Best gluten-free Baking Flour Mix

[emcmaster]

What's your favorite? I've tried the Hagman mix and was pleased with it. I like to bake, so I'm hoping to buy in bulk and keep them in airtight containers.

I found this Open Original Shared Link. Has anyone tried it or the mix of flours in it?

Thanks!

[felineaids]

I wish I could help you. I haven't found even one mix that doesn't contain things I'm allergic to. If I ever find some, I'll share feedback.

[Nantzie]

For things like pancakes and cookies, I like Pamela's Baking Mix. It's got almond meal in it which gives a really nice flavor.

For gravy, I like Bob's Red Mill gluten-free Flour. You use it the same way you would flour. It tastes just the same as regular to me. I use it with butter to make a roux just like you would to start a regular gravy.

I also had recent success with Gluten-Free Pantry's French Bread and Pizza Mix. Used it to make pizza. It was such a good flavor and consistency, that I might try some other things with it. They've got a lot of recipes on their site that look really good. www.glutenfreepantry.com

Nancy

[Guest nini]

I like Orgrans all purpose flour mix and Orgrans self rising all purpose flour mix... it's from Australia and not always easy to find, but I really like it... it works measure for measure in converting regular gluten containing recipes to gluten-free...

Open Original Shared Link

[cmzirkelbach]

I like Orgrans all purpose flour mix and Orgrans self rising all purpose flour mix... it's from Australia and not always easy to find, but I really like it... it works measure for measure in converting regular gluten containing recipes to gluten-free...

Open Original Shared Link

The Orgran flours on now at amazon .com. They only sell by the case, but the price is really good.

[tarnalberry]

I don't think there is ONE mix. It depends on your tastes and what you're making. I prefer a different mix for different things. I use the Namaste mix for pancakes, because it's the only one my non-gluten-free husband doesn't find ... not-so-good. :-) I make my own mixes for muffins and quick breads and cookies that vary depending on the muffin, quickbread, or cookie that I'm making.

[jenvan]

I tend to switch things around based on what I'm making too..however, there is a mix that has worked great for me in general baking recipes, you sub 1:1 for regular flour, xanthan gum included. Everything I've made with it has turned out great. Sometimes its nice to have a premade mix on hand for quick cooking. See the mix here: Open Original Shared Link (It is an Authentic Foods Mix)

[cmcminnesotan]

Hi Elizabeth,

I'm brand new on this board. My 9 yr old daughter was just diagnosed last week. A friend of mine gave me a bag of white bean flour (she grinds her own beans that she buys in bulk) and some brownies she'd made out of it. She uses it for pancakes, bread and hamburger buns, too. The brownies were really good but when I used the flour for cookies they turned out tasty but completely flat. And I'm not so sure how well my body reacted to the bean flour. I didn't even ask my daughter how she felt. So I'm looking for other ideas, too. So actually I'm not much help unless you want to look into the bean flour recipes.

Mostly I wanted to tell you that I have the same last name. Is that your married name? Maybe we're related!

Carol

What's your favorite? I've tried the Hagman mix and was pleased with it. I like to bake, so I'm hoping to buy in bulk and keep them in airtight containers.

I found this Open Original Shared Link. Has anyone tried it or the mix of flours in it?

Thanks!

[queenofhearts]

Hi Elizabeth,

I'm brand new on this board. My 9 yr old daughter was just diagnosed last week. A friend of mine gave me a bag of white bean flour (she grinds her own beans that she buys in bulk) and some brownies she'd made out of it. She uses it for pancakes, bread and hamburger buns, too. The brownies were really good but when I used the flour for cookies they turned out tasty but completely flat. And I'm not so sure how well my body reacted to the bean flour. I didn't even ask my daughter how she felt. So I'm looking for other ideas, too. So actually I'm not much help unless you want to look into the bean flour recipes.

Mostly I wanted to tell you that I have the same last name. Is that your married name? Maybe we're related!

Carol

I'm glad you & your daughter have found this board-- it's the greatest resource ever. I'm a newbie too, & don't know what I'd do without it.

