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anon for this – KOL HASCHOLO KOSHO oh my gosh, was it grueling. I didn’t know what I was doing, and had no one to ask. My husband was of course very worried about our son so was willing to do anything necessary and was pretty good for a while. Then, he started eating glutens on the outside, or sneaking in some bread, etc. Of course, he suffered and realized that maybe, just maybe, he could also benefit from this. He still slips, but acknowledges it and is grateful for the gluten free home. This yomtov my son was away from home in Eretz Yisroel for three weeks, and I made spelt challahs, because I know that my husband really can have spelt. He appreciated it because his stomach did not bother him the entire month of yomim tovim (I ate my oats).

If general health is not an issue, then you’re right, it’s so much easier to just find products from a supermarket to eat. By the way, I noticed that “classic” kugels – potato, vegetable, and even apple – were gluten free. they were delicious, and what a time saver this month.

The siblings resented the new diet, so I had to be very cautious about my menus. They couldn’t understand why they had to “suffer”. Unfortunately I work full time, so it’s not like I had time to make separate menus, do separate shopping, or think about dual meals. Like I mentioned, I learned to use brown rice pasta because it is so similar to wheat pasta, so spaghetti and meatballs, ziti, and even lasagna became part of my biweekly repertoire. I learned to make qinoia “casseroles” and brown rice – my entire family, hands down, prefers qinoia to any other starch. Even my father, who’s in his late eighties, from Vienna, and needless to say, not very daring about trying new foods LOVES it!!! I use sweet potatos, white potatos, with protein and vegetables. I had gotten sterling advice from someone in the very beginning – whatever you do, DO NOT start a GF diet by baking breads, cakes, or other flour products. Boy were they right. It was hard enough just getting the hang of it, without being discouraged by flours that don’t do what you want them to do, etc.

Now, everyone has settled in to it. Nobody feels deprived at this point, because of the diversity of foods available.

Here it is:

3 tbsp yeast

1 tbsp sugar

3 cups warm liquid, eg. water, seltzer, or combination

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup oil

8 cups oat flour

2 tbsp. xanthan gum

1 tsp salt

6 eggs

1) combine yeast, 1 tbsp sugar, and warm liquid. Let yeast activate.

2) add remaining ingredients. Let rest for 30 minutes in warm place.

3) Shape challahs – I found that it was the easiest to shape into bulkelach or in tins that maintain the shape of the challah, let rest in warm place for 30 minutes

4) Bake at 325 degrees for “thirty minutes” – these were the original directions, but I would say check after thirty minutes and possibly leave them for 40-45 minutes. (maybe it’s just my oven)

PLEASE LET ME KNOW HOW THEY COME OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

yankdownunder – thank you for the info on the flax seed oils. You are so right, it adds so much nutrients and texture, alleviating the dependancies on eggs.

I agree with anon, though, about the spelt. It does have gluten, which is seen by the way it rises when yeast is added. However, it is a fragile gluten, which is why care must be taken when kneading it or else it becomes crumbly. The fact that it is so fragile means that for some, this is enough to make it tolerable and digestable.

We do use oats when we have to make hamotzi. My son is sensitive, though. I’ve been using the Heavenly Mills oat flour and most of us can tolerate it well. I got it from the GF store on 16th Avenue in five pound bags which worked out cheaper than buying smaller quantities. Where could I get the flour from Rabbi Kestenbaum? I had tried originally to just grind up regular oatmeal, like Quaker etc., but found that it was still not good enough for my son. The Heavenly Mills flour is better. There is a Lara’s (Laura’s? I forgot the name of the company) that claims that they are not cross contaminated. I tried it once but it didn’t seem to make a difference for us.

I have a Trader Joes nearby, so I buy my pasta from them. There is no question that Tinkyada products are great, but they are expensive, so I also use the brown rice ones from Trader Joe’s ($1.99 for a one pound bag and they are certainly good enough for spaghetti and meatballs, or baked ziti)

Substitutions for gluten free – it really depends on what you’re making. I find that cookies are the most forgiving, and that they taste pretty much the same as the ones with flour. Sometimes I use the prepared “baking flour” substitutes by Bob’s or Arrowhead Mills. For some reason or other, they just work great and are not more expensive than putting together my own mix. I’ll tell you what I’ve found has NOT worked well, and that’s Betty Hagman’s GF substitute flour in her book “More Gluten Free Gourmet”. I haven’t found garfava flour, so I haven’t tried her four bean flour mix, but the other one is dry and tasteless.

