The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Gluten Free Bread recipes

busy lizzy's picture
busy lizzy

Gluten Free Bread recipes

Hello,  I have recently been told that I can only eat Gluten free or yeast free breads.  I'm at a loss what does this mean and where can I find these recipes.  I have been baking for over 50 years and this is a first for me. I would appreciatae any help I can get.  Thanks Busy Lizy

clazar123's picture
clazar123

This is a good site for gluten-free recipes:

http://www.cookingbread.com/gluten_free.html

This following is link to a thread I had responded to-if you go down about halfway, I have a reply with some links as to how wheat allergies work. You will get people telling you that you can have oats,kamut,spelt and rye but these all have gluten in them and they are in the same "family" of grasses.If you have symptoms that are very noticeable when you eat gluten you would know this immediately.

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/14754/wheat-free

But have hope.It can seem like avoiding gluten limits a lot but there is a wide variety of products and food available-both off the shelf and recipes.It is just like learning a new way of cooking.

Review the threads in this forum-there are several discussion that seem appropriate.

Chuck's picture
Chuck

Quote:
I have recently been told that I can only eat Gluten free or yeast free breads. I'm at a loss what does this mean

A "gluten-free" diet is pretty drastic. I suggest either lining up an advising dietician or joining a support group or probably both. (And I personally think that anybody that told you to be gluten-free but didn't explain in great detail exactly why and how was criminally negligent and should go to jail!)

For now, "Google is your friend". It turns up for example websites like this that try to explain what gluten-free means.

Gluten-free means no typical bread, neither storebought nor home-baked. Wheat is out, period, no matter how mixed or how baked. If it has "regular flour" in it, you can't eat it, no exceptions or modifications.

Quote:
where can I find these recipes.

Finding recipes for baking gluten-free bread can be done, and in some cases is a good idea  ...but it's not for the faint of heart. You may or may not wish to try it. Your existing baking skills will be somewhat useful  ...but only somewhat. Again "Google is your friend" - for example check out this website which links to several more specific recipes.

You can search for "gluten free" here on this site (TFL) and find a bit of hopefully helpful information  ...but it's not the focus of this site, and is so different from what home bakers typically do you probably won't find sufficient information here. 

Rather than bake from scratch, you may find it works better to purchase a special gluten-free flour-replacement mix to use in your own baking. (Even so, you may find it relatively hard to source what you need. Sometimes you can find thngs in a special section in your supermarket, sometimes at a local health food store, and sometimes you'll need to purchase mail-order/online.)

Or (despite your baking skills) you may prefer to just find sources of ready-made gluten-free products (often a good source -believe it or not- is in your supermarket -- look for example for a special shelf at one end of the regular "bread" section).

clazar123's picture
clazar123

I concur that a consultation with a nutritionist or dietician is in order and probably more than one session. What you are anticipating is a radical change in your diet and cooking. The good news is that gluten free products are readily available these days compared to even a few years ago. If you go to any major grocer, there is  usually a gluten free section these days. Pasta,cereals,pancakes,cake,cookies and brownies are all available in gluten free mixes or products.And many are indistinguishable from wheat based products. For example:

http://www.bettycrocker.com/products/gluten-free-baking-mixes?WT.mc_id=paid_search_300103_636117&WT.srch=1&esrc=11162

The one product that is very difficult to replicate on a gluten free diet is bread and that is because the gluten forms the structure of the crumb and nothing else quite resembles that.Gluten free bread relies on more of a rye-bread type texture (more gel-like structure) to trap the gases formed by the yeast.The bread crumb is more sponge-like or crumbly. I think the gluten free sandwich wraps are tastier.

Here is also a good site for imformation as well as recipes and shopping.

http://www.celiac.com/

Change is always difficult but we often make change more difficult than it needs to be. There is a LOT of food out there for a gluten free diet. Experiment,search,learn and enjoy. Old dogs learn new tricks all the time! How do you think they got to be old dogs?

breadmantalking's picture
breadmantalking

a good place to try is 

 

www. glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com

David

busy lizzy's picture
busy lizzy

I want to thank everyone that took the time to give me your great advise and links to other sources, I now have places to go and explore all my options.  Thanks again Busy Lizzy