As many as three million Americans must forego anything made with wheat, rye and barley because their bodies are unable to digest gluten. And that means they forsake a delicious stack of light, fluffy pancakes.
 
But two federal food scientists may have solved their problem: gluten-free flapjacks.

Fred Shih and Kim Daigle, scientists with the federal government's Agricultural Research Service in New Orleans, found that a flour made from rice and sweet potatoes is a "superior substitute" for regular pancakes.

Daigle told Nubella News she and Shih replaced wheat flour used in traditional recipes with varying amounts of rice flour and sweet potato flour. Then they prepared and cooked their mixtures the way you would regular pancakes, she said.

"It's just a challenge to get the texture right, as you have to compensate for the amount of water, since rice flour doesn't pick up as much water as wheat," she said.

But she's optimistic that the rice-sweet potato flour mix could also serve as a base for development of other gluten-free bakery goods.

Rich in nutrients, too

That's good news to Americans who suffer from celiac disease and must avoid gluten proteins in everything from breads and cookies to noodles and beer to avoid an autoimmune response that could lead to severe health complications.

Some health organizations estimate that 97 percent of the celiac sufferers go undiagnosed and untreated.

In the nearly $700 million industry, most gluten-free products are alternatives to traditional grain-based goods, including bakery products, pasta and made with rice, corn, amaranth and quinoa.

Rice is naturally gluten-free and contains proteins known to be nutritious and hypoallergenic. Sweet potatoes also are  gluten-free, plus rich in beta-carotene, potassium, dietary fiber and other healthy ingredients, Daigle told Nubella News.

 "As with rice flour, there is scant information in the literature on the effect of substituting wheat flour with rice and sweet potato flours on the physical and chemical properties of the traditional wheat pancakes," she said. "We prepared pancakes using different ratios of rice and sweet potato flours."

A bunch of beta-carotene
 
Protein content, dietary fiber, total carbohydrate and calories differed very little for all pancakes, but Daigle's flapjacks contain 56 percent more beta-carotene than traditional wheat-based ones.

Shih and Daigle also scrutinized the pancakes' textural and nutritional properties, evaluating the cakes' hardness, cohesiveness, springiness and chewiness - attributes that figure greatly when it comes to flipping, and noshing on, the perfectly textured flapjack.

In the world of gluten-free foods, textural qualities are especially important. Since gluten proteins provide dough and batter an essential elasticity, baked goods made without them run the risk of being flat, brittle and jaw-achingly dense, Daigle said.

For more information

•  Baking up a Whole-Grain Rice Bread

•  Rice Offers a Healthier Way to "Batter Up"

•  Celiac Disease Foundation

•  National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse

•  Mayo Foundation for Medical Research and Education

Did You Know?

Beta-carotene is an antioxidant and member of the carotenoid family of substances found in plants. Beta-carotene is known to stimulate enzymes in your body that help repair weakened DNA, and is also thought to help reduce cholesterol.

Known to strengthen and improve eyesight, help keep immunity strong, and improve the skin,
vitamin A is derived from beta-carotene.

The Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific agency.

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service
Reference: Journal of Food Quality

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