Most gluten-free recipes you come across are based on industry practices. Over the past few decades, the gluten-free industry has invested millions in recipe development and collaborated with agricultural institutes and research programs. All with one goal: to make an edible, low cost gluten-free bread which can be sold at the highest possible price.

Their starting point is a lot of starch, because it provides volume, fluff, binding power, and it’s very cheap. And because this bread contains a lot of starch, retrogradation plays a major role. To counteract this aging, shelf-life-extending enzymes such as alpha-amylase are used, but also sugars, oil, and emulsifiers. Vegetable oil and sugars provide a short, moist bite, and emulsifiers stabilize the system, making it less crumbly. Proteins are added for structure and consistency, and acetic acid is added to lower the pH to prevent mold growth, but also to activate baking powder. All these ingredients are intended to optimize a large production process and not to make tasty and healthy bread.

It is interesting to pause for a moment and consider the industry’s actions, to be able to understand how we ended up in this jungle of gluten-free junk bread.

I’m actually putting it mildly, because you should stay far away from the bullshit that is processed in factories and ends up in recipes for consumers. The problem is that virtually the entire market is dictated by the industry. Companies make megalomaniacal profit margins by selling ready-made flour mixes full of artificial ingredients to entrepreneurs who dare to call themselves bakers. These small businesses advertise their bread as “Artisan Made,” but take a look at the list of ingredients and you’ll see that they use ready-made, artificial mixes. Their baking display is a lie and a disgrace to the guild. Unfortunately, these entrepreneurs flourish all over the world.

Industrial giants sell starch bombs to supermarkets, which in turn are perfectly happy to sell products with high margins. Lots of gluten-free events host the same industry and misleads consumers, with the cheerful support of national celiac associations. It’s the same old story in every country. All examples of a corrupt food supply in a market where people need good food the most. Consumers who have to eat gluten-free have been held hostage for years.

Many of the recipes you see in cookbooks and on the internet are based on these industrial recipes. It makes sense that this method has been adopted by home bakers, because for a long time there was nothing better. However, this copying behavior has led to a proliferation of ingredients, resulting in breads that consist of nothing but starch and white rice, baking powder, gums, fats, sugars, eggs, enzymes, and E numbers. The sad consequence is that, many years later, the entire chain is still polluted with recipes that were created from the wrong starting point.

Bakers who claim to make traditional bread are completely dictated to by the industry, because it supplies them with ready-made flour mixes. Efficient and easy. The dough often has to be injected into a proofing basket because it is so sticky and unmanageable that you cannot work with it by hand. And the fact that it is unmanageable is entirely due to the use of methylcellulose and and other ingredients that have been meticulously formulated by laboratory specialists. Home bakers have to work with the information available on the internet and in cookbooks, so they quickly assume that this is the way to make gluten-free bread. Thanks to recipe ‘creators’ who were too lazy to do their research.

All of the additives mentioned are completely unnecessary. Totally. Completely. 100%. You have been brainwashed for years by the industry and consequently by authors who have adopted these tricks. Now it’s time to learn how to bake with only flour, water, and salt. The choice for sourdough is easy, because it is so much tastier, has a longer shelf life, and is fantastically controllable thanks to different fermentation methods. With my book I want to enable you to make healthy and delicious bread. And in doing so, giving your body back what it deserves. Free yourself.