gluten free pasta
Don't skip the delicious pasta dishes just because you need to eliminate wheat from your diet. It is possible to make pasta without using grains that are harmful to people with celiac disease, a digestive disorder in those who cannot digest the proteins in certain grains. These grains include all types of wheat, rye, barley and triticale (a wheat/rye hybrid), according to the Celiac Disease Foundation. (See Reference 1.)
Shopping for Ingredients
Find many of the ingredients for gluten-free pasta at the supermarket. Some of the ingredients such as xanthan gum and potato starch can be found at a health food store.
There are that can be used in pasta besides the ones called for here. Substitute coconut flour for the tapioca flour for a higher fiber content. Fine corn flour or brown rice powder can be used. Different flours will result in differently colored, differently textured pasta.
Basic Gluten-Free Pasta Recipe
Combine 1/2 cup of tapioca flour, 1/2 cup of cornstarch, 3 1/2 teaspoons of xanthan gum and 3 tablespoons of potato starch together in a mixing bowl. Beat three eggs and 1 1/2 tablespoons of vegetable oil together in another bowl. Pour the egg and oil mixture into the flour mixture and stir until well combined.
The dough will be stiff like a pastry dough. Mix it until it forms a ball and then turn it out onto a -dusted board. Knead the dough for three to four minutes, then cover and let it rest in the refrigerator for one hour. If the dough is too fragile and tears, it needs to be kneaded more.
Rolling and Shaping the Pasta
Divide the dough into four pieces if you will be rolling it out by hand. Roll each piece as thin as possible, using potato starch to prevent sticking. Potato starch makes white noodles, while some other flours, such as rice flour, make it gray. The dough should be almost translucent when lifted if it has been rolled out thinly enough.
If you are using a pasta machine to roll out the dough, follow the directions for your machine. It may be necessary to let the pasta rest between passes through the machine to prevent tearing.
Cut the sheets of gluten-free pasta into long thin strips for fettuccine. Slice them into wide short shapes for egg noodles. Use the pasta for lasagna by cutting it into rectangles approximately two-by-six inches.
Tags: gluten-free pasta, other flours, potato starch,