Serves: 5

EGG REPLACER:
This is a powdered substitute for eggs that contains no egg product. It is also free of dairy, corn, soy and gluten. We mostly use it for the extra leavening that it supplies. Most health food stores should carry it, or you can order it online from Ener-G foods.

GUAR GUM:
Guar gum is a "gluten replacer" that can be used if you are sensitive to xanthan gum. We have never used this ourselves, so our information is untested, but we have read that guar gum may be substituted straight across for xanthan gum, teaspoon for teaspoon.

NON-DAIRY MILK:
A significant number of people who are gluten intolerant also have problems with milk. Most of the recipes in this cookbook can be made dairy free without complications. If the recipe calls for milk, you can use rice milk, soy milk, or any other non-dairy milk that is gluten free. (Always check the ingredients before buying any product. Some rice and soy milks (Rice Dream and Soy Dream, for example) contain barley protein, making their products inappropriate for those on a gluten free diet.) Kirsti has had a lot of success using Vance's non-dairy milk, which can be ordered online at www.vancesfoods.com. It comes in a powdered form, and it will keep for two years on the shelf before the nutrients start breaking down. In recipes that call for sour cream, try using an equal amount of non-dairy milk plus a little vinegar or lemon juice (1 teaspoon per cup of milk).

OATS:
Oats have long been listed as not allowed in the United States for those on a gluten free diet. However it has become evident that most of the problem with oats (for those with Celiac) is cross contamination. Oats tend to be both cross grown and cross processed with wheat (i.e. grown in the same fields in alternate years and processed on the same equipment). Recently, however, some companies have begun providing oats that are not cross contaminated by wheat. If you want to try oats in your diet, make sure to buy them from one of these gluten free sources. You can find them online and in health food stores. Add them to your diet slowly to make sure that you don't have a sensitivity to oats as well as Celiac.

POTATO FLOUR:
This flour is made by grinding dehydrated potatoes, and is much heavier than Potato Starch Flour. It can be purchased at most health food stores, and it is suggested that you store it in the refrigerator. You will need this flour to make the Featherlight mix we use in many of our recipes. You won't use very much of it, so buy it in small quantities.

POTATO STARCH or POTATO STARCH FLOUR:
Made by rinsing the starch out of ground fresh potatoes. The names Potato Starch and Potato Starch Flour are used interchangeably. Be careful, however, not to confuse Potato Starch Flour with Potato Flour. They are not the same and cannot be switched in recipes. Potato Starch can be bought at most health food stores. Sometimes you can also find it in bulk from local mills. It keeps well and can be bought in quantity.

QUINOA:
This grain has long been a staple for the Incas. Grown in the Andes Mountains in South America, quinoa is a tiny seed no bigger than a mustard seed. It can be milled into flour or rolled into oat-like flakes. Quinoa is a great source of protein, calcium, and iron. The flakes may be used in place of oatmeal to make cookies and cakes. They cost about the same as gluten free oats (3 to 5 dollars a pound) but don't keep very well in warm temperatures. Quinoa can be purchased online (from several different websites) or from health food stores.

RICE FLOUR:
This flour is made by grinding either white or brown rice. You're going to use a lot of it, so either purchase it in bulk or grind your own. (In the long run, it is much cheaper to buy a mill and grind your own rice flour. Just make sure your mill hasn't been used to grind wheat!) You may use either brown or white rice flour in our recipes. Brown rice flour has a higher nutritional content but goes bad faster and keeps best when refrigerated. White rice flour can be stored at room temperature.

TAPIOCA FLOUR:
Also called Tapioca Starch or Tapioca Starch Flour, this flour is made from the root of the cassava plant. It looks and feels much like dry cornstarch. It will keep for a long time at room temperature. You will need a lot of this flour because it is used in both the GF mix and Featherlight mix. We usually buy 50 lbs. at a time and store it in buckets with removable lids.

TEFF:
This flour is ground from a grain found in the grass family. Its closest relatives are corn, rice, and sorghum. We use this flour in our Hearty Brown bread recipe. It is not one of the more common flours used in gluten free baking, so don't buy a lot of it unless you discover that you really love it. Teff flour gives the bread more nutritional value. We recommend that you introduce this grain into your diet slowly, as it is probably one you've never eaten before.

XANTHAN GUM:
This is a powder milled from a microorganism called Xanthomonas campestris. It is grown in laboratories and used to replace the gluten in baked goods. Xanthan gum is what helps hold gluten free baked goods together. If you omit it, your recipe will be very crumbly! You can buy it at most health food stores, order it online, or pick it up at most well-stocked supermarkets. (Our local supermarkets started carrying it when members of our cooking classes requested it.) It is probably the most expensive ingredient you'll need to buy, but because you only use a teaspoon or so per recipe, a small bag will last a long time.

More Recipes from the Cook'n Gluten Free...Life Tastes Good Again Cookbook:
_An Introduction
_Basic Bread Video Demonstration
_Frosting Video Demonstration
_Gluten Free Bread Mix Video Demonstration
_Gluten Free Cinnamon Roll Video Demonstration
_How to Get Started on a Gluten Free Diet
_Ideas for Regular Gluten Free Meals
_Menus: Eating Out
_Pie Crust Tips
_Shopping: Buying Ingredients for Gluten Free Cooking
_Substitutions, Egg
_Substitutions, Milk
_Substitutions, Other
_Supplies: Gluten Free Flours And Baking Supplies
_The Flour Mixes
_Tips for GF Cooking
_Tips for Modifying Recipes
_Where to Find Our Products