Today we return to talk about gluten free but in an even more delicious way. Have you ever wondered how to make perfect ones crunchy gluten free breading? Don't worry, it's easier done than said! Let's start with a consideration: being celiac does not mean having to give up taste, crunchiness and gluttony. There are many gluten-free options to use to prepare crunchy breading, for example, you can use barred corn flakes, corn or rice flour, breadcrumbs and of course dried fruit. Imagine having to give up a good fried … Impossible!

A bit of history
But did you know that the feeling that crunchy food gives was studied in the 1950s at the American General Foods laboratories? Yes, this is a case where psychology meets food and the result is amazing. From the data that emerged from the study, crunchiness is a very important element in human psychology: a crunchy food is so good and psychologically satisfying that it pushes us to keep eating it without taking into account our sense of hunger or satiety! But back to us, here are which foods to prefer to prepare crunchy breading suitable for celiacs.

Crunchy gluten free breading

Corn flakes gluten free: crunchy. Try breading a breast or some chicken nuggets! To prepare 4 breaded chicken breasts you only need to coarsely chop 100 g of cereals, add salt, pepper, spices or herbs to taste. Beat an egg with a drop of milk (about 10 ml) and add a pinch of salt. At this point pass the chicken (breast or morsels that are) first in the liquid mixture and then in the corn-flakes breading making them adhere evenly. Now decide whether to fry or bake the meat! Guaranteed result!

Rice flour: impalpable. Excellent for preparing tempura, the classic light and very crunchy oriental batter. The first rule of tempura is that it must always be very cold, even before dipping the vegetables or what you prefer to fry. How to prepare one Tempura perfect vegetable? Start with the ingredients: 3 carrots, 3 courgettes, 200 g of very fine rice flour, 300 ml of very cold sparkling water, salt and sunflower oil for frying. The first step is to cool the water in the freezer, it must be very cold. Meanwhile, cut the vegetables into thick sticks. Take a small bowl and add the flour, ice water and a pinch of salt; mix quickly to obtain a smooth batter. Take a large pan or a wok and heat up plenty of seed oil; at this point, when the oil is at temperature, add the vegetables previously immersed in the batter. Cook for a couple of minutes, drain the excess oil and enjoy your gluten free tempura!

Dried fruit: delicious. Chop a mixture of nuts such as pistachios, walnuts, hazelnuts, peanuts and pine nuts in a blender; add the parsley or chopped herbs, salt and pepper. Make it adhere perfectly to slices of meat or fish … Imagine eating a steak of tuna in a dried fruit crust? Mmh, what a watering!

Gluten free breadcrumbs: classic. Yes, even celiacs can enjoy the crunchy crust that only breadcrumbs can give to food. It is an indispensable ingredient for drying excessively liquid fillings, for gratinating and also, obviously, for frying. In this case, there is no choice. To make the breadcrumbs adhere evenly, you must first pass the food into a bowl where you have previously beaten and seasoned an egg with salt and pepper.

September 2021
Giulia Ferrari