I've been absent from the blog because I've been quite busy of late. I've been rearranging the house to move little-bit's play room downstairs to the finished basement (pictures to come), I've been gluten-free for the past 9 weeks and lost 15 lbs because of it, AND have felt much better as well.
The hardest part for me to go gluten-free has been to find a healthy alternative flour blend that works well with breads, cookies, pies, and other baked goods. I don't miss "bread" as much as I thought I would but I do miss the ability to have sandwiches and for some odd reason I miss PopTarts more than I realized.
I've worked with a lot of blanched almond flour and coconut flour mixes, blending them at different levels until I think I have reached some form of perfection only to be completely disappointed again when my beautiful bread completely collapses when I pull it from the oven.
Let me tell you, they are NOT lying when they say that coconut flour absorbs like a ShamWow. It's the most amazing thing I've ever seen... but the problem it causes is it also doubles the cooking time and causes grand disappointment when you think it's time to take out the bread from the oven and the middle is still as soggy as a tres leches cake.
I'm going to do a bit more experimenting over the next week or so, I'm trying desperately to keep away from the potato starch/tapioca starch/rice flour mixes because of the high glycemic load that they carry & the effect they have on my blood sugar levels. It's the one thing that people seem to miss when they're moving to the gluten-free lifestyle, they believe that they can just go buy all the fancy, "processed" gluten-free products available on the store shelves these days and they're living healthier, but they're not. Because of the glycemic load of most of these flours and the processed foods and preservatives used in some of these products they're really no healthier than eating straight sugar for diabetics.
I will tell you that so far I've worked with soy flour in a whacked out blend that made my bread sticks taste and smell like horse feed mixed with industrial paste. I've used ground golden flax seed and I love the taste so long as it's not overwhelming in the blend so much that it makes my bread taste like a freshly mowed hay field smells. It's not that I can't deal with differently textured "breads" or other baked goods, it's just that I expect them to hold up to a certain level of edibility or I won't bother sticking with my plan. Plus, I'd prefer my whole family jump on the bandwagon with me instead of me having to make a meal for me and a meal for anyone else that happens to be around. Edible for all would be preferable.
If anyone has a blend ratio that is closest to a cup-for-cup gluten-free blend, that would be great. I could use a little help. I'm open to all flours that aren't high on the glycemic index (rice, potato, tapioca starches, etc) and while I realize that I will need some to fall into that category I'd prefer to keep them on the low end of the blend ratio. For instance, if I had a 3:3:2:1:.5 ratio... I'd like the starches that make things brown and crispy-ish to be the 1 or .5 part of the ratio... and I'm all for buying and storing in bulk. I bake a lot and will make things in large quantities just to store in the freezer for future use.
I'll keep everyone posted on my progress in both the gluten-free blends, my baking wins & fails, and in our re-decorating fun.
Until next time, much love!
