Melissa L...

Gluten-free Quickbreads

Rhonda Hair, taken from The Chameleon Cook: Cooking Well With What You Have

www.theprovidenthomemaker.com ; adapted by Melissa Lords

Adapting recipes for a wheat-free diet

Wheat has several characteristics.  Recipes use wheat for structure, binding, fiber, gluten (an elastic protein), as well as for flavor.  When you can’t have wheat, it usually takes a combination of ingredients to do wheat’s job; see suggestions below.  Options include nut flours (finely ground nuts); coconut flour; rice flour; potato flour; potato starch; tapioca flour; cornstarch; garbanzo, lentil, or other bean flour; and other ground grains: millet, amaranth, quinoa, teff, buckwheat, corn, and lots more.  You can grind your own at home using a grain mill, or running ½-1 cup in your blender or food processor for a couple minutes.  Oatmeal grinds especially easily. Lentils do too.  Some flours have strong flavors, some are nearly flavorless.  Experiment to see what you like.  If you need to have the binding, chewiness, and elasticity gluten gives, you can use xanthan gum or guar gum- ½ tsp. per cup of other flour for quick breads, 1 tsp. per cup of flour for yeast breads.  In some things, like tortillas, simply using very hot water will help your substitute flour act ‘gummy’.  In regular recipes that depend on avoiding gluten formation, as in quick breads and non-rolled pie crusts, it’s actually a benefit to use these alternate flours.

Fiber content of these flours varies tremendously; low-fiber flours tend to have very little flavor (which lets added flavors shine through) and produce a lighter finished product.  High fiber flours have more nutrition and more flavor. It works well to combine flours from each category.

Low fiber

White rice flour

Potato starch

Potato flour

Tapioca flour

Cornstarch

High fiber

Oat flour

Any bean flour

Lentil flour (it’s in the bean family)

Amaranth flour

Quinoa flour

Millet flour

Teff flour

Nut flour

Coconut flour

These alternate flours tend to absorb more than regular flour does, and they are more dense.  Because of this, the recipes will turn out better if you increase the liquid, the fat, and the leavening by 10-25%.  Baking time may also go up 5-10 minutes.  Take notes on what you try, and how it turns out.  You’ll learn lots and become more confident in baking.

www.livingwithout.com has articles that give rules of thumb and understanding of how to use these flours.

Remember you must carefully read your ingredient labels to be sure they are allergen-free.

Gluten-free Quick breads

Melissa Lords

 wheatdairyeggnutfree.blogspot.com

Substitute various  combinations to meet your needs and preferences. If you can't have wheat, this is a benefit for quickbreads: non-wheat flours help avoid possibility  of tough texture from overstirring and forming gluten.  I do use a little xanthan gum  to give some structure, otherwise quickbreads  can be very crumbly and the texture a  bit powdery.  The rule of thumb is 1/2 tsp per cup flour, but I have found 1/4 tsp per cup works better for me- I think because oat flour doesn't need the xanthan gum as much.

I like hearty,  wholesome baked goods, so for muffins, pancakes, quickbreads, drop cookies,

I generally use one of two mixtures that are mostly whole grain:

50% brown(or white) rice flour,  50% oat flour

     Ie: 1 c. oat flour/1 c. brown rice flour

33% rice flour(brown or white); 33% oat flour, and 33% bean/starch mixture(half bean/half starch*)

      Ie: 3/4 c. oat flour, 3/4 c. rice flour, 1/4 c. lentil flour, and 1/4 c. cornstarch.

Each of these flour blends I grind and mix in large quantities, and store in galloon bags in freezer. Whole grain flour loses flavor and nutrition more quickly at room temperature. 

Here are the blends in easy to use formula to multiply and make large quantities:

Ø  1 part (brown or white) rice flour, 1 part oat flour

Ø  3 parts rice flour, 3 parts oat flour, 1 1/2 parts bean flour, 1 1/2 parts starch

A good all-purpose blend without oats:

Ø  2 parts (brown or white) rice flour, 1 part tapioca, 1 part cornstarch or potato starch

The texture of batter may be a bit different than you are used to. If you are unsure if your batter is good consistency, you may wish to test bake one item first. Adjust if needed, take notes , and keep baking!

*Bean flour:  I usually use lentil bean- it's easy to grind in a blender! Ground white beans also work well, if you have Vitamix/similar  or grain mill. If purchasing bean flour, garbanzo is a favorite.

*Starch can be cornstarch, tapioca starch, or potato starch, or combinations of these. For the past three years I have simply used cornstarch- it's easy and economical for me to buy in bulk, and I am happy with my baked goods. Tapioca starch and potato starch do offer nice texture additions, and actually, I've heard that combining these starches tends to work well, if you want to experiment. : )

Homegrinding: Oats and lentils easily grind in a regular blender. You can grind most any other grain with a Vitamix or grain mill.  Purchasing one of  these may well more than pay for itself.

Note: I am aware that oats can be purchased with gluten-free certified seal if needed; however some who cannot have gluten still do not tolerate oats. www.livingwithout.com has lots of ideas for more flour blends.

Egg-free muffins/pancakes using Quickbread Formula

Melissa Lords, www.wheatdairyeggnutfree.blogspot.com

1 egg counts as 2 T. liquid in your recipe (counts towards overall liquid amount)

egg substitutions: per egg, 1/4 c. applesauce, other fruit puree, yogurt(coconut, soy included), gelatin, 2 T. extra liquid.

Common specific substitutions per egg:

  3 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce per egg + 1 teaspoon extra baking powder total(NOT per egg)

  1 tablespoon flaxseed meal  + 3 tablespoons hot water. (Let stand, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes or until thick. Use without straining.)

  1 packet unflavored gelatin, 2 T. warm water. Do not mix until ready to use.

Egg adds binding for quickbreads(helps hold it together/less crumbly). Applesauce, banana, pear, apricot or prune puree all help bind, among other fruits.  Flaxseed meal,chia seed or gelatin do good job as binders. If you don't mind some crumbliness, you may try just adding extra liquid. Try different substitutions and take notes. Each type of binder yields a little different texture.  Knowing this helps me choose what I want in which circumstance. Sometimes I will go for more tender crumb, knowing it won't be a muffin to take on the go!  Sometimes I select a binder that I know will give a sturdy muffin for a packed lunch.

Eggs contribute leavening - you may wish to add extra baking powder or soda, but not over 1 T. baking powder and 1 tsp baking soda per 2 cups flour.  I often add 1 tsp. extra baking powder if recipe has  baking soda.