Tweet

Share

Are oats gluten free?

We have been avoiding traditional porridge and all things oaty for a good while now.

But recently I read that oats do not actually contain gluten, despite their usual inclusion in the list of foods to avoid for the gluten intolerant.

Having scraped into the bin the soggy, uneaten remains of every single gluten free cereal on the market, I am more than keen to put porridge back on the family breakfast menu. So what’s the score?

I’ve done some digging and this is what I found out:

Studies conflict on the topic but the upshot is that oats are okay for some people with ceoliac disease and not for others. The problem is there is no way at present to predict who will and who won’t react. And that is why oats appear on all of those lists.

The reason for the reaction to oats in some people is that while oat protein, called avenin, is different, it does have a similar sequence to the toxic protein sequences found in wheat, barley and rye.

And then there is the other problem of contamination. Oats are often grown in rotation with wheat which means a percentage slips through. There is also the potential for contamination in storage, transport and processing. Because of this, most oats can’t be labelled gluten free.

People newly diagnosed with ceoliac disease are therefore advised to stay off oats for at least the first year of being on a gluten free diet.

Those who are gluten intolerant have a little more leeway to experiment. And given oats are considered one of the most nutritious grains, that is what I now plan to do.

[UPDATE: experiment was a spectacular failure. For the record, it seems to have the same effect as gluten on us]

MB

Comment

Tweet

Share

Tweet

Share

gluten free sponge cake

Gluten free sponge cake:  it’s practically an oxymoron but I have found a recipe that is light, fluffy and also delicious.

There is a catch. You need to eat it quick as it seems to have Cinderella-type properties in that it loses its mojo by midnight.

I found the recipe in friendly food, a recipe book created by the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Allergy Unit that caters to people with all types of food sensitivities.

It has an excellent range of easy gluten free recipes and was a bit of a bible for me when I was getting started – and I still dip into it when I need some inspiration.

This cake is one of my favourites as it is easy to make, quick to bake, is dairy free and it goes great with a wodge of jam in the centre and a dusting of icing sugar on top.

The recipe follows:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees and grease two round 20cm cake tins.

Beat four eggs with 165 g (3/4 cup) of sugar for about 7 minutes until light and fluffy.

Sift in 150 g (1 cup) of gluten free plain flour and add 80 ml (1/3 cup) of hot water, alternating between the two, folding gently.

Spread into pans and cook for 25 to 30 mins until light brown.

MB

Comments

Tweet

Share

Tweet

Share

Gluten Freedom

Last night gave us our first glimpse of Australia’s first Gluten Free TV show, Gluten Freedom. Broadcast in a few different slots on a range of channels, this show is a kind of beginners glimpse into the gluten free lifestyle.

Presented by show producer Fabian Fitzgerald and nutritionist, Dr Sue Shepherd, it features personalities like Rob deCastella who set up Deeks gluten free bakery in Canberra, as well as gluten free cooking demos.

This week saw Sue bake an orange cake to die for. I don’t get a huge amount of time to bake treats for myself, but watching these guys go through all the steps inspired me a lot more than if I were looking in a recipe book, and the hosts included a lot of handy hints and gluten free cooking advice along the way.

I am not sure I will ever get around to baking that delicious orange cake (especially as I am the person most likely to eat most of it) but its nice to think about it from time to time, and to feel part of  community larger than myself (albeit on television) that suffers the same hopes and disappointments when seeking out gluten free food without the cardboard factor.

Gluten Freedom has gotten off to a good start and I think I will be tuning in again next week.

Gluten free beer gong

From television to beer (its starting to feel like Friday night), O’Briens brewery has won a silver medal in the gluten free category at the 2010 Beer World Cup in Chicago.

LH

Comment

Tweet

Share

Tweet

Share

Eagle Boys gluten free pizza

I’ve just spent a week on holidays at the coast where the gluten free pickings in the local restaurants were very slim indeed.

From crumbed calimari rings to open chicken schnitzel sandwiches and beer battered chips, we were beseiged by wheat at every front from breakfast ’til bedtime.

