#Gluten in Baking

[breadbythehour]

A Beginner Baker’s Guide to Gluten

Gluten gets a lot of negative attention these days thanks to the dieting industry. Many influencers claim that by eliminating gluten from the foods you eat, you can boost your energy levels and maintain a healthy weight.

But is gluten really that bad? How does gluten actually affect you? And should you remove it from your baking?

Let’s take a closer look at gluten to answer some of the most commonly asked questions by beginning bakers.

What Is Gluten?

Gluten is a catch-all term for storage proteins found in certain grains, specifically wheat, rye, barley, and triticale. These naturally occurring proteins like to stick together, creating a structural network similar to glue. In baking, gluten gives dough its stretchy, elastic texture, and it traps gasses and moisture to give bread its soft, distinctive chew.

What Is Vital Wheat Gluten?

If you’ve browsed some of my recipes, you may have noticed that a few recipes call for high-protein bread flour or a combination of vital wheat gluten and all-purpose flour.

Vital wheat gluten is a powdered form of gluten that many bakers use as an additive to increase flour’s protein content. If you’re making an artisan-style sourdough loaf, the extra gluten can improve your dough’s stability and structure, making it easier to shape.

Is Gluten Bad for You?

The human body uses enzymes to break down consumed proteins such as gluten, though it doesn’t break down gluten completely. For some people, the undigested gluten triggers an autoimmune response when it reaches the small intestine, resulting in unpleasant symptoms such as bloating, diarrhea, headaches, and even rashes.

However, for the rest of us, undigested gluten poses no risk, and gluten itself is a reliable source of protein and fiber. Furthermore, going gluten-free does not guarantee any weight loss benefits on its own. Many gluten-free processed foods rely on starches to hold and stabilize food as a substitute for gluten. These starches can actually raise blood sugar levels and cause weight gain rather than being the advertised cure-all.

Which Flours Have the Most Gluten?

To find out which flours have the most gluten for your baking (as well as which flours are gluten free), read the rest of The Beginner Baker’s Guide to Gluten at BreadbytheHour.com

[nerdmama-blog]

Gluten-Free Soft Sugar Cookies: A Family Recipe Revival

There’s something magical about a recipe that’s been passed down through generations. For my husband, these soft sugar cookies take him back to his grandmother’s kitchen. Every visit, she would prepare a batch for him and his sisters. We received a copy of the recipe through a family cookbook. I wanted to adapt it to be gluten-free. This way, he could continue to enjoy them. Adapting a family…

[fullcravings]

Chocolate Basque Cheesecake

[fattributes]

Crispy Chicken Tacos with Avocado Tomatillo Sauce

[allsadnshit]

My first ever butter cookies <3 never piped anything before and it was such a learning curve but here they are so crispy and delicious

[pixierainbows]

Pixie make pretty gluten free cookies finally !!!

Not know if they taste good , but they look good ! Pumpkin cookies , and with cream cheese frosting when they cold !

Pixie like baking things with caregiver

[stealingpotatoes]

i have once again proven that i am the morbius of baking. chocolate guy has nothing on me

[xiaq]

My baby shower contribution. Was up till midnight with work stuff and then had to get up at 6 to ice these guys but I think it was worth it! Now to go socialize and then come home and nap for the rest of the afternoon. 🍼🌸

[squishsquishy]

>> theloopywhisk

Gluten Free Naan Bread

[loftyangel]

https://www.instagram.com/twin_mama_yoshiko/

[copperbadge]

Your latest bread success made me wonder if you've tried or had much luck making gluten free bread? I'm so tired of most commercially available options, they all seem to dissolve instantly. Awful for burgers or anything with sauce. I miss sourdough.

I'm afraid I haven't done much work with gluten-free baking; the problem is the gluten tax. As I'm sure you know, gluten-free anything, even just ingredients, are more expensive, and the process of baking is more labor intensive and time-consuming for a product that isn't the same. Even the best gluten-free bread, lacking gluten, is lacking one of the defining characteristics of the thing it's emulating.

Since I can eat gluten and am not regularly responsible for feeding anyone who can't, there's no real motivation to do it. I try to always have gluten-free options when I'm hosting, but that's usually stuff like crudite and dip, charcuterie, or fruit -- things that can also avoid other allergens, and depending on the item be eaten by vegetarians or vegans.

Now, all that said, I can recommend King Arthur's Cup For Cup GF flour for baking; it makes the process fairly smooth and the final product seems pretty sturdy, although admittedly the flour is about twice the price of their normal bread flour per pound. I haven't encountered Bob's Red Mill GF flour in a while, but partly that's because when we stopped using them they hadn't really reformulated in a few decades and their GF flour was pretty coarse, and sometimes made from beans my family members couldn't tolerate. They may have advanced since, this was like 10-15 years ago at least.

The King Arthur website has a variety of GF baking recipes as well as mixes and I do have some experience making their GF bagels, which are pretty good, although I think they're actually better if you halve the size (easier to manage, easier to store, since they really need to be kept cold, preferably frozen, and eaten warmed). I baked those regularly for a while for a colleague's kid who was allergic to wheat, and they weren't much more work than baking regular bagels, just required more delicate handling pre-bake.

I realize this is basic and you've probably tried it, but just in case, any GF product you're going to be saucing (as you say, like burgers), you might try griddling first -- little scrape of butter, toss it in a hot pan for a few minutes. In regular bread it helps to both create a flat barrier so the sauce doesn't sink into the bread, and it also dries it out a little so that it can take more moisture to begin with. This is theoretical though, I've never done it with GF buns. I do know that generally King Arthur recommends toasting GF products baked with its recipes.

Readers, feel free to chime in with recommendations! Remember to reply in comments or reblogs, as I don't post asks sent in response to other asks.

[nerdmama-blog]

Easy gluten-free chocolate chip cookies

There’s nothing quite like the comfort of a warm, freshly baked chocolate chip cookie. Achieving that perfect balance of chewy center can feel like chasing a dream for those of us who eat gluten-free. Getting crisp edges and just the right spread is often elusive. Too often, gluten-free cookies either spread too thin or stay in a stubborn, sandy lump. I’m happy to report that I’ve found a winner!…

[fullcravings]

Super Creamy White Chocolate Cheesecake (Gluten Free Option)

[fattributes]

Roasted Cherry Tomato Bruschetta Pasta

[daily-deliciousness]

How to make chocolate soufflé

[pixierainbows]

Pixies ( huge !!! but ) almost normal-seeming gluten free chocolate chips cookies .

them taste good too !!! everybody like them !

Pixie baking with caregiver today !