Is there wheat without gluten?  Someone asked me this recently.  It sounds like an attractive option (if it exists) \u2013 that way you could make all the recipes you\u2019re used to with this special wheat flour, but be safe if you have celiac disease<\/a> or a gluten allergy<\/a>. Perfect for the gluten free diet<\/a>!<\/p>\n

Someone asked me this very question a while ago, so here\u2019s my answer:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

There are a few problems with the idea of wheat<\/a> without gluten.<\/p>\n

The biggest and most basic is that wheat without gluten<\/a> is kind of useless.<\/p>\n

Gluten is the defining characteristic of wheat.   It provides strength and elasticity.  That\u2019s why you can kneed bread, roll ultra-thin phyllo pastry, and create the perfect croissant.<\/p>\n

Sorry, I\u2019m probably making your mouth water about now for food you can\u2019t eat.  Bummer.<\/p>\n

Take the gluten out of wheat and you have something much more like rice.<\/p>\n

Problem number two with gluten-free wheat is that it would either have to be genetically engineered (don\u2019t get me started on the evils of genetic engineering) or processed.<\/p>\n

You can get processed wheat \u2013 wheat bran, wheat starch etc.  None of it is very useful for baking though, is it?  That\u2019s because it lacks gluten, as we discussed above.<\/p>\n

The more processed your food, the less healthy it is.  Eating unprocessed and unhealthy food defeats the purpose of avoiding gluten: to stay healthy, especially if you have celiac disease.<\/p>\n

So in answer to the question \u201cis there wheat without gluten\u201d: no, there isn\u2019t, and if there was, it wouldn\u2019t be useful to you.<\/p>\n

What do you do instead?  Get used to life without wheat or gluten.  Learn to love different types of food.  Accept that there are some wonderful types of food that you can no longer eat.  Actually, I\u2019ve reclassified fancy pastries.  They\u2019re no longer food, they\u2019re art. <\/p>\n

There is baking that used different types of flour and gums to simulate gluten.  You can get amazing results, even if you have to forgo some of what you\u2019re used to.  I\u2019ve seen huge leaps forward in the last 20 years.<\/p>\n

PS If you were hoping I\u2019d tell you about gluten-free wheat, I\u2019m sorry to disappoint you by telling you there isn\u2019t any.<\/p>\n

Good luck with your gluten free diet, and avoid that wheat!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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