New Gluten-Free-er with Questions

[MidnightCry]

My nutritionist diagnosed my blood to be gluten-intolerant. Unfortunately, he has the personality of a rock and is not very helpful in suggesting options other than "Eat only rice products."

My goal is to get the family off of gluten as much as possible, too. But with three picky little girls, I have my work cut out for me.

Can you guys tell me what flours are good for baking something like biscuits? Thanks for any help, websites, suggestions you can provide!

[broken]

:) Welcome to GF World!

First, I pray for you that the Lord will lead, guide, and encourage you, and give you clarity (not confusion!)

Rice flour is good, and you can mix in other flours like tapioca, potato, corn, quinoa, milo (sorghum), teff, arrowroot, buckwheat, bean flours, and others. If you add Xanthan gum to your batter, it helps with texture.

Here's a good biscuit/muffin recipe:

** Biscuit Bread
Gluten Free Recipe
Ingredients:
3/4 cup white rice flour
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/4 cup tapioca flour
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1/8 cup honey
2 cups water


Directions:
Preheat oven to 375-degrees. Grease standard size muffin pan (makes 12). (I usually spray the muffin cups with oil - it makes the biscuits crispy on the outside. Yummy!) Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Pour in cooking oil, honey, and water. Stir completely with wire whip until mix is thick and moist. Spoon batter into muffin pan. Fill each cup fully. Use a spoon or spatula to smooth the top of the batter to ensure more even cooking/rising. Bake 20 to 30 minutes. Biscuits should appear golden on top and tester should come out clean. Cool on a plate or baking rack.

These biscuits should please the pickiest people! :thumb

[MidnightCry]

Where can you find xanthan gum and what does it do?

[broken]

Well, I live on the west coast, and can find X gum in any store or supermarket (like Fred Meyer or Huckleberry's) that sells organic/allergy free foods. You can also order it from mail order/internet stores that sell GF foods. It is expensive, but you don't need to use alot when you bake. And, it's pretty essential in GF baking, since there is no gluten to make the flours "sticky". You could also use guar gum, I've heard...but I never have.

I had to find out everything about GF baking on my own, with lots of internet research and trial/error. Now, my family loves my cooking, and are learning that wheat, oats, rye and barley are not essential to live!

We buy nearly everything in bulk, since it's cheaper. There is a company called Azure Standard in Oregon that sells lots of stuff in bulk, and will ship UPS - they also have truck routes for free shipping, if you want to check out their website.

[MidnightCry]

There is a company called Azure Standard in Oregon that sells lots of stuff in bulk, and will ship UPS - they also have truck routes for free shipping, if you want to check out their website.

I'm in Oregon and very familiar with Azure. Thanks for the tip.

I Googled xanthan gum and it honestly sounds kinda gross . . . but I need to decide if it's worth it.

[antsinmypants]

>If you have issues with corn, you won't want to use xanthan gum, but will want and can use Guar gum.

I use Guar gum personally to help cut down on my corn consumption and because of the texture. There are several different sources to get gluten free items (in store and online), you'll have to really check though to see what is best for your area, your budget and how you shop. For example, you can get some items in bulk from places like BulkFoods.com, or from Amazon.com, or specialty online gluten free shops (Chebe, Celiac.com... etc)

IKWYM about the doctor not being too helpful. My dad and mom, sister and I have celiac disease, and my dad was recently diagnosed as being allergic to corn, sulfites/sulfates and salycylites and nuts...
That throws the whole gluten free thing into a different kettle of fish... because that means he can't have some things, can have others in very limited doses and other items he can have 100% of the time. Many veggies are out due to the sulfites/sulfates and Salycilites. No preservatives or spices for him!

Mom got a sheet of paper for all the items he can/can't have for each from the specialist, and none of them agreed with the other. An 'OK' on one list was not 'OK' on the other list. (YIKES) So, she's been researching online and finding out how to do portions of what is ok, and it has been trial and error all over again with him. His reactions are so severe, that even his medication has to be compounded very carefully.

Compared to beginning our saga of going GF, I think this has been way harder on her.


