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Gluten-Free Baking
A new fad is sweeping the nation’s fancier food stores:
gluten-free baking. Most people have never heard of gluten
unless they’ve gotten wind of this trend. However, for those
who are allergic to gluten, it’s much more than a trend.

People who are allergic to gluten abstain from eating it; they
don’t want it in their food. Yet they still like the taste of regular
baked goods. So they turn to gluten-free baked goods, which
look just like regular ones. Then what makes them different?
In order to understand the nature of gluten-free baked goods,
it is necessary to examine the nature of gluten itself.
Gluten, often thought of as a matrix or scaffolding, is a protein present in wheat. In order to make
flour, a necessary ingredient in almost any type of baking, one must grind up wheat. But when
wheat is ground into flour, the gluten doesn’t disappear. It’s still there. So, the challenge lies in the
removal of gluten from wheat flour.

Unfortunately, it’s impossible to remove gluten from wheat. But don’t despair! Many substitutes for
flour exist, and since these aren’t made of wheat, they don’t contain gluten. These substitutes
include rice, maize, tapioca, and more. Flax meal, a very nutritious grain, can be used in a similar
way as flour, though it has larger particles. Even beans can be ground up to make bean flour, also
known as soy flour. Oats are yet another grain that can be ground into flour. These flours do not
contain gluten, and are therefore suitable to make gluten-free flour. But while there are many
good substitutes, it is still important to be cautious; some grains are closely related to wheat and
therefore also contain gluten. Rye is an example of a grain which, genetically speaking, is too
similar to wheat to be used in gluten-free baking.

So that was easy, right? With so many available substitutes, who needs wheat flour anyway? But
wait…not so fast. Remember that gluten is like a matrix, similar to a three-dimensional grid.
Without gluten, a cake will not have any structure and will not rise. Its ingredients—sugar, eggs,
butter, chocolate—will sit in a sad heap at the bottom of the pan. You’ll be left with puddle, and
you might as well have cooked a Mars bar in the oven. A baked good needs gluten for the
ingredients to cling to, like vines on an arbor, so it will assume the desired shape and structure.
So, even though we can find many good substitutes for wheat flour (that don’t have gluten in
them), we still need to find something that will replace the function of gluten. We need a new
matrix.

When searching for a new matrix, though, it is important to consider how it will expand during the
course of baking. How does a cake become big and fluffy? Flour certainly isn’t big and fluffy—it
sits packed densely in a heavy sack. A cake only rises because a leavening agent is present in
the batter. A leavening agent is any substance that leavens something, or makes it rise by
producing bubbles. Yeast and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) are examples of leavening
agents. They produce bubbles that get caught in the gluten matrix while the cake bakes. So,
similar to the inflation of a fancy air mattress, the air fills the first section quickly.
When that section is full, the air continues on to fill the next section. This process continues until
the mattress is full. The new matrix must be able to trap air in a way similar to the fancy mattress.
This is the only way to make the cake rise.

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To form a matrix, we need the ingredients to stick together. This will ensure that they are
leavened properly by the leavening agent. Certain ingredients, called binders, work like glue,
similar to gluten. (And since glue sounds like gluten, it is also a very good way to think about
gluten.) Eggs arebinders, because a broken egg is sticky. Fruit is also often a binder. A very
expensive powder called xanthan gum is a binder. (You could guess that because chewing gum
is sticky.) Other kinds of gums exist as well, such as guar gum and acacia gum. These binders
stick to each other and won’t come apart when bubbles rise up through the batter. This means
the batter will retain its shape. It won’t cave in on itself (like the Mars bar) and it won’t fall apart.

With so many binders, no one needs boring old gluten. You’ll have invented a new and exciting
matrix all on your own, and you’ll be a friend to lovers of gluten-free baking!

1) As used in paragraph 2, which is the best definition for abstain?

A. refrain
B. detest
C. stop
D. ignore
E. decelerate

2) Over the course of the passage, the author compares gluten to

I. scaffolding
II. glue
III. a building

A. I only
B. II only
C. I and II only
D. II and III only
E. I , II, and III

3) According to the author, gluten is

A. protein
B. flour
C. leavening agent
D. chamber
E. vessel

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4) In paragraph 6, the author tells us that “Flour certainly isn’t big and fluffy—it sits packed
densely in a heavy sack.” This statement is intended to

I. illustrate the difficulties involved in handling large quantities of flour

A. I onlyII only
B. I and II only
C. II and III only
D. I , II, and III

5) In paragraph 6, the author compares filling an air mattress to the

A. flour in a cake
B. bubbles in a cake
C. gluten in a baked good
D. ingredients in a baked good
E. flour in a baked good

6) Based on information in paragraph 6, which of the following could be used as a leavening agent?

A. water
B. Coca-Cola
C. orange juice
D. milk
E. iced tea

7) The author's tone can best be described as

A. matter-of-fact
B. enthusiastic
C. sarcastic
D. annoyed
E. fanatical

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8) Using the passage as a guide, which of the following recipes would make a successful gluten-
free carrot cake?

A. all-purpose flour, eggs, baking soda, sugar, chopped pineapple, carrots

9) Using your own words, explain how gluten-free baking substitutes work.

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 Answers and Explanations

1) A
Core Standard: Craft and Structure

abstain (verb): to hold oneself back voluntarily, especially from something regarded as improper
or unhealthy.

