King Arthur Flour Gluten
This is the only all-purpose gluten-free flour blend on this list that doesnt contain xanthan gum an ingredient that adds structure to gluten-free baked goods. The omission of xanthan gum is a plus and a minus, depending on your needs and what youre making.
Without xanthan gum, recipes made with this mix can turn out somewhat dense and heavy. The lack of xanthan gum, on the other hand, allows you to customize recipes. You can add as much or as little as a recipe calls for. And because some folks chose to avoid xanthan gum, its the perfect blend for them. This flour blend works especially well in recipes that were created to be gluten-free versus using it as a one-to-one replacement for flour in a traditional recipe.
Use this when you want to control how much xanthan gum a recipe contains. Best for gluten-free recipes for cakes, cookies, brownies, and muffins.
High Protein Gluten Free Flour
These types of flours are ground from legumes such as soybeans or fava beans, rather than from grains. As these are heavy and dense flours with quite a strong bean flavor it is best not to use these in large quantities when baking as the flavor will be too strong. They are also unsuitable for thickening or gravies. They are best mixed with a low protein gluten free flour and then used for baking. You can also use them when sautéing meats.
Terrasoul Superfoods Organic Almond Flour
Almond flour can prove to be a good gluten free flour choice as long as you dont have a nut allergy. In addition, it can add fiber and protein to your baked goods recipes and has a neutral taste, making it a versatile gluten free flour option.
Remember that it has a finer texture than other flour options, which means it wont make a good substitute for wheat flour.
However, adding more almond flour than what is asked of flour in the recipe or adding xanthan gum or egg whites can leave you with a stiffer dough. This almond flour is good for quick bread recipes, pancakes, and other baked goods.
This almond flour is kosher, USDA certified organic, non-GMO, raw, gluten free, and vegan-friendly. It has a super fine texture because the almond skin is removed, and it is free from propylene oxide and other chemical residues you can find in more conventional almond flour brands.
Pros
Cons
- On the higher end of the price spectrum
- May need to use xanthan gum for bread recipes since it has a super fine texture
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Whats The Blend Good For
Cup4Cup is really a pastry flour. High in starch, lower in protein, its just a dream for pastry. Light and airy, it does just what pastry flour is meant to do: surround the cold butter in a recipe smoothly, and then puff effortlessly when the cold butter hits the heat of the oven and gives off steam.
Cup4Cup does have enough protein and structure to trap the steam given off in the oven, which is important. If you just use a high-starch blend that doesnt have the other attributes of Cup4Cup , it wont trap steam and you wont get the flaky goodness of the beautiful biscuits, scones, pie crusts and puff pastry.
Buy In Bulk For Better Value
You can buy gluten-free all-purpose flour in an individual package, or in bulk quantities. Individual packages are anywhere from 8 to 32 ounces apiece. Its a good idea to stick with individual bags if you dont plan on using gluten-free flour often, especially since gluten-free flour is only shelf-stable for a few months.
If you expect to use a lot of it on a regular basis for daily cooking and baking, youll save big if you buy gluten-free all-purpose flour in bulk. This usually entails buying three to ten packages at a time from a store or seller. The initial cash outlay may make it seem costly, but in the long run, you can end up saving a few dollars per pound.
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Can I Just Replace Regular Flour With Gluten
Gluten-free flour which you buy in the supermarket is great. However, results can be variable. Each brand of gluten-free flour has a blend of different alternative flours involved.
Some contain more starches, some contain xanthan gum and some contain oat flour which many coeliac sufferers just cant tolerate. So always check the labels.
There are some occasions where you can certainly just do a straight swap and use one of these gluten-free flour blends instead of regular flour. In these instances I would stick to recipes where there isnt a lot of flour to begin with, like in a brownie or friand recipe.
Baker’s Tip – That said, you can have great success using these gluten-free flours in conjunction with nut flours. It’s an easy way to convert cake recipes from a non gluten-free recipe. I discuss how to do this in my guide to Nut Flours.
