Bob's Red Mill Xanthan Gum - Is It Safe?

[peppyking]

I just finished making the batter for our traditional Christmas morning crepes using gluten free all purpose flour and Bob's xanthan gum. Although the package says gluten free, I just read that Bob's xanthan gum is the byproduct of bacteria digesting a wheat product. Should I be concerned? I would hate for my 3 year old daughter (recently diagnosed with celiac disease) to get sick, and especially on Christmas.

[LauraTX]

Bobs Red Mill xanthan gum is a completely safe product.  Here is a page with a little more info from them: Open Original Shared Link  It is basically derived from something that is derived from something that is derived from wheat.  These degrees of separation and the process that is involved means no gluten gets through, repeatedly.  Wheat glucose syrup, which is what Bobs Red Mill feeds to the bacteria to make xanthan gum, is so highly processed that it is considered gluten free itself.  BRM also tests their products for the presence of gluten, and overall they are a very trustworthy and safe brand to buy gluten-free products from.

[peppyking]

Thank you, LauraTX, for adding peace of mind to our Christmas:) Her diagnosis is recent, and this takes a lot more research than I realized it would. I assumed we'd just degluten the kitchen, read labels and that would be that. I'm finding myself more confused after reading labels and just putting a lot of stuff back on the shelf when I am at all unsure. It's an adjustment, and it's nice to have a place to ask questions of those with more experience:)

[LauraTX]

You're very welcome!  It can be hard when you are first starting out and unsure, since you would rather be safe than sorry!  The shopping and ingredients part gets a little more natural with some time, and if you see something you are unsure of, make a little mental note and write the manufacturer to ask, sometimes you get pleasant surprises.  Using a gluten-free flour blend and Xanthan gum is a great way to start about with gluten-free baking.  Weighing the flour can help you convert recipes easier in a lot of cases, and whatever you do, if you spill a bunch of xanthan gum in your kitchen, don't put water on it before wiping it up, LOL.  Something I learned from experience 

[chefcel1952]

Hi All, My 31 yrs ago my son was diagnosed with celiac, he was at deaths door, but were able to "fix" him, thank God. I just got a Kitchenaid 600 pro mixer, and I want to make him a bunch of bread to freeze and have handy. He hates all the store bought ones he has tried. He is just sooo intolerant I'm afaid to try any "gums", I want to use unflavored gelatin. Can anyone tell me how much to use per loaf?  My son has a family of four and career, but is always hungry! I also plan to get the pasta attachment, to make him gluten-free pasta. I could use any and all tips, and maybe some easy bread recipes, I have Trader Joe's gluten-free flour, with no gums in the ingredients. HELP........Thanks...a loving mom, Celeste ( He CAN eat yeast)

[squirmingitch]

My husband & I have been ecstatic over the baked goods I've made using recipes from "The How Can It Be Gluten Free Cookbook" which last I looked was being sold on Amazon & at WalMart for under $16. The Classic Sandwich Bread Recipe is fantastic & tastes like "real" bread as is the case with the biscuit recipe & the dinner rolls recipe that I have tried so far. None of them use any of the gums at all. They do have dairy & yeast excepting the biscuits which require no yeast at all. For bread I would suggest you just go ahead & invest in some 9 x 9 x 4" loaf pans that will make baking gluten-free bread much easier and better. You can get those loaf pans through the King Arthur Flour website & probably other places too. 

[chefcel1952]

Dear Squirmingitch...Thanks for the tip! I will look for the book, and I do have pans that size. I'm guessing the bread cooks better in that size pan. I so appreciate it!!

[squirmingitch]

YVW!  

Yes, those pans are great otherwise you have to fashion a tin foil collar to hold the bread in place & keep it from spilling over onto the bottom of your oven.

I have their coffee cake recipe in the oven right now. The aroma is driving me crazy --- I'm going to drool all over my keyboard & short it out.  

 

I'll come back later & let you know how it turned out. I did put my own spin on it though by adding diced dried apricots & raisins in the batter and put a mix of cinnamon, brown sugar & butter on the top which will ultimately be the bottom (tube pan) but then I may not turn it right side up. I only care about the texture, crumb & taste not how it looks.

[squirmingitch]

We couldn't wait for it to completely cool. I have a 2 piece tube pan so I waited just long enough to get the outer ring off & we cut into it. Sheer heaven!!!!!! It can't be gluten free but it is!!!!!!!!! Wooooooooooooo Hooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[chefcel1952]

Dear Squrm...sounds wonderful! Now a tip from me, before adding raisens PLUMP them first..put in bowl n cover with orange juice, or water with vanilla extract...cover tight with plastic wrap, nuke 1 minute...leave till your ready to add to any mix, then drain first...always do this for cookies, cakes, breads...sooo much better!

