Gum tragacanth is listed as an ingredient in Deflect B and O.  I did a little reading on it and wondered if it could be used in place of xanthan gum in baking gluten-free bread.  Does anyone know?  Also, does anyone know the best place to order it?

Can be used like other gums.

It is not commonly used since other gums are cheaper.

http://www.bakedeco.com/detail.asp?id=6196&keyword=tragacanth

http://www.shopbakersnook.com/m5/7830--gum-tragacanth-for-gum-paste.html

http://www.somaluna.com/prod/tragacanth.asp

TJ - what a brilliant question! I resurrected a 2009 xanthan gum thread today.

I made some baguettes yesterday but I used Bob's red mill xanthan gum, according to their site they use non GMO for all of their products. I thought it was interesting that in SWAMI many gums are mentioned but not xanthan so that would be considered a neutral.

Another site says that there is no corn left to speak of once it is processed but I'd like to see a spec sheet for that.

C-Sharp - thanks for those sites. If it's in deflect then we should be good to go for it. I'm going to order some and give it a try. I did sent an e-mail to Bob's red mill regarding the source for their xanthan.

Thanks a lot guys!  

Quoted Text

in SWAMI many gums are mentioned but not xanthan so that would be considered a neutral.

take the other gums as an example acacia, mastic guar, agar

Quoted from Dianne

TJ - what a brilliant question! I resurrected a 2009 xanthan gum thread today.

I made some baguettes yesterday but I used Bob's red mill xanthan gum, according to their site they use non GMO for all of their products. I thought it was interesting that in SWAMI many gums are mentioned but not xanthan so that would be considered a neutral.

Thanks for bringing this up.  I had assumed xanthan gum to be a toxin but it isn't listed in my SWAMI.  If it's non-GMO that probably rules out corn.  That should be a lot easier to get than tragacanth, and like C# said, cheaper too.  The best price among those links was $7.50/lb.  I can get 8 oz. of xanthan gum for $12 at Whole Foods.

GUAR GUM
ACACIA (ARABIC GUM
take those values instead

Regarding BTD status, I don't know if these four gums could be lumped together.  Xanthan is from a bacteria, tragacanth and gum arabic are from tree sap, and guar gum is from a bean.  Gum arabic is avoid for me but tragacanth is obvious beneficial or it would be in Deflect B, even though both are from sap.

TJ - I get gum arabic as an avoid and guar gum with a black dot. Here is some info I found while perusing the internet about tragacanth.

Medicinal use of Tragacanth:
The gum obtained from the root and stem is demulcent, though it is not often used internally because it is not completely soluble. This gum has recently been shown to stimulate the immune system and to suppress tumours. The gum has long been employed externally as a dressing for burns and is also used in lozenges in order to bind the ingredients and impart consistency to the product.

I dug an old bag of carrots out of the bottom of the fridge a while back, and they were gooey and slimy.  I don't usually let my fridge get like that.  There was like one carrot in it, and it was all wrapped up underneath bags of other stuff.  It was lost.  Anyway, I pulled it out and was about to throw it away when DH said, "Rotten carrots.  That's what they make xanthan gum from."  

Wow; is that so Ribbit??  

Ribbit - Are you sure your husband isn't pulling your leg?   On ehow.com they say it is can be made with bakers yeast and corn syrup.   And from what I understand, you could use rice syrup as well. I will try to contact an acquaintance of mine who is a food scientist. Don't know if I still have their contact info.  

I wouldn't think so Dianne - From research an acquaintance did on xanthan gums she posted on a sulphite free site on facebook -
"I think it is mouldy cabbage soaked in alcohol - my gut does not tolerate it - so as a coeliac pretty much all commercial GF products are out..."

Possum - ooh! that is quite unappetizing. I made baguettes with xanthan last weekend and after 24 hours I felt quite swollen and some gastro-intestinal discomfort...but I was not sure if it was from the reaction to the plumber's strong detergent scent, stress of dealing with a huge plumbing problem, the chicken I ate that was cooked from a grocery store, or, or, or... Oh! The life of an explorer! How did we ever survive all of those variables! We must have real holding power.

Anyhow things are settling down a bit but when my digestion is thrown off for whatever, it takes a couple of weeks for it to settle, I know the drill and have learned to go with the flow.

