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Caarina12

Jan 4, 2007, 12:30 PM

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Alternative Flours--Available in SMA/Bajio Area?

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I have resubscribed to MexConnect after a prolonged hiatus... However, with good reason. My son who is 3, was diagnosed with Celiac Disease last year. By the time he was finally diagnosed, he had some pretty serious health concerns. So, we have been concentrating on his health and getting him back up to speed. For more info on CD, see http://www.celiaccentral.org .Now, he is now doing very well and symptom free. His prognosis is excellent as long as he maintains a gluten free diet. This means no wheat, rye, barley, spelt, kamut or their byproducts (including pastas, msg, wheat starch, breading etc).

The perplexing issue is how to do the baking needed while living in Mexico. Can you find alternative flours for bread baking/cooking in Mexico? I am looking specifically for rice flour, tapioca flour, potato starch, arrowroot, sorghum flours as well as guar gum or xantham gum. I have found some of these flours in Health Food Stores, Latin and Asian markets in the US but never in Mexico. I guess I could buy the mill attachment for the kitchen aid and grind my own rice and tapioca flours, but that is not very convenient. Pastas made from corn or rice etc. are hard to find even in the US except at health food stores, but I could have them shipped to me or relatives could bring care packages when they visit, but baking bread, making cookies, cakes etc is critical.

I am hoping this is not going to put a permanent wrench in our Mexico plans. (we were planning on relocating this year, but it didn't happen. 2008 is now more realistic) I am doing a fact finding trip to San Miguel Allende over Thanksgiving this year and I will be looking specifically at this issue as well as access to healthcare providers, but if anyone has some experience here I would greatly appreciate it. Anonimo, you may know the answer to this with your baking experience?

Thanks!
Caarina

(This post was edited by Caarina12 on Jan 4, 2007, 6:48 PM)