Copyright © 2000 Sarah Phillips Sarah Phillips, Inc. All rights reserved.
If you are new to Gluten Free Baking you may find yourself wondering about all of the different ingredients included in a recipe.
Gluten Free means a product is free from wheat, rye, barley and other gluten-containing grains and their derivatives. Wheat free, however, does not mean a product is definitely gluten free. If truly gluten-free, make sure it ha been processed and packaged in a gluten-free facility to avoid contamination. Always read ingredient labels carefully.
| TYPE | PER CUP FLOUR |
| XANTHAN GUM | |
| Cookies | 1/4 teaspoon |
| Cakes and Pancakes | 1/2 teaspoon |
| Muffins and Quick-Breads | 3/4 teaspoon |
| Yeast Breads | 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons |
| Pizza Dough | 2 teaspoons |
| Salad Dressings | 1/2 teaspoon per 8oz. liquid |
| GUAR GUM | |
| Cookies | 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon |
| Cakes and Panckaes | 3/4 teaspoon |
| Muffins and Quick-Breads | 1 teaspoon |
| Yeast Breads | 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons |
| Pizza Dough | 1 Tablespoon |
| Hot Foods (gravies, stews , heated pudding) | 1 to 3 teaspoons per 1qt. liquid |
| Cold Foods (salad dressing, ice creams, pudding) | 1 to 2 teaspoons per 1qt. liquid |
Guar gum is derived from the seed of a legume and has many times the thickening power of cornstarch. Using too much can produce a heavy or stringy texture in baked goods, so measure carefully.
Xanthan gum powder is from a microorganism which is fed corn or soy and the protective layer it forms around itself is what's harvested for the xanthan gum. It is a polysaccharide, meaning that it is a large molecule composed of several saccharides or sugars linked together.
Xanthan gum is used as a thickening agent, stabilizer, and emulsifier. It also helps with the creation of foams and retards or controls the formation of ice crystals. Using too much can produce a heavy or gummy texture, so measure carefully. Find it with baking ingredients.
Guar Gum can be used in its place. You would use 1 1/2 times the amount of Guar Gum as a recipe calls for Xanthan Gum.
How does it work in gluten-free baking? Wheat gluten gives the stretch to the dough and is that which allows bubbles to form in the bread as gases are produced by the yeast. Without gluten, the gases are not trapped into gluten surrounded bubbles, and the bread is flat and not really bread-like at all. Obviously, gluten-free means you do not have gluten. Xanthan gum (and guar gum) replaces gluten by providing the viscosity to the batter to trap the gases, forming the airy texture you want in bread.
Gum Substitutes: When mixed with water, some seeds, form a thick gel that make them a good substitute for gums in recipes.
- Chia seeds, ground NOTE: Too much chia will make your bread gummier.
- Golden Flax Seeds, ground or flax seed meal
Amounts: What ever amount (weight) of guar and/or xantham gum is used in the recipe, substitute it with the same amount of chia and/or flax seeds. Combine that with twice as much boiling hot water and stir.
SARAH SAYS: To do, put your ground seeds in a bowl, then boil some water in a pot or tea kettle. After it’s boiling, measure out the xx tablespoons of water and pour it over the seeds in the bowl, and stir. There’s your slurry!
I grind the flax and chia as I need it because they are perishable.
NOTE: For bread, start out with 1-2 teaspoons of ground chia and 2 tablespoons of flax.
Guar Gum versus Xanthan Gum:
Both guar and/or
xanthan gums are frequently called for in gluten free recipes and can
seem exotic at first, but they both serve the same general purpose as
thickeners and emulsifiers. Quite simply, both these ingredients help
keep your mixes mixed. They keep oil droplets from sticking together
and separating, and solid particles from settling to the bottom. You
can use just one or the other; or sometimes for the best results, you
can use them in combination together.
In conventional recipes
containing wheat, rye, barley or triticale flour, the protein, gluten
in these flours serve the same purpose that guar and xanthan gums do
in gluten free baking. Gluten protein is what traditional recipes rely
on to thicken dough and batters, and trap air bubbles to make your
baked goods light and fluffy. Xanthan gum provides the viscosity to the batter, which helps starches
combine to trap air, while guar gum helps keep large particles
suspended in the mix.
One of the differences between the two
products is where they come from. Guar gum is made from a seed native
to tropical Asia, while xanthan gum is made by a micro organism called
Xanthomonas Camestris that is fed a diet of corn or soy. Since it is
unknown whether xanthan gum could cause a reaction in people severely
allergic to corn and soy products, we recommend using guar gum as a
precaution for people with severe allergies to those foods.
In
the kitchen, there are also important differences in using xanthan gum
versus guar gum. In general, guar gum is good for cold foods such as ice
cream or pastry fillings, while xanthan gum is better for baked goods.
Xanthan gum is the right choice for yeasted breads. Foods with a high
acid content (such as lemon juice) can cause guar gum to loose its
thickening abilities. For recipes involving citrus you will want to use
xanthan gum or increase the amount of guar gum used.
In general,
it is best to add both xanthan and guar gum to the oil component in a
recipe, making complete mix of oil and gum before adding to the rest of
liquid ingredients. Using a blender or a food processor is a great way
to get the gums to dissolve properly.
OTHER:
Psyllium husk powder: It adds a great texture to bread at 1-2 tablespoons per batch.Wheat gluten gives the stretch to the dough and is that which allows bubbles to form in the bread as gases are produced by the yeast. Without gluten, the gases are not trapped into gluten surrounded bubbles, and the bread is flat and not really bread-like at all. Obviously, gluten-free means you do not have gluten.
Vinegar: All distilled vinegar is gluten-free. Malt vinegar contains gluten
