Don't worry, I think most people allergic to gluten are still trying to figure out the whole diet thing too. My sister has Celiac (gluten allergy) and we're still on the lookout for good recipes and reading every ingredient to make sure she can eat at family functions.
The hardest thing is that you just can't replace regular flour with a flour substitute, most need xantham gum or some other substance along with the alternate. I think that would be the most beneficial thing for gluten-free people... a recipe for a substitute for flour. That way they, and we the gluten-free friendly, could look at any recipe and just replace. Unfortunately, everyone is different and every recipe is different, requiring different agents for thickening, not thickening, substance, etc., and probably wouldn't react the same. But basic breads might all be the same! Or basic cookies!
This recipe sounds fantastic and I can't wait to pass it on to my sister. She usually replaces the milk with some sort of soy or rice milk though since we're allergic to that too! (Life is never easy, right? heh) Can't wait to see what gluten-free recipes come out of your genius kitchen, KAF!
True, Angela - it would be nice if you could "just" replace regular wheat flour with a flour-free substitute. We've developed a recipe for a very tasty flour-free substitute from stabilized brown rice flour, potato starch, and tapioca flour. Still, recipes need xanthan gum, too. But as we continue to test, we should be able to give some guidelines for the amount of xanthan gum to use, per cup of flour equivalent, for different types of recipes. And as you say - a basic GF bread recipe could be modified to include cheese, nuts, or whatever. Ditto a cookie recipe - which we've actually made, basic cookie, muffin and scone recipes which you can then add to with chips, fruit, etc. Thanks for your input - PJH
February 21, 2010 at 3:17am