Going Gluten Free.....Good Resource to Get Started??

[Farmfresh]

I had a little sticker shock at the prices of the different flours...I'm so used to cheap AP flour!!

Yes. The sticker shock is something you have to get used to. Gluten free products are high dollar items, usually. :/

 

[Lady Henevere]

Great, great resource: Gluten Free Girl. I can't recommend her highly enough. Her writing makes you feel like even though life throws you challenges, it's all going to turn out just fine. And the recipes are good! She also has lots of information about different flours, ratios in cooking to get good textures, substituting flours, etc.

Here's her page on using flax seeds or chia seeds instead of xanthan gum.

I went gluten free about a year and a half ago because of chronic "IBS." It took a full six weeks without wheat before I felt better (I actually felt terrible during that six weeks), but then I finally felt right for the first time in a decade, and I haven't looked back. So stick to it for a while before you decide it's not working.

I never liked gluten free breads. Udi's bread is passable if you toast it and put some strong cheese or peanut butter on it, Bob's Red Mill biscuits are okay if you eat them straight out of the oven with lots of butter. But generally I have just shifted my diet to non-bready stuff, and to be honest I don't really miss it. Well, that's not true -- I missed really good pizza. But if there's a Whole Foods near you, they have great GF pizza crusts that you can top yourself, and there are some frozen GF pizzas that aren't bad. I have never found a recipe for a homemade gluten free pizza that was any good (even the Gluten Free Girl's pizza is not great). But generally I just skip the bread and eat other stuff -- rice-based dishes (risotto, sushi (but use tamari instead of soy sauce, which has gluten in it), spicy Indian veggie dishes with rice on the side), salads, corn-based stuff (Mexican offers a lot of options, as mentioned above, polenta is good), etc. Once you get out of the bread-based mindset, it gets easier.

Good luck! I hope it works out well for you, and that you have found a path to healing.

 

[miss_thenorth]

Next time I'm in town I'll cruise thru the Big Lots for the boxed mixes. I had a little sticker shock at the prices of the different flours...I'm so used to cheap AP flour!!

I do have a bread maker($10 yardsale score) and will use that if I decide to make GF bread from scratch. I know it's not in the budget to buy the pre-made bread from the store.

I'm actually getting a little excited about the new foods I'm gonna make instead of being petrified about not having anything decent to eat!!

Breadmakers are basically useless for GF doughs. The little paddle can not incorporate all the flour. GF bread dough is more like a batter so it is better to either stir by hand or use a kitchenaid. GF doughs do not need kneading since there will be no gluten development.

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

I found a yummy way to do pizza gluten free, was to make a Masa Harina (lime soaked corn made into flour) extra thick tortilla for the crust.

 

[big brown horse]

Has anyone mentioned the cauliflower pizza crust yet? YUM!! (I think I posted it in the recipe section.)

 

[Wifezilla]

i use the lighter side of low carb recipe. its mainly shredded zucchini, egg and cheese. nom nom nom

 

[miss_thenorth]

i use the lighter side of low carb recipe. its mainly shredded zucchini, egg and cheese. nom nom nom

I mad this once and found it was more like pizza casserole. Not b ad, but not pizza. Did I do it wrong? (aka plz post recipe again?)

 

[Farmfresh]

Breadmakers are basically useless for GF doughs. The little paddle can not incorporate all the flour. GF bread dough is more like a batter so it is better to either stir by hand or use a kitchenaid. GF doughs do not need kneading since there will be no gluten development.

I beg to differ on that note. I use my bread maker for GF exclusively. I may not need that extra mixing, but it is great loading up the mix and coming back to a finished loaf.

I make a really good pizza crust by starting with a Bob's Red Mill GF pizza crust mix. In my bread machine I made the mix adding Italian herbs (like oregano, basil or what you like), minced garlic and Parmesan cheese. Then I add a bit of extra olive oil to keep the consistency correct. I just let the bread machine run on the dough setting for the crust.

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

Breadmakers are basically useless for GF doughs. The little paddle can not incorporate all the flour. GF bread dough is more like a batter so it is better to either stir by hand or use a kitchenaid. GF doughs do not need kneading since there will be no gluten development.

I beg to differ on that note. I use my bread maker for GF exclusively. I may not need that extra mixing, but it is great loading up the mix and coming back to a finished loaf.

I make a really good pizza crust by starting with a Bob's Red Mill GF pizza crust mix. In my bread machine I made the mix adding Italian herbs (like oregano, basil or what you like), minced garlic and Parmesan cheese. Then I add a bit of extra olive oil to keep the consistency correct. I just let the bread machine run on the dough setting for the crust.

My dad uses a machine often as well