Wheat Free Alternatives for Baking

[antonia]

I think my daughter may have issues with wheat (unrelated to HFI). I used to use many non wheat alternatives for baking that she seemed to tolerate okay, so I was thinking of going back and trying those again. Unless any of these are red flags for HFI?:

stone ground white rite rice flour 
tapioca starch/flour
'sweet' white sorghum flour
whole grain millet flour
xanthan gum

Are any of these known no-no's for HFI?

Thank you,
Antonia

[colormist]

I did a quick search on Nutritiondata.self.com.

White rice flour: has .2 grams of sugars, but it doesn't break down the types of sugars.
Tapioca Flour: couldn't find data. Did find data on tapioca pearls (dry) which has 5.1 grams of sugars (not broken down into types). I thought for sure other HFIers ate unsweetened tapioca before, though
Sorghum flour: couldn't find any information at all.
Millet flour: found information or raw millet, but looks like the details are incomplete.
Xanthan gum: Also couldn't find details.

I'm not much help.

I, personally, would steer clear of whole grains. Hopefully someone will chime in about tapioca. White Rice flour might be the best option. I've had white rice crackers before and they were okay (way too salty, but okay).

[antonia]

Thanks Colormist. Yes, I was hoping there might be some wheat free HFIers out there that would have personal experience with some of these items. The data is just not there for them. From a label perspective they all read 0g sugar for their respective serving sizes, which is 1/4 C (between 30 and 40 grams) for the flours. Interestingly the xanthan gum is all fiber, 7g fiber per 1Tbsp/9g serving, so the question would be is that fiber broken down in the gut and, if so, into what?

But I trust label info very little. I know food label calculations are very rough estimates... I even created a few food labels in my working days and know it's usually done with labeling software that uses averaged compositional data for the calculations. Food companies rarely conduct actual compositional analysis on their own products. It's too expensive to do. Hopefully with a single ingredient product like a flour though it's more accurate than it would be with a product containing multiple ingredients.

Tapioca flour/starch is something that my daughter has continued to eat even after starting a HFI/"fructose free" diet, so I hope that it's okay! She eats Brazilian Cheese Bread everyday made with it. Interesting that the tapioca pearls have such a high sugar content. I have not tried the pearls since going fructose free (only the flour/starch in the form of cheese bread), but do have a box here that lists 0g sugar per serving, but that's for a 1Tbsp/13g serving size.

[tummyache]

I just saw your question about wheat free baking flours: I bake wheat free and use Almond, Yucca [tapioca], White Rice, and Quinoa; plus Potato Starch when I bake. I've tried coconut flour but found it to be BAD for me [too sweet + made me nauseous]--it's all the rage right now on the Celiac sites --but probably not for HFI'ers. Your list of 'sweet' white sorghum flour, whole grain millet flour, xanthan gum are all probably good too as I am sure you know by now. Sorry I am so tardy in answering back.

Revised Note: I just ran across what I wrote here again -- and I must say that what works for some of us, for others who are super sensitive, not all these flours may work. Like, I can eat quinoa, but I bet some folks can't. HFI can be milder for some, yet very sever for others, it all depends. So, go lightly until you are sure what works for you. Some can use the diet guide at BU, while others certainly can't. HFI is not the same for everyone.

[antonia]

Thanks tummyache. Good to know someone else is doing okay with wheat alternatives. I checked the nutritional data base again, and it seems there is more information on millet now. Cooked millet seems the same as cooked white rice as far as total sugars are concerned so that makes me feel better about using it. I was worried about it before because I've only seen it available as a whole grain. I've also seen puffed millet at our local, natural foods store, that might be fun as topping on yogurt or something, or mixed with oats and toasted into a granola. If I could figure a way to make sugar free granola that is. Always looking for ways to change things up. We have been using all those other ingredients in moderation with no obvious reactions from my daughter. I worry also about the tapioca flour/starch because tapioca pearls do have a lot of sugar listed on the data base. I wonder if the processing to starch removes the sugar, similar to the processing of corn to corn starch.

We also avoid coconut products. Even the oil. Yes, it is all the rage right now. Even before we knew anything about fructose intolerance though I remember my daughter not doing well with it. 

[heatherp]

We use tapioca flour regularly with no problems (and tapioca pearls). I make and use a gluten free flour blend with white rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, xanthan gum and I think that's it. Let me know if you want that recipe! I use it for baked goods for Wyatt - wheat seems to have a better bite when not sweetened. This has a smoother taste with no sweetener.

[heatherp]

I should have put this in my above post but I forgot - from what I can tell tapioca is all glucose/dextrose. I sure hope I am right!!!!

[antonia]

Yes, I would love any wheat free recipes you might have! What do you do with tapioca pearls? Pudding?