The Wheat-Free Page

32 Alternatives to Wheat
Featuring 2 Wheat-Free Recipes

OK, so you can't eat wheat. Big deal. While that's admittedly not a fun diagnosis, nevertheless you can take the challenge and have some fun discovering new foods. The following list is more than any one person will want to deal with - but it represents CHOICES for you to try. Do consider combining a few flours for different results. For example, oat flour by itself can produce moist but heavy baked goods; barley and rice, on the other hand, are light and tend to be dry. Put either of them together with oat flour in a 50-50 mixture and surprising things happen. The mixture almost handles like unbleached (white) wheat flour. Other combos I've enjoyed include:

  • Two parts amaranth with one part chickpea (or bean) flour
  • Equal parts amaranth, quinoa and unroasted buckwheat flours
  • Buckwheat flour made from unroasted groats, lightened with two tablespoons of arrowroot or tapioca starch flour in the bottom of each cup before filling it with the flour. (Ditto for teff flour.)
  • Equal parts spelt and Kamut* brand flours
  • Equal parts barley and rye flours

    Experiment for proportions that you like, because different ratios will produce different results. Keep notes of which ingredients you use, in what amounts, so you can duplicate your successes and tweak those combinations you want to improve. And for heaven sake, have fun when you're playing with new foods in your kitchen!

    Even though the following foods may not be in your local grocery store, you will surely find some in your health food store - and if they aren't generally stocked, perhaps they will special order them for you. All are readily available by mail order, so I include sources below, and in my books.

    Now . . . what to DO with those unusual flours? See The MFA Bookstore for a description of our allergy cookbooks that use many of those flours listed below. And don't forget, you will find six sample recipes in this web site (more counting all of the variations).

    Find the number next to each wheat alternative in this list and match it to the sources below for where to purchase each wheat alternative.
    Items in bold print followed by (G) contain Gluten.

    1. Almond - flour and meal
    2. Amaranth - whole (as hot cereal), flour, puffed
    3. Barley (G)whole hulled, flakes, flour
    4. Buckwheat - whole groats, cereal, flour (raw or roasted)
    5. Cassava - flour (whole root, dried, ground; tapioca starch is refined from this). Not generally available in stores, see mail order source.
    6. Chestnut - flour
    7. Chickpea - flour
    8. Flaxseed - whole and meal
    9. Hazelnut - flour and meal
    10. Jerusalem artichoke - flour
    11. Kamut* (G) brand whole grains, flakes, flour, pasta
    12. Kuzu (also called Kudzu) - starch
    13. Legume Flours - yellow & green pea, red & green lentil, white, lima & pinto bean
    14. Malanga - flour
    15. Millet - whole grain, flour
    16. Milo/sorghum - flour
    17. Oat (G)- Scotch style, flour, oat bran, rolled flakes
    18. Pearled Millet - whole, flour
    19. Poi (dehydrated) - starch and flour
    20. Potato, white - flour, starch
    21. Quinoa - whole, flour, puffed
    22. Rice (short, medium, long grain) - whole, flour, pasta, puffed, cakes, crackers
    23. Rye (G)- flakes, flour, WASA cracker(Light Rye has no yeast, only rye flour, water, and salt)
    24. Soy - flakes, grits, flour
    25. Spelt (G) - whole grains, flakes flour, pasta
    26. Tapioca - starch flour, "pearls" of small, medium or large granules, such as Minute Tapioca (see also cassava)
    27. Teff - whole (for hot cereal), flour
    28. Water Chestnut - flour
    29. White Sweet Potato - flour
    30. Wild Rice - whole
    31. Yam (true yam) - flour
    32. Lotus - flour, pasta

    Sources of Alternative Flours

    Allergy Resources, 557 Burbank St. Suite K, Broomfield, CO 80020
    Phone 800-873-3529 to order, 800-564-4019 for customer service
    2,3,4,7,8,10,11,12,13,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,25,26,27,30
    Contact by phone to obtain a catalog or for direct sales.

    Arrowhead Mills, P.O. Box 2059, Hereford, TX 79045
    Phone 806-364-0730
    2,11,22,23,25,27
    Purchase in, or order from a health food store. No direct orders.

    Eden Foods, Inc., 701 Tecumseh Road, Clinton, MI 49236
    Phone 800-248-0301
    4,12,21
    Purchase in, or order from a health food store. No direct orders.

    Ener-G Foods, P.O. Box 84487, Seattle, WA 98124
    800-331-5222
    3,19,20,22,26
    Order from catalog by phone or purchase in a health food store.

    G.B. Ratto & Company, 821 Washington St., Oakland, CA 94067
    Phone 510-832-6503
    4,5,6,7,9,21,25,30
    Order by phone or purchase in a health food store (probably West Coast only).

    Gluten Solutions
    Order gluten-free products directly from their web site.
    2,4,7,13,16,18,20,21,22,24,26

    The Teff Company, P.O. Box A, Caldwell, ID 83606
    208-455-0375
    27
    Order by phone (minimum order required) or purchase in a health food store.

    Nu-World Amaranth, Inc. P.O. Box 2202, Naperville, IL 60567
    630-369-6819
    2, 21, 26
    Order by phone.

    Omega Nutrition, Cascade Business Park, 5373 Guide Meridan, Bellingham, WA 98226
    800-661-3529
    1,8,9
    Order by phone.

    Purity Foods, Inc., 2871 W. Jolly Road, Okemos, MI 48864
    517-351-9231
    25
    Purchase in, or order from a health food store. Only large orders direct.

