How to make any gluten-free pastries – tips for changing recipes

The content of the article

• How can I replace gluten?
• Almond flour
• Buckwheat flour
• Coconut Flour
• Potato starch flour
• Corn starch
• Soya flour
• Oat flour
• Tapioca Flour
• White and brown rice flour
• How to calculate the proportions

Gluten, or gluten, is a protein that gives bread and other pastries a soft, spongy texture. It is found in the seeds of wheat, rye, barley. Gluten improves the absorption of water during kneading, prolongs the shelf life of the product, increases the volume of bread. It is added to minced meat, ice cream, ketchups, gravy to give them density. Protein is easily absorbed by the body, but in some it causes allergies (1% of the population).

How can I replace gluten?

The body does not need gluten, therefore, refusing it does not harm health. Replace protein with gluten-free flour mixtures. They are made from rice, buckwheat, corn, almonds, coconut, soy. An alternative would be food thickeners and disintegrants – guar or xanthan gum, starch.

The taste of gluten-free baking differs little from the taste of wheat analogues; it is often included in the menu of fans of healthy foods. The only caveat: before choosing a substitute, you need to find out which dough will come out of it. Experiments are best started with recipes where a little flour is required. For example, from pancakes.

Almond flour

Ground nuts are valued in French cuisine and are used to make macaroons, Genoese biscuits, and decoise cake. Gluten-free pastries are dense, elastic, and tasty. The powder can be easily prepared by yourself. To do this, peeled nuts must be dried in the oven for 30-50 minutes, then completely cooled, chopped in a blender or coffee grinder.

Buckwheat flour

The crushed grains look like a purple-gray powder. From it you can cook any dish: pancakes, muffins, pies. The taste of baking is no different from the taste of wheat products. It is difficult for beginners to buckwheat, therefore, experts recommend mixing it with whole grain flour of other cultures.

Coconut Flour

The powder gives the dishes a pleasant delicate taste, makes the pastries airy. It is rich in fiber, which has a positive effect on digestion, contains few calories, so it is used in the menu of losing weight. The only caveat: gluten-free flour made from coconut will not replace completely wheat due to the small amount of gluten. Experts recommend mixing it with a more tenacious composition in a ratio of 1 to 3. The mixture is prepared with the addition of 1-2 eggs.

Potato starch flour

This gluten-free thickener is ideal for crepes, soups, cream-based sauces. It helps to save, because the starch mixture in cooking is used 2 times less than wheat. Before cooking, the powder is mixed with a small amount of water..

Corn starch

Refined raw materials, which are obtained from corn, are used as a thickener for puddings, fruit sauces, Asian dishes. To prepare baked goods, starch is combined with another gluten-free mixture, observing the proportions indicated in the recipe.

Soya flour

Hazelnut powder contains a lot of protein and fat. For baking cakes and other products, combine it with a gluten-free mixture from other cereals. As a filling, use peanut butter and fruits that mask the “bean” taste.

Oat flour

The powder contains many useful substances – amino acids, calcium and phosphoric salts, vitamins, enzymes, digestible carbohydrates. Oatmeal baking lowers bad cholesterol and has a good effect on the digestive system. There is little gluten in cereal, so it must be combined with flaxseed powder. Cookies are hard, crunchy, crumbly. If you mix oatmeal (not more than 30%) with another flour, the bread will be airy and lush.

Tapioca Flour

It is a light, white powder that is extracted from cassava root (tropical root). Gluten-free pastries with tapioca have a pleasant texture, taste good. Raw materials are used for thickening glazes, fruit fillings. Tapioca gives good results in combination with corn starch and soybean powder.

White and brown rice flour

Rice flour bakery tastes the same as usual. The gluten-free white cereal mix is ​​neutral in taste, making it ideal for baked goods. Unpolished brown rice raw materials are as useful as bran. It can be used for baking bread, cookies, muffins. Brown rice goes well with a mixture of tapioca and xanthan gum.

How to calculate the proportions

If you need to replace wheat with raw materials from other grains, proceed from a ratio of 1 to 1. To increase the gluten content, you can add a flaxseed mixture, diluting it with water in a ratio of 1 to 2. Decide whether you need a thickener based on the dish:

• Cupcakes and Cookies. Wheat flour can be completely replaced with gluten-free powder, without the addition of binders.
• Cakes, pastries, bread. To keep gluten-free pastries in shape, you need a fastening component. Xanthan gum will do, but be careful with it: thickener causes stomach problems.

If gluten-free pastries contain raw materials not made from cereal products (coconut, tapioca, starch), choose recipes designed specifically for them. Their weight and other characteristics are different, so a simple exchange “glass for glass” can not do.