Gluten Free Baking

Gluten Free Skillet Cornbread

Dustin was diagnosed with Celiac a little over a year ago. Celiac disease is a permanent intolerance to gluten that results in damage to the intestine and is reversible with avoidance of gluten. Gluten is a mixture of different proteins that give all of the foods you love that doughy, elastic texture. Gluten is found in wheat, barley, and rye. Subsequently, wheat, barley and rye is found in an annoyingly large amount of foods at your local grocer. It would take forever to name all the foods that contain gluten, but if it is processed at all, chances are it has gluten. When Dustin was first diagnosed with Celiac I asked the doctor what foods he couldn't eat. He gave me the short run down of a "dude's" favorite foods. Bread, pizza, cereal, and beer.

I have avoided Gluten Free (GF) baking for two reasons. One, I was pregnant for the better part of a year and would throw up if I went near the kitchen and two, GF baking is rather expensive. You, my non Celiac reader can just throw all purpose flour into a bowl with a few other ingredients and make a wonderfully moist, springy, and delicious cake. If I did that with GF baking I would create something that resembles a hockey puck. GF baking requires several different varieties of flour: brown rice, white rice, sorghum, tapioca, and baking mix. Each flour gives the recipe a different texture and flavor. To achieve a texture and flavor resembling non GF baking, you mix flours together. Last night, to Dustin's delight, I dove into GF baking head on with the help of The Gluten Free Goddess. The result was scrumptious! I made cornbread to go with a tortilla soup. Dustin and I both agree that it is better than regular cornbread. It was soft, moist, sweet, and spicy. I can't wait to try baking a chocolate cake later this week.