Starting the Quest
So last Tuesday I was reorganizing my pantry when I spotted this bag of triticale flour I bought months ago during a sale. Remembered my cousin with celiac coming over next weekend, so I googled “triticale gluten free” on my phone while wiping flour off the counter.
The Messy Truth
Turns out triticale’s basically wheat and rye’s lovechild – born from crossing them two gluten-heavy grains. Found a USDA pamphlet online confirming it contains MORE gluten than regular wheat! Nearly knocked over my coffee mug reading that. Had to toss the whole bag straight into the trash.
- Gluten bomb: Crossbreed means double trouble for sensitive guts
- Nutrition labels lie: Some brands sneak it into “ancient grain” mixes
- Danger zone: Even certified oats get cross-contaminated sometimes
Kitchen Experiment Night
Grabbed every gluten-free flour from my shelves: chickpea, buckwheat, almond, cassava. Made mini pancakes batches adding water until they looked right. Chickpea turned out bitter, buckwheat made weird gray blobs, cassava stuck to the pan like cement.
- Almond winner: Fluffy texture but needed extra baking powder
- Buckwheat fail: Tasted like wet cardboard smells
- Surprise MVP: Rice flour with tapioca starch made decent crepes
Reality Check
Wasted three eggs and half my Saturday figuring this out. Store-bought gluten-free mixes ain’t perfect but at least they don’t explode in the skillet. Pro tip? Add xanthan gum when using rice flour unless you enjoy pancake confetti.