Cuisine
French Recipes
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24 recipes
Curated by
Evelina Melnikova
French pastry is often held up as the pinnacle of wheat-based baking. Croissants, choux pastry, brioche, baguettes: these are techniques built around gluten development. Making them without gluten requires genuine ingenuity, not just substitution. This collection of 15 recipes tackles the French classics that seem most impossible and proves they can be done well.
The French baguettes are a standout. A proper baguette needs a crackling crust, an open crumb with irregular holes, and a chewy interior. Achieving this without gluten means relying on high hydration dough, psyllium husk for structure, and very high oven temperatures with steam. The result will never be identical to a wheat baguette, but it comes closer than most people expect, close enough to tear apart at the dinner table with genuine satisfaction.
Croissants represent perhaps the greatest challenge in this entire collection. Traditional croissants depend on lamination, folding cold butter into dough repeatedly to create hundreds of flaky layers. Gluten free dough handles this process differently because it lacks the elasticity to stretch without tearing. The croissant recipe here adapts the technique with a modified lamination approach that produces visible layers and buttery flakiness.
The choux pastry is another triumph over expectations. Choux relies on steam to puff into hollow shells, and getting GF choux to hold its structure after baking requires precise flour ratios and egg incorporation. The result fills beautifully with vanilla cream for profiteroles or eclairs. The crepe cake, made with delicate buckwheat crepes layered with matcha raspberry cream, takes a naturally gluten free French ingredient (buckwheat has been used in Brittany for centuries) and builds something spectacular from it.
Several French preparations are naturally gluten free and need no adaptation whatsoever. Chocolate mousse, creme fraiche, clafoutis (traditionally made with minimal flour), and most French soups thickened by pureeing vegetables rather than adding roux. The camembert recipe brings French cheese-making into the home kitchen using fermentation techniques.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Yes, though the technique requires adaptation. Traditional lamination is modified for GF dough which lacks elasticity. The result produces visible flaky layers and rich buttery flavor. It takes practice but the results are genuinely impressive.
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Buckwheat galettes, ratatouille, salade Nicoise, chocolate mousse, creme fraiche, many gratin dishes, and most French soups thickened by pureeing vegetables rather than using flour-based roux.
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Roux-based sauces (bechamel, veloute), flour-dusted fish and meat, pate with breadcrumb binders, and some traditional stews thickened with flour. Ask for sauces to be thickened with cream reduction or cornstarch instead.
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Despite its name, buckwheat is not related to wheat at all. It is a seed, not a grain, and is naturally gluten free. French buckwheat galettes from Brittany are a traditional GF food. Buy certified GF buckwheat to avoid cross-contamination.
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Yes. High hydration dough, psyllium husk for structure, and high oven temperatures with steam produce baguettes with a crackling crust and chewy interior. They require different technique than wheat baguettes but produce genuinely satisfying bread.
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France requires restaurants to identify 14 allergens including gluten. Use the phrase "sans gluten" when ordering. Many French restaurants now offer GF bread and dessert options. Buckwheat creperies are naturally friendly to gluten free diners.