I found out I'm gluten-intolerant about a year ago, and did not actually have Fibromyalgia like the doctor told me for years. Huh. Problem solved. Since I went gluten-free, my health has turned around and all symptoms are eliminated... entirely.
Go figure.
For the most part I now live and eat paleo: meats, non-starchy vegetables, occasional fruits, eggs, cheese, yoghurt and pumpkin seeds. The small part that's not paleo clamours for peanut butter on a daily basis. On a spoon, by itself. Believe it or not, I'm quite happy eating this way. I don't even miss grains or carbs or anything that is made from them. But once in a while it's nice to have a special treat, one that is made from GF grains or herbs.
For those of you blessed like me to be not only gluten-intolerant but also allergic to soy, tree nuts, and corn (among other things), you know how hard it is to find a GF flour to use. Most are based in almond, soy or corn. Oh, and throw hypoglycemia into the mix and you've got a perfect storm of baking dilemmas.
After some experimentation I found something that works for me. Feel free to steal this and use it as you want, play around with it, try different things and make it yours.
For 2 cups GF flour:
1 cup buckwheat flour
1 cup millet flour
2 tbsp flax meal
1 tsp guar gum (not optional! a must to help bind the non-gluten flours)
2 scoops whey protein powder (concentrate, not isolate - to balance the sugar)
Some important things to remember:
1. Buckwheat is not a grain, it's an herb. For GF flours, I've also tried brown rice flour, sorghum flour and tapioca flour. However, tapioca is more accurately a starch and contains no vital nutrients such as protein to help balance out the macronutrients.
2. Flax is GF and adds in extra fibre.
3. GF flours are less stable than traditional wheat flour, so if you don't use your baked goods within a week, freeze them. They freeze wonderfully and don't dry out or get soggy when reheated in the microwave.
4. Which reminds me: GF flours don't absorb the liquid in the mix that wheat flour does, so your batter/dough will be much more wet, and therefore extends the baking time a great deal. I found out the hard way. So you can use less liquid and solve it that way, or do what I do...
5. ... use whey protein powder – it soaks up the liquid. I found out (also the hard way) that by adding whey protein powder to foods or shakes it makes things thicker and drier, so it's a perfect solution to remedy a wet batter. And don't worry about cooking whey protein; yes, the heat denatures the protein, but it still works. Even broken down into the individual amino acids, which is what digestion does anyway, it's still protein and it still balances out the sugar so there's no sugar shock after eating.
6. Guar gum is absolutely essential. It is also a substitute for the more expensive xanthan gum. Gluten is a sticky protein in wheat, barley and rye, and helps bind the mixture together. That's one of the reasons it became so popular for use in bread. Guar gum or xanthan gum help with binding, so it's a great thing to use and trust me, if you forget to put it in, you know it!
I'd love to hear about any other homemade solution to the age-old gluten-intolerant dilemma... what do YOU use?
