Understanding & Choosing Gluten Free Flours, Part 2: Mixing Flours
February 4, 2010 { }
Last Friday there was a lively discussion about gluten free flour density – if you missed Part 1 of this series on gluten free flour density you can find it here.
More on Flour Density
I classified flours into three categories – lightweight, mediumweight, and heavyweight. My good friend Linda from Kitchen Therapy made a great point, one that I didn’t include – lightweight gluten free flours are probably not flours at all.
They’re some form of starch. Cornstarch, arrowroot starch, potato starch, tapioca starch. This confused me when I first started baking gluten free – putting cornstarch in my cupcakes was a little weird.
My earlier baking projects were starch heavy. I could get wheat-like results that way. I didn’t know much about the nutritional side of gluten free flours and only wanted an edible result.
Baking with Lightweight Gluten Free Flours
Here’s where I stand on this today:
I like using less lightweight, starchy flours and more nutrition dense flours in my baking. I feel better about what I’m putting in my body. That being said, I don’t think starchy flours are bad. They help improve texture. For me, the important part is being aware of what I’m eating and practicing moderation.
Obviously, the less non-nutritious foods I put in my body the better. Nutrient dense quinoa and millet are much healthier choices than cornstarch. Hands down.
But let’s look at this from an analytical standpoint:
Let’s say a muffin recipe calls for 2 cups of quinoa flour and 1/2 cup of tapioca starch. The yield is 12 muffins.
There are roughly 24 teaspoons in 1/2 cup. Each muffin would have about 2 teaspoons of starch in it. Not a huge deal. (Please note: This is based on a liquid measure so it’s close but not exact.)
Why We Mix Gluten Free Flours (or starches…)
Mixing flours generally gives a better result. It’s not necessary with all flours, but it helps most.
When you combine a lightweight flour and a heavyweight flour, the final product is lighter. This is why you often see a starchy flour mixed with a medium or heavyweight flour.
Which Combination Will Work Best?
To answer this question, you have to know a couple of things. First, know what you’re trying to create. If you want to make a traditional white cake for a birthday party, choose flours that are light in color and texture. A mix heavier in starch will probably work best.
Maybe you want to make a nutritious breakfast muffin that will satisfy your appetite while not making you crash later from too many carbs. For this I’d go with a mix that is mostly garbanzo bean or quinoa flour mixed with sorghum and a little arrowroot or tapioca starch to improve the texture.
When testing a new recipe, I generally start with 4 parts medium or heavyweight flour to 1 part lightweight flour. I also like to mix medium and heavyweight flours in a recipe. Over time, I’ve learned to let gluten free flours be what they are. The creative freedom that has come from this has been incredible.
The second thing to know is what flours work well together and which ones don’t. More about this next week.
Recipes
To help make this a little more concrete, here are some recipes that feature different flour mixes.
Please note that these are not perfect examples, instead they’re here to illustrate the different ways these flours can be used.
- Lightweight Gluten Free Flour Recipes
Chive & Parsley Cream Biscuits
Lynn’s Gluten Free Bread Machine Bread - Mediumweight Gluten Free Flour Recipes
Carrot Date Spice Muffins
Sour Milk Sorghum Pancakes from Linda at Kitchen Therapy - Heavier Gluten Free Flour Recipes
Cranberry Walnut Bread with Buckwheat Flour
Buckwheat Pumpkin Muffins
What’s your experience with mixing gluten free flours?
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Tags: gluten free baked goods > gluten free baking > gluten free flour blends > gluten-free > wheat free baking > wheat free desserts
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18 Responses to “Understanding & Choosing Gluten Free Flours, Part 2: Mixing Flours”
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About Amy Green
Nearly 6 years of living free of refined sugars and gluten has stopped my food cravings enabled me to maintain a 60+ pound weight loss. Today I live with enormous freedom. Join me as I create healthier food that's SS&GF and delicious. I hope to help you do the same. Read more about my story here.
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February 4th, 2010 @ 10:40 pm
Love this series, knowing the flours makes such a big difference in the outcome of baked goods!
Have you noticed how much easier it is to make a gravy or thicken a sauce with rice flour? It never worked as well when I used all purpose (wheat) flour in the old gluten days!
