In the comment section of my pie crust post, reader John asked if I had any info about the gluten-free flours that I use. I’ve been meaning to post something on this topic for awhile now–and I’d like to thank John for reminding me.
I was diagnosed as being gluten intolerant right after my daughter was born, almost 10 years ago. Up until that time, I was an avid baker. And I had no plan on stopping. But, gluten-free (gf) baking seemed to be a whole different world from wheat baking. And everything tasted awful. I actually spent days crying over the fact that the thing that gave me the most joy in the world, baking, was taken away from me. I obsessed over the fact that I wouldn’t be able to teach my daughter how to knead bread when she got older. It was a “dark night of the soul” period for me.
At a certain point, I decided that if I wanted to continue baking good-tasting things, I had to do a lot of research and experimentation. And by good-tasting, I don’t mean simply edible–I mean yummy. 10 years ago, gf baking was nowhere near where it is today. All of the commercially available things were awful. The best you could hope for from gf baked goods is that they not be too dry, too crumbly, or too hard. And, home baking seemed not really worth it–all of the recipes seemed to have an air of “here’s something you can bake but it will taste gross, so good luck” about them. If you didn’t have to eat gluten-free, you wouldn’t bake or touch these things with a 10 foot pole, much less eat them.
I determined that the main obstacle to gf baking was the flour component. And, from that day on, I was on a search for flours that made gf baked items taste good. At first I tried using single flours. For example, I would bake something with just white rice flour. It became clear very quickly that this was not a good idea. One of the big problems with any single gf flour is that they are not the correct texture for most baked goods. They each have their own “disposition,” to use the term Bette Hagman, The Gluten-Free Gourmet, used. Further, they don’t have gluten to hold them together, so the final product is crumbly. And dry. I started thinking that combining several different flours was probably the best route to go. Becca, my gf friend and mentor, and I would have debates about the relative merits of measuring out different flours for each baking project vs. using a mix. One thing that was key for me was that I hated having to get out several flours every time I baked and measure out different amounts of each. This took time and it wasn’t very fun.
Then I happened upon the books of Bette Hagman, the “Gluten-Free Gourmet.” Everyone who cooks and bakes gluten-free owes Hagman an enormous debt of gratitude. I met her once at a gluten-intolerance awareness fundraiser and made quite a scene with groveling at her feet to show her how thankful I was for the research she did on gluten-free cooking and baking. She’s the main one, I feel, who brought baking back to the gluten-free population. She wrote several books on gluten-cooking and baking. The one I used the most is her The Gluten-Free Gourmet Bakes Bread. Indeed, when Girlfriend was 1 yr old, and we were out of the “oh-my-gosh-I-have-a-baby-and-can’t-do-anything-else” phase, I spent almost every day baking bread out of Hagman’s book.
It was from Hagman’s books that I discovered the concept of mixing gluten-free flours to make a cup-for-cup gf substitute for wheat flour. Her favored mix contained garbanzo and fava bean flour. She liked this combo because she felt that the protein in the beans helped gf baked goods to have a good texture and because they have a high nutritional value. I made and used her Four Flour Bean Mix for awhile. This mix contains garfava bean flour, sorghum, cornstarch, and tapioca flour. I found out that I didn’t like the taste of this mix–primarily because of the bean component. And the dough or batter made from it (e.g., cookie dough) tasted awful. Unless you’re making something that specifically calls for a bean flour (like papadum), I don’t think bean flours are a good component of gf flour mixes.
After discovering how strong the bean flours could taste, I started to pay attention to the taste of each gf flour. It hadn’t dawned on me before this that the flour could add a taste to the item with which it’s baked. It was then that I decided to clarify my goals for my gf baked goods. I determined that my primary goal was to make gf baked goods that tasted like they did when I made them with wheat flour. I wanted a chocolate chip cookie or a cake to taste and feel like what I remembered them to taste and feel like pre-gf days. And so did everyone around me. I love to bake for other people, so it wouldn’t work for me to bake things that taste differently than people expect them to.
A note: I have noticed that many gluten-free bakers have determined that their goal with gf baking is health-related. These bakers use certain flours over other ones because they are more “healthy” than others. So, these folks don’t use rice flours because they feel they’re not as full of nutrients as, say, quinoa flour. This is fine, as long as you and they are aware of the different qualities these flours give to baked goods. Baking with these flours is the equivalent to non-gf bakers using whole wheat or rye flour in all of their baked goods because it’s “healthier.” As any baker knows, whole wheat flour by itself lends a certain taste and texture to baked goods that you don’t get with white flours. So, a whole wheat cookie is going to taste and feel differently in your mouth than one made with white flour. It drives me crazy when people tell me they think gf baking tastes weird and then I find out that it’s because bean or some other strong-tasting flour was used by the baker.
My goals for baking don’t fall into this category. I like to think of myself as falling into more into the Julia Child category of bakers. I don’t bake brownies, for example, because they’re healthy. I bake them because I love to bake, I like the craft of baking, I want a treat, and brownies are yummy. So, unless I’m going for a certain taste/texture, like I do with my gf French bread or graham crackers, I usually do not use the heavier and more strong-tasting flours like sorghum, teff, amaranth, and quinoa. I include this caveat here to explain why I use the flours I use.
