I had a reader ask a great question about gluten-free flours, so I wanted to post the question so other people could benefit from it:
Here is her question:
I’m starting to do more baking and have a couple of questions…Is “All Purpose Baking Mix” the same as a flour blend and, you recommend preparing two flour blends. One with xanthan or guar gum and another without gum. Would I just prepare the flour blend the same for both but eliminate the gum in one batch?
There are many gluten-free flour blends commercially available. Read the ingredient lists to make sure that all the gluten-free flours/starches meet your needs. Some of us cannot tolerate corn or potato or soy — but there are many options and most of us can find one that works for our use. If not you can make you own blend. Most gluten-free flour blends, sometimes called “all purpose gluten-free flour blend” contain a gum to help the “flours” hold together for baking and making pancakes. Many use guar gum, some use xanthan gum. Some also contain salt and you may need to adjust your recipe. This is important because if you are “breading” a piece of fish or a vegetable to saute/fry you DO NOT want a flour with guar or xanthan gum because it will result in a gummy end product. For most uses the gum is not a problem.
One flour that is great on the market is called Cup 4 Cup (it is gluten free, but does contain dairy)
Click here to find out where you can buy Cup 4 Cup
Enjoy! To Your Good Health, Sueson
Hi Sueson! Just wanted to let you know that the C4C brand DOES have milk in it. It is listed in the ingredients and stated on their website FAQ page.
The above article states gluten and dairy free. However, when one follows the link to C4C and looks at the FAQs, it states that C4C does contain some dairy. Is the FAQ correct? I have a grown daughter that is intolerant to a whole host of items and dairy is one of the more sensitive items. Her boy friend is in the same sitution but they have made great strides in trying out new meals and working with a restaurant in Scottsdale – Nourish. For some reason cutting out all meat in their diet along with gluten, dairy, yeast, and a list of other items has done wonders for them. So your gluten free/dairy free cookbook is of interest.
Bob, thanks for pointing that out – indeed that flour C4C DOES contain dairy! I have updated that on this page.
In health,
Sueson
On Breading : To bread fish and then bake,I use the bottom of the bag of broken corn chips to bread my Haddock, Salmon, etc. Of course fresh white corn chips will do fine. I use my Mother’s old rolling pin and pressure roll the chips in all directions until fine. I also add a dab of cloves to the top after spraying with ‘I can’t believe it’s not Butter Spray.When I pick up the Chip crumbs I am careful not to include the gobs of salt usually on the bottom of the bag.
White corn chips are usually Gluten Free, but, some are marked, some are not.
Great tip Bruce!