Gluten - Free flour

[sheryl]

Please tell me about GF flour.

 

We do not have GF allergies, but my interest is based on the health benefits derived from consuming less/no gluten.

 

Is there more than 1 type of gf flour? What are they?

 

Which one/s work best for baking? Taste, I'm assuming is very different. Consistency? Do I need to use a rising agent - when baking breads, muffins?

 

 

Thanks!!

[Storm Bay]

Grains that are gluten free if they haven't been processed in a facility that also processes gluten are:

rice (there are 2 kinds of rice flour, regular which is good for baking and sweet which is good for thickening things such as gravy and also for certain other things

corn (there is corn flour as well as corn meal)

buckwheat

sorghum

millet

 

other gluten free flours can be made from

amaranth

quinoa

certain legumes

tapioca,

etc

 

Since gluten helps hold baked items together, you have to find other means to do so with gluten free flours. Eggs can help, as can things like guar gum and xantham gum. There have been a couple of social groups (are those still with us???) on gluten free cooking and baking where you might be able to find some books, etc to help with this. Which gluten free flour you use depends on what you're making. Often people use blends. eg to make good bread it can often help to use things like tapioca four, etc,

 

http://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Bread-Five-Minutes-Day/dp/0312545525 shows how to make gluten free artisan bread, but there are other good cook books as well.

[sheryl]

Grains that are gluten free if they haven't been processed in a facility that also processes gluten are:

rice (there are 2 kinds of rice flour, regular which is good for baking and sweet which is good for thickening things such as gravy and also for certain other things

corn (there is corn flour as well as corn meal)

buckwheat

sorghum

millet

 

other gluten free flours can be made from

amaranth

quinoa

certain legumes

tapioca,

etc

 

Since gluten helps hold baked items together, you have to find other means to do so with gluten free flours. Eggs can help, as can things like guar gum and xantham gum. There have been a couple of social groups (are those still with us???) on gluten free cooking and baking where you might be able to find some books, etc to help with this. Which gluten free flour you use depends on what you're making. Often people use blends. eg to make good bread it can often help to use things like tapioca four, etc,

 

http://www.amazon.co...y/dp/0312545525 shows how to make gluten free artisan bread, but there are other good cook books as well.

 

 

OK, Karin, thanks. Which gf grain is "most" like "regular" store-bought flour?

[Keniki]

You probably won't find one flour that will substitute equally in all recipes. My dd likes different ones for different things. She has done especially well with almond flour, coconut flour and cornstarch, but again, there aren't any 'formulas' that work for everything.

[TrixieB]

OK, Karin, thanks. Which gf grain is "most" like "regular" store-bought flour?

I successfully swap buckwheat flour for whole wheat flour in a pumpkin muffin recipe. I have to add a little more water, but I don't add xanthan gum or any other flours or starches. The end result is rather dense, but the muffins were dense when baked with whole wheat flour. They don't crumble, which surprises me because everything else I've baked with GF flours needed xanthan gum to help reduce the crumble factor. Taste-wise, I don't think it would swap directly for wheat flour in many recipes, but it does work well for this one.

[dbmamaz]

None of them are much like regular flour. You have to use a mix. However, there are pre-made mixes you can buy . . . like better batter flour. I make my own mixes as I have issues with tapioca (in most mixes) and i like the way it comes out better when I mix my own.

 

however - it will NEVER taste as good as gluten and it will always cost at least 4 times as much.

 

I dont see it happening just for some vague 'health benefit' - unless someone is sensitive to it, with symptoms ranging from failure to thrive, stomach problems, eczema, behavioral problems, and even trouble losing weight and a big belly - its unlikely you will enjoy this experiment. Gluten free baking is INCREDIBLY frustrating at first, because it is so different from regular baking. you will have a lot of failures. and really, you might want to just start with gluten free mixes (like bread mixes, etc) rather than mixing your own or using a flour mix. Quick breads, muffins, brownies - those come out pretty easily. But anything else is a real learning curve. Baking yeast breads is a serious art, and completely different from baking with gluten

[LaxMom]

None. It doesn't work like that. You can either buy mixed grain/starch "all purpose" (Bob's Red Mill, Gluten Free Mama, Pamela's, Cup4Cup) and experiment with recipes, or you can mix flour and starches to make flour mixes for specific recipes.

