How to Make Your Own Gluten Free Flour Blend
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One question I get a lot is which gluten free all-purpose flour I use. Having been eating this way for a year and a half now, we’ve tried quite a few. There are pros and cons to many of the common blends. Some are too “bean-y” because of the garbanzo bean flour (Bob’s Red Mill), some are a bit too starchy (Trader Joe’s), and some are mostly well balanced but use xanthan gum (Arrowhead Mills).
I really don’t think any of these is a horrible blend–I keep a box of Arrowhead Mills on hand just in case, and I’ve used Trader Joe’s off and on with good results. I just liked the idea of coming up with something just right.
Enter: Shauna James Ahern, the Gluten Free Girl. I’ll be honest, when Michael did some interviewing in Seattle, I secretly had my fingers crossed that we’d move there and sometime I’d run into her at a farmers market on Vashon Island. She’s great. I love her books
, and she’s such a helpful resource for anyone just going gluten free.
She has a great method for making your own gluten free all-purpose flour blend that works really well in quick breads and muffins. It’s made up of 40% whole grain flours and 60% starches. This combination contains just enough protein that things have some substance and just enough starch that things don’t crumble and dry out. I’ve found that using this blend means I don’t have to add any xanthan gum or guar gum to any of my muffin recipes. (Some people have inflammatory or digestive responses to these gums.)
I’ll send you over to Shauna for the full range of options and her great video, but I thought I’d share my own favorite combination. My favorite combination uses sweet rice flour and potato (or tapioca starch) for the starch component, and teff flour, millet flour, and sorghum flour for the whole grain component. As you’ll see in Shauna’s post, you can mix and match flours and starches as much as you like, so long as you keep that 60/40 ratio. We’ve subbed in oat flour or brown rice flour with good results.
A few notes:
I order my flours in bulk from amazon to save a bit of money. If you’re just testing things out, you may want to buy single packages of each flour before ordering in bulk. The beauty of this is that you can buy and use what YOU like!
You do want to use a kitchen scale, if you can. You don’t need anything fancy (This one
and this one
are very highly rated and not very expensive). I bought mine at Target in January on sale for about $10.
How to Make Your Own Gluten Free Flour Blend
Description
Here’s my favorite combination for a gluten free all purpose flour blend. This can be used in quick breads and muffins with no need for xanthan or guar gum. 140 grams of the flour mixture is approximately 1 cup
Ingredients
- 300g sweet rice flour
- 300g potato starch or tapioca starch
- 150g teff flour
- 150g millet flour
- 100g sorghum flour
Instructions
- Combine all flours and whisk together. 140g of this flour mixture is approximately 1 cup of flour.
I made this flour mixer as advice with the same measurements and have not been able to make anything with this flour.
Any suggestions on how to use this batch of flour better? Thank , vj
Vicki Jo – Can you tell me a bit more? What recipes have you tried it in? This sort of flour mixture works best in quick breads (like banana bread, muffins, etc.)
I made these pancakes, but I didn’t have teff flour, so I used the original flour recipe. They turned out well; but one thing: one of the ingredients (sorghum, millet, potato starch, sweet rice flour) has a little bit of a sharper taste. Any idea which it might be, and what I might want to substitute for it? I was impressed how well they held together! I’d post a photo, but I don’t think I can here. Thanks for the post!!
Jerri Lynn – Thanks for your feedback! Hmm… I definitely don’t think it’s the potato starch or the sweet rice flour. They’re both so mild. I think sorghum might be the culprit? It’s been a while since I’ve made this, but I think you can try subbing oat flour and brown rice flour for the sorghum and millet if you prefer.
Hi Emily
What can i substitute for sweet rice flour.
Here in South Africa we don’t have that.
Or is there another name for sweet rice flour.
Warm Regards
Rasheeda – I’m not sure if any of these would be more available, but you could also substitute Arrowroot, Cornstarch, Potato Flour, Potato Starch, Tapioca Flour, or White Rice Flour. You just want something starchy.
I haven’t tried yet but I’ve been searching for a gluten free flour blend for a sourdough bread. I hope and pray this it it!!! Thank you
Claudette – I haven’t tested it for sourdough yet, but I wish you luck!