Gluten Free Tips

Gluten Free Baking
The first question is ?what is gluten? and ?What does it do for baking?. The answer is ?Everything? ? it?s what makes the bread, more so than the flour or any of the other ingredients.

Gluten free baking without thought can bring problems. Gluten is the sticky, elastic, protein element in wheat flour that reacts with the yeast or starter and gives the bread its airy, spongy consistency. The protein combines with water and forms thin strands whilst the dough is being kneaded. When the dough is left to rise, the yeast reacts with the tepid water and produces carbon dioxide ? these gas bubbles are then trapped by the protein strands and enables the dough to expand and rise. When the bread is baked, the gluten strands are solidified into place, much like the reaction of an egg when it is cooked. So, gluten is what holds the dough together when you come to knead and mould it into the shape you wish to give the finished product and you need think about this in your gluten free baking.

There are 2 kinds of wheat flour; weak and strong. Weak flour contains lower amounts of protein, hence it doesn?t rise so much. This flour is suitable for making cakes, muffins etc. Strong flour is more suitable for making breads as the protein content in these flours are higher and hence the dough can expand more. You can also control the production of protein in the dough. For example, fats (i.e. butter or oil) will shorten the protein strands and cause less expansion. This is why cake recipes call for a much higher percentage of butter or oil in the recipe. Likewise liquids (water, milk) aid the absorption and expansion of the protein strands. This is why piecrust recipes have limited amounts of liquid in them, whereas bread recipes call for more liquid.

Breads made with gluten free flours (i.e. rice, corn, soy buckwheat) do not hold together very well and could be tha Achilles heel of gluten free baking. They are dry and crumbly, don?t rise very well, don?t brown and are certainly not spongy or springy to the touch or taste. So, adjustments need to be made to gluten-free bread recipes in order to achieve the look, feel and taste of ?regular? bread. However, this does depend on the person eating it. For example, our daughter (a coeliac), who has been on a gluten-free diet since she was 15 months old, actually likes dry crumbly bread. She has never eaten any other bread and hence doesn?t miss the consistency of regular bread. However, if you are an adult when starting the gluten-free diet, then obviously you will want to adjust your gluten-free baking more to mirror what you previously enjoyed eating!

So, how can we trap those gas bubbles in the absence of the protein strands produced by gluten in gluten free baking? Whipped eggs whites, agar-agar, and xantham gum can create a matrix of trapped air in the dough which will mimic the behavior of gluten-containing dough and enable you to get back into the kitchen and enjoy the smell and taste of freshly baked goods ? gluten-free ones this time. You will need to experiment with your gluten free baking and try different ways and methods. Be prepared to fail a few times, until you find a solution that works for you. Don?t give up and Good Luck!