Our household has been gently exploring the gluten free world. We have not succumbed to the latest diet craze--oh that we could work towards reducing carbs! Our impetus is that the girlfriend of our third son, born 22 years ago today, has celiac disease. Since I have a history of vegetarianism, yet another dietary restriction that drives people who don't ascribe to it crazy, I have always tried to be very inclusive of others (even though my days of eschewing meat are long behind me). Usually that would mean something proactive--like cooking a vegan meal when a vegan is in the mix--but instead we have just tried to avoid wheat rather than work around it.
This cookbook, written by a pastry chef who is gluten intolerant herself, is a step away from avoidance. The bad news is that she doesn't use a gluten free flour mix--that would have been ideal from my standpoint. Instead, she developed her own recipes that require a pantry overhaul. She uses rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, and xanthum gum (none of which do I stock normally) instead of wheat flour. The author has been heralded as the queen of gluten free baking--starting with winning the Food Network's Cupcake Wars--so this is an excellent resource if you are going gluten free but don't want to leave baked goods behind.
No comments:
Post a Comment