Back to Bette Hagman. I think at a certain point folks must have communicated to Hagman that the taste of the bean flour mix wasn’t so good, for she then came up with her Featherlight Rice Flour Mix, which got rid of the bean flour. This mix contained rice flour, tapioca flour, cornstarch, and potato flour. This was better. But, not great. And the batter made with this mix still tasted awful. Another issue with both of her mixes is that they do not contain xanthan gum–which is essential for gf baking. You have to add it separately to each recipe. This drove me crazy for everyday baking.
A word about xanthan gum. Think of xanthan gum as the “gluten-replacer” in gluten-free baking. It acts as a binding agent. It holds baked goods together and eliminates the “crumbly factor” in gf baking. It is a must. Some people substitute guar gum. Guar gum works the same way that xanthan gum does. But, be aware that it has some issues around creating gastrointestinal problems in many people–it is also a laxative (it is often sold as such). And, given the problems gluten intolerant folks have with digestive issues, I don’t think it’s really a good choice, unless you can’t tolerate xanthan gum. One thing to note about xanthan gum is that it is often grown on corn. My corn-sensitive friends have reported no ill effects from eating xanthan gum in my baked goods. For an intense and scientific discussion of xanthan gum and guar gum, see this article.
After reading Bette Hagman’s books, I continued on my search for the perfect gluten-free flour mix. I stumbled across (it was in the window of my local bookstore) and read Karen Robertson‘s fabulous cookbook, Cooking Gluten-Free! I think this is one of the best gluten-free cookbooks out there. It was from this book that I found out about Wendy Wark’s Gluten-Free Flour Mix. Wendy Wark, the woman behind this mix, wrote a little gluten-free cookbook in 1998 called Living Healthy With Celiac Disease, and used this flour mix for her recipes. Robertson used the mix as the basis of her baked goods, as well.
This was what I was looking for! Finally, a flour mix that closely mimicked wheat flour, contained no bean flour, and had the right amount of xanthan gum. This mix contains brown rice flour, white rice flour, tapioca starch flour, sweet rice flour, cornstarch, potato starch flour, and xanthan gum. Robertson even got the gf company, Authentic Foods to carry this as a packaged flour mix, Multi Blend Gluten Free Flour. This made it easy for folks to use the mix without having to mix it themselves.
This mix was my standard flour mix for a couple of years. But, over these years, as I baked for other people, I started encountering difficulties with this mix. First of all, it was a hassle to mix–so many ingredients and one of them, the potato starch flour, was hard to find (I liked mixing it myself rather than buying it pre-mixed). Second, I have a gluten-free friend who is also corn-sensitive. This wasn’t good, because she was one of the main recipients of my baked goods. So, I started substituting arrowroot starch for the cornstarch. This, ultimately, wasn’t satisfying because the arrowroot flour seemed to go bad fairly quickly, which made it taste awful, and it was hard to get. Also, around this time, I had another friend with a gluten-free daughter (another recipient of my baked goods), who is nightshade-intolerant–which meant the potato starch didn’t work for her. This led to my decision to eliminate the potato starch.
So, I started playing with the concept of simplifying the mix and the ingredients in the mix. All the ingredients had to be fairly easy to get, either here or online, and the ingredients had to be as allergy-neutral as possible. This is how I came to develop the mix that I call Jeanne’s Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix. This mix contains just brown rice, white rice, and sweet rice flours, mixed with tapioca flour and xanthan gum. It’s easy for me to mix on my own, and it stores well in the fridge. People ask for it all of the time. And best of all, I can use it as a cup-for-cup substitute for wheat flour in most of my recipes. Yay!
I get my gluten-free flours and xanthan gum from Bob’s Red Mill, whose products are widely available in Seattle stores, or from Authentic Foods. I also use the brand of sweet rice flour from Koda Farms called Mochiko. This is available in regular grocery stores in the “ethnic” section. You can also order it online. All of these flours are made in facilities that adhere to gluten-free manufacturing practices. And, they are made with bakers in mind, so the grind of each flour is “fine” and they work well.
Please note that when I refer to a gf “flour mix” in my recipes I mean one that is designed to be used as a cup-for-cup substitute for wheat flour. I do not mean a pancake mix or a baking mix that includes other ingredients like baking powder, soda, vanilla, or salt. These types of mixes will not work well when you’re baking from scratch and using a recipe that calls for “flour.”
I plan to do a future post on all gluten-free flours and their qualities.
Jeanne’s Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix (mix together and store in a cool, dark place, or in fridge for long-term storage). 1 C of this mix equals 140g. Use this mix cup-for-cup or gram-for-gram in all of your recipes:
1 1/4 C (170 g) brown rice flour
1 1/4 C (205 g) white rice flour
1 C (120 g) tapioca flour
1 C (165 g) sweet rice flour (also known as glutinous rice flour or under the brand name, Mochiko)
2 scant tsp. xanthan gum
{ 105 comments… read them below or add one }
I love this all purpose flour mix! Thanks for doing so much research into finding the perfect blend.
