Gluten-Free Flour

Always try to remember (when baking) to give the flour mixture time to rest when combined with xantham gum or guar gum. This gives it a chance to become sticky like regular gluten flour. As a result you should end up with better baking.

Thank you for sharing Daniel. Guar and zantham gum can take some getting used to, so any tips are helpful. Do you have a preference in terms of using one or the other?

I know little about GF baking, as I have just started some testing since a friend asked me to adapt a "roscón de reyes" (brioche-type spanish viennoiserie) to GF. I tried the mix "Ideas in Food" suggests with fairly decent results (http://blog.ideasinfood.com/ideas_in_food/2012/02/what-iif-flour.html). They also updated the same mix to a guar gum based mix rather than xantham (http://blog.ideasinfood.com/ideas_in_food/2012/03/batch-2-flour.html). I am reading from various sources to draw out conclusions on how to use each ingredient and test them, but I find it soo difficult! All the prepped GF flour mixes available here in Spain are dreadful, I tried them against these mixes and these beat them by far, specially in terms of taste. I suppose they use too much gums in their mixes. I find it a very interesting subject with so much to be learnt..I hope we can somehow contribute ideas to improve on our GF baking, to provide decent alternatives for people on GF diets (which at the moment, at least here, are well below average)

Hi Eva- Thanks for sharing the links. I think one confusing thing about GF flour is there are so many options and flavor profiles. Some have a beany flavor because of soy or chickpea flour, others have so much guar or xantham that the end product is not all that interesting. One might be OK for a curried fritter but not for a strawberry crumble. Rouxbe will be focusing a lot on health and alternative diets in the upcoming years. Enjoy!

Ive used arrowroot powder as a substitute for corn starch in gravies as a base for roux and haven't been disappointed.

What could I use instead of sorghum flour?

Hi Alexandra: Thanks for writing. I would suggest using "Bob's Red Mill" GF oat flour. If you cannot find the GF oat flour, Bob has certified GF oats, which I use to make oat flour. As you may know, Bob has two processing plants, and one is designated 100% GF (and certified). Oat flour is most close to the sorghum. Hope this is helpful. One thing I have noticed of late is that grain products seem to be low on the grocery shelves, you may want to visit the website: www.bobsredmill.com Hope this is helpful to you. Best, Char

Hi does this blend work well for a tortilla wrap?

Geetika, I have not used this blend for 'flour' tortillas, but I encourage you to give it a try. Start with relatively small tortillas to see how much structure the dough has. Alternatively, you might consider corn tortillas that can be easily made with masa harina (para tortillas).

must this be a gluten free flour? would a wheat flour be okay too?

Hello, Lois: if you need a recipe for a gluten-free flour, the one above is a very good one to create. This recipe is a good substitute for wheat and other flours that are not gluten-free. If you have a favorite recipe that you enjoy and want to convert it to a gluten-free rendition, this recipe works well. If you are a fan of and can tolerate wheat flours, you may not need this recipe. I hope this answer has helped. Thanks for writing. Cheers, Char

Hi - do you know how this gf flour recipe behaves when making dumpling wrappers?

Hello, Debra: Thanks for your question. The ingredients should work. You might be interested in using a "GF Dumpling Flour whose ingredients contain: a blend of unrefined flour from buckwheat, oats, flax seeds, and psyllium husk. I think the psyllium husk will bind the ingredients well, and withstand the cooking process. The mentioned flour is available at: https://www.healthenhancedfoods.com/shop/dumpling-flour/ I hope this is helpful to you. I frequently bake with the recipe we have posted, and it works well in baking. Thank you for writing. Cheers, Char

Where can I find a bread recipe with this flour mix? I would really love to try if it works.

Hello Izabella--This works very well--I use it for breads, crusts and more. Here is the link and info about it: https://www.bobsredmill.com/gluten-free-1-to-1-baking-flour.html Happy baking, Char