Lucky for us, Eagle Boys Pizza have started offering gluten “friendly” takeaway pizzas which eased the relentless hunt and gathering expedition for a tasty gluten free bite.

Sceptical as I was about takeaway pizza (I generally find commercial bases stodgy and cardboard-like) Eagle Boys have created something decidedly delicious which even the non-gluten free in the household were more than happy to gobble up.

Dominos have also been selling gluten free pizzas since last November, so we decided to try out one of theirs too while we were away just to give our GFF readers the fullest picture.

You know what?  It was pretty good too.  And while I definitely preferred Eagle Boys, which was a little lighter on topping, my fussier half preferred the Dominos – so we can’t name a definitive victor in the taste stakes.

Recently Eagle Boys passed another important taste test: Lizzie, the 5 year old daughter of co-blogger, Mandy, is famous for picking the toppings off gluten free pizzas (both homemade and shopbought) and handing you back the base – but she stunned us all and ate three whole slices of an Eagle Boys ham and cheese pizza.

The Eagle Boys pizza was also quite a bit cheaper (though the pizzas were bought in different regions), and the company also says that nearly all of its toppings are gluten “friendly” (22 pizza choices) – a few more than Dominos which offers a range of 13 gluten free toppings.

“We’ve invested the time and resources to craft a base which is not only gluten-friendly but also tastes great and complements the fresh pizza toppings”, says Eagle Boys CEO Tod Clayton.

Eagle Boys also say they prepare their pizzas in a gluten free kitchen. [ED: Actually after rereading press release I have realised it is not a seperate kitchen at all so perhaps it is not such good news for those that must avoid trace fragments. Apparently calling it 'gluten friendly' rather than gluten free  acknowledges that pizzas may incur accidental cross contamination.]

I don’t think either pizza maker is yet able to claim a completely gluten free product, and on the basis that our household seems to be able tolerate the odd trace fragment of gluten, I think the Eagle Boys pizza gets my vote – for the time being at least.

LH

Comment

Tweet

Share

Tweet

Share

FG Roberts vienna loaf

I’ve been baking. Again.

This time it is FG Roberts new gluten free bread mix which is the first free-standing loaf to come to market which does not require a bread tin, dough hooks or any other specialist bread making equipment.

The company says it has spent 15 years and created 800 loaves to nail this mixture which can be used to create high-top loaves, vienna style loaves (pictured right), pizza bases, baguettes, rolls and buns.

Now I have baked a few gluten free loaves in my time and for me the most important elements are taste, texture, simplicity, and longevity.  FG Roberts’ new mix certainly seems to satisfy some of these criteria, although I am yet to determine how long a slice of its bread stays fresh throughout the day for those all-important school lunch boxes.

Getting down to business, the instructions on the pack talk you through the creation of free-standing loaves and a sticker added to the pack (presumably after printing) delivers instructions for adapting it to a loaf tin. It also suggests cooking times for rolls but there is no guidance on making pizza bases or using bread makers.

The loaf itself proved fairly straightforward to make, aside from the fact that my kitchen scales are not especially accurate which made it difficult for me to measure out the correct quantity of dry mix. The packet is large and contains enough flour to make a few loaves.

You add oil, vinegar and yeast powder to the water and then mix it by hand after the dry ingredients are added. From there it can be molded into a loaf shape or put into a loaf tin, given time to rise and then baked in the oven.  This is a fairly long process with rising taking anything from 40 minutes to an hour, and baking takes the same amount of time again.  FG Roberts has created a handy video should you have trouble visualising their instructions.

My loaf didn’t quite turn out as picture perfect as the one pictured here from their website. I definitely need a new set of scales because my loaf was a touch more solid than the ideal loaf of bread – but it was still a lovely sight to behold . . . my first free standing loaf. It also tasted quite delicious hot out of the oven. All in all it was a handsome, crusty loaf which I have sliced and frozen.

I am yet to test how long the slices stay bouncy once defrosted but I am excited by this mix, and I want to bake another free standing loaf as soon as I can get my hands on a high tech set of scales.