If you have access to Asian or Indian markets, you need to go and check around to see what kind of noodles they have available to you. Things like Soba will now be off limits (poo! - I so loved Soba!!), but there are hundreds of different veggie and rice and corn noodles out there.

I found one that is Thai called "Wai Wai Noodles" and are really easy to make. I've seen them in the US, and found them here and decided to finally try them. One of the local Chinese buffet restaurants in AL that I frequented used these to make a fried noodle dish that was to die for. 5 minutes in boiling water, then transfer to your bowl, add in some stir fried peas and carrots, a fried egg - and you have an easy meal that took no more than 20 minutes to eat and is 100% GF.

Off and on, you can find gluten free soy sauce at Asian markets, sometimes you can't and have to go direct to a gluten free or special diet store to get it. Be careful though, as I have found Japanese Soysauce is NOTHING like Chinese Soysauce and is best left when you're making sushi (it is sweet). Chinese Soysauce from most companies outside of China has wheat and/or barley added to it.... so, if you go to chinese restaurants, that is a new thing you have to ask about. DO NOT use what is out on the table as it is the stuff with barley/wheat. Ask what brand they cook with and if you can read the ingredient label.

I found sweet potato vermicelli noodles at the asian market about a month or so ago, and finally tried them. They are rather good, different from rice noodles a little but very filling. They are a product of China. They have a website listed on the back www.longkou-vermicelli.com
One of the other asian vermicelli noodles I get is Longhou Vermicelli (Green bean thread) which is also a product of china. The ingredients on it say: Green beans, rice flour, corn starch, water and it comes in 250g packages. I've seen these done plain like white rice and 'fried' like the Wai-Wai I mentioned before.

Glutino and Glutano, and Dr Shär have their own brand of noodles. It really depends on your area and how many other Celiacs there are as to whether or not you'll find these readily in stores or if you'll have to go to a specialty store or order online. Sometimes stores will order these items if more than one person asks for it and buys them frequently.

The Glutano and Glutino noodles aren't that bad - but are generally corn & rice based. So if you have corn issues, you can't have them...

I haven't found a way to make noodles myself other than a German recipe that is really popular that I finally found a gluten free recipe for and want to try this week.

Thankfully, in the US and Canada there are LOADS of prepared GF items that you can purchase... such as Thai noodle meals (just add water and heat in the microwave), Cereal (EnviroKidz for example or Glutano has a few), and I have found with a friend of mine that's in the north east, that if you are looking for kosher or vegan/vegetarian + gluten free items, there are specialty stores you can order from online that will ship to you at reasonable costs as well. (let me know if you need the resources, I'll be happy to share! I can't use them here in Germany..)
Bob's red mill for example has a whole line of gluten free products and mixes (bread, cookies, etc)

There are like a BAJILLION gluten free recipe websites out there. I have a ton in my favorites, and I'm sure my mom has heaps too. There are also celiac forums out there with newbies as well as folks who have been doing this anywhere from 1-20+ years and are willing to help you and put you in touch with companies and societies as well as support groups. I'm on three right now, but had issue with one and can't seem to log back in since I moved overseas. I find a lot of Celiac blogs are helpful to see what kind of recipe mistakes have become wonderful recipes, and I test them out here to see if they will work for me or not. Some are ok, some are wonderful and some aren't that awesome.

One of the man things is that you need to know what flours you can have, what flours you can't have, and be willing to make a lot of things from scratch and re-learn how to cook. In the last year I have had to relearn how to make cakes, muffins, cookies, breads etc... I didn't do this in the kitchen with my mom before since I had full time work plus a long commute to and from work, so I am learning it now as I have time before baby comes and 'expiramenting' wth my DH and his family.

About the only thing I don't make are condiments, chips, cereal and candy right now. Here in Germany cereal is kind of hit and miss. People tend to like Muesli (kind of like trail mix or just the fresh grains with raisins in milk - sometimes made like oatmeal or cold cereal) so the concept of somethng like regular 'Frosted flakes' is a foreign concept for the gluten free diet. I'm just now finding a couple of cereals that I like... it's been a 6 month search!

