Finding The Right Gluten Free Bread for Everyday Use
a gluten free breads on wood background
If you have been diagnosed with coeliac disease and are making the transition to a gluten free diet, you’ll be looking at the different gluten-free products you can add to your diet, and which things you can substitute from your diet to a gluten-free alternative. In some areas of the country, you might be eligible for a gluten-free prescription you can ask your GP about this whilst going through the process of diagnosis for coeliac disease. You’ll find that there are a wide range of staple gluten-free products available through prescription, including gluten free white bread. Finding the right type of gluten-free bread for everyday use when you are first diagnosed with coeliac disease is often the thing that most people think of, especially if you have always loved bread and it is a staple of your daily diet.
What is gluten?
Let’s first look at what gluten is. It is a sticky protein that is found in certain grains, and those grains are commonly used to bind dough together, which is why gluten-free bread has been such an important thing for newly diagnosed coeliac’s to find. Gluten helps to reduce crumbling, binding food together whilst maintaining moisture and softness. It is gluten that gives bread the springy-texture and longevity.
Most traditional baking methods have relied on gluten, and you’ll see it in bread, rolls, pizza bases, and other dough-based foods. If you are intolerant to gluten, you will need to remove bread from the menu forever, and for some people this is a hardship they do not want to endure. This is where gluten-free bread comes into the picture.
What is gluten free bread?
A gluten free diet is one where you do not eat any foods containing gluten. This is primarily where the grains wheat, barley, and rye are present. Fresh yeast that is used for baking bread is naturally gluten free, but some brands of yeast will add in wheat starch to dried yeast, so always check the labels if you are considering making your own gluten free bread. You find these in foods such as bread and pasta, but there are substitute flours and grains that can be used instead. Any loaf of bread that is made with this substitute dough can be classed as gluten free, and it’s important to know what to look out for in the supermarket shop, especially during a cost of living crisis where you don’t want to buy the wrong item and waste money.
Here are some common bread ingredients that contain gluten and that you should avoid if you have been diagnosed with coeliac disease:
- Wheat
- Durum
- Einkorn
- Spelt
- Barley
- Rye
Which grains are gluten free?
There are a few gluten-free grains that you should look out for if you are either searching the supermarket shelves or baking your own gluten free bread. These include:
- Buckwheat
- Millet
- Teff
- Sorghum
- Cassava
- Coconut flour
- Oats (this is a tricky one as some oats can be cross contaminated during processing and packing)
Depending on the type of gluten free ingredients you use, the taste and texture of the finished loaf will differ. It could be trial and error, finding the type of bread that suits you the most and to your tastes, in the same way everyone has their own favourite traditional loaf of bread.
Learning about different types of bread, what type of gluten free bread is available, what’s healthy and where can you find it, or all questions you’ll want to know the answer to, whether you end up starting with bread on prescription with other gluten-free products, you find gluten-free bread on the supermarket aisles, or you want to try making your own.
