New to life gluten free

[cathie]

I’m self diagnosed at present but reaction to any gluten is very clear. I bought the river cottage recipe book and it’s infernally complicated! Does anyone have a good source for simple pleasant baking? Scones for instance, the ones I make with Doves g free flour are passable but quite dense.

[Cooper27]

How long ago did you go GF? Are you intending to be tested for Coeliac disease some day?

[cathie in reply to Cooper27]

can't see my earlier reply. I was tested several years ago along with other things, it was negative. And when I discussed it with my GP he confirmed that I'd have to go back to eating gluten which, in present circumstances I'm reluctant to do. I felt really depressed with those symptoms. I really didn't understand how debilitating this could be.

[Cooper27 in reply to cathie]

Ah ok, it was just I'm case you'd switched recently. It sounds like you were maybe GF before you were tested? Could have read that wrong.

I don't tend to find recipe books that helpful for GF baking, as the flour mixes are always so different. It could be worth adapting the Doves farm one a little, to see if it helps?

Tesco and M&S sell GF scones if you're really desperate

[Tabbyme in reply to cathie]

Jane Devonshire!!

[Penel]

Hello Cathie

It’s a shame about the River Cottage book! I also had high hopes about it, but it really is very complicated.

I tend to look on the internet for recipes, but there are now a lot of gf cookbooks on the market. This article gives a list of some of them.

independent.co.uk/extras/in...

Baking without gluten will not give the same results as with gluten unfortunately, it will always tend to be quite dense. Perhaps have a look at the Healthy Eating site for some gluten free recipes.

healthunlocked.com/healthye...

[cathie in reply to Penel]

That' s brilliant thank you, I might treat myself to the beginners guides. That flatbread with garlic looks good too.

[Penel in reply to cathie]

I found Hugh FW’s book “Light and Easy” had more recipes I could use, although it’s a wheat-free, dairy-free cook book. He uses some interesting gluten free flours like buckwheat in his recipes.Good luck with the baking!

[Whydothis]

I agree - River Cottage Gluten Free is not helpful, unless you want to buy loads of different flours and make life complicated. River Cottage Light and Easy, as Penel says, is much more helpful.I have almost abandoned baking, other than a few new favourites, in favour of eating cooked meals and salads. When I was first diagnosed as Coeliac I went a bit mad trying the various alternative grains and flours, and ended up putting on weight, and suffering from lack of fibre. Now I eat much less carbs and much more veg, which replaces the fibre I used to get from wholemeal, and is better for my health.

One good place to look for gluten free recipes is the low carb and keto websites, (even if you are not particularly interested in their ideas), because they are grain free recipes.

Hope this helps a bit.

[cathie in reply to Whydothis]

thanks. Its quite a tricky balancing act. I had an unpleasant reaction to this chilli spice mix (Santa Maria, made in Sweden). Gluten not on the list of ingredients, I wrote to the manufacturers and they said it was free of gluten but I'm sceptical.

[Whydothis]

Yes - it is very difficult, and I have become more and more careful about what I buy. Not all labels give the "may contain" information which relates to any danger of cross-contamination, and it took me some time to realise how important that is.

[Hj101]

Hi, I really like the “Nosh” gluten free books, some are a mix of normal recipes and baking, but one is completely dedicated to baking. They use normal GF flour mixed and I’ve had quite good results. There is also a new book coming out called “how to make anything gluten free” by a blogger called Becky Excel, I haven’t got it yet but the recipes on her website are great so that could be a good one too 😊

[cathie in reply to Hj101]

Thanks !

[Alybubbles]

I’ve given up on baking as well. I’m always disappointed. I have been eating gf bread, but I’m pretty sure it’s also upsetting my stomach. I read on here about some gf grains and products can do that. I’m going to stick to really simple foods and see if that helps. Xx

[Penel in reply to Alybubbles]

The additives in ready-made gf bread, such as emulsifiers, gums, cellulose, seem to be a problem for a lot of people. Hopefully sticking to naturally gf foods will help your stomach to settle down.

[cathie in reply to Penel]

Thank you

[cathie in reply to Alybubbles]

So what do you use instead of bread? I keep thinking it’s a staple!!

[Alybubbles in reply to cathie]

Rice potatoes or nothing x

[Penel in reply to cathie]

You could also try making a pancake for use as a wrap. Buckwheat or chickpea flour make for an interesting taste.

Some more recipes here.

healthline.com/nutrition/15...

[cathie in reply to Penel]

I’ll try buckwheat- takes me back to hippy days, I’m that old!

