Xanthum Gum

If you are new to being gluten free, you are probably thinking, what in the world is xanthum gum? Gluten is the protein in wheat breads etc. that make it moist, gooey, and stretchy. So, without gluten, foods are left dry, crumbly, and dense. Therefore, baking with xanthum gum is crucial! I like to think of xanthum gum as a gluten substitute. It makes your baked goods hold together.

Most of the time, I guess on how much xanthum gum to add to baked goods. For example, if what you are baking has alot of eggs, or fruit in it, you probably don't need to use quite as much xanthum gum. If you use too much xanthum gum, you will be left with a sticky mess that will not bake, if you don't use enough it will crumble and be very dry.

Xanthum gum is pretty pricey at the local grocery store (about ten dollars for a tiny bag), if they have it at all. It is usually located in the baking section near all of the gluten free flours (Bob Red Mill brand). I find the cheapest xanthum gum at the health food store (about 15 dollars a pound at Manna Mills), in the bulk section. It is alot cheaper and you can buy as much or as little as you want. The good thing about xanthum gum is even though it is expensive, it will last you FOREVER! Sometimes you only use 1/4 teaspoon for an entire recipe.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

This is one of the easiest recipes I have. Everyone likes chocolate chip cookies right? I use the Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe on the back of the package.  However...

Use brown rice flour instead of the all purpose flour, and add one teaspoon of xanthum gum.

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups brown rice flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp xanthum gum
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
2 cups (12oz package) semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375. Follow the instruction on the back of the package like normal.


For best results, chill the dough before rolling it into balls. I find that if I don't chill the dough, the cookie will flatten out and all of the chocolate chips will be left in the middle of the cookie.

OR

Make Cookie Bars, my husband's preference. All you do is follow the directions like above, same ingredients etc. but bake it in a tin 9x13 pan. Again, follow the directions on the back of the package. 

I told you it was easy!!

this is gluten free?

I've been thinking about making a gluten free blog for a while now. So here I go. My name is Karen, for those who didn't know. I've been gluten free now for almost seven years. After years of knowing I was sensitive to gluten, eating it anyway, and not knowing it was terrible for me, I became gluten free. Gone are the days of horrible, stabbing, "mom it feels like a knife in my stomach" pain, food going right through me, feeling like I had food poisoning, and canker sores.

People ask me if it is hard to be gluten free, and yes, at times it is, but it is so much better than feeling sick. It is hard to eat out, especially in a pinch. I rarely go out for Italian food, which I'm sure my husband misses terribly. I'd love nothing more than a really great bagel, doughnut, or sub sandwich. Maybe I will get to that level of baking someday.

Despite the things I miss occasionally, eating gluten free is very easy. Most of the time I don't miss it at all. There are alot of bread, cake, pizza dough mixes out there, but I find if you really want something to taste "not gluten free" you need to do it yourself. Most of the time you don't even need to do anything special at all to cook gluten free!

In this blog I hope to share the best of my recipes I use on a day to day basis. I've learned alot about gluten free baking over the years. For example, what is xanthum gum? how much do I use? when? (maybe we'll get into that later). It sounds harder than it is. Trust me, if it was really hard to bake gluten free without mixes and prepackaged items, I wouldn't do it. And in time, baking because fast: I can make a batch of chocolate chip cookie bars in the time the oven preheats.

So, I hope you find things turn out well. Most of the time people can't tell anything I make is gluten free. For example, one day I sent gluten free cookies with my husband to share with work. One of his coworkers, who is gluten free, said to him, "Are you sure those cookies were gluten free? My stomach hurts now..." He responded, "Yes, I am sure those were gluten free, we don't even have normal flour in our house!"...so, like I said, most people can't tell...or they are just being really nice...see for yourself.