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While its’ exact country of origin is unknown, it's history takes us all the way back to biblical times where they were offered as gifts to dignitaries. The almond contains... Click to read more 

Understanding the Basic Ingredients of Baking

I'm not gonna lie to you, baking gluten free foods can often be a pain as you develop the right concoction to get the results you need. Gluten, as I have mentioned earlier, traps gases that are released during the baking process, causing your baked goods to rise and give it it's fluffy, chewy crust.There are no other proteins that have been able to match the protein bonds that gluten does, making gluten free baking difficult to duplicate.

To better prepare yourself for gluten free baking, you must fully understanding the concepts of baking under normal circumstances. Proper baking includes several key ingredients: flour, starch, sugar, fats, eggs, liquid, leavening agents. Flour, we've pretty much covered in other posts, so I'm gonna break down some of the other ingredients

 

Starch - creates a strong gel when mixed with water and heated. This interferes with gluten development, causing the product to keep it's tenderness and not lose it’s structure. It's ability to form a gel makes starches popular among chefs when creating sauces or gravy. It also provides food for the yeast while it ferments in the dough.

 

Sugar - hygroscopic. It attracts water, making the dough moist for a lot longer period of time and aids in preventing  gluten over-development. It also reacts to the proteins found in eggs, milk and flour, causing your baked goods to brown.

 

Fats - fats, such as butter and margarine, help form the solid structure found in baked goods. When mixed with flour, sugar cuts tiny holes into the fats. The holes are eventually surrounded by gluten and starches . The fat also interferes with gluten development by coating the proteins inhibiting their ability to bind. This tenderizes the product. Fats can add flavor and delay staling, giving you a longer period of time to enjoy them and add flavor to  your delicious baked goods.

 

Eggs - eggs are a natural emulsifier, meaning they take two ingredients that don't like to bond and makes them bond. In the case of baked goods, those two ingredients are liquid and fat. The emulsion process helps to evenly distribute the liquids and the fats throughout the batter. Egg whites can also form a foam, which traps air inside the batter. As air heats through baking, it causes the product to rise. One must be careful when using eggs in some recipes as the yolk has the ability to gelatinize. When heated too much, the yolk will over-gelatinize and cause the egg to become grainy or curdle.

 

Liquid - Liquids turn the product into a dough and activate the gluten. They also turn the starch into a gel. They also cause baking powder and baking soda to turn into CO2, causing the dough to leaven as it bakes. As the water molecules evaporate, they cause the air pockets formed by the fat and sugar to expand, creating the volume of the baked good.

 

Leavening Agents - If you have completed High School, you probably have heard of a little thing called the pH scale. Just as a quick reminder, most solutions sit on the scale which ranges from 1-14. 7 is considered neutral. (Fun Fact: your blood is 7.4 and human cells are 6.8). The goal is to get the pH of your dough somewhere near neutral. This will cause it to get the proper texture and to rise.

 

Baking soda - Sodium Bicarbonate (or bicarb) is used when there are other acidic ingredients in the recipe, such as baking soda, lemon juice, and buttermilk. Having a pH balance of 8.2, it brings the dough closer to neutral.

 

Baking Powder - the combination of baking soda and an acid with a low pH. Since they are dry ingredients, ey do not interact until the liquid is added.

 

Yeast - yeast is a living organism that can reproduce as long as there is water and food. Food can be many things, but is mainly sugar or flour.

 

Salt - though often getting a bad rap, salt actually enhances the flavor and of the dough. Salt conditions both gluten and yeast, making sure that yeast doesn't over stretch and destroy the bread structure. It also extends the fermentation time of gluten, giving it a stronger and more elastic dough.

The Facts About Xantham Gum

Xantham gum is a popular food additive that is used in gluten free foods. Being a great emulsifier, it bonds to ingreadients that don't exactly get along - such as oil and water. Therefore, it is often added to salad dressings and cosmetics. It also works well as a thickener and to prevent ice crystals from forming in ice cream, helping it to maintain that smooth texture that we all enjoy.

