Chef's Corner: Gluten-Free Cooking

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- New research shows as many as 2 million Americans may be allergic to wheat. It used to be they had few alternatives, especially in baked goods. But, new ingredients have helped one woman perfect a variety of baking recipes, from cookies to pizza. Recipes follow report!

Carol Fenster, Ph.D., grew up on a wheat farm and married into a wheat-farming family. Then she learned wheat was causing her chronic sinus infections. “It was very hard for me to accept the fact that something that had played such a dominant part in my life could actually be toxic to me,” says Fenster, who founded Savory Palate, Inc., an online resource about gluten-free cooking and special diets.

Today, there are hundreds of wheat-free desserts. That wasn’t the case 10 years ago when Fenster was diagnosed. “I had to learn to, literally, cook a whole new way, using substitutes for wheat.”

After years of experimenting, Fenster started writing wheat-free cookbooks … and perfected recipes for muffins, cookies, pie crust and even pizza. “I didn’t realize how fond I was of pizza, until I had to stop eating it.”

To make the pizza, she starts by greasing the pan with margarine, not cooking spray. Then, she mixes spices into tomato sauce. “Put it on low heat, and let it simmer while you mix the pizza crust.”

Instead of wheat, Fenster uses sorghum and tapioca flours to make the crust. Then she adds a thickening agent called xanthan gum. Fenster explains that this is a very important ingredient. “If you bake without it, your bread, your cookies, or your cake will just literally crumble and fall apart."

Then she adds yeast dissolved in milk. The dough is sticky so Fenster sprinkles on rice flour, pats it down, and then bakes the crust for 10 minutes. Finally, she adds the sauce and toppings and bakes again. Twenty minutes later ... pizza even the cook loves to eat.

You can also use bean and corn flours, and potato starch in gluten-free baking. The secret is knowing which kind of flour works for which recipe.

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.