It’s fabulous!
Oh I’m so glad! Thank you for letting me know!!
–Jeanne
Thank you so much!! This flour mix is perfect and my whole family thanks you (they have been holding their breath while I re-learn to bake GF)!
Angela: Oh, I’m so glad!! Thanks for letting me know!
Thank you SO much for doing all this research! I have a freezer absolutely FULL of so many different flours that will never be used (since they taste so gawd awful!!!) and this is the first mix that seems to be a perfect substitution for wheat flour.
And thank you also for bringing up the “healthy” discussion. This reminds me of the 70′s when I was all into ‘natural’ foods and tried making a banana birthday cake with whole wheat flour and honey. It was so bad, nobody ate it…blech!
I look forward to experimenting a LOT with your mix.
Donna: I’m so glad!! Let me know how your experiments go!
I suspect it’s not relevant at this web site, but there is no reason you can’t make a tasty cake using whole wheat flour and honey. If you substitute whole wheat for white flour, especially cake flour, and do nothing else to the recipe the result will be sadness. Whole grain flours are thirstier than refined ones, so you need to use a considerably greater amount of water.
As you see here, you have to learn to use the ingredients. The problem in your cake wasn’t the flour, but more that you hadn’t yet learned to use the flour.
-Mike
you’re a genius! you’ve made this so amazingly simple, and i love that it is consistent with your recipes. plus you know i just ooze love for you and your craft!
Anna: Ah, thank you!! And I love to bake for you!!
Um, will I have adverse effects if I accidentally grabbed tapioca starch instead of tapioca flour?
Nanette: No! Tapioca starch and tapioca flour are the same thing!! No worries!
Thank you for sharing the story on how you came up with your all purpose gluten free flour. Can’t wait to start baking with it.
I usually replace xanthan with gar gum. What has been your experience with doing that?
Chris: I’m embarrassed to say that I did that once a long time ago and I don’t remember how it worked. I’m assuming it’s OK. I would go ahead and do it and see what happens. I need to do more experiments with guar gum. I’m a dork. Your note reminds me to do that ASAP!! Let me know how it goes!
I am 63 years old, & very new to this celiac thing, and wondering f there is a difference between wheat and soy wheat. I am wondering if I can still use the pkg. with the soy wheat in it.
Thanx
Gail
Gail: I’ve never heard of soy wheat. I’m wondering if the label is listing allergens and forgot to put commas between the two allergens? It should probably read: Contains: Soy, Wheat. That’s my best guess! Thanks for visiting!
Edited to add: Gail: I just looked up Soy Wheat on Google and there is such a thing! It’s a combo of soy and wheat–so it still has gluten. Gah. Why would they create such a thing?? Don’t eat it!!
Hi Jeanne,
This looks to be GF flour mix of my dreams as I am intolerant to both corn and potato.
I am going to mix the flours this evening and see how it comes out. I’m also looking forward to trying all your recipes.
The first are the Crazy Cakes.
I’ll let you know how they come out.
Cheers!
-Richard from Sydney, Australia
Richard: Yay! You’ll have to let me know what you think!
Well i’ve been asking around the stores for mochiko rice flour and nobody knew what i was talking about, so i googled, and here it’s called glutinous rice flour. (of which i cannot buy from our local stores
, i did find it online at an asian grocer, so i ordered it and soooo cheap! so i’m excited to finally try your flour recipe…
I am also a baker and I just went GF about 3 months ago and have been really confused about GF baking. Thanks for clearing up a lot of confusion for me. I was so confused and frustrated by GF bakers who promoted their “healthy” flour mixes as having more nutrition than other mixes. As if anyone who bakes a non-GF cookie is ever worried about that! I recently bought Bette Hagman’s book (the one that you referenced above) and I’m wondering if I can make her recipes using your flour mix (thank you for warning me off of hers).
Sue: her recipes are still pretty good. And my flour mix would be fine with them. One thing about Hagman is that she had a heart condition, so she was always looking for things that reduced the fat content of her baking. Just be aware of that when you use her recipes.
Good to know. Thank you.
I just found this wonderful information – thank you for all the testing you did to find a great tasting blend. i do have a question, I have read that to convert a recipe to GF, you should increase the baking soda, and possible the liquid. Do you have a rule of thumb for that?
LS: the main things I look for are: 1) baking powder and eggs. If there isn’t baking powder, or much baking powder, I add more. And if there isn’t at least 1 egg per cup of flour, add more eggs.
I am glad I found your blog !!!
, this time with your mix.
I stopped baking for years, because I could not figure out how to recreate the taste of my German pastries without the wheat flour.
I think I will try again
Simona: Yay! I am so glad!
Jeanne, just found your website (with the help from a very dear friend) and I was interested in trying the flour mix for use in a pie crust. I’ve got Bob’s Red Mill Sweet White Rice flour on hand. Is that the same as the sweet rice flour in your ingredient list?
Sandi: Yes, it is the same thing!
Jeanne, I just found this site this morning and am really excited to try your flour mix. I’ve been trying to bake gluten free for the last three years and have also been very frustrated with having to use so many different flours for one recipe. Thank you so much for all your research and work you have put into this.