 

And I'm not sure "gluten free" is a general health label. The flours I use are full of highly processed starches, and different grain flours, some processed, some whole. I wouldn't call them "healthy" other than they don't trigger an immune response that damages my body. KWIM?

[LaxMom]

None of them are much like regular flour. You have to use a mix. However, there are pre-made mixes you can buy . . . like better batter flour. I make my own mixes as I have issues with tapioca (in most mixes) and i like the way it comes out better when I mix my own.

 

however - it will NEVER taste as good as gluten and it will always cost at least 4 times as much.

 

I dont see it happening just for some vague 'health benefit' - unless someone is sensitive to it, with symptoms ranging from failure to thrive, stomach problems, eczema, behavioral problems, and even trouble losing weight and a big belly - its unlikely you will enjoy this experiment. Gluten free baking is INCREDIBLY frustrating at first, because it is so different from regular baking. you will have a lot of failures. and really, you might want to just start with gluten free mixes (like bread mixes, etc) rather than mixing your own or using a flour mix. Quick breads, muffins, brownies - those come out pretty easily. But anything else is a real learning curve. Baking yeast breads is a serious art, and completely different from baking with gluten

Yep. I've been baking breads and pastry for 30 years, and find myself using Pamela's baking mix for my quick breads because it's reliable and consistent and, quite frankly, while I own pretty much every GF flour and starch out there, I just don't want to blend them to make muffins. After over a year and a half, I have mastered pie crust, pizza crust, and a couple yeast breads, but the learning curve is steep and you have to eat through or toss a lot of very expensive crap to figure out the nature of each ingredient in the context you're making.

[mommymilkies]

I have found almond flour to be the most "like" wheat flour in recipes. It's not as plain tasting as wheat or rice flours, but it is healthier and works better. I hate the gritty taste of rice flour. Millet is good, but crumbly. I usually mix a starch like tapioca starch with my gf flours to keep the cost down. But keep in mind-part of the health benefit of going gf is not just subbing out gf processed foods for everything you ate before. You really have to examine your eating habits.

 

Fwiw, I might be the only person on earth who doesn't like the Pamela's mixes. But I love the King Arthur ones. The muffins are stellar. OP, look into flourless recipes-brownies, peanut butter cookies, and chocolate cake are all amazing flourless.

[mom4him]

Grains that are gluten free if they haven't been processed in a facility that also processes gluten are:

rice (there are 2 kinds of rice flour, regular which is good for baking and sweet which is good for thickening things such as gravy and also for certain other things

corn (there is corn flour as well as corn meal)

buckwheat

sorghum

millet

 

other gluten free flours can be made from

amaranth

quinoa

certain legumes

tapioca,

etc

 

Since gluten helps hold baked items together, you have to find other means to do so with gluten free flours. Eggs can help, as can things like guar gum and xantham gum. There have been a couple of social groups (are those still with us???) on gluten free cooking and baking where you might be able to find some books, etc to help with this. Which gluten free flour you use depends on what you're making. Often people use blends. eg to make good bread it can often help to use things like tapioca four, etc,

 

http://www.amazon.co...y/dp/0312545525 shows how to make gluten free artisan bread, but there are other good cook books as well.

 

One that isn't listed here is sorghum. You do need to watch though as if it is milled instead of purchasing the grain, it many times is processed in a facility that processed gluten products.

[LaxMom]

I have found almond flour to be the most "like" wheat flour in recipes. It's not as plain tasting as wheat or rice flours, but it is healthier and works better.

I have, too, but just in quick breads and cookies. It seems too heavy/sweet for yeast breads. I like coconut flour, too, but it has its own set of oddities.

 

Fwiw, I might be the only person on earth who doesn't like the Pamela's mixes. But I love the King Arthur ones. The muffins are stellar. OP, look into flourless recipes-brownies, peanut butter cookies, and chocolate cake are all amazing flourless.

