When Rachel Carlyle-Gauthier discovered a year and a half ago that her youngest child was gluten intolerant, keeping her healthy meant keeping wheat flour out of her home altogether.

But baking with gluten-free flours proved to be a big disappointment. Everything fell apart, and the quality was a far cry from what the Polson woman who attended the Bon Vivant Cooking School in Seattle was used to.

So Carlyle-Gauthier began experimenting with her own recipes and flours that she milled herself.

Her recipes were such a hit with her family and friends, she decided to start her own company.

The result of Carlyle-Gauthier’s work is the Gluten Free Mama line of flours she mills and packages from her home and a new cookbook, “Gluten Free Mama’s Best Baking Recipes,” which she co-wrote with Billie McCrea, also from Polson.

Carlyle-Gauthier will be at Van’s Thriftway in Helena Saturday to sign copies of her book and share samples of her recipes.

The flour line and book are both available at Van’s, and the book is also available at Montana Book Co.

“My neighbors really pushed me (to start the company)” Carlyle-Gauthier said. “I got a bug inside me, started researching it, and here I am.”

The book contains over 100 recipes, 20 pages of tips on gluten-free baking and an additional tip and Bible passage with every recipe.

She said she included the Bible passages because of how hard it can be to have a child with gluten allergies or intolerance.

Carlyle-Gauthier’s own daughter, she said, started screaming and never stopped. She threw up every meal. She would get open rashes just from touching food with wheat in it.

Carlyle-Gauthier went back and forth with doctors who said her daughter just had colic or reflux until she finally convinced an ER doctor to test her.

“This lifestyle can get you really down,” she said. “People don’t understand, You have days when nothing is turning out. You just get frustrated. If somebody opened a recipe, it might encourage them for the day.”



Gluten Free Sweet Pepper Monterey Quiche

Ingredients:

Basic Quiche Crust

1 ½ cup Gluten Free Mama’s Almond Blend Flour

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon xanthan gum

½ cup butter, room temperature

2 tablespoons honey

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 Tbsp. water

Quiche Filling

½ cup each, red pepper, orange pepper, yellow pepper

1 tablespoons butter

4 eggs

¾ cup heavy cream

¾ cup milk

1/8 tsp. pepper

Pinch of salt

1/3 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped

3 green onions, chopped

1 cup Monterey Jack Cheese or Monterey Cheese Blend

Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Prepare crust by combining flour, salt, xanthan gum, honey, egg and water. Use a fork to combine. Once most of dry ingredients are mixed in, with lightly floured hands knead the rest of dry ingredients into dough ball until smooth. Roll dough just like you would a pie crust, between two pieces of wax paper that have been lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Peal back top piece of wax paper. Transfer dough by flipping out onto pie dish or quiche dish. Gently peel back wax paper. Trim edges of dough with a knife and make small repairs if necessary.

Sauté peppers with butter until soft, about 4-5 minutes. Transfer to paper towel to cool. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, milk, pepper, and salt. Stir in cilantro, green onions, cheese and peppers. Pour into prepared quiche crust. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until center appears done. Cover edges with foil to prevent over browning. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Note: Use this basic quiche crust for any quiche, pie, or savory tart recipe.

Reporter Joe Menden: 447-4087 or joe.menden@helenair.com