Tina: You’re welcome! Happy baking!
Thanks for posting a gluten-free baking mix recipe. I will give this one a try!!!
Hi I look forward to trying some of your recipes – have had tummy troubles for years and happened upon an article on gluten intolerance and magically my tummy problems improved (although docs say I am not coelliac). I have also been diabetic for 27 yrs and wondered if you have any recipes that incorporate a sugar free diet. Great to know there are people out there that are prepared to give up their time to help others. Thank you. Claire = UK
Claire: I mostly have baking recipes here on the site–which usually include sugar or honey. I haven’t done much experimenting with sugar-free baking. You could experiment with my recipes using your own sugar-substitute. That’s usually what I recommend for folks. Thanks for stopping by!
This is amazing! Can this be made in bulk and stored? Must it be refrigerated or can it be stored in an air tight container? Do you typically make the mixture to order or prepare in advance? If this is confusing: can I double or triple the measurements and store it?
Thanks again.
KG: Yes, you can double or triple the recipe. That’s what I do! And it should be stored in a cool place. If you aren’t going to use what you make within about a month or so, I would store it in the fridge/freezer. The oils in the brown rice flour can go rancid if left out at room temperature for too long. Happy baking!
YES! I soooo agree. I’ve had much the same thoughts and feelings about gluten-free flour blends. Years ago, I tried several famous brands before branching out to create my own gluten-free mixes in my own kitchen. Gluten-free baking is not all there is to gluten-free living. It bothers me that so many people get scared off from creating their own flour blends, being told that they won’t be getting much nutrition if they use a mix that doesn’t include “more nutrient rich” flours like bean, quinoa and teff. I totally agree. The mix I created for my kitchen is made of rice flour, sweet rice flour, potato starch and tapioca starch. As far as nutrition goes, isn’t that what fruits, veggies and meats – if you eat meat – are for?
Faythe! Exactly! I don’t eat brownies for my health!
And I agree–I am not sure why people make such a big deal out of adding “nutritious” flours to their GF blends when they would never bat an eye at using normal all-purpose flour if they could use it. You’re right–it does scare newbies away from the whole enterprise. Which makes me sad. Baking for everyone!!
Do I need to adjust your flour mix and/or baking recipes for high altitude…7,100 ft. and high desert.
Thanx
Hi Alima: I’m not super experienced with high altitude baking. But, I have readers who have reported back that gluten-free baking is actually easier at high altitude. GF baked goods have a hard time rising due to the lack of elasticity. Taking a bit of the pressure off, which is what happens at altitude, makes things rise higher and faster. I would use the recipes as is, but alter the rising/baking time to your needs. I think things will take less time to rise. And maybe less time to bake. Also, please report back to me, if you can–would love to hear how things are going!
Thank you do much for this blog. I have been struggling with wanting to be a better baker, and have felt clueless since I entered the blogging world. I thought I would replace my good old unhealthy all purpose mix with a sorghum mix. Oh my did that go wrong!! I am embarrassed to say, but my poor kids ate it anyway. Thank you for putting it in purspective. I am going to have to try your mix.
Nicki
Nicki: Oh, I’m so glad the blog is helpful for you! And yes, I think the concept of making your flour mix “healthy” just confuses folks about gf baking and, I think, turns people off of baking altogether. Which makes me sad. Try the mix and let me know what you think!
Hi Jeanne,
Really enjoyed reading this article. I am an avid gf baker with two celiacs in the family (not me) and seven years later, still learning new things all the time. With Christmas coming, I am making my list of baking ingredients and realize that I am weary of constantly adjusting recipes and experimenting with flours. I will try your well-researched blend and see how it works in our favourite recipes. I have a few questions for you.
How do you recommend I proceed when a recipe calls for a gf flour blend and it is assumed that the blend contains the usually essential x.gum, b.powder, b.soda and salt? What is your rule for adding these to a recipe which does not explicitly prescribe these as it is assumed it is already included in the gf flour blend? Yesterday I made sour cream blueberry muffins following the recommendations on glutenfreegoddess.com. See below.
“I used my trusty Pamela’s Ultimate Baking Mix for the basic flour mix in this recipe, but you can use any gluten-free baking mix you prefer. Just make sure it’s got some leavening in it, and a touch of xanthan or guar gum (think pancake mix). The leavening in Pamela’s Ultimate Baking Mix is equal to approximately 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda per cup of flour mix.” Does this sound reasonable, in your experience?
And then I read Bob’s Red Mill’s suggestions for quantities of X. Gum (on the back of his all-purpose baking flour), and I have followed these suggestions when the recipe leaves it out. Does this make good sense to you?
I rarely have disasters anymore but I am tired of trying different blends, either homemade or commercially produced – (too $$$) and now finally I want the convenience of making a large g0-to batch of a gf blend. And I also stared with Betty’s Gluten-free Gourmet and finally gave the book away about a year ago, primarily because I just didn’t like the gf ap-flour blends, they tasted way too heavy and bean-y and so I moved on. (I do, however, use Quinoa flour while I bake my way through “Quinoa 365″ and feel good about this ‘healthy’ option, although it will never be the only one I use of course.)
