Replacment Flours For Old Recipies

[FaithMcCloud]

I am new to all this, although I am learning quickly. I am wondering though, can I take all my old cookie/dessert recipes and when it calls for wheat flour just substitute for another flour? Or is it better to just find new recipes online?

[angel-jd1]

I use the majority of my old recipes......just sub in gluten free flour. You can use something like Bob's Red Mill gluten-free All purpose flour or mix your own. For baked goods I use a mixture of tapioca starch, potato starch and rice flour......it seems to turn out GREAT!! For thickners in gravies and such I use corn starch. Good luck......it DOES get easier!!

-Jessica

[Juliet]

I like Pamela's Products Ultimate Baking & Pancake Mix for those times when I'm not up to measuring out exact flours. You just have to remember it already has leavening, so eliminate the baking powder and/or baking soda and salt. It also already has some xanthan gum in it, too. They have lots of easy recipes on their packages and website as well (www.pamelasproducts.com).

That being said, now that I'm a bit more "experienced" at gluten free baking, I more regularly make my own gluten free flour mixes now. The mixes change depending on the type of things I'm making, but I use a lot of sorghum flour and brown and white rice flour as well as tapioca and corn starch. And if their isn't a lot of protein in the recipe (lots of eggs, butter, milk, nut butters, etc.), I will use xanthan or guar gum.

[lorka150]

Make sure you use starch (corn, potato and/or tapioca) and flour in your mix. For each cup of flour and starch mix, add 1 tsp. xanthan gum for cakes, and less for things like cookies.

[lonewolf]

I mix up a large batch of gluten-free flour and keep in the refrigerator. That way I always have it ready when I want to make something. I use "regular" recipes with my gluten-free flour and substitute for milk (rice milk) and often for eggs (flax meal and egg replacer).

I use:

3 C brown rice flour

1 C potato starch

1/2 C tapioca starch

2-1/2 tsp. xanthan gum

sifted together 3 times

If I'm making cookies, quick breads, pancakes or waffles or something like that, I use this mix plain. If I'm making noodles, I add more xanthan gum. If I'm making pizza crust, I add a bit of bean flour and a bit more tapioca starch. You just have to experiment and think about the texture you want and what, if anything, you might need to add to the basic flour mix.

[JennyC]

This mixture was passed on to me when I asked a similar question. It works great. I used it for my old sugar cookie recipe and could barley taste the difference. I don't really care for premixed gluten-free flour (although I have a 25 lb bag of Bob's Red Mill ).

3 parts white rice flour

2 parts potato starch

1 part tapioca flour/starch

1 tsp Xanthan gum per 1.5 cups flour

[luv2cook]

I just thought I would mention that in my learning so far over the last couple of weeks, that you should use ROOM TEMPERATURE flours and ingredients when making breads. I made several bricks before my first successful loaf this week. Make sure you have starch mixed into your flours for baking and a gum--I mistakenly thought I could just make the Toll House Cookies with ONLY rice flour. Disaster. When baking without the properties in gluten, we must mimic it by mixing the several flours just to make cookies, breads, whatever. It was hard for DH to understand WHY I needed garbanzo bean flour, sorghum flour, tapioca flour, cornstarch, xanthan gum just to make bread.

One thing I have learned, the more experienced people on this board hold LOTS of knowledge, don't be afraid to ask. Like you, I am new to this, and have received lots of valuable feedback. Just be patient, you'll get the hang of it.

[BFreeman]

I just thought I would mention that in my learning so far over the last couple of weeks, that you should use ROOM TEMPERATURE flours and ingredients when making breads. I made several bricks before my first successful loaf this week. Make sure you have starch mixed into your flours for baking and a gum--I mistakenly thought I could just make the Toll House Cookies with ONLY rice flour. Disaster. When baking without the properties in gluten, we must mimic it by mixing the several flours just to make cookies, breads, whatever. It was hard for DH to understand WHY I needed garbanzo bean flour, sorghum flour, tapioca flour, cornstarch, xanthan gum just to make bread.

One thing I have learned, the more experienced people on this board hold LOTS of knowledge, don't be afraid to ask. Like you, I am new to this, and have received lots of valuable feedback. Just be patient, you'll get the hang of it.

[BFreeman]

I downloaded the pineapple cake recipe that showed up in the Clan Thompson e-mail that came today and it calls for "gluten free all purpose flour," 2 cups. The only other leaving is 3 teaspoons baking soda. Could I use 2 cups Featherlight mix? Would I need to add anything to it? I would love to learn how to substitute in regular recipes.

[luv2cook]

I would go ahead and use the Feather Light Mix for the gluten-free flour called for in the recipe, and follow the recipe as it is stated. Hopefully it includes a xanthan gum ratio. If there's no instruction for that, follow Bette Hagman's advice: According to Hagman: add

[BFreeman]

What would xanthan gum do to a recipe if you put it in but really didn't need it?

This recipe looks really easy: 2 cups gluten free flour, 2 cups sugar, 2 eggs, 3 tsp. baking soda, and a 20 oz. can crushed pineapple with juice. Dump and stir; bake in 13 x 9 pan at 350 about 40 minutes. Then it had a cream cheese frosting on it. I think I'll try it with 1 tsp. xanthan gum and see what happens. I need a cake for Saturday and always rely on that wonderful chocolate cake recipe but one of my attendees can't have chocolate.

BF

[RiceGuy]

What would xanthan gum do to a recipe if you put it in but really didn't need it?

As others have stated, gluten-free flours need something in place of gluten. Some mixes may have it already added, though from what I've seen most don't. Probably because the amount can vary depending on what you're making.

Leavening is another issue, but without guar or xanthan gum the gas bubbles tend to escape. That results in a rather flat, heavy consistency, otherwise known as bricks, boat anchors and doorstops. Some things like cookies may do without. Keep in mind the texture you expect, and like other have said, proteins effect texture too.

It's a learning process, so don't be afraid to turn out a few failures. It's also valuable to experience how different ingredients act within a given recipe. Sometimes I'll reduce or increase the amount of something just to see what happens. I generally test a recipe by making a small batch. That way I don't have to eat a big disaster, only a small one. I like testing bread recipes with something the size of a biscuit or muffin.

[luv2cook]

I found these flour blends:

gluten-free Bread & Cookie Mix (My Generic Title), Based on recipe by Noreen Moses

Ingredients:

5 cups Brown Rice Flour

4 cups White Rice Flour

1 cup Corn Flour

1 cup Arrowroot Starch

1 cup Tapioca Flour

1 cup Potato Starch

1/3 cup Oat Bran Cereal

5-1/3 Tb Milk Powder (Non-Fat Dry) [i leave this OUT, but you can sub sweet rice flour]

1/3 cup Sugar

4 Tb Xanthan Gum

4 tsp Sea Salt

My Holy Grail gluten-free Flour Mix, Based on Wendy Wark

[heathen]

i know that pamela's baking mix is almost 1:1 substitute for bisquick, at least for me it is...