Introduction

 

Whether you’ve been diagnosed with celiac disease, gluten sensitivity or intolerance, specific food allergies or just plain don’t feel good after eating certain foods, following a gluten-free diet can radically change your health for the better. Why might that be? Because gluten is a substance that literally “gums up” your lower intestine, greatly impairing your body’s absorption of food and vital nutrients. Gluten quite literally acts like a glue, and is what gives pizza dough its stretchy consistency, is what aids bread’s ability to rise and shape, and is what helps make pasta noodles hold together. Gluten is a sticky protein compound found in wheat, barley, rye and most oats, and a very high percentage of the population cannot tolerate the effects of gluten.

 

What Some of the Experts Say

 

Dr. Mark Hyman, MD, a practicing physician says, “A recent large study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that people with diagnosed, undiagnosed, and “latent” celiac disease or gluten sensitivity had a higher risk of death, mostly from heart disease and cancer.

 

In September 2010, on the Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Christiane Northrup, author of Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom and The Wisdom of Menopause, stated that 1 out of every 4 women suffer from gluten intolerance.

 

According to the Center for Celiac Research, University of Maryland, an additional 6% (18 million people) may be classified with “gluten sensitivity” or “gluten intolerance” – they get headaches, bloated stomachs, intestinal problems, etc.  Approximately 1 in 130 people has the worst reaction, now labeled, “Celiac Disease” – the most violent reaction in which one can end up in the hospital from gluten intake. Dr. Hyman says, “But milder forms of gluten sensitivity are even more common and may affect up to one-third of the American population.”

 

Now What?

 

Unfortunately there is no cure for gluten intolerance or Celiac Disease. The only thing you can do is stay away from gluten. In other words, just don’t eat it! I’m not going to go into a long explanation of gluten and health, as there are plenty of very good books and information available on the internet for that. However, the epidemic of gluten intolerance cannot be ignored, and that is why I embarked on creating a gluten-free cookbook, so that you are still able to prepare and eat the foods you and your family enjoy, but with some easy ingredient modifications so that your health and well-being are not compromised. And, while at first it may seem daunting to try and replace so many of your favorite foods with healthy gluten-free alternatives, the good news is, there really are great tasting gluten-free alternatives for all your favorite breads, cookies, cakes and other baked goods.

 

 

Important Recommendations – Do Not Skip Over

 

All of the recipes within this book were made in my home in Phoenix, Arizona. The altitude of Phoenix is only 1100 feet above sea level. This is relevant, because if you live above 5000 feet above sea level, you will likely need to make some minor adjustments to your baking recipes in order for them to turn out as planned. Many new bakers are not aware of this, and are confused when their dishes sometimes don’t turn out so well even though they followed the recipe exactly to the letter. For this reason, I have added some tips about high altitude baking adjustments in the Gluten-Free Baking Tips Chapter at the end of this book. If you are new to baking, and/or live at an altitude of 5000 feet or higher, I highly recommend that you read the Gluten-Free Baking Tips Chapter first, before embarking on your first recipe creation. This will save a lot of time, aggravation and wasted ingredients.

 

Additionally, I always create my cookbooks with the intention of keeping it as simple as possible, with the least amount of need for special kitchen appliances. That being said, for the majority of the recipes in chapters one, two and three, the dough consistencies will be much denser than throughout the remainder of the cookbook. If you have a stand mixer, I highly recommend that you use that for your mixing needs. However, if you do not have a stand mixer, you can easily follow the recipes using a simple hand mixer up to a certain point of the recipe. Typically, once you start adding and incorporating the flour components into the wet ingredient mixtures, your dough will quickly become dense and sometimes a bit tacky. Therefore, once you get to this point of the recipe, simply start combining, stirring and blending using a wooden spoon and your hands. And, if the recipe calls for extra beating or kneading time, you will want to double that amount of time if you are working the dough mixture with your hands. For example: “Once all ingredients are moistened and well blended, continue beating for a full 3 minutes on high speed.” This would apply if you were using a stand mixer, or other heavy-duty mixer. If you were manually working the dough with your hands, then you would work and knead the dough for a full 6 minutes (typically double the time that is called for). Follow first the recipe suggestions for hand kneading times, and use the double-time rule as a guideline if you are unsure.