What, based on your extensive experience, would you recommend to me as my rule of thumb to follow in my baking journey? I generally bake muffins, cookies, loaves and scones – food for a busy family who need yummy, satisfying and homemade baking which is not complicated to prepare. I use the internet a lot now for recipes, and the recipes vary drastically. Why can’t all gf recipes just be like regular recipes? If a regular recipe calls for flour, then one just adds flour. Then it may call for b powder, or some salt, or whatever. This is straight forward and involves no calculations. But noooooooooo…..gf baking is anything but straightforward, and I am no amateur. Grrrrrr
I have never written to a blog before but when I sat down to get the to bottom of finding the best-ever-all-purpose-gf-flour blend, your thoughts so closely echoed mine that I am now compelled to ask for your help.
Thank you very much for your consideration and time. I appreciate your expertise.
Jennifer Hutchison
Jennifer: to be honest, my answer would be to not use a recipe that assumes the flour blend contains things like salt, baking powder, baking soda, etc. I would steer towards recipes that call for just plain “flour” and then add the other stuff as needed by that recipe. Treat gf baking as you would wheat baking–use the flour as its own ingredient. Also, your questions actually need pages and pages to answer well, but following are a few thoughts:
Recipes vary drastically because the developers vary drastically. And each one has different levels of experience and different expectations. I would recommend using your own wheat recipes and adapt them to gf. You can check them against my recipes to see if they have the right mix of ingredients. The main thing I have found is that cakes and muffins need extra baking powder to rise well. The only thing I would say is to not try to adapt yeasted recipes, yet. They are a whole other bird from adapting the other recipes because you don’t need to knead them–you mix them like cake.
I hope this is helpful!
Hi Jeanne,
One more thing….can you explain in more detail for me , this paragraph?
“Please note that when I refer to a gf “flour mix” in my recipes I mean one that is designed to be used as a cup-for-cup substitute for wheat flour. I do not mean a pancake mix or a baking mix that includes other ingredients like baking powder, soda, vanilla, or salt. These types of mixes will not work well when you’re baking from scratch and using a recipe that calls for “flour.”
Thank you. Jennifer H
Jennifer: I once had a reader use a gf pancake mix (that contained baking soda, vanilla flavoring, and salt) as the flour in a recipe and then complain that the recipe didn’t work. So, I wanted to be clear that flour meant flour–not a mix for something else.
One more final comment Jeanne,
Your blend consists of some portion of brown rice flour. You can assure your followers that this indeed is a healthy ingredient – and one need not feel compelled to add bean flour, or other flours, to ensure a healthy blend – this one has some element of ‘healthy’ already included.
Jennifer H
Jennifer: You are so right!
Thank you so much Jeanne for your direction. I am going to try Biscotti next and will let you know how it tastes with your suggested flour blend. We will follow your blog from now on, enjoy it so much.
Jennifer and her gratefully satiated family.
My hubby has been on a GF diet for over a year, but would cheat just to get some treats every once in a while that tasted decent. When I saw Recipe Girl’s GF Pumpkin Cornbread this week, I was so excited to hear that she was able to fool others by using your GF mix. I’ve had various GF flours on hand (that I’ve been too intimidated to do anything with) so I decided to make up a batch of your flour today and make the hubby some coconut chocolate chip cookies. We tried them out today and I was doing a happy dance that they tasted like REAL cookies. He will no longer have to be “bad” to enjoy something delicious. I am looking forward to baking for him more often and trying this in other recipes as well. Even my two picky kids have gone back for more of “dad’s cookies” this evening. THANK YOU for sharing what you have learned so that others may live a more fuller life! I will definitely be looking at more things on your site to see what else you have learned.
Jules: Oh I’m so glad! Yay! thanks for letting me know.
I think I must have done something wrong! I made the mix and tried the sandwhich bread recipe. The bread was pretty but totally tasteless and well weird. It was slimy and wouldn’t toast. I mean it really wouldn’t toast. So, I’m think I may have added too much of something. I’m just not sure what it was. Since, it was slimy I’m thinking it had to be a starch. I’m wondering if I added a protein, like almond flour if it would make a difference? I made a large jar of the mix so the whole thing is messed up!
Robyn: Hm. I would recommend trying this recipe again. I’m wondering if you added too much xanthan gum. That would make it slimy. I wouldn’t start adding other stuff until you have tried again. Other folks have had success with this recipe (and I make it a lot), so it’s a tried and true. Make it again and let me know how it goes!
I also avoid corn and nightshades, so no cornstarch or potato starch for me. I’ve experimented with making a mix of white rice flour, sweet rice flour and tapioca, but definately want to try your mix with Brown Rice Flour. You mention Bob’s Red Mill and Authentic Foods as sources for flour. Regarding the Brown Rice Flour, do you recommend the Superfine BRF or will standard BRF be okay? Thanks so much!
Stephanie: I think superfine is what folks like best. But, the grind on both Bob’s RM and Authentic Foods brown rice flour is fine for me. Happy baking!
