Gluten free gums...

 

Today we will be discussing gluten free gums in baking. Gluten is the one main thing lacking in all gluten free flours. Yes, I know, real bummer, right? Life just isn't easy sometimes. Most all gluten free storebought mixes already contain gums in their ingredients list, mostly, if not all list xanthan gum in the ingredient list, so you are pretty much limited on your choice of the two. Xanthan gum or guar gum.

These premade mixes usually work best in baked goods such as cookies and muffins, however they limit you in choosing to use one gum over the other because they are already in the pre made mixes. Therefore, if you make your own GF home blended mixes you can save yourself a few $$$ and choose which gum you would prefer to use. The two basic gums I'm going to discuss today are xanthan gum and guar gum.

 I prefer to blend my own homemade mixes "WITHOUT" any added gums, then I can add the amount I need according to whatever recipe I am making, Ex: Cookies, cakes, etc. You will find Xanthan gum in many products that you consume already on a daily basis. It’s in most salad dressings, ice cream, and even yogurts. It’s also used in many cosmetic products like lotions and shampoos.  

First you might want to consider the cost of both. Guar gum costs nearly half as much as xanthan gum.  Guar gum is made by grinding a bean like seed from the guar plant into a fine fibrous powder. Some people find that guar gum can cause digestive problems even when used in small amounts and be unable to digest baked goods that use guar gum, therefore xanthan gum might be a better choice. If too much guar gum is used it can cause dense, stringy texture to your baked goods.

Xanthan gum is probably the most commonly used gluten substitute of the two in gluten free baking. It is made by fermenting sugars (glucose, sucrose, or lactose) with a microbial called Xanthomonas campestris. Sometimes corn sugar. It should be used sparingly. Too much can cause results that can be dense, gummy and sometimes slimy.

Since I mix my own gluten free flour blends, I prefer to add the gums to my recipe as needed instead of mixing it into the blends, that way I can be more precise in using the right amount for the particular recipe I might be making.

When using Xanthan Gum follow this chart:

To make:

Cookies: 1/4 teas per each cup of gluten free flour

Cakes & Pancakes:  1/2 teas per each cup of gluten free flour

Muffins & Quick breads:  3/4 teas per each cup of gluten free flour

Breads: 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons per each cup of gluten free flour

Pizza dough: 2 teas per each cup of gluten free flour

EX:  If your recipe calls for 2 cups of flour for a cookie recipe you would add just ½ teas of xanthan gum to the flour in the recipe.

 

To use Guar gum: 

Cookies; 1/4 to ½ teas per cup of gluten free flour

Cakes and pancakes:  ¾ teas per cup of gluten free flour

Muffins & quick breads:  1 teas per cup of gluten free flour

Breads: 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons per cup of gluten free flour

Pizza dough: 1 Table per cup of gluten free flour

EX:  If your recipe calls for 2 cups of flour for a cookie recipe you would add just ½ to 1 teas guar gum to the flour in the recipe.

 

 

I personally have been using xanthan gum for years just because that is what I have always had on hand so I personally cannot tell you how guar gum will work on any of the recipes I post. It’s a personal preference.

There are other alternatives such as flaxseed and ground chia seed. They will not give you the same mouth feel in your baked goods so therefore I do not personally use them, unless specifically called for in bread recipes. They will however reduce the crumbliness that your baked goods would have without adding anything. Also, because these need to be added to water before using, most recipe might require a tweaking of the liquids in the recipe. Kind of like adding 5 eggs to a recipe when it only calls for 3. 

I have surfed the web over the years and found countless "MOCK" flour mixes. Some I have used; some I haven’t gotten to yet, but I will be sharing a few with you soon. I’m still waiting on my stove to be delivered. September 1st can't come soon enough!!! I am having a surprise birthday party for my grandson who will be turning 18 this year on the 13th of September and I need to get baking. 

I hope this helps answer most of your questions about gums to add structure to your baked goods. I look forward to finally being able to try four of the "MOCK" gluten free flour mixes I have mixed and sitting on my shelf ready to make brownies and compare the results of each with you very soon.

Until next post,

Sharon

 

 

GF Dilemma

 

Hi everyone. As per my last post you are all aware I am having a stove/oven dilemma. It seems that the circuit breaker to our stove kept breaking. So....after $53 for a new breaker, which by the way cost only $13 last year, plus a $100 electrician service fee, the stove was okay for about four hours, then the breaker broke again!!!!!

Deciding to no longer invest in the electrical part since we were having no luck, we decided to have the electrical line to the stove disconnected (in case it was defective) and have a gas line installed. Thank goodness we have a gas furnace and the main line is about three feet away from the placement for our new gas stove. 

