Gluten Intolerance

Gluten is a substance found in just 4 of the grain family - Wheat, Rye, Barley and Oats. It is a sticky protein that binds the dough in baking made with these 4 grains. Normally, we have an enzyme that allows us to break this protein down and digest it. If we are lacking in this enzyme then we cannot digest this protein, and eating it will cause unpleasant symptoms.

There are other grains which do not contain gluten but, without gluten to bind them, they are difficult to use and baking collapses into crumbs. The more gluten a grain contains the better it performs in baking. Extra gluten is added to flours to make them 'strong'. It is this kind of flour that is used to make French Bread. Flours that are gluten-free are:- Potato flour (farina); millet; arrowroot; maize flour (cornflour); rice flour; gram flour; buckwheat (No relation to ordinary wheat as it is a member of the rhubarb family); sago flour and tapioca flour.

They cannot be used as a straight swap for ordinary flour but they are useful when combined with binders such as grated apple, pectin powder, eggs and methyl cellulose which are all gluten-free. One of the main stumbling blocks in a gluten-free diet is eating something by mistake which contains gluten. This is often due to wheat being used to coat, thicken or dust foods. E.g. fish coated in breadcrumbs or batter, soups, gravy and sauces, snack desserts and confectionery.

You can see how much easier it is to buy plain foods which have not been processed to include gluten.

All fresh fruit and vegetables, fresh plain meat and fish, eggs, milk, plain cheeses, butter, sugar, honey, jams, margarines, oils, plain nuts, dried fruits and vegetables canned in water, plain canned fruit, plain frozen fruit and vegetables are gluten free. The simpler the diet foods the easier the diet.

The gluten containing items such as bread, cakes and biscuits can be replaced with special Trufree baking using Trufree 100% gluten-free (and wheat-free) flours.

Other starchy foods in the diet that are naturally gluten-free are potatoes, rice, bananas, and sweetcorn. Amounts of these can be increased to make up for the loss of ordinary bread.

Updated 5/2009