I love you!!!! This is incredible flour. My 31 yr old daughter had to go gluten free last year and with her sweet tooth it breaks my heart to listen to her ‘settle’ by saying…”It’s not great, but it will do.” I found your gf flour recipe yesterday and was thrilled to find all the ingredients in our small rural area. I made a family banana bread recipe and substituted your flour mix… DELISH!!! You would never know it is gf! I also made a carrot cake and it to tastes remarkable!!! I can’t wait for her to try them tomorrow…. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jan: Oh, I’m so glad!! Yay!
Hi Jeanne!
The Rice flour at my local Asian store, has rice and water as ingredients. Also the Glutinous rice flour has glutinous rice flour and water as it’s ingredients. would these be the flours to use or should I look for something that does not contain water as an ingredient? The rice flour comes in a transparent pack with red lettering and the glutinous rice flour has green lettering on a transparent packet, I believe they are Thai.
here’s the glutinous rice flour
javascript:popupWindow(‘http://grocerythai.com/erawan-glutinous-rice-flour-16oz-pi-141.html?osCsid=9e0bd47500785c7abbc47303e3848fd2′)
Lese: If the package says “glutinous rice flour” then I assume that’s what it is.
Also, unless they are wet (which I can’t imagine they would be if they are called “flour,” they should be fine. I’m guessing that the water part is due to some part of the processing. They should be dry like wheat flour.
Hi Jeanne,
I was really excited to find this recipe. I have tried it now in 3 of my staple cookie recipes and only had success with one of them. Since you indicated that it could be substituted for “most” recipes I was wondering if you could give me your thoughts on this? The recipe that it worked in was from Cooks Illustrated, their peanut butter cookie. The two that didn’t work were a Chocolate Sable by Pierre Herme http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/07/style/tmagazine/sable_recipe2.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=pierre%20herme%20sable&st=cse, and my favorite Espresso Shortbread recipe from Fine Cooking. The Sable and Shortbread both flattened in the oven and came out looking like little flat rocks and the texture was not much better. Do you know why this happened? I would love to be able to bake using this flour, what should I do differently?
(Also: It should be noted that since I was baking at the holidays and needed the cookies to take to parties I baked batches using this flour and wheat flour side by side just in case they didn’t come out… the wheat flour recipes all came out perfectly so I know it wasn’t my mistake with other ingredients). Any thoughts you might have regarding this would be greatly appreciated.
Dawn: Hm, I looked at the Pierre Herme recipe and that should have come out. The cookies should not have been like flat rocks. I am thinking that something must have been done differently to make them come out weird. If the butter was too warm when they went into the oven, then the cookies will come out flatter. But, they shouldn’t come out like rocks. I don’t know what to tell you other than to try it again.
Just tonight I was at Whole Foods and noticed they have brown rice flour in their bins and I thought maybe I should try to do something. I’ve been wanting to try gluten free baking not because I need to, but because I want to experiment. I enjoyed reading this post. Every word to see the process you went through. I’m with you on it all tasting good and being like baked goods we grew up on. Thanks for all your hard work.
Angela: Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Jeanne,
Thanks for your reply. No, both the shortbread and the sables are a style of cookie that get’s rolled into a log and refrigerated for a minimum of 2 hours, then sliced and quickly thrown into the oven (and I refrigerate all my cookies before baking regardless). Also as mentioned I baked them side by side with the wheat flour recipe, so put the ingredients in at the same time. No difference. They both flattened and looked kind of bubbly. Hmmm. Well, I appreciate your taking the time to answer. I guess I’ll try again. If they do need to be tweaked, is there one ingredient you would suggest I add more to the mix? Or maybe I’ll just try adding more of the total flour. Also I was wondering how you mix your flour. I sifted mine like 4 times just to make sure the ingredients got all incorporated evenly (2 tsp of xanthan gum isn’t very much), but you don’t mention anything like that in your post. Do you follow any special method? Best, Dawn
Dawn: Hm. That’s so weird. When I get a chance (heh), I will try those recipes. I mix my flour by shaking and turning the container. I want to make sure I get everything mixed up well. But, I have also mixed it with a spoon with no problem. Shoot. Try again and let me know what happens.
I love yor flour bland. I have been using it for about 2-3 weeks now and it has turned out beautifully in everything I have done. Especially my beignets. They puffed. I made the changes you suggested addidn extra baking powder and egg and ta-da! it was magis. Also quick tip I used plastic wrap over the dough to roll it out since it was now more sticky. My kids are bak to enjoying pancakes or beignets for weekend breakfasts. Thank you soooo much !!!!!
Kendra:Ooo, your beignets sounds awesome! Thanks for letting me know of your success with the flour blend–yay! So happy to help!
I can’t believe I had forgotten your blog! I have been gluten free for a year and as a pastry chef I have been struggling and almost given up enjoying some recipes I loved. I hate the bean taste of many flowers, and didn’t have the time or patience to research, this is perfect, thanks!
I am going to try this mix asap! I am glad Helene of Tartelette posted about your mix.
I am your follower now! Thanks!
Laura: Yay! And I love Helene!!
When you say scant… are we talking more along the lines of 1 & 3/4? I noted that a commenter may have had adverse results from too much xanthan gum.
