I recently by chance, came across an article written on a Coeliac site by an Artisan Baker. She had concerns about the breads that are being offered for sale for people with weakened immune systems and explained why on a site called Coeliacs Matter. I thought this may also be of interest to some of you:
coeliacsmatter.com/digestiv...
A further article about xanthan gum that is on the US Celiac site for those who wish to read more:
So me wonders why we are told not to eat gluten as sod off and sort your diet yourself?
I agree that there are mixed messages as to what is "safe" and what is not. It also appears that we learn by trial and error and perhaps 'with a little help from our friends.' It also appears that much of the useful information comes from a variety of places from quite a few countries. At least on a site like this it helps us all to take stock and keep amending what actually goes into our bodies. 
Hi folks, a few points here. Firstly xanthan gum can be grown from a culture on wheat. But gums like xanthan gum and guar gum are hygroscopic (they absorb a lot of moisture) this can act like super roughage or a laxative, in some) And how often have you bought a gf product that looked good but was very dry.
Psyllium husk is from a seed grown in India and Pakistan and is used as a food thickener over there just like we use arrowroot and cornflour. Psyllium husk is indigestible so again is roughage and passes straight through us and in larger amounts is used for colonic irrigation.
What is worth bearing in mind for the keen gf home baker is these gums and husk act synergistically. In that they compliment one another so we can use much less and have the same effect as if we used a lot more of just one.
Hi Jerry,
There are now several articles that firmly recommend discontinuing the use of xanthan gum unless the source of the gum is known if a person has coeliac disease and rather use the alternatives of guar gum and psyllium husk ..
Here is an instance:
"Xanthomonas Campestris bacterium is not derived directly from corn or wheat but is produced by fermentation by the bacteriam which can use wheat or other foods as a growing medium. Consequently, residual wheat gluten has been detected in xanthan gum derived from wheat which could trigger an allergic response to celiacs who are highly sensitive to gluten. As such, the advice of the the Food Standards Agency is that people with such food intolerances should avoid consuming food containing xanthan gum if the source of the gum is not known. This makes sense and would be an easy practice to follow if food labelling stated the source of xanthan gum, but it does not appear to do so."
glutenfreesolutions.co.uk/#...
"Some people develop an allergy to xanthan, with gastrointestinal symptoms such as bloating, gas, and diarrhea. Even consumption of a very minor amount can lead to days and days of recovery and many trips to the bathroom. Hmm. Sound like anything we've heard before? And that's the problem. Experiencing a xanthan reaction can make you question your gluten-free diet, make you think you were accidentally exposed to gluten, or mystify you completely."
dadamo.com/cgi-bin/Blah/Bla...
So two different stances - one says not unless you know the source of the xanthan the other that the xanthan gum is known to cause reactions even in very small amounts that replicate the symptoms of ingestion of gluten. I have read several sites that now say it is preferable to avoid xanthan altogether for people who have any form of gluten sensitivity .... perhaps it may be best to stick to the guar and psyllium.
I've been trying some new breads out and have found that psyllium has a dreadful effect on my system...just like being gluttened...it's taken a few weeks of testing it out and after having a week of just naturally gf foods and feeling wonderful I tried a warburtons gf loaf and within hours felt as though I'd eaten gluten. The original Genius bread didn't have it and I could eat that but now it's all getting a little desperate.....old times and longlife bread beckon!
It would be a lot easier if all coeliacs reacted to the same stuff in the same way....life eh?
ps...I'm okish with xanthium..as long as I don't have much or too often
You will have to have a go at cooking flat bread or pancake bread Jill .. at least you then know what is in it and can vary the flours, etc and being flat most of the grains that are naturally free of gluten are suitable. The other alternative, rather than baking bread is they type of cottage bread that used to be made many moons ago which is similar to a scone - it is quick, cheap and quite, quite tasty.
There is one that was used in the Australian outback and still used by many today called 'Damper' bread:
Rough and ready measurements of:
3 Teacups of any flour - add one heaped teaspoon of GF baking powder - or bicarbonate of soda and tartaric acid (whichever is your preference)
3/4 Teacup of water
80 grammes of butter
1 pinch of ground salt
Prep by heating the oven to 200° C or Gas Mark 6
Spread a little fat over a baking tray and lightly dust with flour of choice - use greaseproof paper on top of this as well if preferred
Mix the flour, salt and raising agent together in a bowl
Rub the butter into the mixture using finger tips until the mixture looks like tiny breadcrumbs
Stir the water into the mixture using a dinner knife - then finish this off by using your hands
Depending upon the flour used - it may require up to a further two tablespoons of water for the mixture to resemble dough as it shouldn't be too dry
Lightly flour a board and turn out the mixture onto it - then very gently kneed the mixture into a round then shape it until it is approximately 8 inches/20 cms or slightly less then place onto the the baking tray
Take a cook's knife (a sharp pointed one) and dip it into a little flour so that the dough will not stick to it - mark out in a criss-cross fashion into approximately 8 parts
Lastly, lightly dust over the damper and place into the oven on a fairly high shelf for approximately 30 minutes
Take out and gently tap the bottom and it should sound hollow - just as a normal loaf once it is thoroughly cooked
Move the damper onto a wire tray if possible to cool it off and prevent moisture forming underneath it which may make it feel slightly damp
Allow around 5 or 6 minutes so that it is just slightly warm .. it is traditionally eaten either warm or at room temperature - but is quite nice cold too!
Thanks.I'll give this a go x
Hygroscopic ingredients can also have the opposite effect. I use psyllium instead of xantham in baking because xantham made my insides seize up completely and psyllium doesn't. Ground flax meal can also be used to similar effect and has the added benefit of having a bit more to it nutritionally, though the omegas don't stand up to heat.
PS. Although the baker in the article mentions Genius bread, the Genius seeded loaf is the one I buy regularly because it has no xantham gum. Perhaps some of their other products do? I'd better read the ingredients every single bloody time I go to the supermarket.
Doesn't truly make you wince, Hollyann? To think we are constantly checking and checking and checking to try and remain healthy!
Wince? I'm blinded! Seriously, if I leave my specs at home when I go to the supermarket I'm scuppered.
About six months ago we started getting an organic veg box and one happy side effect of this is that I can check a lot of ingredients at home on the computer rather than standing under the fluorescents squinting at the tiny print on a bloody plastic bag. But the Genius seeded bread (I know nothing about the other products) has been a standby since I found out it 1) tastes nice and 2) doesn't turn my insides to stone, so let's hope they don't start bu88ering about with it.
I too ... am utterly useless without my specs or someone standing there reading it out loud. And don't they make these ingredients in the most tiny of prints - anyone think that they were meant for placing them on a postage stamp! So that's another law I would like to see them bring in - a certain size print of ingredients - preferably large enough for people to read without taking out their glasses!!
I realise that things have moved on by leaps and bounds regarding the ability to be able to purchase fairly normal tasting bread 'gluten free' from the shops now ... I do wish for more - I would like to see a brand brave enough to step forward and use flours that do not contain gluten and therefore guarantee a range from withing 0ppm to a maximum of 5ppm as they now have in both Australia and New Zealand .... that would be so very marvellous and surely we deserve the same as our friends over there.
?(?????)?
The wild rice the grassy one does this have gluten in it????
Hi Vince, wild rice is gluten free.
Thanks Jerry I do like my black and red rice. my coeliac is confussed by chronic fatigue and depression I don't know which is worse medication causes side effects so does food??
Thanks for this - I have read the article which has led me on a voyage of discovery - very interesting and lovely to know there is a natural alternative out there with ABO.
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