GFCF Diet: Cooking with Gluten-Free Flours

Understanding How to Use Different Gluten-Free Flours

Nov 19, 2008

A gluten-free diet is often recommended to parents of autistic children. Cooking with gluten-free flours, however, is tricky. Use the following guide to help you.

Today there are many gluten-free flour substitutes available. Substituting cup by cup with one of these flours, however, will not yield a good result. Gluten-free flours work best when they are combined, with other ingredients, like xanthan gum or guar gum, added. The gluten-free cook should be familiar with at least the following flours.

White Rice Flour

This is the basic flour in gluten-free baking. It is a fine, white flour milled from polished rice. Its flavor is very bland and therefore must be mixed with other gluten-free flours that are tastier.

Brown Rice Flour

This flour is milled from unpolished brown rice and since it contains bran is more nutritious. It has a nutty taste.

Sweet Rice Flour

Do not confuse with white rice flour. This flour is only used in small quantities as a thickening agent. Especially good for sauces.

Potato Starch Flour

This white flour is made from potatoes. It is also another basic in gluten-free baking.

Potato Flour

Do not confuse with potato starch flour. This is a heavy flour and only used in small quantities.

Almond Flour

Has a strong taste and since it is made from almonds it is high in protein. Good for baking.

Bean Flours

Flours made from different types of beans can also be used for baking. They are high in protein and have a distinct taste. Some of these are: garbanzo bean flour, garfava bean flour and romano bean flour.

Arrowroot Flour

This is a white flour from the root of a West Indian plant. It is used in small quantities and can be used instead of cornstarch when allergic to corn.

Tapioca Flour

Light, white flour from the root of the cassava plant. Helps make baked goods chewy.

Sorghum Flour

Also called milo and jowar. Made from the sorghum grain. Usually combined with other flours.

Most gluten-free recipes will use a combination of three or four of the above flours. In her book titled The Gluten-Free Gourmet [Holt, 2000] Betty Hagman suggests the following formula for a basic gluten-free mix that can be used for baking bread, cookies and muffins.

This yields 9 cups. This mix can be prepared beforehand and stored at room temperature since it has a long shelf life. Do not forget that xanthan gum must be added to this mix. B. Hagman suggests the following quantities of xanthan gum:

In her book Cooking Free [Penguin, 2005] Carol Fenster, Ph. D. suggests another good flour mix:

This blend can be kept in a tightly closed container in the pantry. If using nut flours, then refrigerate.

When using gluten-free flours the basic tenet is to use a combination of flours. Potato starch or white rice flour are usually combined with smaller quantities of more flavorful flours like brown rice flour, nut flours or bean flours. In addition, xanthan gum must be added for elasticity. Different recipes will vary the quantities depending on the taste desired.

The following books provide many different recipes for breads, cookies and cakes using the above or similar mixes.

Gluten-Free Baking Classics by Annalise G. Roberts[Agate Publishing, Inc. , 2006]

The copyright of the article GFCF Diet: Cooking with Gluten-Free Flours in Autism Treatment is owned by Elizabeth Scott. Permission to republish GFCF Diet: Cooking with Gluten-Free Flours in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.