Baking is my obsession so I've been doing a lot of experimenting in the kitchen. I'm curious-- how does your friend grind the beans?

Did you add any xanthan gum to the cookies? That makes a big difference in the ability of the dough to hold up to rising without collapsing. (True with any gluten-free flour, since it is the gluten that gives wheat dough its elasticity.)

Leah

[Fiddle-Faddle]

I just ordered Annalise Roberts' baking book--don't know what flour mix she uses, but several people on this board have raved about it.

I also just got Roben Ryberg's gluten-free kitchen cookbook--she swears by a cornstarch/potato starch blend, not a speck of rice flour in sight--and The Everything gluten-free Cookbook by Rick Marx and Nancy Maar, which does not have a lot of recipes for baking (one cornbread recipe and what looks like a nice chickpea crepe recipe, but then that's not baked ).

Has anyone compared any of these three ? Or do I get to be the first?

I did tinker around with a bunch of pancake recipes, and came up with one I really liked, but it was kind of involved--brown rice flour, white rice flour, cornstarch, potato starch, tapioca starch, xanthum gum, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt. They turned out nice and fluffy, so I tried using that combination in a soda bread, and it tasted very much like McDonald's biscuits, but heavier. Much heavier . Then again, maybe that's good (portion control! )....

The other thing I want to try, but haven't yet found an official gluten-free recipe for is Florentine Lace Cookies, which I think don't even contain flour, or maybe only a couple of spoonfuls, so rice flour oughta work, right?

[queenofhearts]

I just ordered Annalise Roberts' baking book--don't know what flour mix she uses, but several people on this board have raved about it.

I also just got Roben Ryberg's gluten-free kitchen cookbook--she swears by a cornstarch/potato starch blend, not a speck of rice flour in sight--and The Everything gluten-free Cookbook by Rick Marx and Nancy Maar, which does not have a lot of recipes for baking (one cornbread recipe and what looks like a nice chickpea crepe recipe, but then that's not baked ).

Has anyone compared any of these three ? Or do I get to be the first?

I did tinker around with a bunch of pancake recipes, and came up with one I really liked, but it was kind of involved--brown rice flour, white rice flour, cornstarch, potato starch, tapioca starch, xanthum gum, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt. They turned out nice and fluffy, so I tried using that combination in a soda bread, and it tasted very much like McDonald's biscuits, but heavier. Much heavier . Then again, maybe that's good (portion control! )....

The other thing I want to try, but haven't yet found an official gluten-free recipe for is Florentine Lace Cookies, which I think don't even contain flour, or maybe only a couple of spoonfuls, so rice flour oughta work, right?

Bette Hagman's GFG Makes Dessert has a recipe for florentines. I'll try & copy it for you later if you don't have that one.

Annalise Roberts' flour blend is based on the superfine-ground brown rice flour by Authentic Foods. It costs an arm & a leg but it does taste good! I've substituted fine white rice flour (from the Asian grocery) when there were other flavors to compensate & it worked well. My grocery's brown rice flour is pretty coarse, so it doesn't always do the job in delicate baked goods.

I will put in a good word for chickpea crepes. I haven't used that particular recipe but I've made them & like them. (I've only used them for savory recipes, though... the ones I've made do have a somewhat assertive flavor.)

Baking gluten free is a real adventure! So far I've had a fair amount of success with cookies, biscuits, coffee cake, waffles, &c... but my biggest challenge has been finding a really good bread. Bette Hagman's 4-Flour (which uses sorghum in the blend) is pretty good but I'm still searching for the bread of my dreams. One problem is, I always used to love whole grains with wheat berries, oats &c... still experimenting on a sub for that!

Leah

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Bette Hagman's GFG Makes Dessert has a recipe for florentines. I'll try & copy it for you later if you don't have that one.

Annalise Roberts' flour blend is based on the superfine-ground brown rice flour by Authentic Foods. It costs an arm & a leg but it does taste good! I've substituted fine white rice flour (from the Asian grocery) when there were other flavors to compensate & it worked well. My grocery's brown rice flour is pretty coarse, so it doesn't always do the job in delicate baked goods.

