Someone asked about wheat-free recipes. There is a distinction to be
made between "wheat free" and "gluten free."
I am allergic to wheat, but not to gluten, and I make many wonderful breads
by using 1/2 cup vital wheat gluten and 2 1/2 cups other flours. Flours
I use include: brown rice flour, barley flour, teff flour, oat flour,
oat flakes, soy flour, amaranth flour, quinoa flour, and many more,
including kamut flour. Kamut is a wheat, and I can tolerate it, and I use
that as the basis for many of my breads. Spelt is a wheat, also, but I
can't tolerate it at all.
Breads made without wheat flour tend to, not be softer exactly, but to
have a less chewy, resilient texture. But they still make great
sandwiches, and the flavor can be as good as any wheat bread.
If you are allergic to gluten, you can do something similar, but you
need to use Xanthan gum instead of gluten, and I don't know much about
that. Lois Conway writes in one of her books that she has tried it --
Lois, do you have any comments?
Many of my recipes I created by starting with a wheat bread recipe and
substituting. Others I just dreamed up. The basic recipe is:
2 3/8 tsp yeast
1/2 vital wheat gluten
2 1/2 cups other flours
1 cup + 2 TB liquid
1 1/2 TB honey or molassas
1 - 1 1/2 tsp salt
Here's one recipe I like a lot. It is for a Breadman 1 1/2 lb loaf,
using the medium cycle (2 1/2 hours total):
Yeast: 2 3/8 tsp
Dry group:
Gluten: 1/2 cup
Kamut flour: 1 1/2 cup
Soy flour: 1/4 cup
Oatmeal flakes: 3/4 cup
Corn germ: 2 TB
Wet group
Water: 1 cup + 2 TB
Canola oil: 1 1/2 TB
Honey: 1 1/2 TB
Salt: 1 1/4 tsp
Corn germ: 2 tb
Send me email to schapin@mitre.org if you want more details.
- susan (schapin@mitre.org; the opinions above are my own and are
not known to or endorsed by my employer)