gluten free life style

Update on my GF Journey and Life In General

Hi, it’s been 13.5 years since I went GF. I have never regretted that decision. It is very challenging at times to be gf but I actually thrive on challenge so I’m still learning a lot and eating great healthy food! I don’t really feel deprived, and I have grown decently skilled at gf baking. We eat good around here!

The last 18 plus months I have been making a lot of gf sourdough breads, rolls, bagels and scones. Maybe obsessed is a better word. I just made yet more bagels; been a while and this time I swapped some of the sorghum flour for oat flour and they were wonderful in the texture and flavor department. You might want to try gf sourdough; definitely a game changer in the bread/roll department. Great flavor and texture. I still make a Japanese milk bread regularly; it is awesome fresh and makes great grilled sandwiches.

I had shoulder surgery in mid-June so I haven’t been baking or cooking anything complex. I did do those bagels, and I am planning a press in crust blueberry pie Saturday morning. Rolling out dough is very challenging; I did make a few pita breads and rolled out 3 of them one handed; pretty awesome with hummus or Aldi’s feta dip. Before my surgery I made gingersnaps, rhubarb custard pie and beautiful hot cross buns that were the best I’ve ever had. I haven’t been posting much as for a few weeks it was pretty hard to type. FYI: I often add something interesting to my posts after I send it out so if you follow my blog, I recommend that you look at the actual post a few hours later for the updated version! I generally try to get everything in, but I can’t resist adding more to each post.

We were to a gf restaurant a few weeks ago in Quakertown and loved it; Yo Mama’s Kitchen in the Qmart. Definitely worth the time to go and try a meal there. Freaking amazing to find a place with a totally gf menu. Kinda surreal actually! You won’t be disappointed by their casual menu, big servings and delish! I just did a review of this place. Look on fb for their page, menu and hours there as well as mouthwatering pictures of the food. I only wish there were more restaurants like this place!

Finding more gf offerings in stores; Wegmans in particular has expanded their gf selection greatly in the past 10 plus years; seems to be the best and biggest selection around my neck of Pennsylvania (Lehigh Valley).

I’m debating probiotics for better gut health. Debating making fermented foods once the summer heat abates.

Hopefully by late summer I can roll out a pie crust again… Enjoy your summer my friends and eat safely!

2024 – My Philosophy of Gluten Free Living

As spring of 2024 begins, I feel compelled to reiterate my reasons for blogging and my philosophy as far as food goes.   Some reasons for that compelled feeling?  I haven’t visited this topic in about 8 years, so I think it is time for an update. Plus, maybe because in some small way I influence those who read my posts.  If you read, you deserve to know why I write.

I was diagnosed just over 11 years ago; January 2013.  It was like a death blow at the time…or so I thought.  It took a couple of weeks to even process this idea of walking away from all-purpose flour, from the usual baked treats: whole wheat breads and cereals, rye bread, bagels, rolls, scones, cookies, pies, cakes and pastries. Gosh that was hard to wrap my brain around.  I won’t lie…it was deeply upsetting and rather depressing.  But after a while I dusted off my butt and got to work making my kitchen over into a gluten free kitchen and in fact, my whole life into a gluten-free zone.  Took about two-three months to fully accomplish, I kept finding yet another gluten filled item in my cupboard or freezer. And I switched over to gf pet food.

Let me clear this up; I am not offended by all you wheat eaters out there.  I eat how I do because I must.  I had to change my lifestyle to survive.  It is not some sort of weight loss plan but a way to avoid an early death.  People who mock folks who must eat gluten free deserve to become allergic to whatever they love to eat; so they can experience what we celiacs go through every single day of our lives.  There are some rude types out there but also a lot of caring folks who go out of their way to make safe food for we who can’t eat gluten anymore.

Being gluten free gets easier as time goes on, just like learning any new skill.  You navigate the waters of buying safe choices, of figuring out how to make gf gravy, how to flour meat/fish and how to make that birthday cake or holiday cookie that your family craves.  And to make it all safe for you.  That is my mission; encouraging you, cheering struggling celiacs on and sharing my recipes, found all over the web, in my gf cookbooks or old/new recipes I have translated into a safe, gluten free version. I have even conquered gf kiffles and love making them for friends and family. christmas baking 2015 030

My focus is on eating seasonally, partaking as liberally as possible of fresh fruits and vegetables.  Fruits especially taste the best when eaten in season.  My baking highlights in season fruit and I eat that in season fruit out of hand as well as added to salads.  I eat meats, fish and poultry as well as some vegetarian fare.  I mostly avoid processed foods although I do sometimes eat bacon. I don’t buy a lot of gluten free bread products.  Yet, I crave bread so I occasionally bake in my quest for the best ever gf bread.  So far some success, my french bread with golden raisins and fennel and my gf sourdough bread comes to mind.

