Companies Just Don't Get It

[Celtic Queen]

So, for Christmas I got a Cuisinart Bread Maker with the Gluten Free Setting. The bread maker works great and I'm really enjoying having fresh bread. But it amazes me how a company that can make a bread maker with a special setting for gluten free bread still doesn't get it.

I was looking through my manual (yes, I'm one of those weirdos who actually reads the manual ) and there was a section about Gluten Free ingredients. I was really excited to see it addressed and I was happily reading all about rice flour, soy flour, etc. Until I got to this:

Rye flour - Rye flour has a lower gluten (protein) content than its white and wheat counterparts. This means one must use white or wheat flours in combination with rye when baking bread. Combining the flours ensures the loaf will rise well.

Seriously? In the gluten free section? Tellling me to add white and wheat flour.

But wait....it gets worse. Immediately underneath was this:

Seminola flour - Seminola is ground from hard wheat. It is pale yellow in color and resembles corn meal. Seminola flour has a very high gluten or protein content. It is used in both making bread pasta.

Ummmm...so if I'm eating bread that's gluten free, why on earth would I want to use flour that has a high gluten content?

I sent Cuisinart an e-mail about it through their website. Maybe they'll respond. Anyway, I thought I'd give you all a laugh. And I think I'll continue to use my bread maker without any Seminola or Rye flour.

[ravenwoodglass]

Sounds like they need a good proofreader who actually knows something about celiac.

[sariesue]

I don't think they need a better proofreader unless the gluten free section mentioned cooking for people with celiac or gluten intolerance. If the section is just a gluten free section and not a section on how to cook gluten free for celiac then the rye and seminola flour notes apply as those flours have a different gluten percentages than normal wheat flour as they have DIFFERENT gluten percentages.The information given for both rye and seminola flours does state that they both contain gluten, so I do not see it as problem. In fact since alternative flours are used in gluten free baking and many people may not be aware of which ones are actually gluten free it is very logical that they would include two fairly common flours in that section that are not gluten free so people are aware that they do contain gluten. You have to remember most people in the real world, which are the people that those little product info books are written for do not know a single fact about what is or is not gluten free. I see those two notes as a warning for those who may be attempting their first gluten free bread to AVOID the two flours the contain gluten that the average lay person might not know.

Do the recipes in the gluten free section contain either rye or seminola? Because if they don't and it's just a little extra, correct information what's the problem? I would really only see it as a problem if the information was wrong. If they had listed seminola as gluten free or used it in their gluten free recipes.

[Celtic Queen]

The recipes don't contain any rye or seminola. And they don't mention anything about Celiac Disease or the gluten free diet.

My concern is that both the seminola and rye are specifically listed under the heading "Gluten Free Ingredients" and they're not gluten free. So I consider the information to be misleading. There was a section before the gluten free one which lists lots of other ingredients - vital gluten flour, yeast, self-rising flour, etc. They could have easily been put in that section with the other "gluten" ingredients. My concern would be that someone who wasn't reading it carefully might think it's okay to use rye flour because it's listed under gluten free ingredients.

[mushroom]

I agree that that's a pretty unusual place to put that information. If they wanted to provide specific information about using flours with a low or high gluten content, they should have put them in a category all their own