Everyday gluten-free recipes: familiar dishes without sacrificing flavour

Crisp pizza and lemon cake can stay on the menu. Start with the texture you want: a loaf you can slice, a batter that crunches or a sauce that coats the back of a spoon.

Gluten is a group of proteins found in wheat, including spelt and durum wheat, as well as rye and barley. It gives wheat dough stretch and helps it hold the gas produced as it rises. Ordinary bread, semolina pasta, wheat batters and conventional barley beer contain gluten. Check barley malt and soy sauce too, since some soy sauces contain wheat. Choose oats labelled gluten-free, as they can come into contact with other grains during production.

Six dishes to try

• Sandwich bread. Use a blend of rice flour, tapioca starch and potato starch. Add xanthan gum if the recipe calls for it. Beat the soft dough, let it rise in the tin and cool the loaf on a rack before slicing.
• Pizza. Use a blend of rice flour, tapioca and potato starch in a recipe designed for pizza. Press the sticky dough out with oiled fingers and give the base a head start in the oven. Add tomato and mozzarella and return it to the oven.
• Lemon cake. Use a fine blend of rice flour, tapioca starch and potato starch. Beat in the eggs one at a time and alternate the milk with the dry ingredients. Add lemon zest for flavour.
• Crisp battered vegetables. Mix rice flour and cornflour (cornstarch) with very cold sparkling water. Dip courgette or onion pieces in the batter and fry in small batches in clean oil.
• Mushroom sauce. Stir cornflour into a little cold water. Add it gradually to the hot sauce, stirring, then simmer gently until the sauce thickens.
• Pasta. For a quick tomato pasta, choose dried corn and rice pasta labelled gluten-free. For fresh ribbons, mix brown rice flour, tapioca starch, xanthan gum and eggs. Roll the dough out and cut wide strips.

Read the packet and prep the kitchen

Read the ingredients each time you shop. In the EU, gluten-containing cereals that must be declared are emphasised in the ingredients list. Wheat-free foods can still contain other gluten-containing grains. A “may contain” statement flags possible cross-contact. Look for a gluten-free label on flours, blends and oats.

Wash your hands and clean the worktop and utensils with soapy water. If you’re also using wheat flour, make the gluten-free dish first. Use fresh pasta water and a thoroughly cleaned colander. Avoid oil already used for wheat batter. Toast bread in a separate toaster or a toaster bag, and keep crumbs out of the butter and jam.

Practical decisions about gluten: from shopping to cooking