Gluten Free Bakers: What brand of xanthan gum do you use?

[Meloncollie]

I’ve been using Betty Bossi xanthan gum for my gluten free baking, with good results. Unfortunately, the product now seems to have disappeared from the Coop stores in my area.

I tried another brand (from Galaxus, Coop Vitality) ‘Nature et Cie’, but am less pleased with the end result - I find the texture of cakes and pastries ends up too heavy IMO.

So gluten free bakers: What brand of xanthan gum do you use, and where do you buy it?

Or, do you have a good alternative to xanthan gum to get that ‘cakey’ texture?

Many thanks.

( I’ve scoured the stores near me where the Coop website claims Betty Bossi xanthan gum to be in stock, only to find it not available - not the first time that has happened with that website.)

[BelgianMum]

I have used one they sell in Manor with some success but like you I usually use the Betty Bossi one.
It says they have it in stock in the big coop in Neuchâtel so I’ll have a look for it for you when I go shopping tomorrow.

[Tom1234]

@Meloncollie

Or, do you have a good alternative to xanthan gum to get that ‘cakey’ texture?

To be honest, I just don’t bother with the gum.

There are plenty of cakes which don’t use much or any flour so work without the gum and ordinary GF flour- and have a cake texture:

Norweigian Blotkake:

Stock image

Chocolate Cake with almond flour.

Fruit cake:

Made on Friday:

What flour do you use? The Coop Betty Bossi one makes things heavy and dense compared with the Schär ones.

Did you know Xanthan gum is used industrially to thicken mud for exacavation when drilling for oil?

[Meloncollie]

My favorite GF flour is Dove’s Farm, which contains xanthan so no need to add it yourself - but for a while now it has been hard to find in Switzerland.

I then tried several of the GF flours available here and settled on always-available Betty Bossi which, when I added xanthan, seemed to be fine for the denser coffee cakes, muffins, and scones I usually bake. Maybe it’s time to experiment with other flours…

Question about almond flour - do you use ‘regular’ ground almonds or do you use commercial almond flour? The latter is eye-wateringly expensive, so I tend to use packaged ground almonds. Often half/half with GF flour.

Your fruit cake looks glorious - could you post the recipe?

Thanks!

[BelgianMum]

The best gluten free flour I’ve found here is actually the one sold in Aldi.

[Meloncollie]

Our Aldi didn’t carry a GF flour last time I looked, but I probably should check again.

[BelgianMum]

It’s the flour of choice amongst all us volunteer bakers at the village bread oven.
We have to cater for several gluten free children and teachers when we bake the morning snack for them on Fridays.
We’ve done a lot of testing of recipes and ingredients over the years.

[Tom1234]

@Meloncollie

Question about almond flour - do you use ‘regular’ ground almonds or do you use commercial almond flour? The latter is eye-wateringly expensive, so I tend to use packaged ground almonds. Often half/half with GF flour.

I’ve just used regular ground almonds (those without the husks) in recipes which call for it.
These usually involve decadent amounts of chocolate too.

@Meloncollie

Your fruit cake looks glorious - could you post the recipe?

It’s this one. I’ve made it many times:

Mary Berry’s Easter simnel cake recipe

It’s actually a Simnel cake but I couldn’t be bothered to go and find marzipan so I omitted that part (both inside and on top) and used GF flour and 1.5 tsps baking powder rather than SF flour.