Bob’s Red Mill 1 To 1 Gluten Free Flour
It took me awhile to come around to Bob’s Red Mill’s flour and I’m still testing it out in many of my recipes.
I still prefer mixing my own gluten free flour recipe, usually using Bob’s Red Mill’s single ingredient flours, however I know that many of you have Bob’s 1 to 1 flour in your pantry and it is easily accessible.
I wanted to take a minute to tell you what adaptions you’ll need to make if you use Bob’s 1 to 1 gluten free flour in my recipes.
Bob’s 1 to 1 Gluten Free Flour DOES NOT work measure for measure for my gluten free flour. YOU’LL NEED LESS.
Bob’s 1 to 1 gluten free flour has a higher absorption rate, so if you add the full amount the recipe calls for, your batter or dough will be crumbly and you won’t have the results you are looking for.
There is an easy fix to this. Use less Bob’s 1 to 1 flour than is called for in my recipes. You can always add a little more flour, but you can’t take any away once it is mixed in.
I suggest using ¼ to ½ cup less to start.
After you mix it in, you can add a little more of Bob’s 1 to 1 gluten free flour, if needed.
What Is Gluten Free Flour Flour Blending Step By Step
There are some basic principles that may helpyou in getting your head around blending gluten free flours at home.
When I originally started gluten free baking,I played with a standard set of white flours that were easily availableand seemed to be common amongst gluten free flour blends posted across theinternet. The resulting Gluten Free Alchemist Flour Blend A below, which is awhite flour mix, has served me well and I still use it in many of my bakes, particularlyfor cakes and biscuits. It produces a great crumb and a mild flavour and itwill always be a part of my larder.
As my gluten free baking has become moresophisticated however, and I have become more nutritionally aware, I havesought to develop gluten free flour mixes which are more nutritionally balanced.This process has taught me much, and I am happy with my alternative rice freeflour blend B, made with wholegrain flours. However, I am keen that havingthese options should never be limiting and I will frequently play with newblends as I think might suit whatever I am making.
If you are a frequent baker, I would urge you to try a whole variety of gluten free flours for flour blending in your own kitchen. Not only is it fun, but you will inevitably find some amazing new ingredients that you will love and that will enhance what you eat.
Gluten Free Flours And Their Substitutes
So using almond flour as an example, if it has a protein content of 21.4% and fiber content of 10.7%, what would a good substitute be?
If you picked oat flour, youd be correct!
What about with potato flour? Arrowroot starch is actually the closest.
In most of the recipes you find on Gluten Free Bread, starches can be substituted cup for cup.
Ive never run into a recipe where cornstarch doesnt work but tapioca starch does. It may be different when cooking, but baking is an even swap.
Also Check: Pamela’s Gluten Free Graham Crackers
Why Does My Gluten
Baking happens in three stages: expansion as the rising agents create air bubbles, setting as the proteins coagulate around the trapped air, and browning as the proteins and sugars react with one another to form a flavoursome crust. Browning requires a high temperature. It can only happen once all the water has been driven out from the surface area by evaporation. Once this has happened, the temperature can exceed 100°C/210°F.
Increasing the oven temperature accelerates browning. But this is not always appropriate, as it can cause uneven cooking. A choice between a raw middle or a scorched top is no choice at all. Another way to accelerate browning is to add baking soda. Baking soda is an alkali. Changing the pH environment increases the reactive availability of protein. Unsurprisingly, covering the surface area with protein or sugar also speeds up the reaction. This is why some recipes call for bushing the top with egg or milk, or sprinkling with brown sugar.
Conversely, if you want to delay browning, then use a pastry brush to lightly dab the surface with water before placing in the oven, or tent with tin foil to deflect the heat. Placing a tray of water on the shelf below will also delay browning by creating steam.
- Bake in a dark tin.
- Brush crusts with an egg or milk wash before placing in the oven to promote browning. Using less water in the wash will result in a crisper crust.
Wheat Free And Gluten Free Alternative Flours
Wheat flour contains glutenthe protein that strengthens and binds dough in baking. Because of this, when baking with wheat free flours you will usually need to source alternative binding agents. Refer to What are the alternatives to xanthan gum or guar gum? for suggestions.
If you’re following a specific wheat free or gluten free recipe it will have been carefully formulated to get the best possible result using the flour substitutes listed. If you are substituting other alternative flours to those listed you need to be aware that you may get a failure, so don’t do it for the first time if cooking for an important occasion.
A good tip if you do need to substitute a gluten free flour is to use a flour of similar properties and weight. For example, tapioca flour may substitute okay for arrowroot flour.
The flours listed below are alternatives to wheat, barley, or rye flours. However it is important to be aware that there is no exact substitute for gluten containing flour, and recipes made with wheat and gluten free alternative flours will be different from those containing wheat or gluten.
It’s always best to store flours in airtight containers in a dark cool place to avoid them turning rancid. In the wheat-free.org kitchen I store all my wheat/gluten free flours double-bagged in the freezer to maintain their freshness. It’s best to use them at room temperature though, so measure out what you need and let them warm up slightly.
Also Check: Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls Shipped
Where To Source Gluten Free Flour
Whilst there are many different gluten free flours available, there are a few basics which I use more often than others. The ones I use most frequently sorghum white teff, buckwheat potato starch flour white rice and brown rice) are the ones that you too may choose to source . I also use a lot of oat flour, but I grind this from gluten free oats myself at home to save money.
