Gluten Free

[Bizzy Lizzy]

Does anyone have any good gluten free recipes they can recommend. I have had lots of stomach problems recently and a gastroscopy to see what was going on. Luckily there was nothing terrible going on but it was suggested I try a gluten free diet. I started this about four weeks ago (before the gastroscopy) with much scepticism but have found it absolutely brilliant. I know there are recipes for cakes made with polenta and ground almonds but I just wondered if anyone had anything that they have tried and which is foolproof.

[Plantaholic]

Sorry, cant help BL, good luck

[Clover]

I think Daisy is an expert on different diets so she may be able to help when she's next on-line
I'm glad the diet seems to be working for you

[Gemini]

Good news that nothingis seriously wrong BL and that the gluten free diet is helping.
I have noticed that there are a lot more gluten free products about now. Several cafes and restaurants near here advertise gluten free ranges on the menu.

[Libra Gran]

BL Google realsimple, they have gluten free recipes, also good food do as well.

[MillieB]

I had to cook two gluten free meals when I was cooking the meal for an Alpha course at church. I used gluten free pasta sheets for a lasagne also using gluten free and dairy free cheese sauce mix. I used gluten free flour for apple crumble. Got the ingredients from supermarkets. I found recipes on line.

[Nanto2girls]

My sister in law is gluten free, she was diagnosed coeliac a few years ago. A lot of people eat gluten free now, because they say it is healthier.

There are loads of sites on Google that do recipes, and tell you what substitutes you can use.

[Grauntie Mag]

I eat mostly gluten free, as do some family members and friends. There seem to be alternatives for many things. The best bread and rolls I find are made by Schar, especially the seeded loaf which is the only one that doesn't fall to bits when you spread something on it! Waitrose and Sainsburys sell it so I expect the other supermarkets do as well.I keep it in the freezer and take it out when I want it.

[Daisy]

BL, you can use most of your normal cake recipes, just substitute GF flour instead of SR or plain flour. I also add a little liquid (water is fine but lemon juice or other liquid adds flavour). You can get GF oats too. If you are making pastry add xanthan gum or you won't be able to roll it out. I use cornflour of rice flour to thicken gravy, sauces etc.

The only potential problem with GF cakes is that they tend to go dry more quickly, so you have to eat them up quickly!

Four members of our family are GF, and they have all benefitted from avoiding gluten.

[Shemadee]

This recipe worked really well but you do need to get a really fine semolina - I just bought normal semolina second time around and it had a horrible gritty texture. Be interesting to hear how you get on?

Time
10 min prep, 40 min cook


Citrus, semolina and olive oil cake


Serves
10
Ingredients
1 cup semolina
1 cup almond meal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup light olive oil
finely grated zest of 2 oranges and a lemon
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 eggs
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 160 C (150 C fan forced). Lightly grease and line the base of a 23cm square cake pan.

2. In a medium bowl, combine semolina, almond meal and baking powder. In a large bowl, combine sugar, oil, orange and lemon zest, juice and eggs. Using an electric mixer, beat until mixture is pale. Fold in semolina mixture. Spoon into prepared pan and bake for 50-55 min.

3. Pour over orange syrup (see below) and allow to stand for 5 min, serve warm with double or thick cream and orange segments or slices.

ORANGE SYRUP
Combine 3/4 cup water in a saucepan with 1/2 cup sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Simmer for 5 min, add shredded rind of an orange, simmer for a further 5 min.

[Bizzy Lizzy]

This sounds interesting Gem and thanks for the tip about the semolina. I wonder if I could substitute the citrus elements for some almond essence or better still amoretti liqueur, as I don't like the taste of citrus. I think I will experiment with this one. I wonder if using semolina is similar to using polenta. I know nothing about either except for the semolina pudding we had at school.
Thanks Daisy. I have discovered that you can buy GF pastry in some places so may take the easy option on that. I wondered about GF flour and if the cakes would turn out as well with this but it seems you have had some success which spurs me on to have a go.
Yes Granny Mag I have found Schar stuff to be much better than most. The ciabatta rolls are very good heated in the oven or (what I do mostly) toasted. They do a fairly nice panini too which benefits from lots of interesting filling as GF bread can be a little bland. Some other makes of bread just dissolve in the mouth and are very unpleasant. One brown loaf tasted treacly and the gulls got the whole loaf right away.
Someone else mentioned the seeded bread being the best although I am a bit concerned about the unexpected crunchy bits as my teeth are a bit fragile these days (suffice it to say that my pork crackling eating days are over).
The best thing I have found so far are the Schar chocolate fingers. Better than regular chocolate fingers in my opinion. Oh yes and the pasta is really good too.
Thanks everyone for your suggestions and advice.

[Shemadee]

That's where I went wrong second time around. I couldn't see the fine semolina so thought the normal pudding type would do! The fine stuff is often in the aisle with foods from around the world - I think I got it in Morrisons but it was a few years back. Don't see why you can't experiment with other flavours.

My Panasonic breadmaker has a gluten free option - will have to read up on it to see what it says.

[Shemadee]

Just spotted that the spaghetti I cooked for this evening was made from semolina. Sainsburys wholegrain spelt spaghetti which tastes great!

[Daisy]

Yesterday, I defrosted and slightly warmed Sainsbury's Free From Petit Pains for the girls' tea, and I was pleasantly surprised at how fresh they still were tonight. I like the Schar products as well.

I've tried gluten free recipes in my Panasonic breadmaker, but it only gives recipes for mixes and none have them have been great. I haven't tried a 'proper' GF bread recipe in it so would be interested to know if they're better.

I think a lot of the time it's a matter of try it and see, but GF is much easier to manage than dairy free - I have one GS who is both - but again there are more dairy-free options these day.

[Bizzy Lizzy]

Gosh Daisy gluten and dairy intolerance must be a nightmare.
I visited a friend and she had bought some Free From Bakewell tarts for me and they were very good indeed. Pastry was crispier than regular pastry but I preferred it. A huge success.
Shem is the pasta you mention semolina and spelt? Spelt contains gluten but semolina is fine. I have been buying the Free From pasta which I like.