No, you're not. I only use Pamela's for muffins and pancakes, and I use it as I would flour in my regular recipes for those, not according to the mix recipes. Otherwise, I think the mixes are pretty universally disgusting. (I was not a mix girl in my non-GF life, though)

[BlueTaelon]

ok, what your looking for sounds more like Paleo, GF is not that healthy, GF baked goods are usually very very high in carbs/starches, fats and sugar if you want them to taste good. Its VERY COMMON to GAIN weight on a GF diet. I put on 20 lbs when I got my 1st bread machine with a decent GF bread recipe. I have to be GF due to Celiac, no way would I choose this diet otherwise because its a royal pain if you need to eat anywhere but home and even then it sucks because it means I have to cook all the time and bake pretty much daily.

[sheryl]

OK, thanks everyone.

[celticmom]

:lurk5: I don't really have anything to add at this point but we just found out that dd8 has a sensitivity to wheat so the information on this thread is very useful.

[Unicorn.]

 

 

Fwiw, I might be the only person on earth who doesn't like the Pamela's mixes. But I love the King Arthur ones. The muffins are stellar. OP, look into flourless recipes-brownies, peanut butter cookies, and chocolate cake are all amazing flourless.

 

Nope, you're not. And the cookies are Nasty!

[sheryl]

Thanks one and all!

 

When I was at the store today I remembered to look for gf flour. NOW I understand what y'all have been saying. I bought Bob's. On the label they use a "mix" of different etc.

 

Now, would it be cheaper to buy each ingredient to make larger batches?

[BrookValley.]

Thanks one and all!

 

When I was at the store today I remembered to look for gf flour. NOW I understand what y'all have been saying. I bought Bob's. On the label they use a "mix" of different etc.

 

Now, would it be cheaper to buy each ingredient to make larger batches?

 

Yes, it would probably be cheaper to buy ingredients and make your own...however, like others have explained, different blends are often good for different things. I probably wouldn't use the same blend for, example, cupcakes that I use for bread. Also, my personal opinion is that Bob's is the nastiest GF flour blend out there. If you don't like it, don't give up; try something different. King Arthur brand flour blend (and mixes) are excellent.

 

I also agree that GF does not equal healthy. I eat GF because I do better without it (though I am not celiac and I do not have an allergy) and I believe that wheat and other gluten-containing grains are inflammatory and not good for overall/long-term health, but I also do not eat a lot of carbs or baked goods, period, because regardless of what those things are made of they make me fat and lethargic and bloated and gassy and so on and so forth. Gluten-containing things just make me feel worse than GF things. So, I do breads, pastas, and baked goods very sparingly and I do GF when I do eat them. The GF stuff is often far more processed and unhealthy (usually; there are exceptions, like if you were cooking from scracth with almond or coconut, for example) than whole grain wheat flour. I don't think this necessarily translates into paleo; I'm a vegetarian, and I eat high-protein, lower carb, and high fat and do great, but I would not do well on a paleo diet. You have to find what works for you, but don't fall into the trap that GF automatically means healthier. I work at a health food store and I have seen so many people do this very thing over the years.

[sheryl]

Yes, it would probably be cheaper to buy ingredients and make your own...however, like others have explained, different blends are often good for different things. I probably wouldn't use the same blend for, example, cupcakes that I use for bread. Also, my personal opinion is that Bob's is the nastiest GF flour blend out there. If you don't like it, don't give up; try something different. King Arthur brand flour blend (and mixes) are excellent.

 

I also agree that GF does not equal healthy. I eat GF because I do better without it (though I am not celiac and I do not have an allergy) and I believe that wheat and other gluten-containing grains are inflammatory and not good for overall/long-term health, but I also do not eat a lot of carbs or baked goods, period, because regardless of what those things are made of they make me fat and lethargic and bloated and gassy and so on and so forth. Gluten-containing things just make me feel worse than GF things. So, I do breads, pastas, and baked goods very sparingly and I do GF when I do eat them. The GF stuff is often far more processed and unhealthy (usually; there are exceptions, like if you were cooking from scracth with almond or coconut, for example) than whole grain wheat flour. I don't think this necessarily translates into paleo; I'm a vegetarian, and I eat high-protein, lower carb, and high fat and do great, but I would not do well on a paleo diet. You have to find what works for you, but don't fall into the trap that GF automatically means healthier. I work at a health food store and I have seen so many people do this very thing over the years.

