The Whole View, Episode 459: Gluten-Free Baking, Our Best Tips and Tricks. 
Welcome back to episode 459! (0:28)

Today, Sarah and Stacy will discuss baking and sharing their tips and recommendations for gluten-free baking.

They've received quite a number of questions regarding this topic.

Stacy recently revised a Lactation Cookie recipe from several years ago and realized just how much her mindset has changed since then.

Sarah and Stacy started from a one-sided Paleo approach but gradually moved toward a nutrivore, nutrient-dense mindset.

Sarah mentions she's currently working on a new website dedicated to Nutrivore! So listeners should keep an eye out for updates.

It's important to get away from this dogmatic approach to food to ensure you're giving your body enough variation for it to heal.

Heritage Wheat for Gluten-Free Baking
Actually, the gluten content of heritage wheat is about the same as modern wheat, so from a celiac perspective, they're both problematic. (13:30)

Stacy adds that gluten-sensitive vs. celiac is where you might notice a difference. As someone with Celiac Disease, even trace amounts of gluten will cause her issues.

It's often thought that ancient wheat has less gluten, which is simply not true.

Estimates as much as 55% of the population have gluten sensitivity genes.

However, if you aren't wheat or gluten-sensitive, ancient/heritage wheat is definitely a better choice than modern wheat.

Studies do show that ancient wheat has an overall anti-inflammatory profile, whereas modern wheat has a pro-inflammatory profile. 

Sarah recommends this great review article for more information.

Scientists have a hard time pinpointing exactly why. Still, it seems to be a collection of small nutritional differences, slightly more digestible gluten, slightly more polyphenols, more carotenoids (lutein), and a slightly better effect on the microbiome.

Benefits of Almond Flour
Sarah has had a pretty long journey with almond flour. She used to use it all the time, then not at all, and it eventually started to creep back in. (19:40)

There are definitely health benefits to an ounce or two of nuts per day, which translates to ⅓ to ⅔ cups.

Almond flour is one of the more nutrient-dense flour alternatives, meaning it has more essential nutrients per calorie. And, like we covered in episode 413, it's good for the gut!

But, when we're talking about a treat, we're accepting that it's not going to be super nutrient-dense, generally.

Sarah prefers the chemistry of cassava flour for most applications. But, she also still uses almond flour. 

She adds she does have some other more obscure flours in her pantry but rarely uses them (plantain, tigernut, sunflower, coconut, sweet potato, chestnut).

Stacy makes it less about what the flour is but rather what will work better for what you're making. Some flours are heavier or denser than others, so the nature of the flour means it sometimes won't rise.

Stacy keeps tapioca, oats, arrowroot, and rice flours in her pantry as well.

Cassava Flour for Gluten-Free Baking
Cassava does contain some cyanogenic glycosides (other foods that do include almonds, apple seeds, stone fruit pits, bamboo, flaxseed, lima beans) (32:50)

You can find the Legit Mixes here.

The sweet cassava that is available as an imported vegetable in Western countries has only about a tenth of the cyanogenic glycosides of the bitter cassava grown in South America and Africa, which makes it pretty low on the cyanide scale to start with.  

And the even better news is that these compounds can be completely removed with proper preparation, which the major manufacturers of cassava flour, like Otto's do.

And, when cooking with whole cassava, you can too! That's why my recipe for cassava fries includes a boiling step before roasting.

Gluten-Free Baking on AIP
For questions regarding AIP baking at altitudes, Sarah and Stacy recommend checking out Elana Amsterdam! (39:05)

She does live at altitude, and she has gre