I also try more and more to limit my sugar intake: it is a new year’s resolution of mine. In 2015 I discovered coconut palm sugar, pricey but I love how it doesn’t seem to spike my sugar so I use it in muffins that I enjoy as an occasional snack.  apple muffins 002My desserts tend to be fruit based and I often scale back the sugar a bit.  Confession: I still adore the occasional cake but in the interest of healthy eating I am trying to cut back or at least make a lower sugar version; see my sour cream cinnamon cake post recently.  Granulated sugar is being seen more and more as a major villain in our dietary choices. Being pre-diabetic I have long tried to use a bit less of it and choose things like tarts or fruit pie as opposed to a slice of cake with lots of sugary icing.  Humbly I suggest you might try to do as well. alsatian apple tart 002

You can cook gluten free easily enough if you cook meals that are naturally gluten free; rice, potatoes, rice noodles are good examples of starches you can incorporate with your protein item and lots of vegetables.  Be careful of rice mixes that have seasoning packets; often bearers of gluten in them…read the labels carefully.  Sometimes a bit of flour is called for; scalloped potatoes for example. I have subbed in white rice flour or brown rice flour for the white flour.

I hear of many folks successfully using those cup-for-cup mixes that are sold in most stores in old gluten flour recipes.  I do use them especially when I am reformulating an old gluten flour recipe. Still, I tend to use recipes formulated for gf flour as there is a lot of chemistry in baking and gf flour is so pricy.  I hate failing in baking and having to pitch a leaden loaf; not going there if I can help it! I just made a lot of crumbs out of a lousy loaf of sourdough that refused to rise. Two containers of it in my fridge.  My favorite of those gf flour mixes is Better Batter, I do use it on occasion and very successfully so far.

My favorite flour mix is the one Annalise Roberts uses in her recipes; a mixture of brown rice flour, potato starch and tapioca flour; my pie crust is phenomenal tasting using her mix and her recipe.  strawberry rhubarb pie 011I use that flour in my muffins, my chocolate cake, my angel food cake, and a number of yummy cookies I enjoy. You see it often in my blogged recipes.  It is pretty much identical to the all-purpose gf flour mix that King Arthur sells, not their baking mix though; that has added leavening agents. cranberry tartlets 003

Tough items for me are making edible bread, rolls, biscuits and pastries.  It is possible to bake quite decent cakes and cupcakes.  And there are some tasty gf cake mixes in a box out there.  If you love to bake bread, I have written posts about yummy breads I have made from scratch; French bread, yeast zucchini bread and chickpea soup, salad, bread 014the America’s Test Kitchen sandwich bread come to mind.  I have made some decent cinnamon buns. Victory!

In summary, I started writing my blog to cope with the horrors of going gluten-free but I continue because I have found great personal success in cooking and baking safely for myself and my family/friends. I take great joy in serving tasty foods particularly desserts that people clamor for seconds of.  thanksgiving meal 013I want to share that success and help others to be confident enough to bake gf foods for yourself and your family. You can do it, yes you can. I am here to help you; all questions answered gladly, advice given freely, and support is there for you whether your gluten free journey is brand new or has been there for years in your daily life.

Peace and happy eating my friends!

9 Years Gluten Free

Life moves on so rapidly: I just passed 9 years of eating totally gluten free. It is much easier than that first year. That was sure a lot to learn; terrifying making my first all gf meal for others. Fairly easy now. I quite enjoy the challenge of baking gf. I just made the most delicious gf blueberry scones this weekend. Tender and not that difficult to put together. It has been an interesting journey in my cooking/eating/lifestyle. I am glad to be able to eat safely food that I feel is as tasty as what I made before my celiac diagnosis.

I found a great pizza recipe with puffy chewy crust that is just delish. I think this latest bake is a favorite for me; loaf pan sourdough bread with seeds. Makes awesome toast. I made avocado toast last week and practically swooned with the incredible flavor of it. My angel food cake is just as delicate in its gf form. I made gravy that no one complains about and muffins that are easy and tasty. Recently I joined a gf sourdough baking group on fb. I didn’t expect there to be such an interest nor such beautiful breads. Yes, it is a good way to live, and no one should feel that being gf is impossible.

