Hi, Iím Sarah Morehouse, and this video will
talk about ingredient substitutions for gluten free eating. Gluten is found in all members of the wheat
family, including wheat itself, triticale, and the ancient grains spelt and kamut. Gluten is also found in rye and barley. Because oats often are grown in fields that
once grew wheat, and a few wheat plants kind of sneak in there, oats have gluten unless
they are specifically grown to be gluten free. If an ingredient is made from one of those
things, itís easy to know that you need to avoid it. But many foods donít have an obvious reason
to have wheat or wheat ingredients in them, so you have to read the labels.
Itís not too hard to spot ìflourî or ìglutenî
on an ingredient label, and even if itís way down the list and thereís only a tiny
bit of it in there, you cannot eat it. Gluten will trigger your sensitivity on a
parts per million basis. Remember, this is your immune system, and
your immune system is used to protecting you from a few microscopic virus particles. It is perfectly capable of mounting a full-out
defense against a pinch of flour. What gets really tricky is that gluten hides
out in dozens of ingredients whose names donít say ìwheatî or ìflourî or ìgluten.î
Examples are ìhydrolyzed vegetable proteinî and ìmodified food starch.î Either of those
things could be made from corn, or they could be made from wheat, and even the manufacturer
probably canít be sure which it is, unless theyíre specifically targeting the gluten
free market.
Bread is the most obvious product that you
will need to be careful of in a gluten free diet. Unless the bread is specifically made to be
gluten free, you cannot eat it. This includes loaves of bread, rolls, flatbreads,
and baked goods of all kinds. If you live where I do, in the Capital region
of New York, the absolute best gluten free bread available is from the Saratoga Gluten
Free Goods company. Their products are sold at Four Seasons and
the Healthy Living Market in Saratoga and also in the Honest Weight Food Co-op in Albany.
It tastes like a wholegrain bread. Its texture is a little dryer and coarser
than good wholegrain wheat bread, but if you butter it or use it in a sandwich, itís fine. It holds together in French toast and bread
pudding, and doesnít get gummy. If you donít have a gluten free baker in
your area, then you are going to want Udiís brand bread. You can find it in the gluten free freezer
section of your grocery store. Itís in the freezer because gluten free bread
goes stale incredibly quickly.
If restaurants offer gluten free bread that
they donít make themselves, chances are itís Udiís. Itís a pretty well-known and widespread brand
by now. Udiís does not have a very robust flavor,
itís a bit crumbly and fragile, and the loaves are quite small. But for a national brand, so far itís the
best weíve got. Now, if you are eating at home and are willing
to bake at all, the most delicious gluten free bread you will ever eat is from Luceís
Gluten Free Artisan Bread Mix. Itís a company you have to order from online. What you get is a kit that you put together
yourself. You add the specified amount of water to the
flour mixture and stir. You put it on a sheet of parchment paper and
shape it into a loaf, dust it with the little envelope of dusting flour, and put that into
the parchment bag ñ all of those things are provided in the kit.
Follow the instructions for resting the dough
and baking it. This is honest to heavens, nearly indistinguishable
from fresh wheat bread. It is also not only gluten free, but dairy
free, soy free, and nut free. They make several kinds of kits: Italian,
Buckwheat, Multigrain, Flatbread, and one that tastes like Rye but obviously isnít
because rye has gluten. Now hereís the downside: All of this is expensive. Bread is no longer a staple food for you unless
you like paying out the nose.
Expect to pay between six and eight dollars
a loaf, and these are small loaves. Honestly, donít bother. Put your sandwich toppings on a bed of romaine
or spring mix, or just roll up your meat and cheese together. Serve your sloppy joe over rice. But when you need rolls or garlic bread because
face it, sometimes you need rolls or garlic bread, hit up your local gluten free bakery
or better yet, order a Luceís Gluten Free Artisan Bread Mix kit.
Regular pasta is made with semolina or durum
wheat, so it is not an option for you. However, there are a few different ways you
can go for gluten free pasta. One is to buy gluten free noodles. If you like Italian pasta dishes, there is
good news. Seven years ago when my ex-husband went gluten
free, the pasta options were either slimy and soft, or stiff and crumbly.
