Flours for Celiacs: which ones can I use?

Cereals, tubers, dried fruit, legumes, starches, here are all types of gluten-free flour

Compared to a few decades ago we know much better about celiac disease and how to overcome the forced absence of the absence of gluten in the diet . However, very often, when you have to prepare a leavened product gluten free , there is still a lot of confusion regarding flours usable. Here we will explain what are gluten-free flours and how they differ from each other.

Celiac disease and gluten, what we know

If we went back in time, we could realize how much the celiac disease , the gluten and everything related to this disease autoimmune have become better known to the public and consequently there is greater sensitivity on the subject: from information and awareness days organized by associations to the numerous shelves of food shops equipped with gluten-free products , up to the various pizzerias and restaurants with cuisine gluten-free , just like Flavor Perfect .

We know so much about gluten and about disease celiac that very often there is an overload of information and a consequent confusion on the subject, so much so that very often we ask ourselves questions such as: what are the gluten-free flours ?

Before moving on to the list of gluten-free flours, let's clarify what is celiac disease , what is gluten and what does disease celiac entail

The celiac disease also called disease celiac is a disease autoimmune ( an alteration of the immune which affects parts of the human organism itself and modifies the functionality or anatomy of the affected body part).
This disease affects the apparatus digestive and in particular intestine small intestine , interfering with the normal intake of nutrients contained in foods such as gluten , a protein found in wheat, barley or rye. For a celiac , ingesting foods containing gluten , it means damaging the villi intestinal which allow the absorption of nutrients, causing very annoying and sometimes dangerous symptoms.

For this to know all products gluten free or i types of flour without gluten , allows you to eat in a safe and healthy way, without surprises.

Gluten-free flours, let's find out more

Knowing the raw materials is essential for running a diet balanced and above all, in the case of celiacs , gluten-free .
Especially when it comes to wheat and wheat , and therefore of flours , you have to pay close attention and choose wisely what you intend to eat or use for homemade recipes.

First of all it is necessary to make a distinction between flour and starch , which tend to be confused but different .

The flour is made up of a part starchy , the so-called sugary part, and from a part protein ; the starch is a carbohydrate complex pure and is obtained by extracting the starchy part from the flour

The main gluten-free flours have a variable quantity of proteins , but despite this, they do not are suitable for baking because the proteins do not contain gluten , the fundamental element for bread making and leavening : it is gluten to guarantee softness, alveoli, homogeneity, cohesion and elasticity thanks to the presence of the knit gluten which retains the gas bubbles inside the dough.

The absence of gluten determines a slightly leavened product, not very soft and much more moist, because it consists of the so-called " flours weak "with a low protein content and not prone to leavening.

All these gluten-free flours can be easily found in dedicated food stores or supermarkets, but it is necessary, before purchasing, to make sure that package of the chosen flour there is the brand of the barred ear which identifies the product as gluten free or that specific product is inserted in complete handbook of gluten-free foods available on the AIC website ( Italian Celiac Association ).

Gluten-free flours from cereals

Rice flour

It is a flour starchy , therefore with a high rate of carbohydrates , given the very low protein percentage (6%). It is used for smearing meat or fish or vegetable batter and for thickening sauces or gravies. It needs to be mixed with potato starch or tapioca to make it more humid and, to obtain an excellent result in the kitchen, it must be ground very thin.

Glutinous rice flour

Despite the nickname glutinous , this variety of rice flour does not contain gluten but is so called because of the variety of rice with a particularly sticky nature, in fact it is combined with other flours without gluten to improve the density of the compound especially for the production of egg pasta, pies or biscuits .

Corn flour

Contains a percentage of mean protein (9-10% ) and is used in the preparation of different dishes thanks to its diversity of grinding: the coarse-grained " bramata ", the thin " fioretto " and the "white" are used in the preparation of polenta, the " cartoon ", on the other hand, is used in the preparation of biscuits and cakes.

Millet flour

Obtained from the milling of millet , a naturally gluten-free cereal , with a 11% protein percentage and ideal if mixed with other flours and added to vegetables , legume soups, flans.

Teff flour

The teff is a cereal without gluten widespread in Ethiopia and in Eritrea , integral by nature Excellent protein content (12%), rich in fiber, mineral salts, vitamins and contains a kind of natural yeast called yeast symbiotic which favors fermentation, and when combined with other flours, it favors the leavening of the dough. It is possible to find the flour of teff also in Italy in both the red and white versions.

Sorghum flour

Similar to flour of corn , the flour of sorghum has the same protein content (9-10 %) and is one of the flours without gluten to perform better in the kitchen thanks to its unique scent and flavor. sorghum is also widespread all over the world and only recently has it returned to the market for human consumption after years of exclusive animal consumption.

Gluten-free pseudocereal flours

Buckwheat flour

With a high protein content (13%), flour of wheat buckwheat , despite the name, does not naturally contain gluten and does not belong to the cereal family. This type of flour, finely and less finely ground, can be deprived of the bran, thus obtaining an almost completely "white" flour: both, with or without bran, can be added mixed with other gluten-free flours in order to prepare pizzas, focaccia and bread.

Quinoa flour

The quinoa is a pseudocereal rich in proteins (12- 14%) and has a particular flavor, which is why it should be added to the mix of gluten-free flours in small quantities, mainly for savory preparations, while if used for sweet preparations, it is recommended with a mix of sweeter flours such as rice flour or millet flour .

Amaranth flour

Flour rich in proteins (14-16%), vitamin C, iron and magnesium, suitable for the preparation of desserts given its flavor very close to that of hazelnuts.

Legume flours

Chickpea flour

Like all legume flours , also the chickpea flour contains a high percentage protein (20%) and is widely used in recipes with legume flour belonging to the Italian tradition such as farinata , the cecina and the panels .

Soybean meal

Derived from yellow soybean, flour of soy has a unique amount of protein (40%) and makes the doughs in which it is inserted particularly soft and moist, improving the structure of the leavened product, giving them elasticity and fresh flavor.

Tuber flours

Cassava flour

obtained by grinding the tuber, cassava flour is composed of 85% starch . There are different types on the market all used for the preparation of mainly African dishes rich in meat and vegetables.

Potato flour

The potato flour , not easy to find, is different from the starch since it is obtained by grinding the dried potato while the starch is extracted from the same tuber but following a different procedure

Dried fruit and oilseed flours

All the dried fruit flours are excellent for the preparation of desserts, while those coming from seeds oily are suitable for the preparation of bread and focaccia. Both types of flours are rich in Omega 3 and Omega 6 and they are incredibly nourishing for our body.

They are mainly divided into:

Almond flour

Walnut flour

Hazelnut flour

Flaxseed flour

Oilseed flour

The gluten-free flours are many and you can use them as you wish to prepare

desserts, bread and focaccia. But if you don't feel like cooking, we are waiting for you at Sapore Perfetto- Pizzeria with kitchen , also gluten-free .
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