I am new to Gluten-Free and am craving chocolate chip cookies… I just want to be sure I have this right. Thanks for the help.
I also found your blog through Tartelette, and am SO glad that I did.
Rebecca: I mean just barely 2 tsp. But, with this tiny measurement, it doesn’t matter that much. Too much xanthan gum is more like 1 tsp per cup of flour. That’s where you would start noticing the problems. And welcome!!
Hi!
I came across your blog when I was trying to see if I could replace all-purpose flour for a combo of gluten-free flour + xanthan gum. I have a cookbook that is completely gluten-free. I bought it because it also is allergy-free! My daughter is allergic to milk, eggs & possibly peanuts. Baking can be a little tricky. So, even though she doesn’t have celiac dz I bought this book because it was so highly recommended for people with food allergies (on Amazon).
Do you think I could substitute all-purpose flour for the gluten-free flour & xanthan gum in baking recipes? Would it just be a 1:1 replacement?
Thanks so much!!!
Tara: Let’s see. Are you asking if you can substitute all-purpose wheat flour in the place of my mix for my recipes? If so, the answer is yes–except for the yeasted recipes. Yeasted recipes are quite different. Happy baking!
SInce going back to baking and now baking my own gf breads I have discovered I need a stand mixer. I will be buyig a kitchenaid pro 6000this weekend and noticed it has a grain mill attachemnt.
My questions are as follows: Have you ever ground your own brown rice flour?
Is brown rice flour really just ground up brown rice?
Do you know if there is a particular variety of brown rice i should buy for grinding or should I just call the whole thing off and stick with store bought brown rice flour.
Thx
Ps
My concern is price. My local asian food store ( whhich is huge!!!) carries white rice flour for 77 cents per lb
glutinous white rice flour for 69 cents per lb
and tapioca starch for 70 cents per lb. Averaged out it is much much cheaper than bob’s. but i can not find an i expensive brown rice flour.
Kendra: Unfortunately, gluten-free flours are more expensive. That is mainly because they are considered unusual and so are not made on a large scale. I do think this will change at some point, but for now–we just have to budget carefully. Sigh.
This website is awesome! I have a GF friend and I needed someone to help me eat the delicious things a make so this is perfect. I have mixed together a batch of your AP GF flour. I have 2 specific questions, the recipe I’m using calls for 2 c regular flour, 1 tsp baking SODA, 5 eggs.
I’m subbing the GF flour here. Would you go ahead and add that amount of soda? And would you add baking POWDER even though it doesn’t call for it? Thank you!
Melissa: I would add a teaspoon of baking powder to the recipe. Baking soda usually isn’t enough all by itself to rise cakes and breads–although the large number of eggs will help it rise. So keep the soda and add powder. Let me know how it goes.
Is there any way to substitute out the tapioca starch? My boyfriend and I are very sensitive to the taste (some kind of awful metallic grossness).
Thanks,
Molly
Molly: yes, you can substitute potato starch (not potato flour–they are two different things). Also, you might want to investigate tapioca starches from difference companies. I hear that people often find ones they like. I am not clear what the situation is with tapioca starch. I am beginning to think that it somehow goes bad. I run across bad tasting ts every so often. It’s strange.
Hi!
I so agree with you with all those cakes/breads tasteless or with an horrible taste. It’s like when you are vegetarian (I am), you are obviously on diet and eating green leaves without oil
Well same goes for people who are on a GF diet! We all deserve the right to have taste in our plates 
I would like to thank you for the great effort you made on this research. My friend is on a GF diet and she doesn’t know how to eat/cook/bake as her whole world crumbled. As I love to cook I am always looking for dishes and desserts for her to eat and I’m so glad I found your website. I will give it a try but it sounds promising.
As well in France, this GF is not as important as in UK or US but it should and it’s good to see that we could educate a lot of people to offer GF bread or cakes and so on as well (but they need to be baked and store in a different place as contamination is easily done I read)
Thanks a lot for this
Alexandra
Alexandra: I’m so glad this is helpful for you!
Hi Jeanne,
I stumbled on this site doing gf research and boy am I grateful! I am so excited to try your gf AP flour mix, but just one question: Can I double the white rice flour in place of the brown rice flour? I’m just trying to streamline and use what I have, and not make one more of my seemingly endless trips to the store. Thank you so much for your effort and generosity! M
Michele: Yes, you can. But be aware that the brown rice does bring with it some qualities that make the mix feel and taste like AP wheat flour. I would recommend using it if you have the option.
Do you mind elaborating on those qualities? It’s not easy for me to get brown rice flour and I was wondering if I could just use all white rice flour and maybe add in some other ingredients to mimic what’s missing. I love your blog btw, only just discovered it and am thrilled to see you don’t use any of the flours I can’t use.
Cocoa: During my research, I learned that all-purpose wheat flour is 80% starches and 20% protein and gums. And there is also a bit of a grain to it, which is where the brown rice comes in. You can certainly use all white rice flour, but I don’t think it is optimal. Don’t forget that you can order brown rice (and all of the other flours) online! Also, I’m so glad the blog is helpful for you!
