Gluten Free/Celiac Recipes

[jMi]

Hey guys! I decided to put together a sticky because I saw a lot of repeat threads on here regarding gluten free and wheat free requests for members with Celiac's disease. Being someone who also has to try avoiding gluten on a daily basis, I thought I'd do everyone else a favor and combine these threads into one so they were easier to find!

There aren't many, unfortunately!

Misc. Suggestions and Recipes: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=30275.0
Discussion concerning a Gluten-free Blog: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=49853.0
Gluten Free Beef Dishes: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=52285.0
Gluten Free Alternatives Flour: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=39040.0

*If you post a new Gluten free related topic, please let me know in this topic or in a PM and I'll add it

[ahluffoodie]

Hi. This isn't a recipe, only a suggestion  For a gluten free in-a-pinch dessert idea.
I modified it from an 'almost homemade' cooking show...
It's an APPLE CRISP idea...
peel, slice about 4 apples (empires, or another crisp baking apples work best)
put them in a lightly greased baking dish
throw about a 1/2 stick of marge/butter (melted)
about 1/4 cup of brown sugar
about 1/2 tablespoon of cinnamon
about 1/4 gluten free flour (i used corn flour, it was OK-- all purpose GF is probably best)
about 2/3c- 1c of water
MIX and pour it over the apples
Bake for about 20-25 mins on 350ish or until apples are tender, not mushy

I am not very accurate w/ my baking or cooking...

By the way, what is a 'PM'

[LordVader]

does this include low-carb recipies as well?

[Helen Adele]

I'd love to hear what you guys think of different cookbooks.  Lately, I've been reading the Gluten Free Gourmet series, and they're pretty good.  The Gluten-Free Pantry has some good bread mixes, although I'm still looking for something to mimic the protein structure of wheat for that fluffy bread interior.

I started trying to work with the gluten-free stuff when my sister-in-law ended up with really severe food allergies. (She's not an actual celiac sufferer, she has an allergy and gets puffy and itchy.)  She's more like a little sister to me than an in-law, and it was heartbreaking to see her unable to eat food she really really loves.  Since then, I've been trying to come up with modifications and equivalents, with moderate success.  Bona fide successes: mac and cheese and thanksgiving stuffing.  Not so good: bread.  I can't get it to come out consistently, even with the mixes.  Every 2 or 3 loaves I get one that's fluffy like a brick.   

Lord Vader, as far as I understand, low carb and gluten-free aren't really similar.  It's not about avoiding the carbs, it's more about avoiding the protein/gluten in wheat.  It is a pretty nasty medical condition rather than a diet.

[retroeva]

jMi, Thanks SO MUCH for making a sticky thread on this.


Celiac Disease (also called Celiac Spru) is an autoimmune disease that affects 1 out of 133 people in North America and Europe. Not so much in Asia but that may be due to the fact that their diet does not have a high gluten base. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley and causes someone with Celiac to have an "allergic" which consists of digestive issues, fatiuge, muscle and joint pain, depression/anxiety, and a myriad of other symptoms. Many people with other auto immune diseases (lupus, RA, fibro) may have Celiac or a gluten intolerance. The gluten in grains attacks the small intestine causing villic atrophy. The villi in the small intestine are small finger like critters that line the wall in your intestine which asorb nutrients from your food and they transport those nutrients into the blood stream. People with Celiac feel so bad because they dont get the proper nutrients from their food. Sometimes it takes a bit of time before symptoms show up (depending on how fast you digest food). Sometimes its immeaditely, other times it takes a few hours.


vegiac.com is a great resource for vegetarians and vegans who eat gluten free. I was vegetarian for 11 years and I now occasionally eat meat because my diet is so limited. Many people who have celiac are also lactose intolerant or have dairy allergies. I noticed when I eat dairy, my lips get all red and puffy, its really bizzare!

