Gluten Free Vegan Living

If you have ever tried baking with Gluten Free flours, you know that they just don’t act, feel or respond in the same way as wheat flour.

Gluten-Replacers in Gluten-Free Baking

Gluten has several properties in baking, such as:        

• It binds ingredients together
• It  provides structure to your end product
• It as elasticity

Jeanne Sauvage, author of the Art of Gluten Free Baking, posted a wonderful article on understanding the gluten substitutes and how to use them.  Here is a few quotes from her article:

Xanthan gum is the product created from the fermentation of the bacteria Xanthomonas campestris in a sugar solution.  In my opinion, xanthan gum is the one that behaves most like gluten. … And for most baking recipes you only need to use about ¼ teaspoon of xanthan gum per cup of flour…

Guar gum is made from the guar bean plant.   It is pretty good at binding and structure-building. But it is much less elastic than xanthan gum…. When I use it, I use the same amount of guar gum that I use of xanthan gum per cup of flour–about 1/4 teaspoon….

…various combinations of psyllium, chia, and flax seeds seem to be the holy grail of gluten-replacers, although you do have to use a lot (several tablespoons in a recipe).

Personally, I have been a subscriber of Jeanne’s website for awhile now, and am very impressed by her knowledge on Gluten Free Baking.  She currently has a book out on the subject:

Gluten Free Baking for the Holidays

I have a copy of this book in my own cookbook library and love all the interesting cookies and treats …. that can be eaten all year ’round!  In the beginning of the book is a section called  ‘Gluten Free Baking Primer’ that has a wealth of information for newbies!

I highly recommend Jeanne’s book if you want to learn to bake Gluten Free!

NOTE:  Not all recipes are Vegan!!

If you have tried your own Gluten Free Baking — then needed to check for a list of other allergens — baking suddenly become a chore that is no longer fun.

Author, Briana Rognlin, reviewed a new cookbook by Colette Martin: Learning to Bake Allergen-Free.  Not only does Briana Rognlin review Martin’s cookbook, she has added a wonderful slide show on the site.

Allergen-Free Baking Doesn’t Have To Suck: Making Delicious Treats Without Gluten, Dairy and More

Baking used to be one of my favorite pastimes…until I started weeding out the sugar, wheat, gluten, and dairy from my diet. Now, thanks to newly discovered allergies and food sensitivities, I’ve got dusty bookshelves full of recipes I can no longer use. I’ve started collecting new gluten-free, vegan recipes, but the fun I used to have experimenting with cakes, cookies, and breakfast treats isn’t there anymore. Frankly, baking has started to feel really boring. But Colette Martin, author of Learning to Bake Allergen-Free: A Crash Course for Busy Parents on Baking without Wheat, Gluten, Dairy, Eggs, Soy or Nuts, says it doesn’t need to be this way. A baker herself, she’s found that if you have the right tools and ingredients–and start with the right recipes–you can experiment with recipes and try new things, even without gluten, dairy, or other allergens.

Gluten Free Baking is an art!  If you have ever tried baking the perfect loaf of bread and took a ‘flop’ out of the oven, you know what I am talking about.  I hate to say how many loaves I baked that sank in the middle  — or even worse, raw in the middle!!

Wanting to eat bread again, I spent many hours in the kitchen trying numerous different recipes before I found one that seems to work well.  No fancy ingredients, quick and easy to make, and it actually tastes good!!

Gluten Free Vegan Bread

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups Pamela’s Gluten Free Bread Mix
• 1 3/4 cups warm water (105 F)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 2 1/4 tsp yeast (or one packet)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Combine all dry ingredients — mix thoroughly. Add wet ingredients and mix on medium speed for 3 minutes.

Line loaf pans with aluminum foil and pour batter in the pan (dough will be wet and sticky).

Let dough rise on the warm stove for 45 minutes. Then lightly slash across top of the loaf two or three times at an angle.

Bake for 65-70 minutes.

Turn off the oven and allow the loaf to sit in the oven for 10-15 minutes.

Carefully remove the loaf, and take it out of the pan. Lay the loaf on it’s side to cool a 10-15 minutes longer before peeling off the foil.

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If you are interested in more Gluten Free Vegan Baking tips and recipes, check out my Squidoo Lens on the subject.

Also, here are more Gluten Free Vegan Baking Recipes