 

Bob's is not great? I bought it at a grocery store, but will look into "health store" options for gf flour. THANKS!!

[amo_mea_filiis.]

Unless you think gluten may be related to a problem you're having, cutting for health reasons doesnt go very far.

 

I just had a bowl of cocoa pebbles! Far from healthy, but gluten free.

 

 

[BrookValley.]

Bob's is not great? I bought it at a grocery store, but will look into "health store" options for gf flour. THANKS!!

 

 

Well, it could certainly just be my personal taste, but they use garbanzo flour in their mix. I find it leaves a very bean-y and almost metallic taste in my mouth. Now, I love garbanzo flour, and I love love love to make socca (a flat bread made solely from garbanzo flour), but for whatever reason Bob's mixes and flour blend are just awful to me, and it's definitely the bean I'm tasting. However, I think Bob's is great for single variety flours. So if you need some rice or sorghum or potato flour or whatever to blend your own or use for a recipe, I wouldn't hestitate to use Bob's. They're readily available (as you already know, having found it at your regular grocery store) and are often priced reasonably. GF can be very expensive. Another good reason to cut back on the baked goods, in my opinion. Like I mentioned above, I think the King Arthur brand flour and mixes are fabulous--but I pay nearly $10 a box for their GF flour blend. So I don't bake very often these days, but for me that's a good thing.

[momacacia]

You might also want to look into coconut flour. Cooking with Coconut Flour is a great (mostly) baking book by Bruce Fife. The flour seems expensive, but you'll only use 1/4 of the flour for 6-8 muffins, e.g. The taste is really nice and doesn't seems coconut-y to me. I've used it to make birthday cupcakes, breakfast muffins and regular cakes. There are also pie recipes, blintzes, lots of things in the cookbook, but I've not gotten that far. It's high in fiber and the recipes do require a lot of eggs or liquid, which is fine at our house as the muffins are a filling breakfast.

[Storm Bay]

OK, Karin, thanks. Which gf grain is "most" like "regular" store-bought flour?

 

Only the less healthy mixes tend to come close. However, there are gf recipes that are good, and if you're good at experimenting, you can come up with great things. My gf corn bread is my dd's favourite, even though they aren't gf. I have to run, but if you're interested, I can post it (it's best eaten fresh, as it tends to dry out. Since we were also dairy free and on a rotary diet for my eldest at the time, it's egg and dairy free, but you can also make it with eggs; in fact, I should try that sometime.

 

I successfully swap buckwheat flour for whole wheat flour in a pumpkin muffin recipe. I have to add a little more water, but I don't add xanthan gum or any other flours or starches. The end result is rather dense, but the muffins were dense when baked with whole wheat flour. They don't crumble, which surprises me because everything else I've baked with GF flours needed xanthan gum to help reduce the crumble factor. Taste-wise, I don't think it would swap directly for wheat flour in many recipes, but it does work well for this one.

You can't. Someone who doesn't bother doing a lot of baking and has great gf recipes is Gluten Free Girl, here's the link to her blog http://glutenfreegirl.com/ .

ok, what your looking for sounds more like Paleo, GF is not that healthy, GF baked goods are usually very very high in carbs/starches, fats and sugar if you want them to taste good. Its VERY COMMON to GAIN weight on a GF diet. I put on 20 lbs when I got my 1st bread machine with a decent GF bread recipe. I have to be GF due to Celiac, no way would I choose this diet otherwise because its a royal pain if you need to eat anywhere but home and even then it sucks because it means I have to cook all the time and bake pretty much daily.

Gluten free can be healthy if it's done well, but most of the mixes I see are not that great. With the rise in gf foods, a lot of junky stuff has come out over the far better ones. The thing we have to remember is that you can be gf without eating a lot of baked goods and that there are ways to have fibre and quality to gf baked good, but it takes work and commitment. It's also becoming much easier to be gf away from home now as more and more restaurants have gf stuff, so it's come a long, long way. There are now certified gf oats, which there never used to be, which is a great help.