I have fully embraced the 1 for 1 baking flour blends; they are so great when you want to make an old favorite recipe into a gf version. Those scones I made were done with Bob’s Redmill 1-1 blend. As were all the fig ricotta cakes I make in the fall; based on a celebrity chef’s recipe that she says is her favorite cake. It is certainly a favorite of mine. So many pies and tarts come out of my oven, all gf and all a delight to share with my guy who doesn’t have to eat gf but never complains at what I put on the table for dinner.

Don’t get me wrong; eating out is generally a major challenge in the area of Pennsylvania where I live, very few places have more than a few items (if you are lucky!) on their menu that are gluten free. And don’t get me started on “gluten friendly” statements on menus. Uggh! The pandemic kinda reduced me to only home meals. I was unwilling to eat out other than an outside table. As things loosen up, I hope to soon eat out again and safely enjoy someone else’s cooking. Can’t wait.

Eating at family is possible although has been majorly crimped by covid worries. I hope to resume family visits later this spring. My sisters are very good at cooking gf for me. As are a number of friends. I feel so blessed to have caring people in my life that make it possible to share a meal or treat.

I still enjoy writing my blog on living gf. It is uniquely satisfying. I also love the process of remaking old recipes into gf versions. The new challenge of gf sourdough baking has me so intrigued. I just borrowed a cast iron oval Dutch oven and plan on testing it soon with some sourdough recipes. Fun to create and you get to eat your results!

So, if you are newly trying out the gf lifestyle due to celiac don’t freak; just try new things and work at eating safely. Honestly there are so many things that are naturally gf to eat, rice dishes, potato recipes, grains like quinoa. Lots of possibilities. Just read the ingredients on any packaged goods as hidden items and cross contamination is a real issue you will have to deal with. You may want to look back to my earliest blog posts; they were on the process of going gf and what it felt like; might be helpful for your journey to a gf lifestyle.

I am truly blest by my life and by what I create in my kitchen. A nine year journey that has gone pretty well on the whole. I hope your gf life is just as excellent!

Advice for Those Going GF

So, if you are just going gluten free let me give you some advice. Things to do, things you should get and things not to bother with. I wish I had read a column like that when I was first plunged into gluten free eating.

If you plan to make baked goods, I suggest a stand mixer in the KitchenAid family; nothing big; just a standard/classic model. So many gf breads need a long beating before you put them in a pan. The stand mixer is a workhorse in my gluten free kitchen, used for breads, cookies, muffins and other baked goods requiring a long beating. I also have attachments for shredding large amounts of cabbage, for grinding cranberries for relish and I just got some for rolling out sheets of pasta. There are attachments for making sausage, for grinding grain and for straining out seeds from veggies and fruits. It’s a big investment but mine is 25 years old and still working despite my frequent usage.

I have a 8.5 x 4.5 heavy duty aluminum bread pan for gf quick and yeast breads.  The taller sides and slightly narrowed width is particularly helpful for yeast bread rising. Definitely helpful to me as a baker. My pizza pan is heavy duty too. I have various baking sheets and pie pans sized to what I bake frequently. Sturdy muffin pans and English muffin rings are useful.

Yeap; this is my fav bread pan, full of quick bread. The ridge sides are taller than 9×5 pans; just makes a great loaf of bread.

A well-functioning oven is critical to gf baking; you need those even temperatures for sure. I used to have a second oven with bottom heat; great for pizza and gf pie crusts. My current range is more traditional. I put my rack just above the oven bottom and my pie crusts come out perfectly browned. Just as good as the pizza oven I sadly gave up when it died.

You should get an instant read thermometer, use my constantly and it is great for temping proteins to know when they are ready. A set or two of solid measuring cups are vital as are 2 sets of measuring spoons and a liquids measuring cup; I have a one cup and a two cup size of those. A large, medium and small whisk set is needed as are spatulas for scraping bowls.  I have a OXO pie crust rolling bag; very sturdy and well made; is a huge help in pie crust rolling; much better than  the cheaper ones; the translucent silicon sides are excellent for the crust rolling process. My cheap one lasted a year; this OXO one is about 3 years old and in perfect condition.

Best pie roller bag ever!

