Xanthan Gum-Gluten Free Baking

Let me just start out by saying, going gluten-free is hard. It’s seriously a HUGE pain in my butt and one of the major causes of my anxiety.

See all those flours? I have individual flours, so I can make my own blends and I have “all-purpose” blends which are not all-purpose. Ever. Don’t just grab one of these and think it will cut it. It REALLY depends on what you’re making.

For example I don’t like cakes made with an all-purpose flour. They are dense, heavy and crumble easily. But I can, sometimes, use them for a pizza crust. The Betty Crocker Rice Blend, is great for Angel Food cake! But I wouldn’t use that for a pizza crust.

Anyway, today is about Xanthan Gum. It’s so commonly used in Gluten-free flours because it gives dough the stickiness that gluten would normally deliver.

There are LOTS of interesting articles on whether or not people should be eating this because, like everything else in the world, it is bad for you.

I had no idea what it even was, until I went gluten-free. I’m working on cutting out a lot of stuff from our diet, but where do you draw the line? Everywhere you look, there are studies telling you that certain things aren’t healthy, will cause cancer, and eventually, kill you.

At this point in my life, I just want to eat.

I’m hungry.

Going gluten-free has been hard enough for me right now.

If Xanthan Gum might help my pizza crust, act and taste more like what I was used to, than I am all for it.

That’s all I have for X. The letter X kind of sucks for a post. This is as good as it gets for me.