 

Much of what has gluten is also very unhealthy, with white flour, additives and many questionable ingredients, so I think you have to be wise no matter how you eat.

 

Some of us have so many dietary restrictions that eating gf only seems like a walk in the park ;) .

[Crimson Wife]

Now, would it be cheaper to buy each ingredient to make larger batches?

 

 

Yes, and any decent GF cookbook will have a couple of recipes for flour mixes in the front. My little one has non-celiac gluten intolerance so I've had to learn to do GF baking. My favorite GF flour mix recipe has sorghum flour, brown rice flour, tapioca starch, and potato starch. Millet and the legume flours have a really strong taste that my kids don't like.

[kitten18]

None. It doesn't work like that. You can either buy mixed grain/starch "all purpose" (Bob's Red Mill, Gluten Free Mama, Pamela's, Cup4Cup) and experiment with recipes, or you can mix flour and starches to make flour mixes for specific recipes. And I'm not sure "gluten free" is a general health label. The flours I use are full of highly processed starches, and different grain flours, some processed, some whole. I wouldn't call them "healthy" other than they don't trigger an immune response that damages my body. KWIM?

I completely agree. I'm baking with GF flours for my kids, so they can have a sandwich when their friends do and so they can have Christmas cookies, etc.

If it were just for DH and I, for health benefits, we would simply cut out 99% of grains (which is what we do most of the time).

[kitten18]

Nope, you're not. And the cookies are Nasty!

 

I haven't tried the Pamela's mixes but I just got a box of the lemon shortbread cookies and I thought they were Fantastic! I haven't tried any others.

[Remudamom]

What would you use if you wanted to fry chicken?

[dbmamaz]

what did you use before for chicken? bread crumbs, cracker crumbs, flour, batter? you can really use any flour mix if it was just flour . . . i used to do a baked chicken nuggest with gluten free corn flakes, but i altered this recipe some and use that mix for my baked chicken strips

[UrbanSue]

Just wanted to add to the chorus saying that GF is probably not the first step in trying to eat better. We are GF but we just don't do any baking. When we want a treat we make something that is supposed to be gluten free like puddings or candies. I have one "go-to" cake for birthdays made entirely from black beans. GF baked goods are loaded with starch and often have more sugar.

 

I would focus on cutting back on grains in general rather than making substitutions.

[Remudamom]

what did you use before for chicken? bread crumbs, cracker crumbs, flour, batter? you can really use any flour mix if it was just flour . . . i used to do a baked chicken nuggest with gluten free corn flakes, but i altered this recipesome and use that mix for my baked chicken strips

 

 

I'm missing something here. Ds has to be GF, so what would I use in place of flour to fry him some chicken?

[LaxMom]

Rice flour is actually preferable for frying. I've read a number of restaurant comments saying they've always used rice flour for frying - particularly fish -because it comes out better. My husband makes great chicken tenders and just switched to rice flour with his usual seasonings. It comes out very nicely crispy and doesn't get soggy.*

 

If I'm making something like General Tso's chicken (or any fried chunks in sauce) I use cornstarch. It gets very solidly crisp and stands up to the sauce nicely. I'm pretty sure that's customary in Chinese takeout places, anyway.

 

In applications where I would normally use bread crumbs, I just continue to, but with GF ones. I either toast and crumb GF bread, or buy GF bread crumbs.

 

*resisting getting soggy seems to be a feature of rice flour. The Annalise Roberts says as much in Gluten Free Baking Classics, in the preface to her pie crust recipe and that has been my experience as well; crust is every bit as crisp the next day, even with a wet fruit filling.

[dbmamaz]

 

I'm missing something here. Ds has to be GF, so what would I use in place of flour to fry him some chicken?

there is more than one way to make fried chicken, thats all. Not all use flour, or not in the same way. My mom used to dredge chicken in flour, then dip in a light batter. For that dredging, i might use corn starch. If your fried chicken is just rolling chicken in flour and then frying it, you could use any gluten free flour mix or gluten free flour you have, but not just corn starch. You could even try cornmeal, if it is gluten free cornmeal

[texasmama]

 

I'm missing something here. Ds has to be GF, so what would I use in place of flour to fry him some chicken?

