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Neutron scattering explains why gluten-free pasta falls apart (2025)

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Re: Neutron scattering explains why gluten-free pasta falls apart (2025)

#31
post #11

There are some corn/rice pastas that are pretty close to the real deal. Sure a seasoned pasta officianado could tell the difference, but we have gluten intolerant in the house so predominantly eat gluten free pastas. Never had a visitor or kids friends complaining (and kids will complain about anything). Happily chow down. There are also some pretty good grain free varieties made from tapioca and egg, we get lasagne…

Pasta is the only thing I don't miss. I recently found some pasta made with 100% red lentils, rice or peas, which is really good, I can gladly offer it to people. They cost a premium but the state gives us around 100€ a month to spend, and I don't eat that much gluten free stuff. Pizza on the other hand makes me sad ;(

Gluten-free cooking has come a long way since I was a five year old with celiac eating bread with the texture of cardboard! For pizza check out the America's Test Kitchen's recipe, which apparently gets pretty close (however it might be off, I've never had wheat pizza! haha):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rh50Cht9tUc

https://www.reddit.com/r/glutenfree/comments/81pvql/the_best...

There's also this guy's recipe which is apparently pretty good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZH-GUFBrz0

Personally I do a 'lazy pizza' which is just a really basic primitive bread (like how people would have made bread before yeast):

The original recipe was:

- 8oz doves farm self raising flour (or any celiac self raising flour. but doves is the og and the best IMHO)

- 1 large or medium egg

- 1 tsp baking powder

- cold water to mix (alternatively: a cup and a bit of water with 1tsp chia seeds in it, you want them in the water for about 10 - 20 minutes with regular (regular!) stirring. stirring every time they kinda coalesce at the bottom. it should look like frogs spawn by the time you're through.)

Oil pan well, put soft dough in (you want it like. soft enough that it starts to spread just a little. but not so wet that it's spreading a lot. you do NOT want it as dry as a normal non-celiac bread because there is no gluten to hold on to the water). flatten with oily silicon brush, then top. cook at 180°C for 20 minutes or so. You might want to cook it a little before topping if your toppings are cooked already. And honestly, I just eyeball the cooking time based on how it behaves.

The chia seeds help make it a little chewy, which apparently is part of how pizza dough usually reacts, as well as pulling and stabilising any moisture so it doesn't get soggy.

Re: Neutron scattering explains why gluten-free pasta falls apart (2025)

#33
post #11

There are some corn/rice pastas that are pretty close to the real deal. Sure a seasoned pasta officianado could tell the difference, but we have gluten intolerant in the house so predominantly eat gluten free pastas. Never had a visitor or kids friends complaining (and kids will complain about anything). Happily chow down. There are also some pretty good grain free varieties made from tapioca and egg, we get lasagne…

Pasta is the only thing I don't miss. I recently found some pasta made with 100% red lentils, rice or peas, which is really good, I can gladly offer it to people. They cost a premium but the state gives us around 100€ a month to spend, and I don't eat that much gluten free stuff. Pizza on the other hand makes me sad ;(

Mod Pizza does or did offer a Gluten free crust made from cauliflower. Had a distinctive taste to it, it tasted good.

Re: Neutron scattering explains why gluten-free pasta falls apart (2025)

#34

> Greg Smith from ISIS as well as collaborators Didn't know ISIS gave a hoot about gluten free.

It is unfortunate that at some point in midst of numerous renaming itself after a brief stint in mass media around 2014 the programming on both side was so successful that the latin string of "isis" to this day is basically reduced in many westerners minds as a pavlovian reflex to this meaning, ironic because most arabs in egypt and elsewhere lack the association

so kudos to the article/institute, leaving as it is

great band btw

> The name ISIS is not an acronym: it refers to the Ancient Egyptian goddess and the local name for the River Thames. The name was selected for the official opening of the facility in 1985, prior to this it was known as the SNS, or Spallation Neutron Source. The name was considered appropriate as Isis was a goddess who could restore life to the dead, and ISIS made use of equipment previously constructed for the Nimrod and Nina accelerators.[0]

[0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISIS_neutron_source

Re: Neutron scattering explains why gluten-free pasta falls apart (2025)

#35
post #29

OK, fun article. But holy smokes, when I first read the title, I thought it was saying, "GF pasta falls apart because of neutron scattering." Whew!

Same thing happened to me. My reading comprehension isn't always great first thing in the morning, but I still feel like the title was/is somewhat confusingly worded.

Re: Neutron scattering explains why gluten-free pasta falls apart (2025)

#36
post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

God bless gluten. ;-)

where’s the extra-gluten pasta? the rise of the gluten-phobes is unchecked and I feel the rest of us are getting hosed.

This is typical "help, the 99% is being oppressed because the 1% is not being oppressed" garbage. There's gluten everywhere. In a lot of American cuisine, every single item on the menu has wheat flour in it.

Gluten isn't a phobia, it's an allergen that causes a variety of symptoms in people who are sensitive to it, from constipation and sneezing all the way up to bleeding and brain damage.

Re: Neutron scattering explains why gluten-free pasta falls apart (2025)

#37
post #11

There are some corn/rice pastas that are pretty close to the real deal. Sure a seasoned pasta officianado could tell the difference, but we have gluten intolerant in the house so predominantly eat gluten free pastas. Never had a visitor or kids friends complaining (and kids will complain about anything). Happily chow down. There are also some pretty good grain free varieties made from tapioca and egg, we get lasagne…

The very article you're commenting on says "gluten free" pasta (or at least the one type of Barilla spaghetti they tested) becomes the "real deal" when boiled with salt, which you should be doing anyways.

Re: Neutron scattering explains why gluten-free pasta falls apart (2025)

#38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pasta is the only thing I don't miss. I recently found some pasta made with 100% red lentils, rice or peas, which is really good, I can gladly offer it to people. They cost a premium but the state gives us around 100€ a month to spend, and I don't eat that much gluten free stuff. Pizza on the other hand makes me sad ;(

Mod Pizza does or did offer a Gluten free crust made from cauliflower. Had a distinctive taste to it, it tasted good.

I really like the Open Nature (Safeway/Von's store brand) cauliflower crust. No one believes me because it's a store brand but I've actually hooked some people on those that don't have any gluten restrictions. I haven't found a branded one that's better.

Re: Neutron scattering explains why gluten-free pasta falls apart (2025)

#39
post #11

There are some corn/rice pastas that are pretty close to the real deal. Sure a seasoned pasta officianado could tell the difference, but we have gluten intolerant in the house so predominantly eat gluten free pastas. Never had a visitor or kids friends complaining (and kids will complain about anything). Happily chow down. There are also some pretty good grain free varieties made from tapioca and egg, we get lasagne…

Pasta is the only thing I don't miss. I recently found some pasta made with 100% red lentils, rice or peas, which is really good, I can gladly offer it to people. They cost a premium but the state gives us around 100€ a month to spend, and I don't eat that much gluten free stuff. Pizza on the other hand makes me sad ;(

I've found the hardest thing is to get a really soft, fluffy bread or cake. You really need the bonding strength of gluten to hold up a structure like that. So a nice airy New York style pizza crust is out, but thin crispy crusts are doable.

Re: Neutron scattering explains why gluten-free pasta falls apart (2025)

#40
post #29

OK, fun article. But holy smokes, when I first read the title, I thought it was saying, "GF pasta falls apart because of neutron scattering." Whew!

The word "explains" is ambiguous. Compare:

Jack's girlfriend explains why the sky is blue.

Rayleigh scattering explains why the sky is blue.

"Rayleigh scattering explains the blueness of the sky", Jack's girlfriend explains.

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