The flour mix that I like because it just worked well and it has a high nutritional value is this one:

1 1/4 cups bean flour (chickpea, soy)

1 cup arrowroot, corn or potato starch

1 cup tapioca starch/flour

1 cup white/brown rice flour (I use brown)

This blend has some elasticity, so it’s great for pie crusts, and supposedly wraps (haven’t tried), but I used it for breads, cakes, and cookies and it worked out just fine.

Wraps – there is a company, sorry the name escapes me, I’ll type it in when I remember that makes GF wraps. It carries the chof K hashgocha. We’re just not a “wrap” family. There are also corn tortillas that I found in Brooklyn that are GF. I wrapped chopped meat in them, rolled them up and added a sauce for a beautfiul yomtov entree.

The best bread recipe that I’ve come across is on the back of the Bob’s brown rice flour bags. It’s called a “Walrus” (why walrus????????????????) bread, and it’s OUTSTANDING – it rises beautifully, has great texture, doesn’t fall apart, and so I use it for sandwiches, and grilled cheese. Even those in the family who are not necessarily following the diet love this one and choose it over bread (probably laziness is another factor…)

1) There is presently a plethora of research stemming from the medical field on the relationship between gluten intolerance and food allergies, food sensitivities, Crohns Disease, IBS.

2) There are other sciences that are being increasingly accepted by the medical field (nutrition, therapy/physiological sciences) that explore the relationship and findings are compelling

3) There is a shocking amount of anectodal evidence of the relationship between nutrition (including but not necessarily isolated to gluten intolerance, I could write more of this if anybody is interested)and ADD, ADHD, PDD, etc.

However, this is not the point of my original question. My family has found that there is a strain of IBS inherent in a number of us that plagues us in various ways and we have finally found relief in removing glutens from our diet. There are plenty of recipes on line and in books (yasher koach and tizku lemitzvos tzippi, mybat, and anonforthis), however, within our lifestyle, one must deal with Shabbos Challahs that are Hamotzi (most recipes are shehakol)( I sat with my Rav adapting recipes to ensure the proper bracha) and yomim tovim that can be acceptable to all. This was my point, for those of us who live this life, maybe we can network and share resources and information.

Mazca, you asked an excellent question that is quite complicated, depending on who you may ask. As was already noted, celiac disease is still not 100% understood though there is tremendous progress in this area. By the way, there is an increasing amount of MEDICAL RESEARCH of the connection between ADD and Celiac Disease. This research is ongoing and add subjects were tested at the NYU Child Study Center.

However, there is another etymology for gluten intolerance that is even less understood. This is the relationship between food SENSITIVITIES and glutens. There are two main types of antibodies in our bloodsystem, the IGe, and the IGg. If you ever took a bloodtest to see if you have/d mono, CMV, etc, you would have received results in this format, of the IGg and IGe levels. When you go to an allergist, they measure the IGe levels in the blood, as a full blown antibody reaction to a stimulant, which would indicate an allergy. However, recently, research initiating in Europe that has found its way to America notes that IGg reactions may also be present, even if IGe reactions are not. (This is still controversial in the medical field) These IGg reactions reflect a sensitivity to a particular food, that is not a full blown allergy. It is the difference between a skin reaction in response to, eg. milk, (allergy) vs. diarrhea (sensitivity). When a person is sensitive to a food (e.g. milk, but it does not have to be milk, it really could be anything), then anytime he is exposed to the food the intestines are irritated, killing the lactobacillus necessary for proper breakdown of food. The intestines weaken and can’t properly digest. At some point, it may even become impossible to break down certain foods. Glutens are proteins. They are the protein content of the wheat, spelt, rye, barley, oat grains. GLUTENS ARE THE MOST DIFFICULT PROTEIN TO DIGEST. Anybody with a compromised system will have difficulty breaking them down, though this difficulty may not be significant enough to warrant a remedy. This is how a person, who may not have celiac, and may not have been born with gluten intolerance, may develop it later on in life.

Mr. Feivel, it is comforting to read your comments. Clearly, you are a person who has never been affected by stomach ailments. May you and your family always continue to be spared.