GLUTEN FREE FLOURS and STARCHES (Including nut flours)

There are scores of flours made from grains, grain-like plants and nuts that do not contain harmful gluten.  The gluten in wheat flours gives important properties to regular dough, so if you simply eliminate it without compensating for it in some way, you'll have disappointing results. Flour is one of the main gluten free ingredients used when baking and an understanding of the basics will insure your baked product are first-rate.

Here are some the Gluten Free Flours, that when used in the right combinations, will insure successful gluten-free baking.

These include:

• Corn in all forms (corn flour, corn meal, grits, etc.).
• Rice in all forms (white, brown, basmati and enriched rice).
• Also amaranth, buckwheat (kasha),  Montina, millet, quinoa, teff, sorghum and soy.
• Nut flours (though you have to be careful, to watch out for cross-contamination if  processed or package in facilities that process wheat products).

FOR MORE ON FLOURS Click here

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LEGUME FLOURS

Legumes (also called pulses) include peas, beans, lentils and peanuts. Legume flours combine well with other GF flours and they complement recipes made with molasses, brown sugar, chocolate, pumpkin, applesauce and rhubarb.

Some of the more common ones used in baking are:

• Fava bean flour
• Chickpea flour
• Grafava flour
• Whole bean flour
• White (navy) bean flour    
• Pinto bean flour              
• Pea flour            
• Soy flour

FOR MORE ON LEGUME FLOURS Click Here

Leaveners

Leaveners when used in baking, produce carbon dioxide, which, when heated, expands cell walls and result in baked goods rising with a light even texture.    Baking soda and yeast are GF but some baking powders are not so look for the Gluten Free label. Most commonly used in cookie, cakes and Biscotti are baking powder and soda, but as long as we are on the subject will cover yeast.

Leaveners include:

Baking powder                  Baking soda                        Yeast

FOR MORE ON LEAVENERS Click Here

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Sugars and Sweeteners

Sugar is a simple, edible, crystalline carbohydrate. Sugar comes in many different forms, however, all variations have a sweet flavor.  The main types of sugar are sucrose, lactose and fructose. Common table sugar is typically sucrose which is extracted from cane or beets.  And as you probably know, sugar is added to many foods, and drinks.

White sugar is one of the most popular sweeteners used in American kitchens today. From baked goods to beverages, this all-purpose sweetener has been a favorite for centuries.

Sugar and its many guises include:

White sugar      Brown Sugar        Vegan Sugar aka Sucanat     Demerara          Muscavado           Turbinado        

Sugar in Liquid form include:

Molasses             Treacle                 Maple syrup

Honey                  Corn syrup          High Fructose Corn Syrup  

Natural Sweeteners

For more on this see Natural Sweeteners under the Sugar Free Biscotti Recipes

Artificial Sweeteners

For more on this see Artificial Sweeteners under the Sugar Free Biscotti Recipes.

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