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Amy Reply:
February 5th, 2010 at 6:49 am
@cecedon, When I thicken a sauce I generally use arrowroot or cornstarch. I like arrowroot better because it’s supposed to be soothing for your digestive system.
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February 4th, 2010 @ 10:52 pm
Thanks for the mentions sugar free, but still sweet Amy! I enjoy experimenting with high nutrition whole-grain gluten free flours. Some aren’t really true grains, but we use them like grain flours. Buckwheat, quinoa, and amaranth for example.
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Amy Reply:
February 5th, 2010 at 6:42 am
@Linda- Kitchen Therapy, You are always a step ahead of me.
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February 5th, 2010 @ 7:57 am
There are 8-10 different GF flours in my freezer. A good friend once remarked ‘you need another freezer just to store your flours’. You really do for the most nutritious ones, to keep them from going rancid. The white starches can go in the pantry.
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February 5th, 2010 @ 9:04 am
This is a great series. I have a variety of flours, so I enjoy mixing them a great deal. I love sorghum and quinoa together with a bit of starch, such as tapioca. I wonder – is there a health benefit of one starch over another? Or are they basically all the same? I gravitate towards tapioca and arrowroot, basically because I have family members with corn intolerances (and I don’t want to develop one, if I happen to be prone to it) but I don’t know if they are any healthier, really.
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Amy Reply:
February 5th, 2010 at 9:35 am
@Alta (Tasty Eats At Home), I am more prone to use arrowroot or tapioca starch too. Arrowroot is supposed to help calm your digestive system and be easier to digest. I don’t know how valid that info is, but it’s what I’ve read on the internet in several places.
I resisted using potato starch for a long, long time but it really works well in breads.
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February 5th, 2010 @ 9:29 am
Thank you so much for this series Amy! I’m not much of a baker, so I’m definitely learning a lot.
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February 5th, 2010 @ 9:46 am
I love mixing flours. I have such a hard time finding “heavier” flours whose flavor I like. Teff is nice, but it can be too strong sometimes, if used too much. I love buckwheat. I’m still trying to figure out which ones are the tastiest and most affordable
.
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February 5th, 2010 @ 4:14 pm
Wonderful series. I have a question. I went to buy potato starch and the only thing they had was ener g’s “Potato Starch Flour”. I’m assuming it’s potato starch. However, I have read some recipes which say “Do not use potato flour, it will not work.” So, is “Potato Starch Flour”, potato starch or potato flour? Any help anyone can give me is so appreciated.
Thank you Amy once again.
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Amy Reply:
February 6th, 2010 at 3:30 pm
@Sandy Gillett, I’m not sure – I would check their website or call them. I’ve called them before with questions and they’re quite helpful. Let us know what you find out – it will help other people. (Me, too!)
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Sandy Gillett Reply:
February 6th, 2010 at 3:48 pm
@Amy, I don’t know why I didn’t think of that. I went to the website and they also have a product called potato flour so I’m assuming potato starch flour is potato starch. I’m going to use it as such. If I have any problems I’ll let everyone know.
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February 5th, 2010 @ 6:46 pm
This is amazing Amy. Thank you so much.
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February 6th, 2010 @ 11:58 pm
I just saw on a coupon website that I frequent often that there’s a deal for gluten free products- http://www.southernsavers.com/2010/02/ingles-weekly-ad-27-213/
Just thought I’d share in case anyone was interested!
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February 7th, 2010 @ 12:05 pm
Thank you for posting this series, Amy. It’s been very educational, & I enjoy learning more about GF flours.
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February 8th, 2010 @ 8:50 pm
Great posts. I tried gluten free flour for the first time this weekend. Now I know why my cookies turned out so light and delicate. I’ll keep tuning in to learn more.
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February 11th, 2010 @ 7:47 am
So i have what seems to be a silly question, but i’m not much of a baker…still learning.
When recipes, or especially flour mixes say “4 parts this, 1 part that” how does that translate exactly?
Thanks again for an awesome website, it has been so helpful!!
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Amy Reply:
February 11th, 2010 at 2:52 pm
@allyson, Not a silly question at all – using your example if you had 4 parts of sorghum flour and 1 part tapioca starch then each part would be an equal amount. You could use cups, tablespoons, teaspoons – it all depends on what you need the mix for.
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