Gluten free cooking FAQ
Your gluten free questions answered
Review some of the most frequently asked questions relating to cooking with gluten free flours and foods. If we have not been able to answer your questions below then please do call us free on 0800 988 2470. We have a customer careline that bake with gluten free food and we also have the Gluten Free Chef of the Year who is a coeliac chef and a home economist to help answer your questions.
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Question: How long will my bread keep once I've made it in the bread maker or oven?
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Answer: Bread made with Glutafin Mixes should stay fresh for up to 3 days.
Question: Can I freeze the pastry once it's made?
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Answer: Yes you can freeze pastry once it's made. If you prepare shortcrust pastry following the recipes provided by Glutafin, you can freeze it once it has been kneaded into a ball. Seal in an airtight freezer bag and freeze for up to a month. Allow to thaw fully at room temperature and knead again before rolling out. Alternatively pastry may be frozen ready rolled and placed into flan tins or patty tins ready for filling and baking. If frozen in this way, there is not need to defrost it before filling and baking.
Question: What type of fat should I use when making cakes with your flour mixes?
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Answer: It is important to use butter for all our cake recipes to achieve the best results. If margarine is used the water used in it's manufacture comes out during the cake baking process and produces a sponge with a wetter, rubbery texture. Make sure butter is soft before use either by having it at room temperature or softening it briefly in the microwave.
Question: Can I freeze my bread once it has been made in the oven or bread maker?
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Answer: Yes you can freeze bread after it has been made in the oven or bread machine. Either freeze as a whole loaf in a sealed freezer bag or alternatively slice and freeze into individual portion sizes sealed in a freezer bag. Eat within one month. Defrost and refresh in a microwave for best results. Sprinkle lightly with water, return to freezer bag and refresh for 30 seconds for a whole loaf, and 10 seconds for 2 slices of bread (time given for a 800w microwave oven).
Question: How do I stop my pasta from sticking in a lump?
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Answer: The secret is not to cook too much of it all at once, but still use a large saucepan filled with boiling water with a drizzle of oil added. Cooking just 125g of dried pasta in this way works well with no clumping or sticking together.
Question: Which bread machine would you recommend?
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Answer:
There are a variety of bread machines available on the market with 2 main differences between the models. Some machines have a square pan which is suitable for making loaves using up to 250g of Glutafin Mix, and other machines have rectangular pans which generally use 500g of Glutafin Mix.
Many machines have a gluten free programme but we have found best results can be achieved with our mixes using a different setting. The most important thing is to contact the careline to find out the specific recipe for your machine on 0800 988 2470.
Question: Do Gluten Free Wheat Free Mixes for breads work in the same way as the Select? Could you use a Select recipe with a Wheat Free Mix?
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Answer: The Glutafin Gluten Free Select Mixes and the Glutafin Gluten Free Wheat Free Mixes are 2 complete seperate ranges of products. The Select Mixes have a black top to the box whereas the Gluten Free Wheat Free Mixes have a white top to the box. As a Glutafin customer, it is worth checking which range is suitable for you and ensuring that your pharmacist orders the correct product for you.
The 2 ranges are made with completely different starches so recipes have been designed specifically to work with each one and therefore are not interchangeable. You will find that all of our recipes have a seperate Gluten Free Wheat Free option. Please follow these instructions if using the Gluten Free Wheat Free Mixes.
The 2 ranges are made with completely different starches so recipes have been designed specifically to work with each one and therefore are not interchangeable. You will find that all of our recipes have a seperate Gluten Free Wheat Free option. Please follow these instructions if using the Gluten Free Wheat Free Mixes.
Question: How do I prevent my pastry from cracking?
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Answer: We have a special way of making pastry which involves creaming the ingredients together rather than the traditional method of rubbing the fat into the flour. Using this special creaming method helps reduce cracking of the pastry. Other essential tips include making sure you use butter and also to knead the pastry for a full 2 minutes before rolling out.
Question: How do I prevent my sponges sticking?
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Answer: Make sure you grease the cake tins with butter and then lined the base with a circle of baking parchment.
Question: Do I have to use butter when it states to do so in the recipe?
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Answer: Where a Glutafin recipe specifies butter, we have done extensive tests to find that this gives the best results. This is because butter has a standard fat content rather than maragrine where the fat content can vary between brands.
Question: How do I stop the fruit sinking to the bottom of my fruit cakes?
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Answer: Glutafin have developed a variety of dried fruit based cake recipes. The ideal Glutafin product to use is the Glutafin Select Multipurpose Fibre Mix. The best way to prevent fruit from sinking is to follow the soaking method used where the butter, sugar and fruit are simmered together first in a microwave and then left to soak before being added to the dried ingredients and egg. Check the back of the Glutafin Select Multipurpose Fibre Mix pack for a light fruit cake recipe made in this way or look on the recipes section of the website for a variety of alternative cakes, including a delicious banana cake.
Question: Which products are suitable for home freezing?
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Answer: Most of our recipes specify if they are suitable for home freezing.
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