| When someone is diagnosed yeast intolerant one | | | | sauces. It is tasteless, and becomes clear when it |
| of the first things to come off the menu is bread | | | | is cooked, |
| followed by products that contain white flour like | | | | 3. White rice flour is milled from polished white rice |
| biscuits, cake and crackers. This doesn't have to | | | | so it is bland in taste, and not very nutritious. The |
| be the end of your toast in the morning or | | | | flour is ideal for recipes that require a light |
| sandwich for lunch. There are a multitude of | | | | texture, for example dumplings or batters. |
| recipes available to make wheat free cakes and | | | | 4. Brown rice flour is heavier than white rice flour. |
| bread to help you carry on much as normal. | | | | It is milled from unpolished brown rice so it has a |
| When we look at white flour products we think of | | | | higher fiber count and is more nutritional. Because |
| the white sliced loaf from the supermarket, | | | | it is a heavier type flour it is usually combined with |
| doughnuts from your local shop and an | | | | other flours. Bulk buying of rice flour is not |
| assortment of biscuits, crackers and cakes. The | | | | recommended because it readily absorbs moisture |
| main problem with these products they all contain | | | | from the air giving it a short shelf life. |
| high levels of sugar. Some because they taste | | | | 5. Cornflour is ground from corn into a fine white |
| better, others are profit driven. The presence of | | | | powder, and is usually used for thickening recipes |
| sugar automatically erases these items from a | | | | and sauces. Because of its light texture it works |
| yeast free diet. | | | | well mixed with other flours for pancakes and |
| The main problem with wheat itself is the wheat | | | | batters. Some types of cornflour are ground |
| germ which complements the growth of candida | | | | from wheat but should be clearly marked. |
| in the body. So we include all the wheat flours; | | | | 6. Sorghum flour is a relatively new type of flour |
| brown, wholemeal and other variants, which are | | | | on the market but should be available in ethnic |
| also excluded. | | | | food stores. It is ground from sorghum grain, |
| Wheat flour is used for bread making because of | | | | which is similar to millet and is usually used to |
| its high gluten content. Gluten is the binding agent | | | | make porridge or unleavened breads. It is an |
| when flour is used in bakery or sauces. Most | | | | important part of the staple diet in Africa and |
| substitute flours lack, or only have small amounts, | | | | India. |
| of gluten so it may be necessary to combine | | | | There are plenty of other types of flour on the |
| different flours for taste and the appearance of | | | | market regarded as wheat free and they all have |
| the finished product. To follow we will look at the | | | | different attributes. Unfortunately none of them |
| top six wheat flour substitutes generally available. | | | | seem to match up to wheat flour to be able to |
| Most of these contain gluten and are not | | | | make good textured bread. |
| recommended for a gluten free diet. | | | | There are also other kinds of flours that come |
| 1. Amaranth flour is ground from the seeds of the | | | | from a variant of wheat and might not be so |
| Amaranth plant and is high in protein which makes | | | | easily recognizable. These include bulgar flour, |
| it nutritious flour for baking. Also it is known as: | | | | durum flour, semolina flour and granary flour. Also |
| African spinach, Chinese spinach, Indian spinach, | | | | be aware of generic names like cake flour and |
| elephant's ear. | | | | sauce flour, these generally will contain wheat |
| 2. Arrowroot flour is ground from the root of the | | | | flour. |
| plant and is usually used for thickening soups and | | | | |