memory yarn" from L'eggs pantyhose here) so as to hold its shape.
Otherwise the gas would simply escape the dough and dissipate into the
surrounding air. As the yeast dough is exposed to processing such as kneading or
beating, the tangled strands of gluten begin to unfold into a more uniform mass
and the dough becomes more stiff, smooth and shiny. Those who have ever
attempted to bake bread will recognize this as the stage at which the recipe
typically says, "knead dough until smooth and elastic."
The challenge in gluten free bread baking is finding a
combination of flours and binders that can fulfill or at least approximate the
functions of gluten. Fortunately, a wide variety of specialty flours are now
available. These include rice flour, sweet rice flour, bean flour, tapioca
flour, potato starch flour, potato flour, corn flour, popcorn flour, arrowroot
flour and nut flours.
Additional specialty ingredients such as rice polish, corn
starch, arrowroot starch, rice bran, xanthan gum, guar gum, and corn meal are
all useful ingredients for gluten-free baking. Xanthan gum is a powder milled
from the dried cell coat of a microorganism called "Xanthomonas campestris"
grown in laboratory conditions. It works as a substitute for the gluten in yeast
breads and other baking with gluten-free flours. Guar gum is a powder derived
from the seed of the plant "Cyamopsis tetragonolobus." This gum can have a
laxative effect and cause gastrointestinal distress in some individuals. These
two gums are interchangeable in gluten-free bread recipes.
Here are several points to consider prior to baking your first
loaf of gluten-free bread. Air temperature, humidity, the freshness of the
yeast, and whether you are making the bread by hand or with a machine all affect
the success of baking a gluten-free bread. Breads baked from straight rice flour
are considered to be the most demanding and tricky. The bean flours and
gluten-free flour blends tend to be more forgiving. The addition of xanthan gum
or guar gum greatly improves the texture of breads. Finally, while traditional
recipes discuss kneading time, gluten-free recipes stress beating the dough. The
dough should look like thick cake batter if you are making it by hand; if you
are using a machine, the dough should form a shiny mound, but not develop into a
heavy ball.
Additional Pointers:
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 | Test any yeast that is nearing the expiration date by
putting about 1 tablespoon into 1/2 cup of water with 1 teaspoon of sugar.
If it doesn't foam up to double volume in 1 0 minutes, discard it and buy
new yeast. |
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| To eliminate measuring cup variation, use the same cup
or style of cup for all measurements whether wet or dry. |
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| Different brands and grinds of rice flour may require a
variation in the amount of water or liquid in a recipe. |
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| Lemon juice or dough enhancer added to a recipe to
balance the pH factor both enhances the flavor and acts as a preservative.
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| Cottage cheese and ricotta cheese can be interchanged
in recipes, but the taste will be slightly different. Cubed tofu can
substitute for the above cheeses, but decrease the liquid somewhat.
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| One teaspoon of unflavored gelatin added to the dry
ingredients can add spring to the texture of your bread, but it is always
optional. |
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| Remember always to bring ingredients (except water) to
room temperature before starting to bake, thus avoiding cooling the yeast
too much. Cold eggs can be warmed by putting in a pan of warm water for a
couple of minutes. |
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| When experimenting with a recipe, change only one
ingredient at a time. |
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| Sugar or liquid sweetener: For machines, all the sugar
can be added to the dry ingredients. Liquid sweetener (molasses, honey,
etc.) should be added to the wet ingredients. If mixing by hand, reserve 1
teaspoon of sugar and add it to the water to make the yeast slurry. When
converting a recipe from sugar to a liquid sweetener such as honey or
molasses, cut down the amount of liquid (water) by the amount of sweetener
added. |
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| Milk powders retain the sugar (lactose) of the milk, so
when replacing the dry milk powder in a recipe with a nondairy substitute,
add about 2 extra tablespoons sugar to the recipe. |
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References:
Alford, Jeffrey & Duguid, Naomi, " Flatbreads and Flavors; A
Baker's Atlas," 1995, William and Morrow and Company, Inc.
Clayton, Bernard Jr.. "Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of
Breads," 1987, Simon & Schuster.
Hagman, Bette, "The Gluten-Free Gourmet Cooks Fast and
Healthy," 1996, Henry Holt & Company, NY.
McGee, Harold, "On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of
the Kitchen," 1984, MacMillen Publishing Company, NY.
Wittenberg, Margaret M., "Good Food: The Comprehensive Food
and Nutrition Resource," 1995, The Crossing Press, CA.
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