As withany other gluten free products, be sure to buy base flours which are certified glutenfree if you are Coeliac or needing to avoid gluten for health reasons.
Local Supplies
Many of the key gluten free flours can be found or ordered into good health food, nutrition and whole food shops. To find them I would recommend doing a bit of a google search on your local area to see what your options are. I also use a couple of amazing local farm shops which often have an unexpectedly good range. Interestingly, I rarely find what I need in places like Holland and Barrett, mainly because many of their products are not certified as Coeliac-safe.
Buy On-Line
If you cant source the flours you need on the ground, check out the internet for suppliers. Ocado has a reasonable range of some of the basics, as does Healthy Supplies , Pure Gluten Free and Shipton Mill. There will be plenty of other on-line sources though, so check around.
For those of you who do give gluten free flour blending a go, Id love to hear about how you get on. Ping me a comment or an e-mail or tag me into your creations.
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.
Recommended Reading: Is Cream Of Chicken Soup Gluten Free
Unbleached Flour Vs Whole
All the wheat components, namely, endosperm, bran, and germ, remain intact in the whole wheat flour. It is not the case in the all-purpose flour or any other refined flour.
The whole wheat flour may or may not use bleaching unless the label mentions explicitly so. It generally retains its coarse texture and off-white color. But just because a brand of whole wheat flour appears to be white does not mean it is bleached.
There is a different variety of whole wheat, which is naturally white, unlike the usual golden or brown ones. The flour of this whole white wheat will naturally be white too.
Again, while you use various unbleached flour, you also need to ensure that it is free of gluten. You cannot trade or compromise on one for the other. Using unbleached flour that has gluten in it will only lead to complications if you are gluten sensitive.
And if you consume gluten-free but bleached flour, that too would prove to be harmful.
You may ask if the two are interchangeable or substitute for each other in specific recipes. As most common kitchen tips would justify, it is best to use the flour specified in a particular recipe.
But, given the rising need for gluten-free food, there are recipes galore that promote gluten-free ingredients.
So, if you opt for such recipes, you can easily use gluten-free flour, which is also unbleached. And if you have an inner chef within, you can always curate a delicious gluten-free unbleached flour recipe on your own!
The Gluten Free Flour Larder
I admit to being a little OCD about gluten free flour and could be considered a bit nerdy when it comes to understanding it.
When first diagnosed Coeliac, I spent hours researching individual flours and how to combine them to make the most of their unique qualities. In careful combination, they can be magic and will leave you wondering how you never discovered them before or why you have never tried blending them at home for your own gluten free bakes.
My gluten-free flour larder is a veritable treasure trove for the ingredients of gluten free alchemy. Tub after tub of powdered grains, nuts and seeds lined up each with different characteristics, flavours and textures many nutritionally superior to traditional wheat flour. How you use and combine them will dictate the lightness, denseness, texture, flavour, crispness, moistness and richness of the finished bake.
Ofcourse, I am not suggesting everyone should have as many flours in their larderas I do, but if you are still reading this post, I guess you are seriouslyconsidering the possibility of either using a home-blended gluten free flourmix, or even more exciting creating your own gluten free flour recipe. Thatsfantastic!
Arm yourself with some basic knowledge about the qualities of the different gluten free flours and be ready to experiment and risk a few baking disasters along the way. You are about to open the door into a world of culinary adventure
Recommended Reading: Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Steel Cut Oats
White Or Brown Rice Flour
Full of fibre, white or brown rice flour is best blended with other gluten free flours to avoid a dense bake. Great for pancakes or muffins. This Pomegranate & Orange Drizzle Cake uses half rice flour, half buckwheat in the recipe so why not give it a go?
In 100g of brown rice flour, theres approximately 363 calories, 7.23g of protein, 76.5g of carbohydrates and 5.6g of fibre.6
In 100g of white rice flour, theres approximately 359 calories, 6.94g of protein, 79.8g of carbohydrates and 0.5g of fibre.7
Will I Need To Make Other Adjustments To The Recipe
Gluten-free bakes have a reputation for being crumbly, dense and greasy. To some degree this is deserved but only inasmuch as too many commercial bakers attempt to create gluten-free bakes without a proper understanding of what theyre doing. Gluten-free neednt be a byword for inferiority, provided you rebalance the ingredients to replace what has been taken out. This means adding a binding agent for structure, a raising agent for texture and moisture for mouthfeel. You will also need to adapt your methodology, as methods designed to encourage gluten formation are not necessary.
Recommended Reading: What Foods Have Gluten In Them List
What Is Gluten And Why Is It Used In Baking
The role of flour in a baking recipe is to give body and structure. It sets around the air bubbles that are produced by raising agents in the batter such as eggs, baking soda or yeast. Wheat flour is generally used because it produces a sticky protein called gluten when it is mixed with water. Gluten creates a strong, elastic framework which is very effective at trapping air. The higher the protein content of the flour, the stronger the framework. High protein wheat flour is labelled strong, and has a protein content of around 10-14%. Strong flour is used to create stiff doughs that are manipulated into shape before cooking, like pastry or bread. Bread has an open crumb with lots of air pockets, and a tough texture that needs to be sawn apart with a serrated knife. Weak flour has a protein content of around 8-10%, and is used to create batters that are poured into moulds and set during cooking. Weak flour is often referred to as cake flour, and results in a closed crumb that is lighter and softer, and crumbles when sliced. Wheat flour has a neutral flavour.