The Best Homemade Gluten
One of the easiest and cheapest gluten-free flour mixes you can make. Homemade so you can make large batches, this is a fabulous all-purpose flour you can use in any baked good. I substitute it 1:1 for regular wheat flour and it turns out beautifully every time.
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Its almost baking season! With the holidays coming up my baking is ramping up and so I feel its best we start with the basics and make sure you have an allergy-friendly, all-purpose, gluten-free baking flour to get you through this busy baking season!
I feel like gluten-free has such a bad rep. People tried eating something gluten-free ten years ago and had a bad experience and now they assume all things gluten-free are dense, dried out shells of baked goods.
I think people tend to forget that baking with wheat probably had its own learning curve toowe just werent around for it! And, thankfullygluten-free baking is getting better and better every day.
I have been using this gluten-free flour blend for over six years now, and I have ZERO reason to stray. It performs every single timewhether in bars, brownies, cookies or cakes. Its moist, its not gritty and best of all, I can substitute it 1:1 for regular flour. Meaning, that if the regular recipe calls for 1 cup of flour, I simply measure out 1 cup of my flour blend.
I keep my flours in glass jars with lids in my fridge . I feel this helps them last longer.
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Things To Consider Before Buying Gluten Free Flour
Flour is not just wheat flour, a flour can be made by grinding other grains, nuts, seeds or legumes into fine powder. If these are ground into a course powder, it is known as a meal. For those who have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, flours made from wheat, rye or barley cannot be eaten as these all contain gluten.
There is a lot of experimentation needed with favorite recipes when switching to gluten free flours and because gluten free products often contain more calories and carbs than regular products then some dietary adjustments may also be needed.
Wheat flour is also enriched with iron, B vitamins and folic acid and gluten free flours rarely provide this same nutritional content. By keeping an eye on the nutrition of gluten free flour, or indeed any packaged gluten free foods, it can help you avoid some of the dietary shortfalls, such as the lower fiber content.
Unlike traditional flours, gluten free flours are best stored in the refrigerator or freezer and allowed to come up to room temperature before using.
Testing The Best Gluten
If you are new to gluten-free baking recipes, or still trying to find your perfect stride, you way be wondering, what is the best gluten-free flour to bake with?
In the past several years there has been an explosion of gluten-free flour substitutes on the market to replace wheat flour. While they make it more convenient, rather than buying several flours to make your own mix, most still lack considerably in taste and texture.
The problem lies in the infinite possibilities of starch blends and varying ratios they can be blended together. Unfortunately, not all gluten-free flour blends are created equal, leaving vast differences in baking results. I experience this time and again when testing recipes for the site and writing my gluten-free cookbook.
For instance, white rice flour gives a neutral taste, but gritty texture. Sorghum flour, buckwheat flour, and teff flour can have very strong, off-putting tastes. While tapioca flours and oat flour has a more neutral flavor, they need complimenting starches to build elasticity.
Using a mixture of gluten free starches, such as rice, tapioca starch, potato starch, brown rice flour, coconut flour, and cornstarch can balance each other out, hopefully creating the best gluten-free flour. However, many products on the market fall short, resulting in disappointing baked goods.
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These Are The 12 Best Gluten
Whether you have celiac disease, a gluten intolerance, or you’re simply trying to cut back on gluten, flour is probably the first thing you’ll nix from your diet.
Fortunately, there are a number of flour options on the market for baking and cooking that don’t contain an ounce of gluten. Some even include a number of additional nutrients that you won’t find in flour made from wheat.
To help you choose the best one for your pantry, we rounded up 12 of our favorite expert-approved, gluten-free flour alternatives:
Dont Want To Build Your Own Blend
Use Better Batter gluten free flour everywhere my recipes call for an all purpose gluten free flour. You can purchase it on their website , and youll get the best price when you buy in bulk.
You can also use Cup4Cup gluten free flour blend, but it is relatively high in starch and wont produce best results in my recipes . But it will still work anywhere my recipes call for an all purpose gluten free flour.
