Reply To: Frum and Gluten Free (Egg Free?)

We do use oats when we have to make hamotzi. My son is sensitive, though. I’ve been using the Heavenly Mills oat flour and most of us can tolerate it well. I got it from the GF store on 16th Avenue in five pound bags which worked out cheaper than buying smaller quantities. Where could I get the flour from Rabbi Kestenbaum? I had tried originally to just grind up regular oatmeal, like Quaker etc., but found that it was still not good enough for my son. The Heavenly Mills flour is better. There is a Lara’s (Laura’s? I forgot the name of the company) that claims that they are not cross contaminated. I tried it once but it didn’t seem to make a difference for us.

I have a Trader Joes nearby, so I buy my pasta from them. There is no question that Tinkyada products are great, but they are expensive, so I also use the brown rice ones from Trader Joe’s ($1.99 for a one pound bag and they are certainly good enough for spaghetti and meatballs, or baked ziti)

Substitutions for gluten free – it really depends on what you’re making. I find that cookies are the most forgiving, and that they taste pretty much the same as the ones with flour. Sometimes I use the prepared “baking flour” substitutes by Bob’s or Arrowhead Mills. For some reason or other, they just work great and are not more expensive than putting together my own mix. I’ll tell you what I’ve found has NOT worked well, and that’s Betty Hagman’s GF substitute flour in her book “More Gluten Free Gourmet”. I haven’t found garfava flour, so I haven’t tried her four bean flour mix, but the other one is dry and tasteless.

The flour mix that I like because it just worked well and it has a high nutritional value is this one:

1 1/4 cups bean flour (chickpea, soy)

1 cup arrowroot, corn or potato starch

1 cup tapioca starch/flour

1 cup white/brown rice flour (I use brown)

This blend has some elasticity, so it’s great for pie crusts, and supposedly wraps (haven’t tried), but I used it for breads, cakes, and cookies and it worked out just fine.

Wraps – there is a company, sorry the name escapes me, I’ll type it in when I remember that makes GF wraps. It carries the chof K hashgocha. We’re just not a “wrap” family. There are also corn tortillas that I found in Brooklyn that are GF. I wrapped chopped meat in them, rolled them up and added a sauce for a beautfiul yomtov entree.

The best bread recipe that I’ve come across is on the back of the Bob’s brown rice flour bags. It’s called a “Walrus” (why walrus????????????????) bread, and it’s OUTSTANDING – it rises beautifully, has great texture, doesn’t fall apart, and so I use it for sandwiches, and grilled cheese. Even those in the family who are not necessarily following the diet love this one and choose it over bread (probably laziness is another factor…)