    Special Foods, 9207 Shotgun Court, Springfield, VA 22153
    Phone 703-644-0991
    2,5,10,14,16,28,29,31,32
    Order by phone only - not found in stores.

    Syrian Bakery & Grocery, 2100 S. Western Ave., Chicago, IL 60608
    Phone 312-376-8525
    7
    Order by phone.

    * Please note: Kamut is a registered trademark.

    Allergen-Free Recipes

    Wheat-Free Recipes: Featuring
    Amaranth, Buckwheat & Quinoa

    GRAIN-FREE A-B-Q "CORN BREAD"

    Amaranth, buckwheat and quinoa (pronounced "keen-wa") are not true grains, so may be pure gold to those who react to all grains! All will be found in most health food stores. For best results, buy fresh amaranth and quinoa flours where there is a quick turn-over - and smell it before baking with it to be sure it isn't rancid. (Then store air tight in your freezer.) Also, buy whole UNROASTED buckwheat groats and grind your own flour in a blender. This is easily done as the groats are not nearly as hard as grains of wheat, so you don't need a special grinder or mill. I grind one pound of groats in my blender, half cup at a time, in 7 minutes, and that includes rubbing the flour through a strainer to catch and discard any large particles that may be present. The flavor and texture of this mixed-flour pan bread is superior to that of bread made from any one of the flours. While not a sandwich bread, this corn-bread-type-bread is wonderful with salad, soup or stew, or for breakfast (topped with a fruit sauce or a little all-fruit jam).
    Yields 1 pie plate of cornbread-type bread (6-8 pieces)

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat a 9-inch pie plate with non-stick spray, or oil and dust with flour. Combine flours, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt in a bowl and whisk to blend. Measure the oil, maple syrup, and almond milk or water in a 2-cup glass measuring cup, and stir. Make a "well" in the center of the flour and pour in the liquids. Use a rubber spatula to stir a few swift strokes - only until all the dry ingredients are moistened. Transfer at once to prepared pan. Batter will be quite stiff, yet when you scrape it into the pan, it still pours. (In other words - although stiff, it's still a heavy batter rather than a dough.) Bake about 20 minutes or until the center springs back when lightly touched, and a pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan 10 minutes before cutting. Best served warm, or at least the same day.

    VARIATIONS: SWEET A-B-Q "CORN BREAD"
    Substitute pineapple, apple, orange, pear or white grape juice for the water, and add an additional 1/4 teaspoon baking soda to dry ingredients. Or if you prefer, add 1/2 teaspoon white stevia powder or 1/4 cup date sugar to the dry ingredients (with no extra soda). This sweet version resembles coffeecake.

    SPICED A-B-Q "CORN BREAD"
    Following the recipe for SWEET A-B-Q "CORN BREAD", add ONE of the following to the dry ingredients, whisking well to mix:

  • 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (gives bread a very nice flavor!)
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground nutmeg

    INDIVIDUALIZED "CORN BREAD"
    If you don't have all three flours on hand, or if you don't tolerate one of them, use 3/4 cup of each of the two remaining flours, plus 3 tablespoons of either ONE of the flours. Texture and flavor will still be better than with any one flour alone.

    SIMPLE SIMON MAPLE CAKE

    Cake without eggs doesn't keep very well. Solution? Make a small cake to feed up to 4 people. If you've a 6-1/2 inch skillet with an ovenproof handle, such as Corning's, you can cut this recipe in half to make just the amount of cake you will use. A small cake like this will serve three generously, or four modestly. Freeze any that won't be used the same day, but use soon - within 2 weeks - and top the thawed cake with applesauce or other fruit sauce (to moisten).
    Full recipe yields 6-8 wedges, half recipe yields 3-4 wedges.

    1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon amaranth flour 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon unroasted buckwheat flour(see NOTE below) 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon quinoa flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon cream of tartar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup oil 2/3 cup maple syrup 1/4 cup chopped pecans, optional

    Preheat oven to 350. Non-stick spray a pie plate. Combine dry ingredients and whisk well, or sift. Combine oil and syrup in measuring cup and pour over dry ingredients. Using a rubber spatula, stir until flour disappears. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Scatter the chopped pecans over the top, if using. Bake 20-22 minutes or until a pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before cutting.

    Surprisingly good! Serve plain as you would a coffee cake, with a cup of tea, or use as dessert. Second-day egg-free baked goods can seem dry, so here's a delicious tip: Use leftovers (that were wrapped tightly overnight) the next morning for breakfast. Split each wedge horizontally and top it with a fresh or cooked fruit sauce, shortcake-style.

    (Example: Cook 1 bag of frozen unsweetened peaches or blueberries + 3/4 cup water + 1/4 cup agave nectar, honey or maple syrup. In about 10 minutes when fruit is tender, stir in 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon tapioca starch dissolved in 1/4 cup cool water. Stir for about two minutes until it bubbles, thickens, and the liquid becomes clear. [May cut peach slices into bite-size pieces while fruit is cooking, if you wish.] Spoon warm peach sauce over the warm Maple Cake or Sweet A-B-Q "Corn Bread" for a delicious - and memorable - breakfast.)

    VARIATION: GINGERBREAD
    Whisk 1 teaspoon powdered ginger into the dry ingredients of either the bread or cake above, and mix well. Top with the peach sauce, above. Oh, Yum! (Author's personal favorite)

    These recipes are adapted from Superfoods - Allergy Recipes by Marjorie Hurt Jones, R.N. We are sorry but this booklet is no longer available.

    For additional allergen-free sample recipes see The Gameplan For Recovery Page and The Yeast-Free Page.

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