Note that wheat is a type of grass, and is technically a grain.
Grains without gluten
Not all grains have gluten—only those closely related to wheat do. Grains which do not have gluten include:
- Corn (maize) and its variants or derivatives such as cornmeal, polenta, hominy, or masa
Rice (all varieties)
A note on rice: some varieties are called "glutinous". This just sounds similar to "gluten", but is in fact used to indicate the rice's stickiness. Glutinous rice does not have gluten, not even as traces, its stickiness comes from a special type of starch.
Millet
- Sorghum
- Oats (although many oat products are processed in plants that may have had wheat)
Sometimes confused for grains
Note that the following gluten free seeds are not grains, although sometimes they are confused for grains:
- Wild rice
- Quinoa
- Buckwheat (despite the name, not a wheat nor a grain)
- Amaranth
Non-grains used as gluten-free starches and flours
Therefore, all grain-like, starchy, or flour-type foods which are not grasses are always gluten free, including wild rice, quinoa (despite any other issues), and so on.
Additionally, flours or seeds based on non-grain seeds, nuts, and legumes are always gluten free, although there may be other dietary sensitivities. These include:
- Almonds
- Soy beans
- Peanuts
- Chickpeas
- Mesquite flour
- Amaranth
- Quinoa
- Wild rice
Finally, starches and flours based on roots, rhizomes, and so on are gluten free, including:
- Potato
- Sweet potato
- (True) yams
- Tapioca
Grains containing gluten
The following grains are all wheat relatives, and have gluten to a greater or lesser degree:
- Wheat
- Spelt
- Rye
- Tritical
- Barley
- Kamut
Note that the following are all processed wheat products or specific wheat varieties, and should be avoided to maintain gluten free diets:
- Farina
- Durum
- Semolina
- Couscous
See also:
Best Answer
Spelt flour is not gluten-free. Light spelt flour has less protein (gluten is a protein) than regular spelt or strong bread flour, but it's still there (5-8% from what I've seen), so if you need gluten free you need to pick another ingredient.
To answer your question, there are limitations to what you can do with low or gluten free doughs. Bread made with gluten is stretchy and keeps its shape because the gluten strands relax and become intertwined with each other, if you take the gluten out you lose that stretchiness and body. Dough improvers like xanthan gum can help give some stretchiness but not to the point of being able to make something like challah. Low or gluten free doughs are always going to be a bit crumbly - it's the nature of the beast - so my advice is to pick bread types where that's an asset.