Did you know you can make edible bread with corn starch and oatmeal? Neither did I, but even the gluten-loving husband thought it was great! I was out of all my interesting flours (millet, tapioca) and all I had was corn starch and oatmeal (blenderized into oat flour) and I really wanted to try a few gluten free recipes, namely sourdough and Japanese milk bread, both variations I enjoyed back in those near mythic wheat days, so I made two identical batches, save the sourdough starter or gelatinized glop peculiar to milk bread and treated them like I would a usual yeast French bread, with a few differences (noted below). I'm tired of batter breads and wanted to see if I could make an actual dough and if it was even slightly edible, but willing to use it for bread crumbs if it wasn't, my family devoured them both. Now I'll combine the two and try a pizza crust.
Reading about gluten free baking, I feel like I'm back in my college chemistry lab: exact measurements of this, strange ingredients you can hardly pronounce, and the added delight of overzealous foodies who, as one blogger put it, 'think cooking oil will be the downfall of modern civilization.' No gums, vegan, no genetic modification, no sugar...and it has to taste exactly like wheat bread, um yeah sort of like tofurkey is going to replace steak! What can I do at home, with as few weird/expensive ingredients as possible? And no, I don't like rice flour, I eat enough rice as it is, I don't want it in my baked good too, especially with that gritty texture. I can't have quinoa, bean flours are gross, I can't afford almond flour... I'm also not a chemist by trade, I don't do well with exactly 253 mg of X and 2.567 mls of Y; I've tried quilting with similar results: living tissue (surgery!) is so much better to work with, it merely needs to be close to turn out beautifully, not exact. The same with wheat bread, you add a little more flour or liquid until it looks and feels right and you're good to go. Can I do the same gluten free?
The answer to both questions is yes, you can do it without a kitchen scale and with stuff you have in your kitchen on a regular basis (though I'd highly recommend Xanthan gum or something similar of you'll be doomed from the start). I looked at several recipes that call for whey protein isolate and I can't tolerate whey, it is right up there with wheat for me, but maybe I could find a substitute? Also, what about all those gluten free flour blends listing white rice flour as a flour, to me that would be a starch (sticky, no fiber, mostly carbs), but what do I know? I did a little digging, reading, comparing and came across this lady, who seems to have a sensible head on her shoulders and has done some real life baking. She confirmed that white rice flour is indeed a starch (brown rice flour is a flour) and breaks down many of the more common grain/seed flours/starches into either flour or starch and then came up with a handy little ratio to roughly come up with your own gluten free blend, namely 60% starch (tapioca/corn/white rice) and 40% flour (millet/oats/brown rice...). I will note here she likes psyllium husks instead of gums, but I haven't tried that but feel free to experiment! So using that as a basis, I began playing with the idea with what I had on hand. Looking at other recipes and remembering what was possible in my wheat days also helped a ton. Here are a few considerations with gluten free baking that might help you too (though they are mostly just a reminder for myself!):
Protein: a big part of what makes bread bread is that lovely gluten-y protein, so remember to use lots of eggs, cheese, whey protein, high protein grains, milk, and other such lovely things in place of it.
Structure: another important feature of gluten, so without it you must improvise. The gums help, as does a bread pan or muffin cup or other pan with sides, you can also add physical structure into a true dough by rolling it, folding it, etc. (think croissants, French bread, Japanese milk bread).
Time: if you can stick the dough in the fridge overnight (or for several days) or leave it on the counter all day, it seems to help not only the texture but also the taste (this is for yeast doughs!). Bring it to room temperature before working it, knead and shape it as desired, then let it rise again before baking.
Baking time: these babies take forever to bake and it is really easy to get a burned crust and a raw interior, so minimizing the bulk of the baked product can help (I had the same problem with wheat breads too!). I like to make buns, French bread, or naan to deal with this issue, rely on internal temperature rather than looks (~210 F).
Texture: gritty or starchy is what comes to mind, especially with rice flour and gums. Experiment with different types of flour/starch and see which ones you like (and don't!). I like millet's light, fluffiness and the same with tapioca starch. But even corn starch and oat flour can work in a pinch, at least if you stick to the 60% starch/40% flour ratio. Also find a conversion chart and see how much of one flour type equals a cup of regular flour and keep that in mind. Tapioca and millet are one to one so it is an easy conversion, but oat flour is heavier so you need to use less of it proportionally. Also consider the desired texture of your finished product: cinnamon rolls or artisan bread? Heavy and course might do well for the latter but not the former, oats would be great in artisan bread but a little heavy for sweet rolls! Adding milk, butter, eggs, sourdough starter, or milk bread goo will also help make the finished product softer/less gritty.
Experiment: cooking is supposed to be fun, remember? You will occasionally gas your family with mustard gas (trying to make my own honey mustard pretzels) or blow up the oven (the heating coil blew up right before hosting my first extended family holiday dinner!), so laugh at yourself and move on. I am actually excited to be in the kitchen again, for one thing I feel so much better and for another I've got a new challenge in life and I really want things like cinnamon rolls and a grilled cheese sandwich! So try it out, have fun, and enjoy!
Ingredients: what is mandatory (a severe allergy that may be life threatening or make you deathly ill) and what can you fudge on (it's trendy to eat vegan!)? What will you eat and what won't you (kale?!)? What is readily available for ingredients? What can you afford? If you omit or substitute, what effect will it have on the final product?
Precision: if you are totally new to gluten free baking, or (gasp) baking in general, definitely stick with tried and true recipes until you get the hang of it, but once you figure out this new normal, then you can be a little less precise if you like and see what happens!
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