Jeanne,
Thanks so much for your prompt response. I will take my behind to the store and get the brown rice flour. And now for another question… re your gf French cruller recipe: I followed the recipe, doubling the white rice flour in place of the brown, and it was a gf revelation… deelish! However, I tried to make some more from the remaining batter a few hours later, and the result was nothing like the first batches, soggy and not crisp at all. Is this a batter that just doesn’t sit well? Should I have refrigerated it even for two hours? My experience with pate a choux is that it’s good even the next day. Where did I go wrong? Gratefully, M
Michele: Hm. I’m not sure what happened. If it was only a few hours later, it should have been OK. One thing I’m wondering is if the few-hours-old batter absorbed the liquid in a way that required a longer frying time. Pate au choux batter works best when it is a bit “dry” which is what it is when you first make it. If you make it this way again, I would recommend frying it for a bit longer than the newly made batter. Also, if you do refrigerate it, be sure to bring it to room temperature before using it.
I am very eager to try this. My first venture will be a pizza!
Kathy: I’m glad this looks appealing to you! But realize that adapting yeast-based recipes to gluten-free requires more tweaking than simply using a gf flour. I would recommend trying the recipe on this site to get a sense for how the dough should behave! Happy baking!
It drives me crazy when people tell me they think gf baking tastes weird and then I find out that it’s because bean or some other strong-tasting flour was used by the baker.
I knew when I saw this that I was in good hands. Thank you for this! I had tried another GF mix from another website which had, like, eight ingredients and half of them were there to make the flour taste “healthy”. I’m in your camp. Most of the time, I eat paleo. When I want a baked good, I don’t want gluten, and I don’t want it to taste like a health food product. I want it to taste good! You have made it possible for me to enjoy the occasional treat of my homemade cornbread without exposing myself to gluten. Thanks!
Steph: Yay! I’m so glad!
I’m so glad you guys are having these discussions. I just went GF less than 2 weeks ago and got hit by a chocolate chip cookie craving that won’t quit, so I was searching for flour recipes (since, sadly, every chocolate GF snack I found in the store was so, so, so disappointing…). I admit to being one of those newbies that thought I needed to find a flour with flax seed or other healthy things in it. I don’t know why! I rarely bake and don’t even have much of a sweet tooth, so it’s not like I’ll be eating cookies every day. Regular flour was always good enough before, so thanks for knocking me over the head (kindly) to remind why my flour doesn’t have to be loaded with good stuff, it just has to taste good! I’m trying this flour with a cookie recipe this week – fingers crossed!!!
Hi, I was just wondering about your all purpose flour used with egg replacer. I am vegan. Will it matter at all? I am new to gluten free-just learning. Thanks so much! Linda
Linda: The flour mix works as well as anything really does with egg replacers. What that means is that eggs provide a lot of structure to the baked goods in which they are used, so using a replacer will result in a flatter and more dense baked good. That’s just the way it goes with egg replacers.
I have one question? Do you add the xanthum gum at the time of making the mix or add it as you go. I have been reading that it goes bad really fast (who knows what that really means sometimes when a twinkie is indestructible)
Thank you so much for sharing! I just found your site and am still reading.
Brandi: I add it to the time of mixing. I haven’t heard of xanthan gum going bad. I do use my mix very quickly, but I also store my extra xanthan gum at room temperature in a kitchen cupboard. I haven’t seemed to have had any problems, but I will do more research.
Thank you very much for your response!!! I will be shopping and making some flour today. My babies are missing baked goods and the mixes are just to crazy expensive!
Thanks again
Brandi: Yay! My pleasure!
I have now baked like 20 of your recipes with your flour.
OMG you are a goddess!!!
We have loved everything! Thank you soooooooo much for taking the time to share! You are my go to genius.
I think I may have told you this before but I can not say it enough!
Brandi
Hi Jeanne, is there anything that I can use as a substitute for the glutenous rice flour? I can’t seem to find it my town. I don’t mind the taste of all the bean flours (in fact I love it!), and I can also get a hold of a few different flours, but not the sweet/glutenous rice!
Heidi: I would use potato flour (not starch). That’s usually the best substitute.
Hi,
I’m living the paleo lifestyle and I’m very interessted in your flour mix, because I have kids and sometimes I need a replacement for wheat flour. The only thing which is not paleo style is the brown rice flour. Would there be a possibility to replace it with an other flour? Why do you use brown rice flour? Is it the taste or does it make the handling better? Could I replace it with almond flour, coconut flour? An oter starch?
Would be more than happy if you could help me.
Thanks.
Sumssums: As far as I know, none of my flour mix is paleo–it’s all rice and tapioca. I think you need to research other flour mixes are listed as paleo-friendly. I’m not really an expert on paleo baking mixes, so I’m not sure what to recommend.
Hi Jeanne,
rice and tapioca are safe starches, so I allow them in my diet. I’m eating rice and different kinds of tubers.
Yesterday I just replaced the brown rice with almond flour and I baked the pressed butter cookis. They are fantastic. So I think, my replacement should work fine.
Thanks a lot for this flour mix
Sumssums: Oh, good! I’m so glad!
Brandi: Yay! That is so good to hear! I’m so glad to be of help!
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