That has changed. There are two brands that are perfectly acceptable. The absolute best one is Jovial Foods Brown
Rice Pasta. You can order it online, but I havenít found
it in Hannaford or Price Chopper around here. The second best one, which is available in
practically any decent supermarket as well as online, is Tinkyada Joy Brown Rice pasta. I am probably mispronouncing that. They have spaghetti, fetuccini, penne, macaroni,
spirals, and lasagna noodles. It really is quite good. You can tell the difference, but itís still
enjoyable. You have to be careful cooking rice pasta. If you overcook it even a little bit, it will
turn soft and slimy.
Often, the cooking instructions on the package
are not quite right. You need to stand over the pot and keep tasting
every minute. One minute it will be crunchy, the next minute
perfect, and thirty seconds later, itís ruined. But once you get the hang of it, this pasta
is quite good. However it does not reheat well. Stay away from corn-based pastas, or quinoa
and corn pastas. They are gross ñ all grainy and crumbly. I have never met anyone who likes them and
I have no idea how they stay in business. You can also use Asian rice noodles. Their texture and taste are very different
from the brown rice noodles that are meant to imitate Italian wheat pasta. They taste more like rice, and their texture
is more delicate. Taste of Thai brand are easy to find in supermarkets
at least around here, and are gluten free. A lot of people like to do this for soups,
because all you have to do is wait until youíre done cooking your soup, turn off the heat,
throw in the noodles, and wait ten or fifteen minutes.
By the time your pot of soup is cool enough
to eat, your noodles will be perfect. Asian rice noodles are whatís called for
in Pad Thai and Pho. You can also substitute them in in a lo mein
recipe. Japanese udon and ramen noodles are made from
wheat, so theyíre right out. Buckwheat soba sound like they might be ok
for us to eat. Buckwheat, despite having wheat in its name,
is not related to wheat, and it has no gluten. But buckwheat soba are deceiving, because
most of the time, theyíre made with wheat and the buckwheat is just a flavoring. Any type of Chinese noodle that ends in ìmein,î
like la mein, lo mein, or cho mein, seems to be made from wheat. Any type of Chinese noodle that ends in ìfun,î
like mei fun, is made from rice, but you will need to see if the manufacturer makes sure
that they are actually gluten free. You can always substitute in Taste of Thai
rice noodles into a recipe, because those are safe. Side note ñ remember that soy sauce has wheat
in it unless it is specifically labeled as wheat free soy sauce.
That seems relevant while weíre talking about
Chinese and Japanese food. As for glass noodles, also called cellophane
noodles or mungbean noodles. Theyíre safe, unless thereís some kind of
cross contamination. Cellophane noodles taste great in any stirfry
or lo mein kind of dish. And then thereís these Shirataki noodles,
which go by the name Miracle Noodle. Dieters love them because theyíre have no
calories. And theyíre gluten free.
I canít eat them because theyíre made from
some exotic complex carbohydrate, and if youíre sensitive to that kind of thing, they will
give you massive digestive unrest. But if you can eat them, Iím told they have
very good texture and flavor. Your final option for gluten free pasta is
using vegetable noodles. The classic is to bake a spaghetti squash
and use a fork to comb out the strands to put under pasta sauce. That is fine for any tomato-based sauce, but
it needs to be a chunky sauce. You will want to cook your sauce down by simmering
it on low heat until it is reduced quite a bit, or else your dish will be watery and
unpleasant.
If you want to invest in a spiral cutting
device, it will cost you forty or fifty dollars. Then you can make ìnoodlesî out of any solid
vegetable. Lightly cooked zucchini noodles are good under
practically any kind of pasta sauce. I like raw cucumber noodles with peanut sauce
or dill dressing, or thin raw beet noodles with citrus vinaigrette. Cooked sweet potato noodles are great under
certain curries. I once made cooked butternut squash noodles
with Italian sausage, fresh sage and thyme that I sautÈed lightly in a little olive
oil with some pine nuts, and topped with pecorino cheese, and that was amazing.
Youíll get plenty of use out of the thing
if you do decide to buy it, and itís very quick and easy to use. You have several options when going for stuffing
or breadcrumbs. One is to buy or make gluten free bread and
dry it in a food dehydrator or a very low oven, like 175 degrees Farenheit, for a few
hours. Then you either cut it into cubes or whir
it through your food processor to make crumbs. Honestly, that is a lot of work, and gluten
free bread is expensive. But it will produce the stuffing or breadcrumbs
that are the closest to their gluteny equivalent. You can also buy gluten free stuffing mixes
and bread crumbs. I havenít found one thatís really worth
recommending. Theyíre all pretty much alike. Another possibility is crushing up rice or
corn Chex for breadcrumbs. Chex are gluten free, and they make a great
crispy coating for chicken tenders, fried chicken, fish fry, and things like that. Some people like to do the same kind of thing
with potato chips or corn chips. And the last thing you might want to consider
is trying something completely different.