Leah

Leah, I'd love a copy of the florentine recipe--that would be great! Thanks so much.

I just checked my grocery store--no Authentic Foods superfine brown rice flour, but I did get the superfine rice flour. Do I just substitute it for the brown rice flour, or should I do half brown rice flour (I have Bob's Red Mill) and half superfine white rice flour? I was going to make either the yellow cake, the butter cake, or the coconut cake--tomorrow's my son's birthday!

???????????????????????????

[Agatha]

I don't think there is ONE mix. It depends on your tastes and what you're making. I prefer a different mix for different things. I use the Namaste mix for pancakes, because it's the only one my non-gluten-free husband doesn't find ... not-so-good. :-) I make my own mixes for muffins and quick breads and cookies that vary depending on the muffin, quickbread, or cookie that I'm making.

I'm new here to the format but have read a lot of postings in the last month or so. My future daughter in law was finally diagnosed and I don't want to serve anything which will make her ill again. The chocolate cookies from my newest cookbook by Annalise G. Roberts Gluten Free Baking Classics were a hit with everyone!

Next Friday is the engagement party and I want to make my Cajun Sheet Cake (or Texas). The only ingredient she can't have is the flour. I have made Roberts' Brown Rice Flour mix, Featherlight Rice Mix from Bette Hagman, and have the store bought Red Mill All Purpose baking flour. Which do I use and since this isn't a cake that rises, should I add the Xanthan Gum? If I add that how much do I add? I'm assuming all of the other ingredients will be the same although the cookie recipe had larger amounts of dry ingredients than I'm used to.

The recipes for Gluten Free Texas Sheet Cake I've found are not at all like mine or anyone else's. Can you or someone else help me?

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Not sure, but I think the xanthan gum is to keep it from turning into a brick, so it would help the baking powder to do its job, but it wouldn't make a cake rise on its own.

I've only make one loaf of soda bread (with the complicated flour mix in earlier post above), and right now my very first gluten-free cake (Annalise Roberts' coconut cake) is in the oven, but I couldn't find her super-fine brown rice flour, so I'm using half Bob's Red Mill brown rice flour and half Authentic Foods super-fine white rice flour.

I'll let you know how it turns out!

[elonwy]

I use Pamela's (great pancakes and biscuits) and Bette Hagmans Four FLour Blend which is great for cooking, as a thickener in gravies and stews and such.

As for the Xantham gum, the gluten in wheat flour acts like a web when it bakes, the protiens bind together, and thats why so many gluten-free things are crumbly, because they don't have that "webbing". Xantham gum has similar properties, and helps add that to the baking. My mom recommends adding a tablespoon or two of unflavored gelatin to the mix as well, especially with bread, and her bread comes out looking like.. bread. Thats helps everything stick together too.

Elonwy

PS- Agatha, if you're cooking for her gluten-free on your regular kitchen stuff, make sure you clean everything really well and don't use your wooden spoons! Wood and plastic collect gluten like crazy and can contaminate the gluten-free goodies. Thats super-awesome that you're doing that though.

[Agatha]

I have all of her ingredients stored (ich) in my laundry room on 3 shelves. My youngest son isn't pleased but I put the wooden spoons in a drawer with the super glue and tools and bought all new plastic for the kitchen. We still have some wooden cutting boards but I have 3 of the white boards that I use. She has her own strainer and I think I should buy a separate grill cheese maker. I'm waiting on that because she hasn't found a bread she likes. I'll start making some bread.

I worry that I shouldn't make rice in a rice cooker that has had a flavored rice cooked in it.

So you think if I just use Bette Hagman's flour blend, add a tablespoon of of Xantham gum to my recipe, I'll be okay?

I use Pamela's (great pancakes and biscuits) and Bette Hagmans Four FLour Blend which is great for cooking, as a thickener in gravies and stews and such.

