Gluten-free Gourmand

After countless batches of teff bread that sagged, deflated, or didn't rise, I finally came up with the perfect recipe for a gluten-free whole grain sandwich bread.  I learned quite a few things about bread making in the process of developing this recipe that I'd like to share with you.  The success of a gluten-free bread depends on these essential baking elements: the correct ratio of salt, yeast, and sugar to flour the correct ratio of xanthan gum to liquid and flours accurate measurements, including temperature and the most important thing, and the one it took me longest to discover, is: a hefty amount of acid in the mix. I learned about the ratios of salt and sugar to yeast from reading the Joy of Cooking and other reference books.  What I didn't learn until now is the role of acid in bread making.  It turns out that yeast performs better in an acidic environment.  All the commercially-available bread mixes that I've been trying out have had v...

Sad. Inspiring. Hilarious.  It's difficult to sum up my friend's new blog.  It is not for the weak of heart.  It's about her struggle with colon cancer after suffering through years of undiagnosed food allergies and digestive ailments.  It's called My Butt Hurts .  Read this new blog.  Whether it makes you laugh or cry you won't regret it.

If you've looked online for a gluten-free recipe, you've probably run into this dilemma:  you want to make something now, but you don't have - or can't get - one of the flours your delicious-looking recipe calls for.  This quick guide is a reference for what kind of flour to substitute for what you're missing. Keep in mind a few things when you substitute flours in a recipe: first, do it by weight if that is possible.  A digital kitchen scale will make your life so much easier!  Different flours measure very differently in measuring cups sometimes.  Second, any substitution will change the texture and density of the dough.  Thirdly, if you don't see the flour here that you want to substitute, try thinking of something with a similar fiber content and texture, and experiment.  Starches can almost always be subbed out for other starches, and whole grain flours can replace each other, but don't sub a starch for a whole grain.  Then let m...