If you have tried your hand at gluten-free baking, you will find guar gum or xantham gum in many recipes. We’ve had a lot of questions about the two, asking what they do and what the difference is, so we wanted to write a quick post to go over when you may want to use them.
Baking with gluten-free flours is a little different than with flours made from wheat, and adding xantham gum or guar gum to gluten-free recipes helps to result in a nicer final product. When using wheat flour, the proteins in the wheat bind together to help make light and fluffy baked goods. Guar gum and xantham gum also help to keep the ingredients in a recipe or batter to be evenly mixed, as well as giving a bit of stretch or body to the dough. Xantham gum and guar gum work to thicken, bind, and emulsify gluten-free ingredients.
Guar gum and xantham gum work in similar ways, though generally, xantham gum is the better choice for baked goods and foods that have a high acid content (foods made with lemon juice, for example, can interfere with guar gum). Guar gum is usually better for cold foods, ice creams, or pastry fillings.
When adding either to a recipe, it’s best to combine xantham gum or guar gum to the oil in a recipe first, which will help it to mix with the recipe better.
This is a fantastic general guide to xantham gum and guar gum, found on the Bob’s Red Mill website:
How much Xanthan Gum for Gluten Free Baking?
Cookies………………………………¼ teaspoon per cup of flour
Cakes and Pancakes………………..½ teaspoon per cup of flour
Muffins and Quick Breads………… ¾ teaspoon per cup of flour
Breads……………………………….1 to 1-½ tsp. per cup of flour
Pizza Dough…………………..…… 2 teaspoons per cup of flour
For Salad Dressings…Use ½ tsp. Xanthan Gum per 8 oz. of liquid.
How much Guar Gum for Gluten Free Baking?
Cookies………………………………¼ to ½ tsp. per cup of flour
Cakes and Pancakes………………..¾ teaspoon per cup of flour
Muffins and Quick Breads………….1 teaspoon per cup of flour
Breads……………………………….1-½ to 2 tsp. per cup of flour
Pizza Dough…………………..…….1 Tablespoon per cup of flour
For Hot Foods (gravies, stews , heated pudding)…Use 1-3 teaspoons per one quart of liquid.
For Cold Foods (salad dressing, ice creams, pudding) Use about 1-2 teaspoons per quart of liquid.