Instead of bread-based stuffing, try a wild
rice stuffing. Instead of breadcrumbs, try crusting your
meat in crushed and seasoned nuts. Thatís my favorite way to do it because itís
its own delicious thing rather than being a pale imitation. Itís not gluten free ñ itís gourmet! Wheat flour or modified food starch (which
can contain wheat) is often used to thicken gravies, stews, sauces, and condiments. We need to use some substitutions. Just bear in mind one thing. Whenever you are adding starch to something
thatís already cooking, donít just dump it in. First make a paste with tepid water, and then
stir that in. That way you wonít get any lumps.
Corn starch is often the substitution we turn
to first, because itís cheap. Just make sure you are using corn starch thatís
labeled gluten free ñ some of the popular brands have gluten cross-contamination. You do have to stir it over heat for a while
before it starts to work, so donít add too much too soon, or youíll overthicken. Corn starch doesnít lose its thickening power
when overheated or reheated. You can refrigerate a dish with cornstarch
in it, but donít freeze it unless you like sauces that somehow turned into spongy solids. However, corn starch will produce an end product
that is glossy or shiny and has a slightly silky mouthfeel, so itís great for stirfry
sauces or anything dairy-based, but it wonít work in anything too acidic, like fruit pie
or compote. Also bear in mind that some people have a
corn allergy or sensitivity. Tapioca starch is a good thickener too, but
a bit more expensive than cornstarch. Tapioca will thicken more quickly than corn
starch does ñ you donít have to stir it over heat for as long. However, it can leave a starchy flavor if
you donít stir it over heat for long enough, so you canít add it right at the end.
Tapioca starch produces a glossy, silky effect,
like cornstarch but even more so. Tapioca starch is fantastic for fruit pies
and compotes. Arrowroot starch is quite expensive, and it
has to be added at the very end of cooking, because too much heat deactivates its thickening
power. For that reason, it canít be used in anything
that goes into the oven and it doesnít reheat very well.
It does have a very neutral taste, and itís
the best for last-minute thickening because it doesnít need to be cooked in. Just donít ever use it in anything dairy-based,
because for some reason, itís disgusting. Potato starch is a simple way to thicken a
stew. You can dredge your pieces of meat in it before
you sear them, and you can stir some more in as needed. Good stuff. It makes a nice rich mouthfeel, without the
shininess of the other starches. Iím not sure if potato starch has any other
thickening uses worth mentioning though. And bear in mind that potatoes are nightshades,
which are a pretty common allergy. If you need to make a roux, which means that
youíre basically frying your carbohydrate in fat before adding your liquid, like you
do to make certain kinds of gravies and French sauces, then what you want is white rice flour.
You will make the roux just like you make
a wheat flour roux, but you have to be more careful about scorching, and donít be surprised
if it wants less or more fat than you expect ñ itís unpredictable. Start out with slightly less than the normal
amount of butter, duck fat, bacon grease or whatever youíre using, and add more fat as
it absorbs, until you smell cooked starches. It may take longer than youíre expecting
and you rely have to rely on your nose because itís not going to brown up the way wheat
flour does. If you wait for it to really brown up, it
will burn. But with beginners luck, and/or a little practice,
your end product will feel, look, and taste identical to its gluteny equivalent. I wish I could break down gluten free baking
as simple as I was able to break down gluten free thickening.
It just doesnít work that way. There is no one-for-one substitution for wheat
flour in baking. Sure, there are gluten free all purpose blends
that claim to be cup-for-cup substitutions, but they definitely do not produce an identical
product, and sometimes they donít even produce a product thatís marginally acceptable. Iíll go over the strengths and weaknesses
of some popular ones. Also, there are three things you need to do
if you are going to try to substitute a gluten free flour blend for wheat flour in a recipe. The first is that you need to add a step to
your recipe. You need to leave out any baking powder and
let the dough or batter ìrestî on the counter for half an hour, before you mix in the baking
powder and proceed with the next step (whether thatís refrigerating it or baking it.) The reason is that it just takes longer for
the starches to take up the liquids, and if you skip the resting period, your baked goods
will be grainy, or greasy, or maybe both. The second is that unless your gluten free
flour blend already includes xanthan gum or guar gum, you will need to add some.
