gluten-free recipe query?

Well, baking powder sometimes has gluten, although a lot of them actually state that they're gluten-free on the label now. Clabber Girl does I believe.

Swapping out the flour might work, but you might want to make a test batch or two to see.

I've heard that vanilla can have gluten in it, but I haven't come across any that do. So you'll want to find out if your brand does.

Unfortunately, the BIGGEST problem for someone with celiac is what's called cross contamination. The best comparison to cross contamination for a celiac is to compare it to raw chicken for the rest of the world. For example, you wouldn't put a piece of raw chicken on a cutting board and then make biscuits on that same cutting board right? The risk of getting sick is much too great. Especially since getting sick from a gluten reaction to a celiac is kind of like having food poisoning and a hangover at the same time. Depending on how long your reactions are, that feeling can last days, or with some people even weeks. Which is why we're SO careful about what we eat. Nobody wants to feel like that.

When you know that all it takes to make a celiac sick as a dog is the >residue< from a breadcrumb, it's a more complicated thing than just substituting the flour. Since it's an autoimmune reaction and not an allergy, the body reacts the same to a breadcrumb as it does to a slice of pizza.

Okay, now picture yourself baking non-gluten-free stuff. You'll use the same measuring cups and gluten-flour coated hands to dig out a measure of flour as you will to dig out a measure of brown sugar. So unless your brown sugar is un-opened, it would be considered contaminated. Same with the baking powder since that's usually something used along with flour.

Also, wood is used in a lot of baking - wooden spoons, rolling pins, cutting boards, etc. Wood is a big problem because the grain of the wood actually will hold onto the gluten and you can't get it out. The residue from the trapped gluten will get onto whatever you're working with and contaminate the food with gluten. That may sound like an extreme thing, but remember making paste out of flour and water in school? It's the gluten that's sticky. So those little gluten molecules stick to everything.

A biscuit cutter can also trap gluten. I'd use a glass to cut them, which won't trap gluten.

All that being said, at one point I was the only gluten-free person in my house, and I was able to work around living with my gluten-eating family and not get sick. Making biscuits wouldn't be that hard. Actually it would be pretty easy.

If you're interested in more information on how to do this (not sure if this is too overwhelming), just post in your original question area that you want to know more about it and I'd be happy to let you know how.

You may also want to visit one of these message boards. There are several biscuit recipes. Especially since we just had Thanksgiving. I'm sure there are people who have either successes or failures with either premixed flour mixes or other flour blends.

www.glutenfreeforum.com

www.celiacforums.com

Thanks SO much for wanting to do this for your friend. As you can see, there is so much to deal with day-to-day. Even if you end up deciding not to make the biscuits, you may want to mention to her that you wanted to do this, but were worried that the cross contamination might make her sick. I know it would bring tears to my eyes if a friend not only thought of me to make something special, but then re-thought it if she wasn't sure she could make it safely for me.

Nancy

1

Sorry they are more involved than just a switch out of flour. It iwll not work the product you make would be uneatable.

There are many pre-mixes on the market with all the right changes in them;

Bob's RED MILL ~ http://www.bobsredmill.com/

Pamela's ~ http://www.pamelasproducts.com/index.html

These two I use with great success.

I have no clue where you are I'm in the States & these are easy to find.

Have you ever used Paleo Recipe Book method? Try in this website : http://help.paleofoodguides.com/ . It may probably support anybody!