Other blends: Im afraid that I dont care for Jules Gluten Free , Tom Sawyer blend , Namaste , Krusteaz , Bobs Red Mill , Pillsbury Betty Crocker Rice Flour Blend , or Trader Joes Blend .
If you use any of these blends, especially Bobs Red Mill or Namaste, your recipe simply will NOT turn out.
King Arthur Flour multi-purpose gluten free flour blend is perhaps the most widely available blend, and I would give anything to be able to use and recommend it. Unfortunately, its very high in starch so its unbalanced, and the rice flour in it is grainy. *whomp whomp whomp*
Want to build a blend but dont want to do any math? Scroll down for a downloadable Excel file with a calculator for each blend!
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Common Problems With Gluten
I tested four popular and widely available store bought flours Cup4Cup, Bobs Red Mill 1-to-1, King Arthurs Measure-for-Measure, and Walmarts Great Value Gluten Free-Flour Mix. To make sure I gathered a good variety of results, each were tested with different baking recipes gluten-free biscuits, gluten-free pie crust, and cookies.
All the tested flours include xanthan gum in the mix. Some GF flours dont contain it, which gives bakers more control over the amount added based on what they are making . However, I wanted to find an easy, 1-to-1 flour to be used interchangeably with all-purpose flours.
I also used friends and family for blind taste tests, so my partiality to my preferred brand wouldnt come into play. I was searching for the best gluten-free flour to hopefully avoid some of the common pitfalls like,
- Gritty texture Usually comes from large amounts of rice flour used in the mix.
- Gumminess Gluten free flours dont absorb liquids as readily as regular flour, which leads to a dense, gummy texture.
- Holding shape Gf flours also have a harder time absorbing fat. This is why gluten-free cookies have a tendency to spread so much more.
- Aftertaste Usually resulting from stronger tasting flours used in the mix, such as teff or sorghum.
Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1
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The Best Gluten Free Flour
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Overwhelmed by all the gluten free flour mixes on the market? Heres a list of our favorites, along with proven recipes for each so you can get back into the kitchen and enjoy fresh baked goods!
This post may contain affiliate links, please see my full disclosure for details. Thank you for supporting Life After Wheat!
Flour is the staple of baking, and just because youre living a gluten free lifestyle doesnt mean you have to give up on having fresh, homemade baked goods!
Gluten free products have come a LONG way in the past few years, and there are so many great options to help you achieve the results you want when youre baking your favorite goodies. We make an effort to try every gluten free flour we can, and here you will find our favorites and what recipes they work best in.
Types Of Gluten Free Flour
Like with regular flour, gluten free flour mixes come in many different varieties to suit different purposes.
Both plain white and brown flours are available usually made with a base of either white or brown rice flour.
There are also some fantastic all purpose gluten free flours, as well as self-raising, which contains a typical raising agent.
Gluten free flours are available with or without an added binding agent such as xanthan gum.
In addition to bread flours, there are also ready-made gluten free cake and cookie mixes if youre looking for something quick and easy.
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Bobs Red Mill Gluten Free 1
Bobs Red Mill began offering gluten-free flours and mixes years before other brands. Therefore, its not surprising that their gluten-free flour blend is one of the best on the market. The only problem when youre dealing with a producer with such a varied product line, is which Bobs gluten-free flour blend youre talking about.
My favorite, hands-down, is their Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour Blend not to be confused with their Gluten-Free All-Purpose Baking Flour. The Baking Flour blend, made from a mix of rice flours, sorghum flour, and tapioca and potato starch, steps in for wheat flour in recipes for muffins, cakes, and cookies nicely. Their Gluten-Free All-Purpose Baking Flour, on the other hand, tends to bake up dense and heavy. When shopping for this flour, be sure to grab the blue bag!
Use this when you want to replace wheat flour in your favorite recipes for cakes, cookies, brownies, and muffins.
