gluten-free Flour Question

[Kirian]

I made an awesome mac & cheese tonight using Tinkyada. My recipe calls for flour. I used Bob's Red Mill gluten-free All Purpose Baking Flour. It really tasted great, but my tounge/mouth feels funny now. I looked at the package and saw that it does contain tapicoa flour. I have read about people having this problem with that.

So, my question is does anyone have a reccomendation as to which flour/flours that may work well in this. I have a GREAT health food store and can get just about any flour in packages there.

Also as I am just starting out with gluten-free flours I really don't know which ones would work best in a recipe. Is there any really good guide as to how to combine and use some of them and when it is good to use certain flours? Looking at the flours on the shelve at my health food store leaves me overwhelmed!

THANKS!

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Hi, Kirian,

Welcom abaoard!

I use plain old cornstarch with good results. I think potato starch would work just fine, too. Isn't Tinkyada great? I can't tell hte difference between it and the gluteny stuff!

For flour blends, it depends on what you are sensitive to. A lot of mixes call for tapioca starch, but there are some that don't. Roben Ryberg has a book out that calls for only cornstarch and potato starch for every recipe in the book!

I use Annalise Roberts' Gluten Free Baking Classics for just about everything that calls for flour, anbd she has one mix for cookies and cakes and another for breads and pizza crust. She has awebsite with some recipes on it--I think it's www.foodphilosopher.com but I might have it wrong, so if it doesn't work, try googling it and see what you find.

Good luck and happy cooking!

[Kirian]

Thanks Fiddle-Faddle!

Hmmm...cornstarch huh? Not a bad idea. I wonder if it would be too much in my recipe though, I use 6 Tbsps flour. Should I use the same ammount cornstartch?

OMG, Tinkyada is the BEST! I am so greatful for the stuff. DH and I have it almost every night as a side with dinner and have been for quite some time. We both actually like it better than we ever did whole wheat pasta.

