<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

I was searching for new starches to try in GF baking that might help to 
prevent collapsed breads.  Typical starches like tapioca, after helping 
the dough rise high, eventually cause GF bread to collapse during 
baking when oven heat essentially causes the starch to "melt" and 
liquify destroying the very structure that formed when the cool dough 
rose.  The liquified starch then collects and gels into a compressed 
gummy mass that typifies the insides of a collapsed loaf.

I have found that use of the combination of oat flour and ground 
flaxseed steeped in boiling water added to a GF bread recipe is able to 
preserve the structure of GF bread and prevent collapse, yielding 
fantastic high-rising loaves.  However, not everyone is okay using 
oats.  So I am looking for a starch that doesn't meltdown in the oven, 
a starch that forms a gelled structure that holds together under oven 
heat.  In my Google search, I happened to run across Konjac flour.  I 
never heard of it before.

Konjac flour is derived from the tubers of Amorphophallus oncophyllus 
(Elephant Yam) and has its origins in China and Japan where it has 
been used as a food for centuries.  Konjac is perhaps the most viscous 
food starch in existance with many unique properties.  Konjac gum or 
powder can be used in combination with xanthan gum to enhance the 
viscosity and causes xanthan gum to gel.  Konjac flour/gum has no 
taste, and is not slimy like xanthan gum.  Unlike tapioca and other 
starches, Konjac requires heat to absord water, swell, and gel.  It 
needs a high temperature above 90°C (194°F) to fully swell and 
hydrate.  That's just about the temperature needed at the center of a 
GF bread to be done baking.  Perhaps these unique high temperature 
properties can keep a GF bread loaf from collapse.

At any rate, I've provided links below for you to peruse.  There is only 
one study of a GF bread recipe using Konjac and xanthan gum, cited 
below.  The Konjac Foods website is filled with good Konjac info, so 
check out all its features in addition to those links below.  I just placed 
an order for a 500 gram bag of Konjac glucomannan powder from 
Konjac Foods, and I'm anxious to try it out.  That bag should last for 
many months as only a little is needed per loaf.

If anyone has tried Konjac for GF baking before, let me know.  I'll keep 
you posted.

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Textural Comparisons of Gluten-Free and Wheat-Based Doughs, 
Batters, and Breads
Michelle M. Moore, Tilman J. Schober, Peter Dockery, and Elke K. Arendt
Cereal Chemistry 2004, Volume 81, Number 5: 567-575.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1094/CCHEM.2004.81.5.567 .

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KONJAC PART I: CULTIVATION TO COMMERCIALIZATION OF 
COMPONENTS 
Albert P N Chan 
http://www.worldfoodscience.org/cms/?pid=1003556 .
(Note: Remove any 3D that appears next to the equal sign after ?pid.)

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About Konjac
http://www.konjacchina.com/konjac-about2.html .

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Konjac Foods -

Konjac glucomannan powder
http://www.konjacfoods.com/product/1.htm .

How to use Konjac flour
http://www.konjacfoods.com/uses.htm .

Konjac glucomannan (KGM) properties
http://www.konjacfoods.com/gum.htm .

Hydrocolloids (gums and gels) Reference and Comparison
http://www.konjacfoods.com/ref.htm .

Photos of Amorphophallus oncophyllus (Elephant Yam)
http://www.konjacfoods.com/pattern.htm .

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