Naturopathic Source

Wheat-free and gluten-free are often confused with each other, but are definitely different. With all the options available to us today, wheat-free is not too difficult; gluten-free can be more of a challenge.

Wheat-free simply means, no wheat. Wheat is also known as: flour, white flour, whole wheat flour, pastry flour, all-purpose flour or any other mention of "flour" where no type is specified. In terms of cooking and baking, I find spelt flour to be the simplest to use. (see my post on baking with spelt flour).  There are also many recipes with kamut flour, oat flour, rye flour, buckwheat flour and many more. Make sure to read the ingredients list on anything you buy in a package.

Gluten-free, on the other hand, means no gluten. Gluten is a protein found in many different flours, wheat being one of the biggest. Other flours that contain gluten are: kamut, spelt, barley, rye, oats, semolina and triticale. Some of the more common grains WITHOUT gluten are: quinoa, millet, buckwheat (see my recipe for wheat-free pancakes that uses either buckwheat flour or spelt flour), chickpea flour, nut flours, corn flour, amaranth, rice flour.

Some type of gluten-free flours are easier to cook with than others. I once tried making cookies with amaranth flour and they fell apart (I wasn't using a recipe; just experimenting) but there is a crepe place here in Toronto that makes great amaranth crepes. Buckwheat pancakes on the other hand, turn out great.

Another point to be aware of is that many commercial products (eg. bread, crackers, cereals and so on) that are made with non-wheat flours, are actually made of flour combinations that contain wheat flour. For example, rye bread. Many rye bread, especially ones from a bakery, tend to be made with rye AND wheat, but the product is simply called "Rye bread". This is why it is always important to read the label of whatever it is you are buying. And from experience I have found that the general staff members of many stores don't know what is in the food products they sell. Either read the label for yourself (or ask someone else to read it to you) or personally speak to the person who actually measured out the flour. If someone who answers one of your questions doesn't sound like they know what they are talking about or if they say "Wheat flour? As opposed to what?" or "I'm sorry, what kind of flour is it that you are looking for?", then trust me: they are not familiar with what you are looking for and chances are very high that you will get an incorrect answer. I have had more than one patient go to a health food store and ask for wheat-free bread; the staff member proceeds to tell them what they are actually looking for is gluten-free. Now you know for yourself which is which!

TC