Wheat & Gluten

Great video and information

Excellent tutorial. Thank you.

There is sometimes some terminological confusion between whole meal and whole wheat (at least in the UK). Wholemeal flour is only 'wholemeal' if it is the product of grinding the whole grain. Whole wheat flour is a lesser product, and according to Wikipedia "In Canada, it is legal to advertise any food product as "whole wheat" with up to 70% of the germ removed."

I found this video very interesting. I never knew much about gluten before I saw this video.

Keep up the great work Javan.

This is exactly the type of video I have been looking for to show my Foods 11/12 students. It is thorough, accurate and creative in how it describes the development of gluten in baked goods. I will definitely be using this video in my classroom.

very informative knew nothing about gluten and wheat til now thanks

I'm an amateur baker and I think this video is a brilliant summary.

My wife has some gluten intolerance which makes baking and cooking in general somewhat of a challenge. Breads and cakes are pretty much out at this point, but what I'm curious about is how to do things like rice flour and potato flour do for things like a besciamella. Are these valid substitutes. So far I have not found much difference except in that it appears to take some extra time to get the color necessary. I have also been testing with some Rice Pasta which can be found pretty readily on the market these days. There are some thing tips I have found. First, I have found that when cooking this type of pasta, it's best to continually stir the pasta while cooking. I have also found that after cooking, it's best to rinse the pasta in hot water due to the extra starches produced. Any other tips would be appreciated regarding alternative non-gluten flours.

im not big into bakery type dishes and deserts but its great to be educated about it for future references

Nice video! It explains very clearly the basics of flour.

Does the developement of gluten in a food affect it's digestability?(I mean for people with no allergy to gluten)

I use whole grains whenever I can and enjoy the dense texture to a certain extent, but sometimes I do crave the lightness and crunchiness of breads with white flour. How much whole wheat flour can you add to a recipe before it begins to affect the end product?

Can bulgur wheat be used as a replacement for cous cous in recipes?

Thanks for a great website!

Generally, up to 60% of white flour in a bread recipe can be substituted with whole wheat flour. For cakes, quick breads and other lighter baked goods, substitute no more than half or the texture will likely be too dense. We will cover more on this when we get to the baking lessons in the cooking school.

Whether or not you have celiac disease, white flour is harder on the digestive system and raises blood sugar levels. If you can tolerate gluten though, I am in total agreement with Lidia Bastianich. She said (about food in general), "...eating should be pleasurable and approached with a positive state of mind and anticipation. There should be no guilt in eating; when we eat, we are nourishing our bodies, our minds, our souls.

...The two key words in healthy eating are diversity and moderation."

So, enjoy that crunchy baguette every once in a while. If people make sure to eat more home made foods and less processed foods, I think that balance would be easier to find than most people think.

To answer your last question, bulgur takes longer to prepare than couscous, but can definitely be substituted in your cooking. Bulgur can be found with the bran and germ attached but generally, they are removed. Hope this helps.

A loved one is allergic to gluten. [I believe this issue has become well known, and thus restaurants have become more accommodating, because testing for the allergy has become better.] She is my best audience for cooking. Hmmm...
Is there such a thing as a good gluten-free pasta? Note I did not say gluten -free pasta, I said good gluten-free pasta.
For some dishes I use rice flour,e.g. coating something to be pan fried, which works pretty well. Any suggestions for good wheat-liberated pasta or other flour substitutes?

I think this just comes down to buying a few different brands and trying them. I have tried several different variety...some were pretty good, while others were indescribably bad.

It does seem that more and more gluten-free pastas are finding their way to grocery store shelves. They also seem to be getting better. Good luck!

"...eating should be pleasurable and approached with a positive state of mind and anticipation. There should be no guilt in eating; when we eat, we are nourishing our bodies, our minds, our souls.

...The two key words in healthy eating are diversity and moderation."

I thought of skipping this lesson, because I have a lot of experience using wheat flour, but I always cooked for economy and nutrition, but never took the time to properly enjoy eating and never learned for the sake of learning.

So I'm going step by step through the lesson, trying hard not to make any substitutions for economy or nutrition, and am trying to concentrate on learning as much as I can, and to mindfully taste and let myself enjoy the foods I've made.