[squirmingitch]

Thanks for the tip but they plumped up really well in this w/o any pre-plumping. I will do that though for cookies. I wish I could figure out how to post photos on here. I have done it in the past. I use Flickr and it worked great previously but a couple weeks ago I tried & tried & tried -- spent about 2 hours trying to make it work but it was a no-go. Flickr changed the way they do things since last time I posted photos from it & they don't have any directions telling you how to do it now. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr........

[chefcel1952]

Squirm...may be easier to download pics on a flash drive (memory stick) put on computer n download from it...just saying! I found that book on several sites..but do the recipes make you buy a million ingredients? i am retired and on a budget..blah! I can't order till paid on the 1st.....What brand of flour have you used, with what ingredients in it? I have gluten-free flour from trader joe's, pillsbury and king arthur..this is soo hard! Your successes encourage me though! Thanks again, Celeste

[squirmingitch]

You can't download photos directly from your computer to this site. I don't know why. it would be sooooo much easier that way. You have to load photos onto something like Flickr or Photo Bucket & then download them to here.

 

These links will give you the basic flour blend which most all the recipes come from. It will also give you the recipe for biscuits, waffles & chocolate chip cookies. Instead of making up their flour blend they tell you what ready made flours you can use but after testing/tasting their flour blend I would not use anything else.

Open Original Shared Link

[lpellegr]

Hi All, My 31 yrs ago my son was diagnosed with celiac, he was at deaths door, but were able to "fix" him, thank God. I just got a Kitchenaid 600 pro mixer, and I want to make him a bunch of bread to freeze and have handy. He hates all the store bought ones he has tried. He is just sooo intolerant I'm afaid to try any "gums", I want to use unflavored gelatin. Can anyone tell me how much to use per loaf?  My son has a family of four and career, but is always hungry! I also plan to get the pasta attachment, to make him gluten-free pasta. I could use any and all tips, and maybe some easy bread recipes, I have Trader Joe's gluten-free flour, with no gums in the ingredients. HELP........Thanks...a loving mom, Celeste ( He CAN eat yeast)

Your son might be able to keep his hunger under control by adding more protein (meat, eggs, cheese), and eating fewer carbs (bread, pastry, pasta).  I'll stay full much longer after 2 eggs scrambled with cheese and spinach than after a bagel or several bowls of cereal.  Making pasta for him is a nice gesture, but the gluten-free pastas out there usually have simple basic ingredients (no gums!) and are much easier to have on hand when you want them.  Try a few and figure out whether you prefer corn (falls apart quickly), rice (Tinkyada is good), quinoa, or other types of gluten-free pasta.  Don't worry too much about xanthan gum.  It will be hard for your bread to hold together just using gelatin or eggs or other non-gum methods.  Feed him natural, unprocessed foods for a while until his guts heal, then you can try something with more exotic ingredients like xanthan gum (which you can find in all kinds of foods - even candy and ice cream).

[chefcel1952]

Dear Ipellegr, Thanks for response! My son was diagnosed 31 year ago, is married with 4 children. Smart as a whip, and has a great career, ( so handsome i might add!) His wife was never taught to cook, so I try and help her along. He knows what he can eat. he does eat what he can have, but is dying for good pasta and bread. Hence my daunting task to help him. He has tried every pasta out there and hates them all, also the gluten-free breads. I made rice noodles for spagetti for him, I took a bite..YUCK!  I will figure this out somehow I hope! He was 6 when he got sick, now 37. He loved my homemade sloppy joe's, so I would put it on baked potatoes. He still eats that with potatoes to this day! I got some flax meal flour today, I have 3 different kinds of gluten-free all purpose flour. It is time t try to make a loaf of bread. Just have to find the right recipe, using one of those flours, the ground flax, and yeast. Any ideas? He would kill to get to eat a sandwich, and have some good pasta...Thanks again! ....a loving mom....

[GF Lover]

Dear Ipellegr, Thanks for response! My son was diagnosed 31 year ago, is married with 4 children. Smart as a whip, and has a great career, ( so handsome i might add!) His wife was never taught to cook, so I try and help her along. He knows what he can eat. he does eat what he can have, but is dying for good pasta and bread. Hence my daunting task to help him. He has tried every pasta out there and hates them all, also the gluten-free breads. I made rice noodles for spagetti for him, I took a bite..YUCK!  I will figure this out somehow I hope! He was 6 when he got sick, now 37. He loved my homemade sloppy joe's, so I would put it on baked potatoes. He still eats that with potatoes to this day! I got some flax meal flour today, I have 3 different kinds of gluten-free all purpose flour. It is time t try to make a loaf of bread. Just have to find the right recipe, using one of those flours, the ground flax, and yeast. Any ideas? He would kill to get to eat a sandwich, and have some good pasta...Thanks again! ....a loving mom....

 

I would suggest getting the America's Test Kitchen....I can't believe it's gluten free, Cook Book.  You can get it on A.com.  Breads, rolls, pastas etc. all excellent!

 

Colleen