Myra's Kitchen Blog » Gluten Free Flours

Before examining the ins and outs of the different gluten-free flours, it’s good to have a basic understanding of gluten and its properties. You are then in a better position to make an informed choice when deciding which of the gluten-free flours or mixes will be appropriate for your particular dish.

As a quick review: note that the flours that contain gluten include barley, rye and wheat, including the unhybridized varieties, such as spelt, kamut, and farro. Gluten-free oats can be purchased, but not everyone on a gluten-free diet can tolerate them. If you’re not sure about oats, it’s safer to leave them out of your diet.

Gluten is what makes dough stretchy and doughy, and in the case of bread, helps the dough to rise. Flours that contain gluten actually have two proteins in them by the name of glutenin and gliadin. These only turn into gluten when they come in contact with liquid. The more water added to the flour, the more gluten, and the chewier the dough. Kneading makes gluten molecules in dough form into long elastic strands, so how much the dough is kneaded also makes a big difference in the degree of elasticity. Added yeast gives off gasses that are trapped by sheets of gluten molecules, causing the dough to rise.

Different types of wheat dough contain different amounts of gluten. Bread dough has a lot, pastry dough a little. In addition, pastry dough contains additional fat, with only a little water, which is mixed in briefly, so that the gluten strands are just barely formed.

Wheat is especially versatile. It is used as a thickener in pies, sauces, and roux, as well as a crispy coating for sautéed items. It is common for a recipe to call for dredging an item in flour before sautéing it to make a crispy coating.

When it comes to substituting gluten-free flours for those with gluten, there is no “magic blend” that works for all recipes. You need to consider whether you need a thickener, a binder, or just simply structure. Gluten-free flour mixtures (as opposed to a quantity of a single variety) work best in many instances, since a combination of flours will contribute different properties. You can buy a commercial mix, or keep the flours on hand to make your own. In some instances, however, a single flour will do the job. I’ve used almond flour, sorghum flour, brown rice flour, chickpea flour, and coconut flour successfully in recipes.

When you need to thicken a sauce, the root starch thickeners, such as tapioca or arrowroot, work well. You can coat items in arrowroot, tapioca, rice flour, or cornmeal to get delicious crispy crusts.

Since tapioca and rice flours tend to give baked goods structure, these are common in flour blends. Gums, such as xantham gum or guar gum are used to create the sticky binding effect that gluten has. They are not always necessary, especially if there are eggs in a recipe. Although people vary the amount of gum added, a good rule of thumb is a ratio of ¼ teaspoon xantham gum per cup of flour for cakes, ¼ to ½ teaspoon for cookies, quick breads and muffins, and 1 to 2 teaspoons per cup of flour for items that require kneading.

Sometimes gluten-free baked goods do not hold up as well as those containing gluten, so the use of muffin tins or bread loaf pans can be helpful.

Note that the addition of warm liquid helps to give structure to your baked goods, and it is always best to add your liquid slowly.

If you are using a blend of flours, it’s a good idea to sift them together in order to make sure that you don’t end up with unmixed pockets of leavener or flour.

Keep gluten free flours in the refrigerator, if you have the room, for up to four or five months, or in the freezer for up to a year.

Most of the time, 1 cup of wheat flour can be substituted for 1 cup of a gluten-free flour, but there are some notable exceptions. The biggest difference is that you have to use only half as much nut flour in your recipe.

It is easiest, however, to use readymade flours. The following flours can be purchased readymade:

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