Thanks for the additional advice! Much appreicated.

~~~~~

Thank you Mike!

[Gin]

What is Tinkyada is the BEST????

[Kirian]

Hi Gin! It is a wonderful pasta that is gluten-free and made in a dedicated facility. Really awesome stuff.

Open Original Shared Link

[flagbabyds]

i use a variety of flours but mostly as a base just brown rice flour, it works the best my mom thinks and she uses it in everything especailly cause it is more nutritious than just plain white rice flour.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Thanks Fiddle-Faddle!

Hmmm...cornstarch huh? Not a bad idea. I wonder if it would be too much in my recipe though, I use 6 Tbsps flour. Should I use the same ammount cornstartch?

Sorry, I should have specified--use a bit less cornstarch, maybe ue only 4 Tablespoons, and it lumps up if you try to use it as roux (at least, it lumped up when I tried it), but it works beautifully if you mix it with a little of the milk (say 4-6 tablespoons) and add it after the rest of the milk is boiling but before you add the shredded cheese.

I'm getting hungry....

[flagbabyds]

yeah we used to use cornstartch until i became allergic to corn and now we use potato and tapioca startch not the same but they work.

[tarnalberry]

For thickening, I tend to prefer sweet rice flour. I grew up using cornstarch, and that works fabulously too. For some reason, I prefer the sweet rice flour taste/texture these days.

[flagbabyds]

For thickening, I tend to prefer sweet rice flour. I grew up using cornstarch, and that works fabulously too. For some reason, I prefer the sweet rice flour taste/texture these days.

sweet rice flour does taste really good, we use that for thickening instead of corn cause i am off that now too.

[Kirian]

You guys are the best! Thanks a bunch for all the great help with this!

flagbabyds: Thanks for the tip. I did see brown rice flour at the store and almost got that instead.

I will do a search too, but does anyone know of any cc issues with Hodgson Mills? That is the brand of brown rice flour my local grocery store carries. According to their website they are very careful to prevent cc with their gluten-free products.

Fiddle-Faddle: Thanks for the help with the cornstarch!

tarnalberry: Sweet rice flour, that sounds good. Thanks!

[megzmc3611]

Kirian,

I know this does not answer your question, but I made a delicious mac n cheese the other night (tastes just like the Kraft Mac n Cheese). I cooked up a bag of Tinkyada elbow noodles. Then added milk, butter and a can of the Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Cheese Topping (it comes in a little blue can, looks just like the orange powdered cheese that comes in the regular "gluten" Kraft mac and cheese boxes ). I don't really have measurements, I sort of just through everything in, to taste. Then I mixed in a pound of cooked lean ground beef. It was delicious and so easy!

[ariel2006]

Depending on the recipe, I use a wide range of flours. I find that some work best for certain applications, and others work better for different ones. My list includes: rice (white, brown, sweet), tapioca, buckwheat, amaranth, cornstarch, teff, sorghum, Quinoa for the mostpart. I am not too partial to bean flours, potato starch, or soy flour for most of my baking, though they can surely be used too.

Hi Mike.

I've been searching for information about quinoa and I've found a good compilation in:

Open Original Shared Link

It includes information about quinoa and some preparation instructions and recipes.

[Confused in Iowa]

Help! I'm new to this gluten free cooking - what is Tinkyada?????????

[jerseyangel]

Help! I'm new to this gluten free cooking - what is Tinkyada?????????

Tinkayda is a brand of rice pasta--it's very good and most here love it

Whole Foods has it, but recently even my local Acme carries it.

Here's a link, so you can take a look--

Open Original Shared Link

[lpellegr]

Tinkyada is the only gluten-free pasta I've tried that you can actually keep in the fridge once you cook it, especially if it's in some kind of sauce. It makes killer lasagna that survives well in the freezer, and mac and cheese that's good for days in the fridge. For you newly diagnosed, it's worth looking for. Corn pasta and potato/quinoa pasta and most rice noodles are okay right after they're cooked but don't keep well. I found one other interesting gluten-free pasta - black soy pasta which I found at Wegman's, that has a chewy, almost meat-like texture, and I think I remember that it also keeps well if sauced. And it freaks people out to see you eating black spaghetti.

[Heidi Kelly]

In case you have not heard of it, you simply must try Tom Sawyer's Gluten Free "All Purpose Flour" I can not tell the difference between that and the regular wheat version. I have used it so far to thicken gravy, make pumpkin bread and mac n' cheese.........ABSOLUTELY perfect! My husband and son, who do not have celiac, could not tell the difference either. I started to cry after I first tried it. Here is their website: www.glutenfreeflour.com

Heidi

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Heidi, thank you for posting that info--VERY interesting!

I am very ticked off, though, that they would charge 8 bucks for a pound an a half.

Did you look at the ingredients? It's just rice flour, tapioca flour, xanthan gum, and gelatin. Rice flour and tapioca flour we can get for less than a dollar a pound. Xanthan gum is expensive, but a pound and a half of gluten-free flour would only need a couple of tablespoonfuls total (the general rule is 1 1/4- 1 1/2 teaspoon per two cups of flour). I have used gelatin in white bread recipes with very good results (it's in Annalise Roberts' GLuten-Free Baking Classics), and the ratio was 1 teaspoon of unflavored gelatin for 2 cups of gluten-free flour.

I am SO tired of these companies ripping us off and taking advantage of us. I will be very happy to try this company's recipes--but no way am I paying 8 bucks for their mix when it is SO simple and cheap to make their mix at home.

[Luvs to Scrap]

I know this does not answer your question, but I made a delicious mac n cheese the other night (tastes just like the Kraft Mac n Cheese). I cooked up a bag of Tinkyada elbow noodles. Then added milk, butter and a can of the Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Cheese Topping (it comes in a little blue can, looks just like the orange powdered cheese that comes in the regular "gluten" Kraft mac and cheese boxes ). I don't really have measurements, I sort of just through everything in, to taste. Then I mixed in a pound of cooked lean ground beef. It was delicious and so easy!

Where did you find the Kraft Mac and Cheese topping? What is the size of the can? I would love to find that--would be a lot easier that buying those microscopic boxes of gluten-free Mac and Cheese? Thanks! Kendra

[megzmc3611]

Where did you find the Kraft Mac and Cheese topping? What is the size of the can? I would love to find that--would be a lot easier that buying those microscopic boxes of gluten-free Mac and Cheese? Thanks! Kendra

I find it at the grocery store in the aisle with the cannisters of parmesan cheese...they are right next to the Kraft Parmesan Cheese cans...

The cans are somewhat small...3 oz.....

I buy a couple at a time!

[Fiddle-Faddle]

As long as you are adding butter and milk anyway, if you can't find the topping, you can just add a bag of shredded cheddar and a couple of spoonfuls of cornstarch dissolved in milk. I think it tastes better than the powder anyway, and if you use canned evaporated milk, it comes out SO creamy--yum yum yum!

[Heidi Kelly]

I know that the Tom Sawyer IS EXPENSIVE! I will probably try to make my own at some point but because I am so new at this, I dont have the foggiest idea on the proportions to use of each flour. They do rip us off for sure....I just hope someday some mainstream companies can get involved and maybe with wide distribution it can lower the cost.

One other thing that I have found (and yes it is ridiculously expensive) are gluten-free oats.

Open Original Shared Link but it is nice to have them, for the fiber content and they are good to use in meatloaf and meatballs.