Bobs Red Mill is a wonderful company based out of Oregon (or WA, I forget) that has great gluten free products. I use their gluten free oats (the celiac community is out on the safeness of oats. In the US oats may be contaminated due to crop rotation so in a pinch I will eat regular oatmeal or when I make Challah for Shabbat I use oat flour, but I try to use certified gluten free oats) and bread mix for my bread machine. It always turns out fantastic, I reccomend the multi grain over the "white" bread, the texture is much better.

As far as sweets go, Pamelas ALL the way! Her brownie mix is ooey gooey and her chocolate chip cookies are great during my weakest PMS moments when nothing else will do. I also really enjoy Midel's ginger snaps, very zippy. They make a gluten free and NON gluten free, so reach for the fuschia bag not the orangey bag. The Good Life has okay bagels, a little moon rock-ish but in a pinch with enough cream cheese, it passes. Kinnick (sp?) has DELICIOUS gluten free english muffins and some pretty rad cinn-rolls.

My biggest reccomendation is to invest in a good quality bread machine and a rice cooker, they will make eating so much easier and enjoyable.

[jMi]

No prob, Eva! Feel free to just edit my post!!

[cinnamon teal]

Here's a recipe for flourless chocolate cake that I found over on the gluten-free goddess blog.  I've made it for valentines day and hubbers birthday.  It's pretty darn good!

[Wendellina]

My 2 1/2 year old son was on a highly restricted diet for quite a while due to a lowered immune system.  We found the website http://www.ener-g.com/.  Very helpful.  A local market sold some products and we were able to get them.  He is slowly getting better and is now allowed to eat gluten foods but still cannot have any egg products nor any corn.  This include corn syrup which is in EVERYTHING!!!  That is a whole other topic!!!!

Hope the website helps.  Not sure if anyone has posted the website yet. 

Sorry if I am repeating something.

[craftewoman]

I recently found out that I have gluten intolerance, and cleared myself by avoiding eating anything with gluten in it for about six months. In that time I had lots of time to experiment. Regarding bread, this is what I found out.
Gluten free bread is good if you're doing a quick bread like muffins or pancakes. If you try making a gluten free bread with yeast, it turns out hard, or rubbery at first and then dries out and crumbles to pieces days later. The cookbooks and websites suggest freezing it and using it one slice at a time, rather than keeping it in the bread box.
I experimented with various flours that I would grind myself that were not listed in the cookbooks. Some of these included garbanzo beans and brown basmati rice.I found that they added back in the nutty flavor I missed from whole wheat bread. I also tried sorghum which I bought at at a specialty store unground. I didn't notice any improvement from using it.
One of my best results happened when I used yogurt in the mix. It made the bread moister, which it was lacking from using the rice flour.
If you could find uncut oats, that you can grind yourself, this may be an option. Oats have gluten in them only because they are cut with the same machinery as the wheat. I found that I even had a reaction to cornmeal from traces of gluten in them.
After reading a book by Dr Ellen Cutler called Live Free from Asthma and Allergies, I learned that I could build up my body by taking digestive enzymes. Now I eat as much wheat products as I like. It has literally changed my life. Note, I was not a celiac. I just had an intolerance to gluten. If you'd like, I can look up my old successful bread recipe for you to try.
The other gluten free recipes offered in the cookbook were great.

[soygurl]

In the interest of full disclosure, I haven't tried this recipe yet. But I heard it was really good... and it's so wonderfully simple!

Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 can of garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
4 eggs
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Grease and flour one 9-inch round cake pan. Melt the chocolate chips either in a double broiler or in a microwave, being sure to stir every 20 seconds to avoid burning.

Combine the beans and eggs in either a food processor or a blender, and blend until smooth. Add the sugar and baking powder and blend. Finally, add the melted chocolate, and once again, blend until smooth. Pour the batter into the cake pan.

Bake for 40 minutes or until a fork or toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Place cake (still in pan) on a wire rack to cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Invert cake onto a serving plate. Dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving.