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Wheat free stuffing recipes/ideas?


JanMcBaker

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Hi all--

I'm hoping to get some ideas here for Thanksgiving. My sister has developed a problem with wheat, and she reeeaaally likes bread stuffing. Unfortunately, making it with wheat bread would obviously cause a problem for her. Does anyone know of any wheat-free breads, or recipes for breads, that would give the same consistency in stuffing that wheat bread would? She uses rice bread, and I think a corn based bread for toast and sandwiches, but feels they would not work well in stuffing. She's not a fan of cornbread stuffing, though. I appreciate any suggestions or advice that anyone can give me. Thank you, and happy holidays!

"Fat is money." (Per a cracklings maker shown on Dirty Jobs.)
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I have made this barley bread recipe when friends who have a child with celiac disease come for a meal.

I am sure it would work well in dressing or stuffing. I have used it to make a bread pudding and it turned out nicely.

Barley bread recipe/Bob's Red Mill

It is on the back of the bag of barley flour.

This UK site also has a bunch of wheat-free recipes that work well.

wheat free recipes

Spelt and Kamut are distant relatives to wheat but many people who are sensitive to wheat can tolerate them without problems.

Some breads are made with a combination of grain and nut flours but without sufficient gluten will not rise like wheat bread. I have used the French bread recipe here and it is not bad, although it did not have the texture of regular French bread, it was a fair substitute.

If you do a search for "Celiac diet recipes" you should be able to find more recipes. I came across a site some time ago that had an extensive list of bread recipes. I thought I had bookmarked it but can't find it now.

Edited by andiesenji (log)

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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I have made this barley bread recipe when friends who have a child with celiac disease come for a meal.

I am sure it would work well in dressing or stuffing.  I have used it to make a bread pudding and it turned out nicely.

Barley bread recipe/Bob's Red Mill

It is on the back of the bag of barley flour.

Just as an FYI, barley bread is not a good idea for someone with celiac disease. Barley is a gluten bearing grain.

Cheryl

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I don't have any particular recipes, but some ideas for different non-wheat bases for stuffing could be buckwheat, wild rice or chestnuts...

edited to add: I just reread the first post more closely and it sounds like you want a bread stuffing. It may be possible to make something like this with buckwheat or chestnut flour, I'm not sure. Ground nuts may be another possibility for an add in to achieve a bread-like texture. Cornmeal would certainly have been another idea except for the small fact that she doesn't like it... :smile:

Edited by ludja (log)

"Under the dusty almond trees, ... stalls were set up which sold banana liquor, rolls, blood puddings, chopped fried meat, meat pies, sausage, yucca breads, crullers, buns, corn breads, puff pastes, longanizas, tripes, coconut nougats, rum toddies, along with all sorts of trifles, gewgaws, trinkets, and knickknacks, and cockfights and lottery tickets."

-- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1962 "Big Mama's Funeral"

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I have made this barley bread recipe when friends who have a child with celiac disease come for a meal.

I am sure it would work well in dressing or stuffing.  I have used it to make a bread pudding and it turned out nicely.

Barley bread recipe/Bob's Red Mill

It is on the back of the bag of barley flour.

Just as an FYI, barley bread is not a good idea for someone with celiac disease. Barley is a gluten bearing grain.

Evan is mildly affected and can tolerate small amounts of non-wheat gluten - however he is extremely sensitive to wheat, with dermatitis as well as intestinal response. His mom has a sister with extreme celiac disease and she was careful to give me a list of things that he could tolerate. I have several acquaintences who are allergic to wheat, dairy and other things and always consult them before I make anything they are going to eat. I have some severe allergies myself and am always careful to ask any guest what they can or cannot have.

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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Two different problems:

1. Making a fake wheat based stuffing without wheat. or

2, Make a differnt sort of stuffing, such as rice or potato based, or sausagemeat and onion

I'd take option (2), but if I really had to do (1) I'd use some of the wheat free products in that section of the supermarket

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Thank you for the ideas. While my sister doesn't seem to have classic Celiac disease, there certainly seems to be some kind of wheat sensitivity going on, with a definite 'intestinal response'. Maybe she'd be ok with barley. It's worth a try!

"Fat is money." (Per a cracklings maker shown on Dirty Jobs.)
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How about a Penn.-Dutch potato filling? It's like mashed potatoes with the same herbs and flavorings in bread stuffing. There are just a few bread crumbs in it, so you could use any kind of wheat-free bread and the texture wouldn't matter.

Ruth Dondanville aka "ruthcooks"

“Are you making a statement, or are you making dinner?” Mario Batali

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Wild rice cooked in stock, mushrooms, lentils, chestnuts, dried fruit (apricots, apples, raisins), usual aromatic veg (sauteed onions & celery), bind with egg.

He who distinguishes the true savor of his food can never be a glutton; he who does not cannot be otherwise. --- Henry David Thoreau
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Has your sister tried a REALLY good cornbread stuffing?

I ask from experience since I was allergic to wheat as a child and recognize the desire not to be deprived of one of a family's great traditions. Not wanting a rice or grain stuffing, but some sort of bread stuffing seems to stem from this attitude...also not wishing one's personal allergy to affect or deprive everyone else is part of it too.

The thing is, at least way back in the Stone Age when my family tried to use those alternative flours to bake various kinds of breads, the texture was always extremely tight, a kind of intense dense. The taste of the grain was powerful when it came to barley, especially (I had a wheat allergy, not a gluten allergy) and I hated the difference.

Cornbread on the other hand can be made very light and porous. Bittman has a recipe that asks you to beat the egg whites and that makes the stuff even lighter. Good to sop up everything else you put in the stuffing and so good that she shouldn't miss the stale Pepperidge Farm white bread.

Mashed potatoes sound yummy, too, but if you want bread...

"Viciousness in the kitchen.

The potatoes hiss." --Sylvia Plath

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Evan is mildly affected and can tolerate small amounts of non-wheat gluten - however he is extremely sensitive to wheat, with dermatitis as well as intestinal response.  His mom has a sister with extreme celiac disease and she was careful to give me a list of things that he could tolerate.  I have several acquaintences who are allergic to wheat, dairy and other things and always consult them before I make anything they are going to eat.  I have some severe allergies myself and am always careful to ask any guest what they can or cannot have.

Ah ok... this is often not the case with people with Celiac Disease. Most people who have Celiac Disease are on complete gluten elimination diets.

That said, I've had very good luck with recipes from a cookbook called The Gluten Free Kitchen by Roben Ryberg. My oldest son was on a wheat and oat free diet from age 3 1/2 to age 6 1/2.

Cheryl

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