Once you know what grains you can and can't have, you can find ways to make flour mixes and prep your own meals in accordance with gluten free recipes, or even modify a gluten recipe to be gluten free (I've done this once or twice, but am starting to get a little more anxious to convert more recipes)..

I can send a list of the different flour mixes if you need that. Some sites reference them by their official titles and don't reiterate in their recpes exactly what the mix was, so it takes a while to get a handle on which flour mix it needs until you're used to it - whereas some recipes simply call for the flours seperately and tell you to 'mix all dry ingredients' and then add in the wet ones. (sorry this is so much!)


One thing you can find, if it is too overwhelming to try and do things with flours at first, is that you can do a lot of vegetarian or vegan recipes 'OK' as long as you watch out for the 'nonos' on the gluten free list... and you can add in your meats seperately as you like. Any salad can become a meat-added salad, as can many pasta dishes.

Rice is generally ok, but you have to be careful wth some prepared rice mixes like Uncle Ben's ready rice (we have that here too). Some of them are 'OK' as far as gluten free goes, and some have wheat added.

You'll get used to reading lables like mad.

Kraft foods are generally good about listing all ingredients in their items, as is Hersheys and Mars... You'll find that some chewing gums and that some candies are now off limits.

If you have kosher markets near you, you may be able to find more items closer to passover that are gluten free prepared meals, and you will be able to find gluten free and clearly labled boullon cubes there.

Be careful with your spices as well. Some ground spices have wheat added as an anti-caking agent, though most use corn. If they have wheat, with the newer allergy labelling laws you shouldn't have trouble. If you ever want to be 100% sure, take your cell with you and never hesitate to call 1800 numbers of the companies on the back of packaged items. Their customer service is equipped to handle your questions.

Hope that helps a little!

[antsinmypants]

Bädischen Schupfnudeln (German, from the province Baden; potato noodles)

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes
1/2 cup GF flour (original recipe called for Bette Hagman's 4 flour blend - I think I'll be using her plain flour mix)
1 egg
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (this can be omitted, it's not always used in our area or in the family)
1 small onion, thickly sliced (this can also be omitted. Some of us can't have onions)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil

Directions
1. Place whole potatoes in their skins into a large pot of boiling water; boil for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove potatoes, and discard water. When cool enough to handle, peel potatoes, and place on a lightly floured surface. Mash potatoes with a rolling pin.
2. Place mashed potatoes into a large bowl. Stir in flour, egg, parsley, salt, and nutmeg. Knead well to form a smooth dough. Then roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1/2 inch. Cut flattened dough into thin strips, about 1 1/2 inches long. Gently roll out the strips, or stretch them until the ends taper. Set aside for 15 minutes.
3. In a large skillet, heat 1 tsp of butter over medium heat with 1 tsp of olive oil. Saute onions until translucent and browned. Add a little more butter and olive oil if needed, and place one layer of the potato strips into the skillet, and fry until golden brown on both sides. When done, set aside and begin next batch in skillet, adding more butter and oil as needed. Finish browning all potato strips and then add onions back into skillet, tossing gently. Serve and enjoy!

Notes
"Traditional of southwestern Germany, this delicious homemade potato noodle goes well with all sorts of dishes."

[antsinmypants]

http://www.eatingglutenfree.com/recipes_bread/
Hands down, if you ask me, the best recipe I have found for bread has been the Featherlight Biscuit recipe and a gluten free cornbread recipe.

I'm still looking for something else I like lots... and the only thing I can find is a croissant recipe my mom has, but I dunno if I'm allowed to give the recipe out or not since she has a business.

You can find the featherlight and cornbread recipes at the above link with more information on cooking GF breads.. (for a starter)

Remember also, that Guar Gum can be substituted in same amount increments as Xanthan gum is called for in recipes. This is a great help.

[Mrsppmrxky]

http://forums.glutenfree.com/index.php I promise you that this is a great resource! The group have a lot of medical information. The bootcamp thread is great for helping you learn to navigate the shopping.

There are recipes and lots of advice to every question. Nothing is too silly to ask about!

[MidnightCry]

Wow -- thanks for all the help, guys!