How did you become interested in adapting your gourmet recipes to be
gluten-free?
I was teaching in the pastry program and there was a curriculum change. One of the
classes included lessons on gluten-free baking. I did some research on the topic
and asked many questions of various people. One thing led to another. Before I
knew it, I was meeting Bob and Ruth of Bob and Ruth's Gluten-Free Dining and
Travel Club, and doing demonstrations and tastings for the many patrons of The
Culinary Institute of America (CIA).
What kind of training does a CIA student receive with regard to gluten-free
baking?
Every student takes a class on advanced baking principles. Students learned about
celiac disease and how to adapt recipes to be gluten-free. At the end of the
semester, they produced nine different gluten-free products and discuss with their
peers what they did and how they did it. Celiac disease is also discussed in nutrition
classes but only in terms of presenting the dietary restrictions and not in a hands-on
kind of way.
Please tell us about your students in your Saturday gluten-free baking
classes for nonprofessionals.
I offer three different basic gluten-free baking classes and they are always sold out. I
have also offered a gluten-free holiday baking class and next fall I will offer a class
on baking gluten-free breakfast pastries, pancakes and waffles. Around 75% of the
students are gluten-intolerant, most of them with celiac disease. The other 25% of
these are spouses, siblings, and parents of the gluten-intolerant. Since the students
already come in knowing a great deal about celiac disease and gluten intolerance,
there is no need to explain the basics to them. Rather, I offer a hands-on baking
class very similar to the classes I offer my CIA students, only with smaller quantities
of ingredients. The students learn how to bake several things and they bring their
creations home.
I teach all my students, professional and nonprofessional, the 4 C’s of gluten-free
baking:
1. Content: make sure the ingredients themselves are gluten-free.
2-3. Avoid contact and contamination. This relates to food service. Even minimal
contact with any food or ingredient which contains gluten will contaminate the gluten-
free product. Therefore, it is extremely important to always wipe the baking surfaces
with vinegar, to wash equipment, and to use new baking paper.
4. Communication: it is crucial that the chef communicates with the customer and
vice versa.
Are there any challenges in gluten-free baking that are difficult to
overcome?
It is easy to adapt cookies and cakes to be gluten-free. It is not so easy to adapt
breads to be gluten-free because with the non-wheat based flours, it is difficult to
form a decent shape for the bread. To get around this, I recommend that people
use containers with sidewalls. For example, to use Bundt pans for bread and to use
muffin tins for rolls. Also, it is important to use the right non-gluten flour. I find that
using rice flour in breads makes the bread too crumbly. Now I use more protein-
based flours such as soy. I also like making gluten-free multigrain breads with corn
meal, flaxseed, sunflower seeds, etc.
What would you recommend to New York area bakers with regard to serving
a gluten-free clientele?
Unfortunately, many bakers don't understand that there is a difference between
wheat- free and gluten-free. I would advise them to be very careful of this difference
and to focus on gluten-free baking. In addition, I would warn them about the risks of
contamination. Also, I would encourage them to communicate as much as possible
with the clientele they are serving.
Finally, I would try to impress upon New York area bakers (as I do with my own
students) how much it means to gluten-intolerant people to have delicious gluten-
free baked goods. These are people who live every day with the burden of having to
determine whether or not each food item that they want to eat is gluten-free. This is
especially difficult when it comes to desserts because desserts can be so tempting
that it is hard to say no to one that is not gluten-free. As the market is already
demonstrating, gluten-free baked goods make for many happy New Yorkers!
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| The Culinary Institute of America’s Chef Richard Coppedge Chef Coppedge teaches classes in gluten-free baking at the Culinary leader, an innovator, and an inspiration in gluten-free baking to many chefs-in-training, and many lay bakers. |
THE GLUTEN-FREE GUIDE TO NEW YORK