The mix is not yet available in my local Coles and the FG Roberts website does not give specific details on where you can buy it but they do say many of their products are available in health food stores. I have emailed them for more information on distributors which I will add here. [ED: FG Roberts say they are setting up an ecommere site which will be up and running in a few weeks – in the meantime the mix can be ordered from their warehouse in 1kg ($9.95), 5kg ($44.50) and 12kg ($106.25) quantities. They also expect it to start appearing in supermarkets soon.

This promising mix will almost certainly find a permanent home in my pantry once I know how to get my hands on it.

LH

Comment

Tweet

Share

Tweet

Share

gluten free pets

Honeysuckle was an excellent cat. Before she passed on last week, though, she had her struggles with processed food just like the rest of the family.

The expensive stuff you buy at the vets gave her a rash which cleared up when we switched to a supermarket brand but then her kidneys started to play up. Sadly kidney failure was the most like culprit of her sudden demise.

It got me thinking about gluten and pets.  According to Celiac.com, some vets say that though it is the main component of most dry food, cats shouldn’t eat carbohyrdrates.

And apparently you can’t avoid the problem by switching to soft food like I did with my puss as wheat gluten is a big component of these foods too.

The trouble is cats and dogs have not traditionally had to digest plant proteins and this leaves some people questionning if all this could be causing chronic illness and degenerative diseases in our pets.

Vets like John B. Symes (aka Dogtor J) in the US point to gluten and other proteins as a cause of chronic and acute kidney failure in our fluffy friends.

He is a proponent of home prepared pet meals but you can also google gluten free commercial brands – which I will do once I can bring myself to get a new little furry buddy.

MB

Comment

Tweet

Share

Tweet

Share

Do you like your television programs wheat free?

A new Australian media venture is betting that you do with the launch of a gluten-free cooking show called Gluten Freedom.

The weekly show which premieres on *April 18, will be presented by gluten free cook Fabian Fitzgerald and nutritionist, Dr Sue Shepherd (pictured right).

The press release says the program will aim to demystify gluten free cookery as well as introducing some of the interesting personalities who have embraced a gluten free lifestyle.

“In Gluten Freedom we’ll meet and cook with entertaining personalities and get their tips on how to succeed with a gluten free lifestyle. Plus we talk to the experts and report on the latest gluten free products on the market.” says Fitzgerald.

Gluten Free Family will certainly be checking out this new show and reporting back.

*Gluten Freedom premieres in Melbourne and Geelong C31 (8.30pm, 18 April), Television Sydney (8:00pm, 20 April), Queensland Community TV and Adelaide C31 ( TBA).

Gluten free bread update

In the meantime we now have in our posession a packet of FG Roberts Gluten Free Cottage Bread mix which we have been dying to try out.  The pack has been sitting on our bench for a couple of weeks, but this afternoon I plan to roll up my sleeves and get baking. This is a versatile mix that lets you choose between a free-standing country style loaf, rolls or a traditional bread tin.  Havn’t seen the mix in the shops yet – but will let you know when we write up our review how you can get your hands on it. So watch this space.

Gluten free pizza update

Here’s a news flash for pizza lovers (that’ll be me). Australia’s second largest pizza maker,  Eagle Boys,  has just  launched a gluten free range of takeaway pizzas (bases and toppings) so watch this space for a full, cheesy roundup.

LH

Comment

Tweet

Share

Tweet

Share

gluten free camping

Q: how many times in a row can I get my kids to eat baked beans before they throw the tin at me?

A: not sure but I plan to find out in the next few days.

Why would I inflict baked bean torture on my own flesh and blood I hear you ask? Because we are going camping for four days over Easter at Gerroa on the south coast of NSW.

Campsite staples like sausage sandwiches and ham rolls are now out of bounds for us and the usual replacements like spuds, rice and gluten free pasta don’t do so well on the barbie.

Meanwhile every single gluten free cracker on the market is inedible apparently, and I’ve been told in no uncertain terms what I can do with my bananas.

So baked beans it is.

MB

Comment

Tweet

Share