I store some flours in my freezer; whole grain ones especially. Others are just in large storage jars in my kitchen and pantry. I have tried many mixes and brands and find a few are my favorites; King Arthur basic gf flour is my workhorse blend. I also really like Better Batter for a host of recipes especially quick breads. Kim’s GF Flour blend is wonderful for making pizza and focaccia. I made an old school muffin mix to use for cobblers Bette Hagman’s book, More from the Gluten-Free Gourmet – You can find the mix recipe in my post:  https://myworldwithoutwheat.com/2020/05/20/rhubarb-cobbler-spring-treat/

When starting out start slowly. Look at recipe comments and try new things. I do want to give a shout out to King Arthur’s website and their large amount of wonderful gf recipes. They are well tested; work every time and have great flavor and texture. Their chocolate chip cookies are the bomb! I also love their cake mixes they sell; makes a bigger double layer cake than other brands of available store gf mixes.

Things I don’t care for: quinoa flour and almost all bean flours. Chickpea flour has some specific recipes it works well in. I avoid using all white flours except in a few cases as it is pretty devoid of nutrients and of flavor. I make a great French bread and I subbed in brown rice for white rice flour; much better flavor. Look at my most recent pizza dough recommendation; this one is a game changer; must try it; easy to do and it makes enough for two crusts.

Rediculously good crust…and easy to make.

There are many cookbooks available. My hands down favorite is Annalise Roberts, Basic Gluten Free Baking. Her pie crust is perfection. I love her muffins, the waffles are the best and the chocolate cake is excellent. She has another one full of heritage recipes which has proved to be a super source of party desserts. Maybe you should read some of my blog posts for ideas of what to make/bake. I had some excellent blueberry muffins my neighbor made with Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 blend; so tender and delicious. I had shied away from that blend for a long while but those muffins totally changed my mind.

Don’t let anyone tell you that gf baked goods always taste bad; not the least true. My mom swore for years that my gf angel food cake had to be made with all purpose(gluten) flour. I had to swear that I never ever bake anything with gluten-based flour to convince her.

great crust helps make a great tart
The Daffodil Cake!

So get out there and bake some good stuff. I never post a recipe unless I make it for myself and most of them, I made over and over again. They are all delicious things you can feel confident in making.  Enjoy baked good again. Really.

Finding GF AND Gum Free Recipes

This week I discovered an old college friend has suddenly developed an allergy to wheat and to gluten. When his wife tried to bake gluten free using xanthan gum, he hated the after taste he noticed (I personally have never noticed that phenom but it sure could be so!) and guar gum made him break out in a nasty rash. She loves to bake and just was dismayed with a number of recipes she tried. Terrible texture and heavy especially without the gum. Generally disheartening. I decided immediately that I had to help them out. So after some research here are a few of my ideas, resources and general thoughts to help them.

Of course I wanted to help them out; I love a good challenge and to help friends is a true joy. So, I looked in my cookbook collection last night and discovered that my book by Nancy Cain titled “against the grain” is chock full of gluten free recipes that have no xanthan or guar gum in them. I haven’t made many of her recipes but I think they could work well for my friend. Bonus points as she takes a rather natural approach to baking gf and I am all for natural foods.

My second cookbook choice is “The How Can It Be Gluten Free Cookbook, Volume 2” by America’s Test Kitchen. This book contains two gf flour blends neither of which has a gum in them. I have made several recipes from it and can say they are tasty and worth making again.  Not all the recipes avoid gums but they mostly use a tiny amount; ¼ of a teaspoon. I feel this could be replaced by several choices.

For that I did a search and found this: bakingkneads.com/substitutes-for-xanthan-gum-in-baking/ by Sarah. This is a wonderful post and I highly recommend you visit it. Here is a brief summary: you can use chia seeds softened in water, egg whites, cornstarch, konjac powder, agar -agar and flax seeds mixed with water (the flax seed “egg”). For cornstarch you use the same amount as a gum. For the flax seed or chia “egg” I believe it is a tablespoon of chia and 2 tablespoons of hot water. Let it stand about 5 minutes. You can grind the seeds up if you want a smooth mixture as whole seeds can definitely add texture or pop to your bread. I can’t wait to try a few of these ideas out. I have used the flax seed egg in the past and it works okay in a cake. I think it would work better in a whole grain bread which would more disguise the seedy texture and flavor.

Another cookbook I like is “Gloriously gluten-free cookbook) by Vanessa Maltin. It focuses on three cuisines: Italian, Asian and Mexican. The red velvet mochi cupcakes with ginger buttercream icing recipe looks amazing and no gum. There are dozens of gorgeous sounding ethnic recipes. I am wondering why I haven’t cooked from it lately!