I received the tragacanth gum, I was going to try it this weekend but I may extend it a bit.
I will post my result on the proper thread. It's an ingredient in the Deflect O & B. TJ brought this information to the blog's attention.
Apparently it works the same as xanthan, more expensive, but I would use it only for baguette and cinnamon rolls. Once I get an idea in my head, I can be quite persistent as I always believe that somewhere, somehow there is a solution! Thanks for your answer.  

Quoted from Dianne

I received the tragacanth gum, I was going to try it this weekend but I may extend it a bit.
I will post my result on the proper thread. It's an ingredient in the Deflect O & B. TJ brought this information to the blog's attention.
Apparently it works the same as xanthan, more expensive, but I would use it only for baguette and cinnamon rolls. Once I get an idea in my head, I can be quite persistent as I always believe that somewhere, somehow there is a solution! Thanks for your answer.  

I look forward to reading your results.

Quoted from Dianne

I received the tragacanth gum, I was going to try it this weekend but I may extend it a bit.
I will post my result on the proper thread. It's an ingredient in the Deflect O & B. TJ brought this information to the blog's attention.
Apparently it works the same as xanthan, more expensive, but I would use it only for baguette and cinnamon rolls. Once I get an idea in my head, I can be quite persistent as I always believe that somewhere, somehow there is a solution! Thanks for your answer.  

Yes Dianne, please do let us know how your recipes turn out (especially the baguettes) with this gum. I'm thinking of getting some myself.

Thanks in advance

Andy

Quoted from Ribbit

I dug an old bag of carrots out of the bottom of the fridge a while back, and they were gooey and slimy.  I don't usually let my fridge get like that.  There was like one carrot in it, and it was all wrapped up underneath bags of other stuff.  It was lost.  Anyway, I pulled it out and was about to throw it away when DH said, "Rotten carrots.  That's what they make xanthan gum from."  

What I read was  (I'm paraphrasing here) "xanthan gum is found naturally in many foods, including slimy carrots. Therefore we can claim that it's all natural and safe and wonderful. Most commercial xanthan gum comes from corn- but it's safe, like carrots! "  

TJ & Munchkin76 - I have a relative that just received a diagnoses and has a limited amount of time (6 months at the most). I don't know when I will get around to making the baguettes and cinnamon buns with the tragacanth but when I do, I will definitely post it here. I have much to deal with at this time.

Dianne, I'm sorry to hear that.  You have more pressing concerns than experimental baking.

Dianne, likewise sorry to hear about your sad news.  You just take care of you and yours.

((((hugs)))) Andy

TJ & Munchkin76 - thanks for the kind words.

Well, I made baguettes with the Tragacanth Gum and it was splendid and no gastro-intestinal upset.

I replaced the sorghum flour with amaranth flour that I made myself with the Blendtec. I used arrowroot instead of tapioca because my husband can't have tapioca.

It was a bit more dense because of the amaranth and also amaranth is a bit slimy/gluey on its own. It even made me wonder if I needed the gum because of the texture of the amaranth. I may at some point experiment with the recipe and omit the gum altogether to see if the amaranth will hold it together.

If one wanted baguette with more air bubbles in the dough, it would be better to use something other than amaranth.

My nephew who has never eaten any gluten-free food loved it.

The recipe I used is from http://www.artofglutenbaking.com

After some research I opted to buy the gold standard, nonstick french bread pan which is a true baguette pan from William-Sonoma. It holds 2 loaves.

For proofing, I covered the pan with wax paper and divided the dough in two shaping it with a large, scooped silicone scraper. After 30 minutes, I gently slid the wax paper with the dough still on onto the counter. I oiled the pan, set it onto a jelly roll pan, gently flip it onto the pan etc... The site explains about what to do to get the proper humidity in the oven to get a nice crust on the outside but moist inside. It browned beautifully in the bottom and had the traditional markings.

Bon appetit!!!  

I think the URL above may be missing the word free.

http://www.artofglutenfreebaking.com/

I presume this is the recipe:

http://www.artofglutenfreebaking.com/2009/05/french-baguettes-gluten-free/

How's your relative Dianne? I had missed that sad news previously...
Btw I can't get the link to work either directly or no matter how I cut & paste it...

Possum - thank you for the inquiry. She passed away on Feb. 16th. Twenty days after diagnosis.

I tried it myself and it did not work either. I printed this out awhile back. I don't trust that things will always be there when I go back...but I typed : art of gluten free baking in the search box and it came up.

So give that a try...her old website was named something like : four chickens.