This is so good to know. I’m not celiac so I don’t have to be as vigilant but I literally just bought these croissants last week for thanksgiving. They were delicious but I was concerned about the wheat starch. This helped me so much. I’ve never fully understood the difference but you broke it down so well.
Thank you, Christi! I’m glad you enjoyed the croissants—I was definitely confused too when I first heard about wheat starch. I’m so glad you found this helpful!
Thoughts on dining out? I thought I’ve heard of restaurants using wheat starch. Should we ask if it is certified gluten free? What to do when labels are not available. Also when traveling?
Oh, those are great questions! When I've traveled in Europe, I haven't asked any of the restaurants just because I figured they have better standards for testing for gluten in their products over there and the risk seemed minimal for a few meals out.
I know there are some restaurants here in the US that use wheat starch, and it usually shows up in pizza. They often import their flour from Italy, so I would think it should be undergoing testing to ensure it's under 20 ppm of gluten.
I definitely know other celiacs who will contact pizza places beforehand to ask what kind of flour they use and get more specific details before they choose to dine somewhere, so this is definitely an option and hopefully a restaurant wouldn't have any issues with sharing!
I remember being startled years ago, when I was served some GF bread (in Switzerland, I think) that had wheat starch in it. It took me a while to get used to the idea that it could be a safe ingredient for celiacs!
Such a great article! I haven't ever thought too much about wheat starch, probably because I don't buy any store bought breads or baked goods. Thank you for writing it. I guess my main question would be, since it is a starch and used as a thickener, why wouldn't we stick with the traditional GF starches like potato, tapioca, arrowroot, etc? There are no shortages of GF starches, so why would we chance it with wheat starch? Does it act differently than other starches in baked goods? Thanks again for writing the article Christina! I learned a lot.
Thank you for your input! I agree with you - as I was writing this, I was wondering if this ingredient was really necessary to use in baked goods. As you say, there are many other alternative starches available, and they work just fine. I will say the Schar croissants do have a nice flaky texture, so there certainly could be something about wheat starch that lends itself to certain types of baked goods better than others.
This is so good to know. I’m not celiac so I don’t have to be as vigilant but I literally just bought these croissants last week for thanksgiving. They were delicious but I was concerned about the wheat starch. This helped me so much. I’ve never fully understood the difference but you broke it down so well.
Thank you, Christi! I’m glad you enjoyed the croissants—I was definitely confused too when I first heard about wheat starch. I’m so glad you found this helpful!
Thoughts on dining out? I thought I’ve heard of restaurants using wheat starch. Should we ask if it is certified gluten free? What to do when labels are not available. Also when traveling?
Oh, those are great questions! When I've traveled in Europe, I haven't asked any of the restaurants just because I figured they have better standards for testing for gluten in their products over there and the risk seemed minimal for a few meals out.
I know there are some restaurants here in the US that use wheat starch, and it usually shows up in pizza. They often import their flour from Italy, so I would think it should be undergoing testing to ensure it's under 20 ppm of gluten.
I definitely know other celiacs who will contact pizza places beforehand to ask what kind of flour they use and get more specific details before they choose to dine somewhere, so this is definitely an option and hopefully a restaurant wouldn't have any issues with sharing!
Thank you! That is great advice!
I remember being startled years ago, when I was served some GF bread (in Switzerland, I think) that had wheat starch in it. It took me a while to get used to the idea that it could be a safe ingredient for celiacs!
Yes, it's definitely shocking at first to think that eating wheat could be celiac-safe!
Such a great article! I haven't ever thought too much about wheat starch, probably because I don't buy any store bought breads or baked goods. Thank you for writing it. I guess my main question would be, since it is a starch and used as a thickener, why wouldn't we stick with the traditional GF starches like potato, tapioca, arrowroot, etc? There are no shortages of GF starches, so why would we chance it with wheat starch? Does it act differently than other starches in baked goods? Thanks again for writing the article Christina! I learned a lot.
Thank you for your input! I agree with you - as I was writing this, I was wondering if this ingredient was really necessary to use in baked goods. As you say, there are many other alternative starches available, and they work just fine. I will say the Schar croissants do have a nice flaky texture, so there certainly could be something about wheat starch that lends itself to certain types of baked goods better than others.
Very good information. Thanks for writing this.
Thank you so much! I'm glad you found it helpful!
Thank you Christina! I get this question all the time- I know it’s a shock when people see that listed in the label!!
Thank you for sharing! Hopefully this clears up confusion!