I have a friend that can't eat baked goods containing gluten...I tried a batch of biscotti with rice flour and I'm sure you know half of them crumbled away for the lack of gluten...Is there another protein out there i can use for a binding agent...My recipe follows...
1 stick unsalted butter
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea or kosher salt
3 cups rice flour
1 tsp bourbon vanilla
1/4 tsp almond oil
1/2 tsp anise oil (we like them spicy)
1 1/2 tsp anise seed (slightly crushed)
350 20 to 25 min. then cut and toast

Thank you very much

Rocco

By Pastrydog32 (Pastrydog32) on Wednesday, December 15, 2004 - 06:05 pm: Edit

Ever thought of using alomnd flour or some combo of nut powder to bulk it up?

By Scott123 (Scott123) on Wednesday, December 22, 2004 - 11:06 am: Edit

Pastrydog32, almond flour creates a more crumbly end product than rice flour.

Migraine8626, it's kind of tricky to recreate the binding/structural qualities of gluten.

Oat flour might bind a little better.
Cornstarch is also a good binder, although I wouldn't use more than 1/4 cup.

Perhaps a rice/oat/cornstarch combo.

The one thing that I know will help bind your biscotti is casein protein. Casein is what they make elmers glue out of. I don't know what kind of results it will give you texturally or how much to use, but the cookie won't crumble. Whey protein isolate (the other milk protein) may bind as well, but I'm not as certain about it. Casein is expensive/hard to find. Whey is slightly easier to obtain (health food stores) but still pretty pricey. You might be able to get the same properties playing around with cream cheese.

I'd say, give the rice/oat/cornstarch a try. If that's too crumbly, then start playing around with the milk proteins.

By Tortesrus (Tortesrus) on Wednesday, December 22, 2004 - 07:09 pm: Edit

Another product that may work could be Xanthan gum. It is a gluten substitute added to baking products that are wheat free.
1 tsp xanthan gum to 1 cup rice flour for cakes,
2 tsp xanthan gum to 1 cup rice flour for breads.
is what's recommended-I'd say experiment with the recipe to see if it works.
It's a natural product and also used as a thickener and stabilzer for salad dressings.

By Andapanda (Andapanda) on Friday, February 11, 2005 - 09:22 am: Edit

GLUTEN ALLERGY

"Celiac disease, the inability to digest gluten, is one the few diseases that is treated exclusively with diet. By removing all wheat, rye and barley from the diet, people with Celiac disease return to living a normal, healthy life. However, the most minute amount of gluten can cause symptoms to return. The problem is the gluten protein that is present in wheat, rye and barley.

"Staying gluten-free is quite a challenge and requires a quick education about foods and ingredients. Gluten is hidden in many places, including soy sauce(fermented with wheat), sauces, soups and even some spice blends. Wheat is also used in the glue on most envelopes. Many different flours are safe: rice flour, corn flour, corn starch, potato flour, bean flours, buckwheat, millet and amaranth. Teff and oats can be safe as long as the source is free of cross-contamination from wheat.

"Baking without gluten defies most of the principles of food chemistry. It's best to use a blend of two or three different gluten-free flours and starches, usually rice flour, sorghum, buckwheat or millet with the addition of at least 30 percent starch--corn, potato or tapioca. Some of the protein and elasticity of gluten can be replaced with gum--xanthan, guar or locust bean gum. Usually 1 teaspoon per cup is used for pastries and 3 teaspoons per cup is recommended for creating a blend that is used for breading a small amount of flour that is high in protein(amaranth, soy or other bean flour) helps to produce moisture in the final product.

"Although gluten-free baking takes a bit of extra effort, the rewards outweigh the challenges, as gluten-free consumers are very appreciative and will remain customers for life!"

--Beth Hilson, Founder and CEO, The Gluten-Free Pantry.

(On Baking by Sara R. Labensky, p. 540.)