In paragraph 2, we learn that “people who are allergic to gluten abstain from eating it; they don’t
want it in their food.” So we know that those who abstain from eating gluten refuse it or go
voluntarily without it. If you refuse something this means you refrain from partaking in it, as in both
cases the refusal is voluntary. Therefore (A) is correct.

If you detest something, you strongly dislike it. Those who cannot eat gluten do not necessarily
dislike it. They are just allergic to it. They still search for foods that mirror the taste found in those
that contain gluten. This means (B) is incorrect.

Stop implies an action that has been in progress in the recent past. But people who are allergic to
gluten may have resisted eating it for a long time. Abstaining from gluten continuously is not the
same as stopping eating gluten at one point. This means (C) is incorrect.

Ignore means not to pay attention. But those who cannot eat gluten must pay special attention to it,
so they can avoid it and come up with viable substitutes. Therefore (D) is incorrect.

Decelerate means to slow down. Although one may slow down before stopping a certain action, this
word does imply refusal. So (E) is incorrect.

2) C
Core Standard: Key Ideas and Details

In paragraph 3, the author writes, “Gluten, often thought of as a matrix or scaffolding, is a protein
present in wheat." This supports option (I).

In paragraph 7, the author writes, “Certain ingredients, called binders, work like glue, similar to
gluten." This supports option (II).

The author does not compare gluten to a building. This eliminates option (III).
Therefore (C) is correct.

3) A
Core Standard: Key Ideas and Details

In paragraph 3, we learn that “gluten, often thought of as a matrix or scaffolding, is a protein

The passage does not provide information to support choices (B), (C), (D) and (E). Therefore
they are incorrect.

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4) D
Core Standard: Integration of Knowledge

The passage does not provide information about the difficulties involved in handling large
quantities of flour. This eliminates option (I).

In paragraph 6, the author tells us that “a cake only rises because a leavening agent is present in
the batter.” Although there are many good flour substitutes, they still will not work correctly unless
a leavening agent is added to them. The fact that flour is dense and heavy emphasizes the idea
that flour needs something extra to make it expand. This supports option (II).

The specific thing that baked goods need in order to rise is “a leavening agent,” as we learn in
paragraph 6. Without the leavening agent, baked goods will not rise, because flour itself is dense,
not “big and fluffy.” Knowing this property of flour helps clarify the notion that baked goods lacking
a leavening agent will not rise. This supports option (III).

This means (D) is correct.

5) B
Core Standard: Key Ideas and Details

In paragraph 6, we learn that the leavening agent produces “bubbles that get caught in the gluten
matrix while the cake bakes. So, similar to the inflation of a fancy air mattress, the air fills the first
section quickly.” The air mattress analogy corresponds to the image of gluten as a three-
dimensional grid. The leavening agent produces bubbles that get trapped in the matrix, slowly
inflating it and giving it shape. In the air mattress, the chambers filling up with air represent the
bubbles in the matrix. This means (B) is correct.

The passage does not provide information to support choices (A), (C), (D), and (E). Therefore
they are incorrect.

6) B
Core Standard: Integration of Knowledge
In paragraph 6, we learn that “a leavening agent is any substance that leavens something, or
makes it rise by producing bubbles.” Coca-Cola is the only liquid among the choices that has
bubbles (that make it rise or expand), because it is carbonated. Since it is the only liquid that
produces bubbles, we can infer that (B) is correct.

The passage does not provide information to support choices (A), (C), (D), and (E). Therefore
they are incorrect.

7) B
Core Standard: Integration of Knowledge

The author encourages the reader to try new ways of baking and explains the chemical process
with accessible images. The author speaks directly to the reader in sentences like “But don’t
despair!” and “So that was easy, right?” The use of exclamation points also indicates excitement
and enthusiasm. The passage ends on a very upbeat note: “You’ll have invented a new and
exciting matrix all on your own, and you’ll be a friend to lovers of gluten-free baking!” All of these
details lead us to understand that the tone is enthusiastic. Therefore (B) is correct.

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The tone has too much emotion to be described as matter-of-fact. This means (A) is incorrect.

There is no language in the passage to make us think the author is being sarcastic. This makes (C)
incorrect.

The author may be silly at times, but he or she is certainly not annoyed, so (D) is incorrect.

Although the author is enthusiastic, he or she is not fanatical, as this is too strong. Therefore (E)
is incorrect.

8) D
Core Standard: Integration of Knowledge

Using the information in the passage, we know that a recipe for a successful cake needs flour, a
binder, and a leavening agent. Only the fourth recipe contains everything necessary to make a
gluten-free carrot cake: carrots, two types of binders (eggs and applesauce), a leavening agent
(baking soda), and gluten-free flours (soy and oat). Therefore (D) is correct.

In the first recipe, the all-purpose flour, which is made of wheat, contains gluten. It would not be
gluten-free, so (A) is incorrect.

The second recipe contains rye, which is closely related to wheat and still contains gluten, as
discussed in paragraph 4. It also lacks a leavening agent and so would be flat. This means (B) is
incorrect.

The third recipe would make a gluten-free carrot cake, but it would not rise because it does not
contain a leavening agent. This makes (C) incorrect.

In the final recipe, the wheat flour, which is made of wheat, contains gluten. It would not be gluten-
free, so (E) is incorrect.

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