I must admit I haven’t cooked on a gas stove in many years, well since I was a teenager to be exact, but my husband suggested the change since we were having such issues with the electric stove. One thing I am really looking forward to is being able to possibly can foods on the gas range. It also has an air fryer built in the oven, with which I will get to try my hand at some new air fryer recipes. I have never bought an air fryer as our counter space is limited.

With that being said.... the new stove will not arrive until September 1st....UGH! I guess that will limit my baking recipes to share until then, but I do have a few others lined up to share that doesn't use an oven. I have been cooking on a hot plate the past week but It's definitely not what I am use to. It means everything needs to be made in one pan, unless I want some things to get cold or have to be reheated in the microwave while waiting on something else to cook. Of course, there is always the good ole crockpot to rely on in times such as these too. Which is what I will be doing today. I will be using the hot plate for the first part of the recipe then switching over to my crock pot for the remaining cook time. 

I can already smell the aromas from the kitchen as it cooks and am really enjoying my "ME" time as it does so. Crock pots can really be a lifesaver when our lives are hectic. You just need to find the right recipes! For those of you who are trying to limit meat in your diet this is a good starter recipe as its Vegetarian. Don’t have a crock pot? No worries...go to the Amazon link to the right of the page for everything you might need. As always, hope you enjoy.

Sharon

 

Spicy Vegetarian Chili:

Ingredients/ Serves 8

2 T olive oil

1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion

1 cup chopped red bell pepper (I prefer orange for the milder taste)

2 T minced fresh garlic

1 medium zucchini, diced

2 cups frozen corn

5 large portobello mushrooms, stemmed, cleaned, and cubed

2 T chili powder, less if preferred

1 T ground cumin

1 1/2 teas salt

1/4 teas cayenne pepper

2 (15 oz cans low salt diced tomatoes

2 (15 oz cans low salt black beans

1 (15 oz can low sodium tomato sauce

2 cups low sodium vegetable stock, or water

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

In a large, heavy pot, heat the oil over a medium-high heat. Add the onions, bell peppers, garlic, and cook, stirring, until soft, about 4 to 4 minutes.

Add the softened vegetables to a greased 4-to-6-quart slow cooker. Add all other ingredients, except for the cilantro.

Cover and cook on high for 4 to 6 hours or on low for 8 you 10 hours. Stir in the cilantro before serving.

You may add a dollop of sour cream if desired just before serving. It’s an easy recipe for a busy day. Its filling and taste great served with GF cornbread. That is if you have a working oven:)

Till next time, enjoy!

Sharon

 

 

 

                          

Oven Problems

Well as you have noticed I haven't posted anything this past week...So sorry. It was not intentional on my part. It seems my stove/oven has a mind of its own and keeps blowing the circuit breaker, so we have literally been without a stove or oven the past week. Cooking on a hot plate is not my idea of fun, but a girls got to do what a girls got to do, right?

So, as you probably already know we have been having to eat out quite allot, which means for me it’s been pretty much salads, or sandwiches made with gluten free bread that I happened to have in our freezer. My husband ordered a new breaker which is supposed to arrive today hopefully, so things should be back on track by the end of the week.

I have in the meantime been mixing up several "MOCK" gluten free home blends to give a try. My plan is to try all the blends using just one recipe and then judge with a taste test to see which I feel performed the best. I am planning to try them all by making brownies, then pizzelles. I know some of you might feel pizzelles are just a holiday cookie, but I find them refreshing any time of the year. They are light, crunchy and delicious. They were one of my mom’s favorites!  Also, you can pretty much make them any flavor you like. Chocolate, anise, almond, peach.... well, you get the picture, I'm sure. 

Anyway, I don't want to post the "MOCK" flour mixes yet as I really want to test them each first so as not to steer you wrong. As you all know by now not every mix you have ever tried meets your own personal standards. Also, as you have probably learnt by now, you just can't replace gluten free flour in most regular flour recipes with good results. That’s why there are so many gluten free cookbooks on the market. It’s a different lifestyle. Kind of like trying to put a square in a round peg whole....

Some recipes are forgiving, yes, but others need other ingredients adjusted or you either end up with a gooey mess or a hard brick. Believe me, I’ve had my share of both! I already have four of the gluten free mock flour mixes all mixed and ready to go as soon as my oven is up and running. I hope you are as excited as me to see how the brownies and pizzelles turn out.

The "MOCK" flour mixes are definitely going to be a lot cheaper for you to make if you buy your gluten free flour in bulk by clicking on the Amazon button to the right of the blog to order the flours you will need to make them. Now I know it’s much simpler to buy a premade mix to bake with.... but it’s not cheap, especially if it turns out that you really don’t like the blend, as I did recently. Hence my attempt to bring you an easier way to have your cake and eat it too as the saying goes...I will be listing the specific flour brands that I have used also with each "MOCK" recipe as different brands even I have found react differently or have slightly different weights.

So, visit again and look for my "MOCK" flour reviews coming soon.

Sharon