Make Gluten Free Bread Easier

If you have been diagnosed with celiac disease then you Hill need to make some pretty tough changes to your lifestyle. You will have to eliminate all foods that may contain gluten, the natural proteins of wheat an other cereals. Corn, rice, oats, and sorghum can be eaten since they do not contain gluten proteins (However, they could be contaminated with gluten proteins SO BE AWARE!!!)

Gluten free breads are usually made of a non gluten starchy material such as rice, potato starch, sorghum, or other flours. Although these are safe because they do not have gluten, it is precisely the lack of it that makes those bread difficult to bake. Gluten is the material that makes bread as we know it. Thus, no gluten no bread as we are used to.

However, we can successfully make gluten free breads by using some additives that are safe. Gums are one of those ingredients and you will see different types of gums (Xanthan gum, carragenan, carob gum, etc) in many gluten free recipes.

Anne Vize, contributor at Bright hub has an interesting article about how to make gluten free breads. You can read her article titled "How to Make Gluten Free Bread" and get a feel of what you are up to in this area. Here are some of her recommendations taken directly from her article:

*Don't start with a recipe which is too hard, or involves many carefully measured ingredients (unless of course you are someone for whom baking is a real pleasure and you enjoy spending time preparing and creating in the kitchen)

*Check the source of your ingredients, and make sure you are using flours which have not been contaminated with other grains during the packing processes

*Read the instructions carefully and make sure you measure accurately

*Smooth down the top of a loaf with a wet spatula so you get a smooth top surface (without losing half your mix onto the spatula)

*Clean down your cooking surfaces well and check your utensils are clean to avoid cross contamination

*Add in a few variations to a basic gluten free bread recipe (add some linseeds on top of a loaf, or some grated cheese, or a few sesame or poppy seeds)

*Try making a sweet loaf by adding currants or sultanas to the mix, along with some nutmeg and cinnamon

As you can see cross-contamination (that is contaminating your gluten free product with gluten coming from other ingredients and utensils) is a big deal in producing gluten free breads so please be aware of this a try to buy products that are certified gluten free.