Spelt........is it gluten free?

[MrsGokWan]

Please can anyone tell me weather spelt (I think that is whay it is called) is gluten free.

I was in the market on Friday getting my veggies etc. and treated myself to some nice fresh bread. DC2 was saying 'yum! yum!' and I had to tell him 'no, it will make you ill and your tummy will hurt.' He's pretty good and said 'ok mummy'. The lady at the stall said to me 'Oh! we have bread made with spelt, that is gluten free.' So I bought some and he ate it with relish and wanted more, which is good as he hates the packed GF bread.

Can anyone confirm that it is GF, he seems to be fine so far, so keeping my fingers crossed.

Hi. No, I'm afraid Spelt isn't gluten free. It is a wholegrain flour. I found this link for you. HTH

www.celiaccentral.org/Resources/Research_News/Celiac_Disease_Research_News/130/pg__1/vobId__177/

Oh!! blow No wonder he loves it. Still getting my head round things.

Just out of interest does any one know if I follow a normal recipe for a sponge cake (or biscuits or bread etc.) I can just substitute weight with weight on the GF flour to ordinary flour?

Hi I am a coeliac and I think that the recipes are definately different when substituted directly...hoping someone comes along an corrects me but I have been a coeliac all my life (40 years!!!) Some say to add an extra egg to some ingredients etc etc , but I find that if I go on the websites for Juvella or Glutafin etc i can basically get any recipe i want using the correct ingredients. Hope this helps

Oooh!! will do a bit of googling for their sites. We have tried Juvella and Glutafin products and nobody in our house likes them.

I've always used standard Delia Smith cake/biscuit recipes as the basis for my glutenfree baking just substituting Doves Farm gf Flour. (This still works even though I now have to substitute for egg as well. ) You may find you have to add a little extra liquid (an extra egg would do) if the mixture seems too dry. The first birthday party my DS had after going GF one of his friends tried to stop him eating the chocolate cake because it couldn't possibly be glutenfree!

No, spelt is not gluten free, it is simpley an old strain of wheat (dates back to roman times) which is less irritant to some peoples gut, but is not actually gluten free.

I use Doves Farm gluten and wheat free flour for all my baking, the self raising one is great and I make cakes, cookies and pancakes etc with it and you wouldn't know it was GF if you didn't know, if you follow me!!

i don't have intolerance, but enjoy reading some gluten free sites, as the cookery seems to be really passionate and creative:

Gluten free girl is really nice to follow as the writer is a new mum and seems to respond with cookery to the new changes in her life. Really very good on alternative grains and baking also.

i like Elana's pantry too. She uses a lot of almond flour and agave in her deserts and has converted me to both!

I use Doves Farm flour too, and find that Delia/Nigella recipes for everything except pastry and dough based things don't need any adjustment.

For pizza I always use Chebe bread mix/Paos de Quejos as its so nice and soft. Only trouble is keeping it away from everyone else

bad luck on the spelt - it's a common misconception that it's gf