 Is it a disease?  Yes – celiac disease is an autoimmune disease  It is not an allergy Gluten proteins Immune Cell VILLI

 Avoid wheat, barley, and rye and any derivatives of them.

  Sounds easy right? WRONG  Wheat is the basis for most American foods  Obvious sources  Bread, Pasta, Beer  Not so obvious sources   Soy sauce, broths, spice blends, candies, medications, deli meats, imitation seafood, imitation bacon, meatless products PLAY-DOUGH!!!

  All is not lost  Gluten-Free baking produces products just as good as the original  If you do it right Two main properties of flour and their role in making baked goods  Gluten – Provides net for leavening, provides elasticity, structure  Starch – provides crumb, texture, structure

 One single Gluten-Free flour does not have the same properties as wheat  Combine flours to create all of the properties needed  Gluten in flour provides elasticity   Xanthan Gum, Guar Gum, or Bean Gum provides elasticity in Gluten-Free products Help provide structure for leavening and binding for a stable product

 The starch in flour creates structure and crumb   Tapioca starch, potato starch, or cornstarch does the same in Gluten-Free products.

Also create chewy texture and encourage browning and crisp crust

Gluten-Full Gluten-Free

 Just like “gluten-full” flours, different gluten-free flours/starches may be used to create certain results.

    Sorghum Flour – provides a slightly sweet flavor, produces a flavor closest to wheat Teff Flour – provides a sweet, nutty, almost malt flavor – not good in yeast breads Chickpea flour – provides a rich flavor and a delicate crumb Oat Flour – (must be certified GF oats) provides flavorful, moist, cake-like crumb

 Basic Flour Blend  Sorghum Flour – adds our slightly sweet, “wheat” taste    Potato Starch or Cornstarch – lightens the dough, creates a smooth crust Tapioca starch – helps with browning and creates crisp crust Xanthan Gum – holds it all together, prevents crumbling and gives us elasticity  From there, you may have to add different flours, starches, sugar, yeast, baking soda, etc. depending on what you are baking.

A lot has changed!

Companies are jumping on the GF bandwagon and producing GF products at record speed.

 It Depends  For those with Celiac and Gluten Intolerance – YES!

 For those that think it will help them lose weight…  Not necessarily    Meat, Vegetables, Fruits, and Dairy are naturally gluten-free However, a gluten free diet is at risk for vitamin and mineral deficiencies – Iron, calcium, b-vitamins and Folate Processed GF foods are still processed and too much can cause weight gain

 What questions do you have?