Gluten-free cookies
Gluten substitutes
The seeds of most flowering plants contain stored protein to nourish embryonic plants during germination, but true gluten, with gliadin and glutenin, is limited to certain members of the grass family, notably wheat, barley, oats and rye. Because it is the reaction to gliadin that causes Coeliac disease, food technologists seeking gluten-free alternative ingredients must search for gliadin-free glutens or something that behaves in the same way.
To replace gluten-containing flours, manufacturers have turned to naturally gluten-free starches and flours such as those made from rice, tapioca, potato, arrowroot, nuts and legumes. However, these alternatives often create as many problems as they solve. Many have distinct flavours and eating qualities. Some replacement starches or flours can be very high in viscosity and exhibit very cohesive texture when baked. But their most fundamental drawback is their protein content. Typically, wheat flour's protein level is around the 10% level, plus or minus a few points, depending on what the intended end product is. The protein content of rice flour is a bit below 6%. It works as an alternative, but because of its low protein content more flour must be used, resulting in a gritty final product. Rice's blandness partially makes up for its grit factor and low protein. But corn, soy, and even potato flours have a much more assertive taste, hard not to recognise. Pea flour, Grace says, tastes unmistakably vile. Attempts to rectify a taste issue may compound the problem rather than solve it.
'Stealth' glutens
Because it is such a functional ingredient, gluten is widely used in the food industry and often in unexpected ways. Chewing gum, for example, receives a dusting of wheat starch, and crisped-rice cereal may contain a gluten-containing binder. While the quantity of these so-called 'stealth' glutens – those in flavour carriers, binders, fillers and emulsifiers – can be minute, it's enough for some Coeliacs to leave a product on the shelf.
Eliminating these glutens may be relatively simple because their presence is often just an accident of formulation, a consequence of cost, habit or their coincidental association with other ingredients. As a result, their role in the finished product is almost always readily replaced, and reformulation is often more the identification and removal of the gluten sources, rather than the restoration of lost function.
Manufacturers can supplement gluten-free flours with other ingredients, such as starch and gum products, that replace the functionality of gluten. Gums, like gluten, retain moisture, control water, entrap air, thicken, suspend, and form films. Gums also help stabilise the proteins in a formula, lengthening shelf life by lowering the staling rate. Some gums are heat resistant and maintain their viscosity at baking temperatures. Combinations of gums may be used to impart a range of characters to a gluten-free dough or batter.
To identify the ingredients themselves, Grace obtained a range of gluten-free cookies and examined the ingredient lists printed on their packaging. After identifying the good and bad qualities of each product in terms of shelf-life, taste, texture, colour, etc., and correlating these with the listed ingredients, Grace identified a 'starter' list of possible gluten-free ingredients. Some were commercially unavailable in New Zealand, others were artificial and couldn't be used – this was not negotiable. Cookie Time is a quality-driven company and an uncompromising attitude toward natural ingredients is "a company cornerstone, even though it makes our tech team's job harder".
Grace spent a lot of time talking with suppliers and reviewing the technical details and functionalities of their gluten-free alternative ingredients, and their costs. She quickly realised why gluten-intolerant consumers had to be prepared to pay a premium. Some natural gluten-free ingredients, such as gums, are relatively expensive, and even in small quantities can significantly add to the final price of the product, although, in some cases, costs can be reduced by pairing a gum with a modified gluten-free starch (something Cookie Time ruled out for a number of reasons, but primarily because it would alter the sensory quality of the dough). The cookie niche is still relatively small, so the company couldn't factor-in the economies of scale available in its conventional products.