[Penel in reply to cathie]

[erdfreak]

I find I have problems with gluten free flours, some ingredients don't agree with me (xanthum gum, potato starch, maize starch etc.), so tend to use SCD and Paleo ingredients. I use ground almonds, coconut flour or almond butter as the key ingredient. I have a good recipe for gluten free bread using just almond butter, eggs and baking soda. Loaf isn't large, but makes a nice change to have something resembling real bread texture, I top it with pumpkin, sunflower and sesame seeds. I make cookies using ground almonds, and muffins using coconut flour. The 2 minute chocolate pudding in the microwave is always nice, especially with my banana, cocoa powder and honey ice cream (a little bit of vodka makes it soft scoop!). There are a couple of books about baking for the SCD diet, well worth a look, but ingredients use American measures. Get most of my recipes online, or adapt from ones online. I start by looking for SCD recipes, then Paleo or Keto, and then adapt by substituting for ingredients that cause me problems like starches and sugars. Don't have one for scones, but never was a fan of them. Took me a while to get this point, but now I can have little treats without worrying about cross contamination or the rubbish they put into 'Free From' products. Good luck in your quest, I think it's worth it. P.S. Now make my own chocolate and fudge from cocoa butter, cocoa powder, homemade vanilla extract, honey and almond butter (for the fudge).

[cathie in reply to erdfreak]

Could you share your recipe for bread please?

[erdfreak]

It's a recipe I found online in 2 places, ingredients vary slightly.1. 1 cup creamy almond butter, 4 eggs, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

2. 1 cup creamy almond butter, 4 eggs, 1 tsp baking soda

Use 8"x4" loaf pan, lined. Bake at 180 degrees C for 35 to 45 minutes. I find with my oven it's done in 35 minutes.

I don't follow quantities exactly now, I find that the jar of Asda or Aldi almond butter (both good prices) is sufficient to make a decent loaf. Also, after first couple of loaves I started putting pumpkin, sunflower and sesame seeds on top. Gives a nice crunch. Made the mistake of putting them in it once, turns the bread green!! Tasted okay, but not nice to look at:). If you have a decent food processor, 2 cups of almonds will produce one cup of almond butter. Have done this, but at Asda and Aldi prices it isn't worth the bother. Also have used large eggs, but now use medium eggs, both worked fine.

[cathie in reply to erdfreak]

Thankyou very much, will source and try

[Hidden]

Can't help you unfortunately as I'm a terrible baker. I can make anything that doesn't need to rise, e.g. pancakes or flat breads. I use Dove Farm Freee, or more recently I've experimented with casava flour (interesting) and buckwheat from Dove Farm Freee. Cake-wise, there are naturally flour free cake recipes (chocolate ones that use almond flour) and perhaps polenta cake which is lovely. I think it takes a lot of practice to get to grips with gf flour and I've never had the patience.

[cathie in reply to Hidden]

Thanks, you’re absolutely right! Steep learning curve here!

[Singinglouder]

Best scone recipe I’ve found was from an Australian book, 4 Ingredients Gluten-Free. Haven’t got the quantities to hand, but I think it’s on the web - but it’s just gf flour, bicarb, a small pot of single cream, and lemonade for sweetness (or sparkling water if you want to go savoury). Easy to mix, too, even with arthritic hands! Used to make them with dried apricots for church teas - and they work with diet lemonade, too, if you use it. Not so good with the Dove’s flour, tho - I’d probably use Dr Schär.

[cathie in reply to Singinglouder]

Thanks I’ll try!

[Hidden]

I don't bake very often but I generally try and find recipes online.

I made this one yesterday and it was lovely! ( glutenfreecuppatea.co.uk/20... )

[cathie]

Thanks and noted for future reference. I’m thinking of trying polenta recipes for some cakes as I can’t cope with too many additional items. Will try yours though xx

[Rosepetal60]

Have you checked on the Healthy Eating community. They have lots of GF recipes on there for biscuits etc. Getting the right type of flour I think is the key though. I need to do a bit of research on this myself. As I would like to make some shortbread GF biscuits this Christmas or New year depending on time and energy

[Hidden]

Hello cathie I do all my own gf baking and bake bread cakes and cookies, I post them on HE please see:healthunlocked.com/healthye...

I’m sorry I thought that I’d replied to you. 😊

[Researchfan]

Hi.This is my own recipe for gluten free scones. I’ve been experimenting for over 10years with gluten free baking - with success and flops. If you make them let me know if they turn out? Gluten free baking seems to work 50% of the time!

Easy gluten free scones:

1 tub double cream (10.6floz)

6 oz Gluten free flour of choosing ( I have used Doves Farm rice flour for traditional scones, and ground almonds for low carb/paleo scones)

3/4tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

Drop of apple cider vinegar

That’s it!

Optional dried fruit or savoury grated cheese.

Optional sprinkle caster sugar or egg wash.

Very lightly mix ingredients to a sticky very thick cake batter. Like making soda bread do not over mix.

Using hands or between 2 dessert spoons Place apart on a greased baking tray.

Bake preheated oven 200c until well risen and golden. Approx 15-20mins.

Let cool and enjoy!

Wendy x