About gluten
What is gluten?
Gluten is, in everyday terms, a collective name for some of the proteins found in the cereals wheat, rye, and barley. Gluten is also found in varieties and crossbreeds of wheat, rye, and barley—including spelt (also called dinkel or spelt), durum wheat, emmer wheat, and triticale. Gluten is therefore present in many popular foods, especially bread and baked goods. Gluten can also be added to various foods, such as meat products, soups, and ready-made meals. A person with celiac disease must therefore always read the ingredient list on foods. It helps that ingredients containing gluten must now be highlighted.
Gluten in wheat flour
Gluten is made up of the two proteins gliadin and glutenin, which are found in wheat. Together they form long gluten strands when wheat flour is mixed with water and the dough is kneaded. The gluten strands form a network that makes the dough elastic and helps it hold together and retain the gas produced during fermentation. Gluten also binds water, so the bread doesn’t become dry.
Gluten proteins in other grains
Rye and barley—and their varieties and crossbreeds (see above)—are closely related to wheat. These grains contain the same type of proteins as wheat. They are so similar to the gluten in wheat that, in celiac disease, the immune system reacts in exactly the same harmful way to these grains as well. In everyday language, all of these proteins are therefore often referred to as gluten. A person with celiac disease must avoid proteins from all of these cereals.
Oats and gluten
Oats are more distantly related to wheat. The proteins in oats therefore differ from the gluten in wheat, and pure oats are a good addition to a gluten-free diet for most people with celiac disease. “Pure” means the oats are specially produced and monitored—from cultivation, through harvesting and processing, to packaging—to ensure they do not contain harmful traces of wheat, barley, or rye. Pure oats are gluten-free and never contain more than 20 ppm gluten. Oats are always 100% whole grain and also have many other nutritional benefits. For example, oats contain healthy fatty acids, minerals, B vitamins, and fiber—especially beneficial fibers called beta-glucans.
Other grains and pseudocereals
In cereals such as rice, corn (maize), millet, teff, and sorghum, the proteins also differ from the gluten in wheat, and these grains can be included in a gluten-free diet. As with oats, however, there is a risk of contamination from wheat, barley, and rye—depending on how the grains are grown, harvested, and processed. Buckwheat and quinoa are not in the same plant family as wheat. They are sometimes used as flour and are therefore called pseudocereals, but they are herbs rather than true grains. They are gluten-free, but contamination with wheat, barley, and rye can occur here as well.
Baking without gluten
Baking without gluten involves certain challenges. Above all, you need to use other ingredients to help the dough hold together and to retain gas and moisture. That’s why, for example, finely ground psyllium husk and xanthan gum—both of which bind water—are common ingredients in gluten-free recipes. Xanthan gum is produced from sugar through a bacterial fermentation process and is very high in fiber. Psyllium is also called ispaghula (or psyllium seed) and comes from a plant. Psyllium seeds look like small flax seeds, and the husks are also extremely rich in fiber.
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