Good-Tasting Adaptations Offer Alternatives for Allergy Sufferers

A little while back, a reader with an absorption problem requested wheat-free, gluten-free recipes that would be “edible,” she said. Her trouble, it seems, was finding good-tasting recipes that would not cause her an allergic reaction. “I have yet to find a good corn-bread recipe, without wheat flour, perhaps using alternative gluten-free flours,” she said.

After some research, I discovered two such cookbooks in our library, “Wheatless Cooking (including gluten-free recipes),” by Lynette Coffey (Ten Speed Press: 1984) and “The Egg-Free, Milk-Free, Wheat-Free Cookbook,” by Becky Hamrick and S. L. Wiesenfeld, MD, (Harper & Row: 1982.) Since both of these recipe collections have publication dates that are a few years old, I have included a few of the recipes they contain for other allergy-sufferers who might be interested in this subject.

Many Types of Allergies

Because there are so many types of allergies--some individuals are food-sensitive, suffering from reactions to single food groups such as milk, eggs, wheat, citrus fruits, chocolate or cola, legumes, corn, fish and shellfish and some spices, while others may suffer from contact or inhalation allergies--the recipes that follow will be specifically geared toward wheat-free dieters.

This group of individuals includes those who must avoid foods with any trace of wheat--even those whose ingredient labels don’t specify wheat or its by-products as components such as: coffee substitutes, malted milk, ice creams, canned meat dishes such as stews and chilis, luncheon meat or sausages in which wheat may be used as filler, salad dressings thickened with flour and bouillon cubes--as well as those that are wheat products outright.

In addition to the recipes in both books, there are some suggestions for using alternatives such as buckwheat and soy-based flours and other products. The Hamrick-Wiesenfeld book includes a glossary of terms that stand in for wheat or its by-products on food packages, plus some combinations of other flours and other thickeners that can replace wheat.

Remember that when you’re cooking with flours made from rice, potatoes, rye or other ingredients, adjustments should be made in baking temperature and time, proportion of baking powder and choice of liquid. Also, the texture of the finished product may vary.

CORN BREAD

1 cup corn meal

1/3 cup soy flour

1/4 cup oats

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup non-fat dry milk powder

1 cup milk

1 egg

Grease 8x4-inch loaf pan. Combine corn meal, soy flour, oats, baking powder and salt. Add dry milk to milk and stir into dry ingredients along with egg. Mix until smooth. Pour into prepared pan and bake at 375 degrees 30 minutes. Makes 1 loaf.

WHOLE-MEAL PANCAKES

1 cup buckwheat flour

1 cup corn meal

1 3/4 cups milk

1 egg

Combine flour and corn meal. Add half of milk and egg, stirring until smooth. Beat well, then stir in remaining milk. Pour desired amount onto hot oiled or buttered griddle and fry on 1 side, then flip over and fry other side. Serve hot and buttered, with desired topping. Makes 6 pancakes.

BUCKWHEAT SPAGHETTI

1/2 cup buckwheat flour

4 teaspoons oil

2 tablespoons water

Combine flour, oil and water and stir to form stiff dough. Knead 10 minutes. Place dough on oiled tray and roll as thinly as possible. Slice into fine strips, then boil in salted water with 2 remaining teaspoons oil 3 minutes. Drain and serve with desired topping. Makes 1 to 2 servings.

PIZZA CRUST

1 cup rye flour

1 1/2 cups rice flour

2/3 cup soy flour

Salt

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup milk

7 tablespoons oil

Sift flours, salt to taste and baking powder into large bowl. Add milk and oil and mix well. Knead until smooth, about 10 minutes. Roll out onto oiled pizza trays and top with desired toppings. Bake 10 minutes at 350 degrees, than 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Serve hot or freeze and reheat when needed. Makes 2 (11-inch) crusts.

BARLEY PASTRY

1 cup barley flour

1/2 cup soy flour

1/2 cup rye flour

4 ounces butter

2 eggs

Salt

Sift flours together in large bowl. Rub butter into flour mixture using fingers. Beat eggs together, add to flour with salt to taste and mix to firm dough. Knead lightly and use in recipes such as savory pies, quiche, sweet pies and tarts. Makes 1 (9-inch) crust.

RYE-BAKING POWDER BISCUITS

1 cup unsifted rye flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons shortening

3 to 4 tablespoons water

Grease baking sheet. Sift together rye flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Stir water until mixture forms thick but pliable dough. Turn onto lightly rye-floured board and roll about 1/2-inch thick. Cut with 2-inch biscuit cutter and bake 12 to 15 minutes at 450 degrees. Makes 6 biscuits.

MAYONNAISE

1 1/2 tablespoons potato starch

1/4 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar

1/4 cup cold water

3/4 cup boiling water

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon vinegar

1/2 cup oil

Pepper

Combine starch, mustard, salt and sugar in saucepan. Stir in cold water and mix well. Add boiling water and cook just until mixture is clear. Cool to lukewarm. Beat in lemon juice and vinegar, then gradually add oil in thin stream, beating constantly, until thickened. Season with pepper to taste and refrigerate. Makes 1 1/2 cups.

Note: Dressing is slightly thinner than normal mayonnaise.

APPLESAUCE PANCAKES

1 1/2 cups rice flour

2 tablespoons potato starch

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 cup applesauce

3 tablespoons melted butter or margarine

1 1/4 cups water

2 tablespoons oil

Stir together flour, potato starch, cornstarch, salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder. Add lemon juice, applesauce, melted butter and 1 cup water. Combine oil, remaining water and remaining baking powder and add to mixture, mixing well. Drop by 1/4 cupfuls onto heated griddle, lightly spreading with back of spoon into circle about 4 inches in diameter. Cook until rim of each is full of broken bubbles and underside is brown. Turn and brown other side. Makes 16 pancakes.