Gluten Free Flour Blends

Storage:

Allow me to preface this section by encouraging you to freeze or refrigerate all your gluten-free flours and gums (xanthan and guar).  They tend to go rancid easier than wheat and are more prone to pantry moths.  Protect your investment through proper storage.

Xanthan and Guar Gum:

One or both of these ingredients will need to be added to almost every recipe you make to help simulate the stickiness of wheat that gives the texture we are looking for in gluten-free baked goods.  We do not add the xanthan or guar gum to the flour mix because the amount varies depending on the recipe you are making.  For example, a sweet bread, like pumpkin, will only take 1 teaspoon while gluten-free bagels will take 1 Tablespoon.

Make sure you refridgerate the gums especially as they are a bacteria that will no longer be active if they are exposed to heat and air for extended periods of time. 

All Purpose Gluten Free Flour Mix:

My favorite mix for baking comes from “The Complete Book of Gluten-Free Cooking” cookbook by Jennifer Cinquepalmi.  I prefer Sorghum because it has a higher protein content than brown rice and most other gluten-free flours with no aftertaste and it has an excellent consistency for baked goods.  I mix it and store it in the fridge so I always have some on hand.

7 cups Sorghum Flour

2 cups Potato Starch (or Cornstarch)

1 cup Tapioca Flour

Another alternate basic mix comes from “Living Without” magazine for people with gluten, dairy, and egg sensitivities. 

1/2 cup Rice Flour (I would substitute Sorghum)

1/4 cup Tapioca Starch/Flour

1/4 cup Cornstarch or Potato Starch

Gluten Free Bagel Mix (Multi-Grain Flour Blend):

I found a recipe for bagels and then it took me a few weeks to get up the guts to try it.  My hesitation came from two places.  One, I haven’t done much bread baking in my life so things like raising dough and the right consistency for a bread were a bit out of my comfort zone.  Second, I have had some pretty terrible gluten-free bagels and I didn’t want to be disappointed. 

Rest assured, this mix (and the recipe you can find by searching) is really wonderful and even gluten-eating people will enjoy them fresh out of the over.

This mix comes from “Living Without” Magazine October/November 2009

1 and 3/4 cups Garfava Flour (a blend of garbanzo and fava beans)

1 and 3/4 cups Super-Fine Brown Rice Flour (use food processor to make fine)

2 cups Potato Starch (or Arrowroot Flour, or Chestnut Flour)

1 cup Cornstarch (or Potato Starch)

1 cup Tapioca Starch/Flour

1 cup Sorghum Flour (or Amaranth Flour)

Moist Gluten Free Cakes and Breads:

I was thrilled to discover a few years into gluten-free cooking that I could successfully transition some of my favorite family recipes to gluten-free just by substituting the flour and leaving the rest of the recipe alone.

When I initially went gluten-free I tried to find recipes for my favorites and I recall a carrot cake recipe that took a lot of effort to make and didn’t turn out very tasty.  My mom’s carrot cake recipe is hard to improve on…now I don’t need to!

For each cup of flour in the recipe substitute:

1/2 cup of Sorghum flour mix (see “All Purpose Mix” above)

1/4 cup flaxmeal

1/4 cup almond meal (or any nut meal)

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

This combination works well with moist breads (like banana, zucchini, and pumpkin) or cakes such as carrot or banana cake.  Now I can make my grandmother’s zucchini bread or my mom’s carrot cake.  Enjoy!