As for the Xantham gum, the gluten in wheat flour acts like a web when it bakes, the protiens bind together, and thats why so many gluten-free things are crumbly, because they don't have that "webbing". Xantham gum has similar properties, and helps add that to the baking. My mom recommends adding a tablespoon or two of unflavored gelatin to the mix as well, especially with bread, and her bread comes out looking like.. bread. Thats helps everything stick together too.

Elonwy

PS- Agatha, if you're cooking for her gluten-free on your regular kitchen stuff, make sure you clean everything really well and don't use your wooden spoons! Wood and plastic collect gluten like crazy and can contaminate the gluten-free goodies. Thats super-awesome that you're doing that though.

[queenofhearts]

Leah, I'd love a copy of the florentine recipe--that would be great! Thanks so much.

I just checked my grocery store--no Authentic Foods superfine brown rice flour, but I did get the superfine rice flour. Do I just substitute it for the brown rice flour, or should I do half brown rice flour (I have Bob's Red Mill) and half superfine white rice flour? I was going to make either the yellow cake, the butter cake, or the coconut cake--tomorrow's my son's birthday!

???????????????????????????

I think it would depend on how important texture is in the recipe, vs. flavor & nutrition. I think brown rice has more flavor, but if the only flour you can find is very course-ground, then it will change the texture & make things grainy. I think I would probably vote for fineness in the plain cake, whereas in a cake with textured ingredients (nuts & such) or in the cookies below, the brown rice would probably work fine.

Florentines, abridged from Bette Hagman's TGFG Makes Dessert

1/3 c. butter

1/3 c. milk

1/4 c. sugar

I c. chopped almonds, toasted

3/4 c. fruit glace, chopped fine

1 tsp. orange zest

1/4 c. Featherlight Mix (or your fave flour blend)

2 oz. Almond Bark for frosting, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease & rice-flour baking sheets.

Bring butter, milk & sugar to a rolling boil in saucepan, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

Combine almonds, fruit, & zest with flour mix. Stir into liquids in saucepan. Drop by Tbs. at least 2" apart.

Spread dough into thin circles. Bake 8-10 minutes until edges are lightly browned. Remove while still warm & prepare sheet again before next batch. When cookies are cool, frost bottoms with Almond Bark or choc. if desired. Store in refrigerater if frosted.

Enjoy!

Leah

[elonwy]

Its about a tsp of Xantham Gum for every 1 1/2 cups of flour. Same with the gelatin ( I do both, you get the most spring that way). For the future, Pamelas makes a chocholate cake mix that is indistinguishable from the real thing. I've had the best results making gluten-free cakes using a bundt cake pan instead of a standard square or round cake pan, not sure why.

Elonwy

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Thanks, Leah--can't wait to try these! Do you think it would work if I left out the fruit glace and just added another cup of chopped almonds?

[queenofhearts]

Thanks, Leah--can't wait to try these! Do you think it would work if I left out the fruit glace and just added another cup of chopped almonds?

Yes! Funny you should say that as I was thinking the same thing. I like fruitcake at Xmas but otherwise not so crazy about glace, & I think in florentines it's gilding the lily! But I wouldn't add a whole cup of almonds, probably... because the fruit is moist but that many more almonds might make the mixture too dry-- you'll have to experiment a bit, I think-- if you've made florentines before in your wheaty days you will probably have a sense of what the texture of the dough should be.

Bon appetit! Let me know how they turn out!

Leah

[Fiddle-Faddle]

-- if you've made florentines before in your wheaty days you will probably have a sense of what the texture of the dough should be.

Leah

"Wheaty Days?" I love it!! Sounds like a Hallmark Channel Movie! Or maybe a soap--"Wheaty Days of Our Lives!"

[queenofhearts]

"Wheaty Days?" I love it!! Sounds like a Hallmark Channel Movie! Or maybe a soap--"Wheaty Days of Our Lives!"

Or maybe it's fom Shakespeare-- "My wheaty days, when I was green in wisdom" That's the truth-- green in a lot of ways!

Leah

[Fiddle-Faddle]

In truth, thou dost jest too much!