Almost all recipes can be adapted to become gluten-free. Following are some guidelines to adapting recipes to gluten-free:
1. Focus on the wheat-containing ingredients and their functions, as these will need to be adapted with a substitution. Try to choose “main meal” recipes with very little flour or gluten-containing ingredients for the bulk of a meal. An example would be breading or flouring of meats, which can, in most cases, be omitted. Simple fruits and vegetables as accompanying sides achieve the best results when beginning gluten-free cooking.
2. Avoid recipes that do not use “scratch” ingredients, as gluten is often used in mixes and convenience foods. Basic sauces and gravies made from individual ingredients are the best recipes to …show more content…
Look for a similar recipe in a gluten-free cookbook, or online gluten-free website reference. Compare proportions of the ingredients, as this is the key to successfully substituting with gluten-free ingredients. For example, it takes less starch for thickening, than when using flour. The recipes will work the same way.
Gluten-Free Baking
Some baked products are more of a challenge for gluten-free baking than others, as gluten in wheat flour contributes important properties such as light and airy structures (cakes and other types of batter-based products), due to its ability to retain carbon dioxide gas from leavening. Other products such as cookies can be more easily converted to gluten-free with wheat substitutes.
Replacing the wheat flour with gluten-free substitution ingredients can be further improved with other additives that retain gas, such as xanthan and guar gum. These products can usually be found in the natural foods section of most grocery stores. Yeast bread is likely the most challenging to make gluten-free, because gluten provides structure and creates a tender crumb structure, as well as retaining gas. With experimentation and practice, a gluten-free combination of alternative flours can be used to bake bread with good volume, softness and
1. Focus on the wheat-containing ingredients and their functions, as these will need to be adapted with a substitution. Try to choose “main meal” recipes with very little flour or gluten-containing ingredients for the bulk of a meal. An example would be breading or flouring of meats, which can, in most cases, be omitted. Simple fruits and vegetables as accompanying sides achieve the best results when beginning gluten-free cooking.
2. Avoid recipes that do not use “scratch” ingredients, as gluten is often used in mixes and convenience foods. Basic sauces and gravies made from individual ingredients are the best recipes to …show more content…
Look for a similar recipe in a gluten-free cookbook, or online gluten-free website reference. Compare proportions of the ingredients, as this is the key to successfully substituting with gluten-free ingredients. For example, it takes less starch for thickening, than when using flour. The recipes will work the same way.
Gluten-Free Baking
Some baked products are more of a challenge for gluten-free baking than others, as gluten in wheat flour contributes important properties such as light and airy structures (cakes and other types of batter-based products), due to its ability to retain carbon dioxide gas from leavening. Other products such as cookies can be more easily converted to gluten-free with wheat substitutes.
Replacing the wheat flour with gluten-free substitution ingredients can be further improved with other additives that retain gas, such as xanthan and guar gum. These products can usually be found in the natural foods section of most grocery stores. Yeast bread is likely the most challenging to make gluten-free, because gluten provides structure and creates a tender crumb structure, as well as retaining gas. With experimentation and practice, a gluten-free combination of alternative flours can be used to bake bread with good volume, softness and