I use a flour blend to fry chicken strips. You can buy one or make one. It will work with just rice flour, but I much prefer the way a flour blend turns out. Also, dip in egg before coating - it makes a much nicer crust. (I'm sure you know this, but I just wanted to make sure. :D)

[Crimson Wife]

I crush up Corn Chex to make the coating for chicken nuggets (usually I bake them rather than fry).

[BlueTaelon]

I use potato starch or gf bisquick when breading.

[Momof3littles]

I skip gluten because I don't consume a lot of carbs, so my preference is to use Honeyville Grains almond flour (better results than Bob's Red Mill, for example) and coconut flour (Coconut Secret or Tropical Traditions)

[Storm Bay]

Thanks one and all! When I was at the store today I remembered to look for gf flour. NOW I understand what y'all have been saying. I bought Bob's. On the label they use a "mix" of different etc. Now, would it be cheaper to buy each ingredient to make larger batches?

 

It absolutely is, especialy if you buy in bulk, but even if you dont, and you can find recipes for gf mixes in books like Bread in 5 Minutes a Day (not the first one), but that book uses too much starch for regular eating, IMO. I'm on the run, but if you remind me I'll post a couple of better books. One even has a mix for muffins that will make up to 4 batches.

 

Well, it could certainly just be my personal taste, but they use garbanzo flour in their mix. I find it leaves a very bean-y and almost metallic taste in my mouth. Now, I love garbanzo flour, and I love love love to make socca (a flat bread made solely from garbanzo flour), but for whatever reason Bob's mixes and flour blend are just awful to me, and it's definitely the bean I'm tasting. However, I think Bob's is great for single variety flours. So if you need some rice or sorghum or potato flour or whatever to blend your own or use for a recipe, I wouldn't hestitate to use Bob's. They're readily available (as you already know, having found it at your regular grocery store) and are often priced reasonably. GF can be very expensive. Another good reason to cut back on the baked goods, in my opinion. Like I mentioned above, I think the King Arthur brand flour and mixes are fabulous--but I pay nearly $10 a box for their GF flour blend. So I don't bake very often these days, but for me that's a good thing.

Yes, and any decent GF cookbook will have a couple of recipes for flour mixes in the front. My little one has non-celiac gluten intolerance so I've had to learn to do GF baking. My favorite GF flour mix recipe has sorghum flour, brown rice flour, tapioca starch, and potato starch. Millet and the legume flours have a really strong taste that my kids don't like.

 

It helps to be a part "mad scientist" when it comes to baking with anything (read that it a bread baking book once and loved it), particularly gluten free. There are ways to work with flours so you don't have to fill up with starch or just on starch. Bob's Red Mill also causes reactions in some people with gluten sensitivity (none of us has celiac, but we do have some gluten issues here.) There are some good cookbooks, but they can be limited, especially if you have other food issues (allergies, etc) and especially if you need to be on a rotary diet to help prevent further food allergies from developing.

 

Also, don't forget gluten free oats. I don't use Bob's, but buy it in 25 or 50 lb bags online (or by phone), as well as Tef in 25 pound bags (grain or flour). That's even cheaper. These are far more nutritious than those high starch mixes.

 

eg Tef flour, which is very much an acquired taste but is high in fibre and nutrients. I have a book for a fabulous cake that my Tef and carob hating kids LOVE that uses both of those as the main flavour ingredients.It's big in Ethiopian cooking, and there is a flat bread called injera you can make with it. I eat tef all the time, but can't eat yeast or carob (sadly), but have found ways to cook it as a cereal that can taste very good if done properly (never good plain, IMO and I've used it in pancakes. We don't use bean fours, so I haven't done a lot.

 

Buckwheat can make some great pancakes as it's good with pure maple syrup. I've made it with and without a starch (I added arrowroot, which I buy by the pound or in 5 lb bags).