Xantham gum is a polysaccharide that is made by fermenting sugar with a type of bacteria called Xanthomonas Campestris. This bacteria is usually found on green leafy surfaces such as broccoli. Alcohol is then added to the resulting goo, solidifying it. Aftwerwards, it is ground up into a white powder and added to many foods to improve it's texture and shelf life. It has become common in gluten free baking due to it's ability to make the dough more elastic and fluffy. 

Though it is often used in gluten free foods, those with a food allergy or celiac disease should be wary of how it is being produced. Manufacturers obtain the sugar from corn and soy, however wheat is also a possible source. 

Those with diabetic issues should also be wary of xantham gum as it also can lower your blood sugar. Xantham gum does seem to alter gut bacteria and increase the frequency of bowel movements. It can also be used to treat dry mouth in patients suffering from sjogen's syndrome. However, most people have to consume more than 15 grams a day to experience any of these side effects. The average person consumes less than 1 gram/day. 

With all of this information about xantham gum, the question remains: is it safe to consume? The short answer is yes. After an extensive round of research, the product was deemed safe to consume in 1968. It is now considered legal throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe.

Some acceptable substitutes:

(Most are thickeners and may not provide a suitable alternative for GF baking and as always, check your labels. Links are to GF ones I have found.)

Chia Seeds

Psyllium Fiber

Gelatin

Agar

Ground Flax Seeds

Potato Starch

Arrowroot

Cornstarch

Common products containing it:

Wall paper glue

Paint

Ink

Salad dressing

Cosmetics

Gluten free baking

Toothpaste

What is Gluten?

    All of the recipes that I will be posting on here are going to be gluten free. So before I begin, I want to talk about what gluten is and why it is often included in baking recipes.

    Gluten is a protein that occurs naturally in Wheat, Barley, and Rye. Gluten is comprised of two parts: glutenin and gliadin. Glutenin creates the strength and the elasticity of the dough. Meanwhile, gliadin gives bread the ability to rise during the baking process. Gliadin appears to be the main cause of celiac disease.

    Celiac disease is unfortunately a growing autoimmune disease. Celiac disease is a genetic disease that is often triggered by a physically traumatic event like child birth or surgery. Tests can be done by a doctor to determine if someone is pre-disposed to becoming celiac. When gluten enters the body of someone with celiac disease, the body's immune system reacts and starts attacking the gluten, damaging the lining of the small intestine. It can also cause diarrhea, abdominal pain, weight loss, and bloating. These symptoms can occur anytime from a few minutes after eating to several hours later. However, these symptoms in response to food do require a medical diagnosis to determine if someone has celiac. 

    So why is gluten used so much in baking?

    As mixing occurs and gluten becomes hydrated, it "activates" and becomes more elastic and elongated. Through what is called the "window pane" test, dough containing a well developed gluten structure can be stretched so thin, it is almost see-through. It's ability to be stretched and bounce back, gives bakers the ability to shape it into portions. During baking, gluten develops a strong protein structure that traps gasses that are releasef. This is what causes bread to rise. This leavening gives it a flaky texture.

    So this is often the issue with gluten free baking. Though we have come a long way in trying to copy the properties of gluten, we have yet to master it. This is why most gluten free baked goods tend to be crumblier, denser, and flatter.

    

My First Post

My First Post - A Little Bit About The Blog

To explain the name of the blog, I combined two of the things that I love the most, Sci Fi/Fantasy and baking. I've seen every single Marvel movie countless times. I'm even watching Endgame as I type this post. I can also quote Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter with the best of them. I wear the nerd badge lout and proud. Through attending Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC), I discovered that I loved to bake as well. It was one of those classes that I truly was excited about from the day that I enrolled and became so enamored with it that I decided to continue educating myself about it beyond my classes.

As I continue to expand my reportoire, I will share recipes of my own creation.These recipes will be gluten free and share tips and tricks to get the recipe just right.