I constantly use Annalise Robert’s book: “Gluten-Free Baking Classics” I feel  you could use one of those six substitutes I mention and alter her recipes to make them gum free. She uses a simple flour blend of 3 flours but you can buy it too; it is King Arthur’s Basic Gluten Free Flour. There is no xanthan gum in it. I is comprised of brown rice flour, potato starch and tapioca starch. Has a nice “wheaty” taste to the pie crusts she shares. I won’t make any other pie crust. I get a lot of complements on it. A suggestion from fb; add cinnamon to your baked goods to hide the taste of xanthan gum. I actually do that for a number of my recipes; will do it even more now that I am thinking on it.

Two more choices are “Artisanal Gluten Free Cooking” by Kelli and Peter Bronski and “‘The Gluten-Free Table” by Jilly and Jessie Lagasse. Most of the Lagasse sister’s recipes are naturally gf recipes, there is some use of xanthan but now armed with my knowledge of several gum replacements I feel I could make them gum free successfully. Ditto with enthusiasm for the Bronski book. It is chock full of interesting and mouthwatering ideas. Definitely work the look and maybe the buy!

Another suggestion, which I found in my gf support group, but haven’t tried yet is: https://shop.betterbatter.org/products/artisanbakersblend?fbclid=IwAR1iOKMW4jM0C9jUKLk33Tb7RHchdrC4rxXNO-xjmyYL_asnvddUDJUgDMc. The site sells a gf and gum free bread flour. Pretty pricy but definitely an option. This blend’s ingredients are: sorghum flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, psyllium husk, and potato flour. I personally make up a Better Batter knock off flour mix and use it a lot; it does have xanthan gum in it. I am betting you could replace that gum with one of the above six replacements for your baking pleasure!

I just discovered there is a gf baking group on fb that uses more psyllium than gums; you could join that group to get advice and learn some new recipes. https://www.facebook.com/groups/354638545553904/?ref=share

I buy a lot of gf items at Aldi’s and sometimes Trader Joe’s or Wegmans. Aldi’s has a bread that is fairly new; it is a multi grain wide pan loaf. I find it life changing. Makes amazing grilled cheese and ham sandwiches. About to try french toast with it. So tasty and the bigger slices are the best!

Yeah; this is 3/4 gone but look at it’s slilce size and at that lovely grain; no big holes here!

Other advice to newbies; read my original early posts on switching to being gf. Look at my 2014 posts: for most of 2013 I posted on Patch. I do not thing those posts are still available but I reposted most of them in my first few months on my new blog location. Critical to success: new bread pans at 8.5x 4.5 with taller sides, new cake and pie pans unless you scrub the heck out of them. You need to read up on cross contamination as it is a really serious problem. You should invest in a new toaster for only gf breads and bagels. Your cutting boards and rolling pins must be incredibly free of all old flour; maybe if you are going to still have gluten in your house buy a new bread board and rolling pin for gf use only. You will absolutely need a new colander for gf pasta. Mark it so or get one very different in color so you can easily distinguish it. Ditto for wooden spoons. In fact, you need to run everything you plan to use for gf cooking through the dishwasher several times or hand scrub a LOT. I found it too difficult to keep both gluten-based flour and my new gf flours around. I have a few burger buns and a loaf of white bread in my basement freezer for Joe or Aiden. No more do I keep gluten-based pasta or mixes.

In short, eat clean, eat organic when you can, don’t buy packaged gf foods if you can make it yourself and avoid the processed gf treats full of fats, sugar and preservatives. DIY is always healthier if it avoids excesses of those demons especially hydronated fats and all sugars other than coconut palm sugar which is low on the hypoglycemic index and possibly use honey, maple syrup and agave syrup but in moderation. Being gluten free is a journey, an adventure in experimentation and can be surprisingly delicious. GF foods have gotten a bad rap and often folks eating my cookies, brownies, pies, tarts and cakes are shocked at how delicious they actually are. I am generally very happy to be gf. Rarely, on visiting people I find them being insensitive; like baking gluten filled muffins right in front of me and offering me no substitute or alternative. I think that behavior is obnoxious; you knew I was coming. Couldn’t you put off your wheaty muffins a few days and buy a gf mix treat to make while I was there? My pet peeve…. oh well. I survived it and I love to bake gf and we eat darn well around here!