 

Anyway, some things that help hold gf flours together are:

 

eggs

guar gum

xantham gum

certain starches

 

All that I use to hold my corn bread together with is either guar gum or xantham gum, and mine is less crumbly than most traditonal corn bread recipes, in part because I use corn flour with the germ rather than corn meal. Even people who eat gluten love it, but I had to develop the recipe myself as it was when my dd was on a rotary diet and was off dairy, etc. She still eats it as does my gf son & my dh as they still really like it.

 

Amaranth is fabulous for holding together, unlike most gf flours, but has a strong flavour, but if you're willing to experiment you can make things that taste good with it--it's one of the top grains for protein. We had to eat it solo, but it works very well mixed with other things.

 

If you mix a bit of brown sweet rice flour (it's not actually sweet) with regular brown rice flour it will hold together a bit better, but will still need other help. Don't bake with just sweet rice flour and don't use regular rice flour to thicken gravy with.

 

what did you use before for chicken? bread crumbs, cracker crumbs, flour, batter? you can really use any flour mix if it was just flour . . . i used to do a baked chicken nuggest with gluten free corn flakes, but i altered this recipe some and use that mix for my baked chicken strips

I'm missing something here. Ds has to be GF, so what would I use in place of flour to fry him some chicken?

 

You can also crush corn flakes and mix them with corn meal or corn flour for a crunchier texture, and if you get the Erewhon unsweentened corn flakes you're not adding sugar. .

[Spryte]

I must be the laziest GF mommy here. We use King Arthur's Gluten Free Flour - it's already mixed. It's pricey, but they always run specials on their website. They do all the mixing of various flours, etc. I also use their cake and cookie mixes. They have some great recipes on their website, plus some good specials this time of year.

 

We are nut free too, so Bob's is out - they don't always label for may contains, and KA does. So I have no idea if Bob's tastes better. :)

[scrapbookbuzz]

We are gradually getting into gluten free here. I am the type of person who prefers to trust others' research on things like this

instead of trying it out on my own! :coolgleamA: That being said, I have found www.julesglutenfree.com to be very helpful. Jules did a TON

of research and experimenting when she discovered she had Celiac. I've used her flour and many of her mixes. Keep in mind that

ALL GF things will be more expensive than your run-of-the-mill standard wheat items. Jules' products, IMHO, are worth it!

We made a modified chocolate chip cookie batch using shaved baker's chocolate, almond milk, and her cookie mix. Oh, my!

They were SO yummy! We've also used her bread mix which is fabulous!

 

Hope that helps!

[Critterfixer]

Check out Gluten-Free girl for recipes that are GF baking. GF baking is quite different from baking with flour. I sure wouldn't even attempt to do GF baking until you find out if GF is helpful for you.

I didn't even do any GF bread (expensive!) until I'd been GF for a good month or more and had enormous health improvements from it. And I was symptomatic for gluten issues (gut and skin). It's not something that I'd do unless you had symptoms that could be attributed to gluten intolerance.

 

Just plain don't bake or use flour for a bit. If you have to have bread, get some Udi's. If you must fry, I typically use a rice flour or sorghum flour in equal mix with Tapioca flour. But honestly, if you will crowd the chicken in the pan, skin side down in your oil, that skin is going to come up as crispy as if you used flour. I find that I'm just as happy with a pan sauce and skip the gravy most of the time.

 

To me, the biggest health benefit (other than the fact that my gluten issues went away) was the fact that I could no longer go eat fast food of any kind out of fear of getting glutened.

[JumpyTheFrog]

You might also want to look into coconut flour. Cooking with Coconut Flour is a great (mostly) baking book by Bruce Fife. The flour seems expensive, but you'll only use 1/4 of the flour for 6-8 muffins, e.g.

 

I second this. Coconut flour is great for anything where a cake-like texture is okay. Even non-gf people like the coconut flour cakes and cupcakes I make from the above cookbook. DH said the chocolate cupcakes (with added chocolate chips) are the best cupcakes he's ever had.

 

In addition, many recipes have directions for using stevia instead of half the sugar. Today I made banana nut muffins with SweetLeaf stevia instead of the sugar. They are lower-carb and higher protein than grain based muffins. Plus, it's a good way for someone (like me) who doesn't like eggs to get some eggs in.