Xanthan gum is an effective thickening agent and stabilizer to prevent ingredients from separating. It is also considered a soluble fiber which do not have calories. It works as an emulsifier, encouraging liquids that normally don’t like one another to mix together. Xanthan gum plays the crucial role of imitating gluten. In baking, gluten is what makes dough “doughy.” It gives the dough elasticity, as well as viscosity. Those properties help to hold a cookie together while it bakes on a sheet in the oven, and they enable cakes and breads to hold onto the gas bubbles that form inside them.