Sponsored: A Guide to Making Bread for Multiple Food Allergies

While doing research on whole grain gluten free flours, I discovered a bread recipe that works with most gluten free grains. I thought of Kristy, my pharmacist, who has multiple food allergies induced by mast cell activation syndrome. She is allergic to most grains as well as eggs, milk and soy, and hasn’t eaten bread in years. I was sure my recipe could be adapted to her allergen list. To our great joy, it worked.

I share this recipe and guide with love to all families who struggle with multiple allergies. If you need personalized help, contact me through my website, ViviansLiveAgain.com.

Sincerely,

Laura Huffman

Kristy’s Bread for multiple food allergies

Ingredients

1 cup brown rice flour* (see flour exchanges below)

1 cup teff flour*

¼ cup sweet rice flour*

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon yeast

2 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon psyllium husk

1¼ cups water

2 tablespoons oil

2 eggs (see replacement instructions below)

*When measuring flour, spoon it lightly into measuring cups to prevent packing.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° F. Combine dry ingredients and mix well.

Add water, oil and eggs. Stir to combine, then beat on high for 3 minutes.

Place batter in a greased 8.5-x-4.5-inch loaf pan (Pyrex size). Allow to rise about ½ inch. Do not let batter rise to the top of the pan before baking. Bake at 350˚ F for 55 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 200˚-205˚. Place a sheet of foil lightly on top of loaf halfway through baking to prevent over-browning.

Remove from oven and allow to cool. Remove from pan and cut when completely cooled. For a more detailed description of this process, see our blog: 4 Secrets to Baking Great Gluten Free Bread.

Exchanging the Flours

When I began this project, I tested the above recipe with single flours to see how each performed. Many worked alone, but some did not. You can use any combination of the flours that worked alone as we did in Kristy’s bread.

Flours that Work

Rice: Brown, white and parboiled were tested successfully. All varieties blend well with other grains. Parboiled has a slight taste of evergreen.

Sorghum: Red or white work equally well. Sorghum has a neutral wheatlike flavor and performs very well.

Teff: Brown or ivory both work well. Teff is more expensive than some other grains but has a high nutrient content, good flavor and quality performance. Brown teff has a stronger, molasses-like flavor while ivory teff has a malt-like flavor and makes nice white bread.

Corn: Unsurprisingly, this produces a texture like cornbread. It is also high in antioxidants.

Buckwheat: This grain is a complete protein (contains all essential amino acids) and is high in fiber. It produces a very nice texture. Because of buckwheat’s high fiber content, the recipe will require more water or less flour if you use it. Also, the flavor is not universally liked.

Millet: This has a distinct but not unpleasant flavor. Millet produces a light cake-like texture. It does not absorb as much water as other flours so you need to use less water or the bread will fall.

Minor Flours

Amaranth, oat and quinoa flours can be added to change the bread’s flavor or nutritional value but cannot be used alone. Do not use these for more than 20 percent of the total flour in the recipe or your bread will fail.

Flax is my favorite egg replacer because it increases the shelf life of baked goods. This is a nice benefit because these breads are only good for three days unless frozen.

Xanthan builds structure in the bread. If you cannot tolerate xanthan, replace with guar.

Powdered psyllium husk helps build structure in the bread and improves texture. It is available at health food stores and online.

Replacing Eggs

• To replace eggs with flax or chia, use 3 tablespoons finely ground seeds­­ whisked into ½ cup warm water. Allow mixture to thicken for several minutes then add to the recipe as you would the eggs. The finer the grind of the seeds, the better result you will have.
• Commercial egg replacers may work in this recipe, but we have not tested any. Feel free to experiment.

Yeast

If you are allergic to yeast, it can be omitted because most of the leavening is done by the baking powder. However, the flavor and texture will be slightly different, more like a muffin.