I prefer xanthan gum, because that is less
likely to give people gas. Iím not even kidding. Guar gum is very gassy. Xanthan gum bothers some people, but not very
many. You can generally expect to add about a teaspoon
of xanthan gum to a recipe. If you add too much, it will have a rubbery,
gelatinous texture and youíll know to add less next time. If you add too little, it will be crumbly
and fall apart, and youíll know to add more next time. The third thing is that if you are used to
making bread with wheat flour, gluten free flour will never give you the firm, smooth,
elastic texture you are looking for in your dough. Your dough will be more like a batter, ranging
from thick cookie batter to thin muffin batter.
You do not need to knead it. Kneading is to activate the gluten, and we
have no gluten. Where your recipe says to knead, just mix
it until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed. In order for the bread to rise as high as
you want, youíll need to create a ìcollarî for your regular loaf pan out of bakerís
parchment. Without the gluten, the dough just doesnít
have the stretchy strength to hold in the carbon dioxide bubbles that the yeast produce,
so it needs more help to rise. Onto the commercial flour blends. Bobís Red Mill gluten free all purpose flour
is easy to find in grocery stores, and thatís the main advantage to it. It tends to be quite dense, and things that
you make with it will have a distinct ìbeanî flavor because of the chickpea and fava bean
flour in it.
One thing Bobís Red Mill flour is great for
is traditional lard pie crust. Another is Alton Brownís brownie recipe. The bean flavor disappears completely, and
the density of the flour works to your advantage. King Arthurís gluten free all purpose flour
is also easy to find in grocery stores. People tend to like its neutral taste and
the fact that itís capable of producing a fine-grained or even fluffy texture. Its weakness is that you have to be very careful
to add the exact right amount of moisture. If itís too moist, it turns gummy. This also makes it unsuitable for pizza crust,
and if you bake a cake, you should frost it right before you eat it, and eat it the same
day. It does make excellent cakes and pancakes
though. Itís ok for bread. Arrowhead Mills gluten free all purpose flour
is another one thatís easy to find in grocery stores. Word of warning ñ it contains inulin. Inulin is a kind of fiber that gives some
people a severe case of indigestion. Also bear in mind that it contains baking
powder, so you canít rest your batter or dough the way I recommended.
Itís also a poor choice for anything that
needs to be refrigerated before itís baked, like certain cookie recipes. The reason is that moisture ìactivatesî
the baking powder, and it uses up all its leavening oomph before it gets to the oven. Arrowhead Mills mix is fine for things like
pancakes and muffins, but bear in mind that itís got sorghum flour which is naturally
quite sweet, so you may want to scant the amount of sugar or other sweetener in your
recipe. Pamelaís Gluten Free Artisan Flour Blend
hasnít shown up in Hannafords or Price Choppers around here yet, but it is readily available
online.
It contains both potato flour and guar gum,
so donít use it if you have a nightshade allergy and be mindful that too much guar
gum gives some people tummy aches. Apart from that, everyone I know whoís baked
with it says itís like a dream come true. The web site does suggest that you may need
to add more liquid when you are converting recipes. It is the closest thing we have to a direct
substitution, and it is ideal for making bread. Remember that because it has guar gum, you
donít need to add any xanthan gum. Like I said, thereís really no product that
will substitute cup for cup in regular recipes to produce gluten free baked goods just like
their gluteny equivalents. Various all purpose blends do ok for different
kinds of baked goods. But really, if you want to bake gluten free,
itís a lot more sophisticated. You end up learning about the different properties
of different starches, alternative grain flours, nut flours, and plant gums.
You learn that you need to use less oil or
fat, and more protein from either eggs or soaked chia seeds. You learn that millet can be almost wheaty
in an English muffin, sorghum is divine in biscuits, while teff adds a chocolaty nuance,
and amaranth enhances savory bread recipes with its peppery kick. Itís time consuming to learn, but actually
a lot of fun. Baking with wheat is an established art. Gluten free baking is still mostly uncharted
territory, and it gives you room to be truly creative, and possibly discover a neat trick
that nobodyís tried before. Plus, you get to eat your experiments. So thank you for joining me for Gluten Free
Ingredients. Your gluten free kitchen has many, many options,
so enjoy playing around with them..
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