All Purpose Flour Recipe...please!

[Guest j_mommy]

I need a good all purpose flour recipe please!!!

Also if a recipe calls for all purpose flour, say like 2 tblsp...do I need to add xanthan gum too??? I know I do for bread ect.

Please help...I can't cook!LOL

[mandasmom]

I need a good all purpose flour recipe please!!!

Also if a recipe calls for all purpose flour, say like 2 tblsp...do I need to add xanthan gum too??? I know I do for bread ect.

Please help...I can't cook!LOL

I dont bake all that much--we are all a bit on the chubby side so I avoid baked goods...but when I do I use tom sawyer..expensive but for those of us who are special occasion bakersn its really good. Most of the gluten-free cookbooks have some general flour blend recipes. Many of the memebers here bake often I hope someone can give you better advice...good luck and cheers to those of us who cant cook!!

[heathen]

i go to my local health food store or kroger and buy Bob's Red Mill gluten-free All-Purpose Flour. It seems to work well, and frankly, I don't have the time to mix my own gluten-free flour. Good luck!

[Juliet]

Pamela's Products Ultimate Baking & Pancake Mix is a great all-purpose flour mix for those times you don't really want to think about it or mix several different flours at a time. It already has leavening (i.e. baking powder and/or baking soda), salt, and xanthan gum so you don't need to add any of those when making whatever recipe you're working on. I would not necessarily recommend using this for a yeast bread recipe, but muffins, pancakes, cookies, quick breads, etc., it's great. They also have several recipes on their website you can refer to, as well: www.pamelasproducts.com. I make some great pumpkin pancakes with the mix, their chocolate chip cookie & sugar cookie recipes are surprisingly good (the sugar cookies just go stale quickly) and I also use it to thicken soups, stews, beans, etc. I've also made one of their muffin recipes, too, and it turned out a tad dry, but my oven runs hot and I think I overcooked it. Their chocolate cake mix is also great - I use the recipe with the sour cream and NO ONE has been able to tell the difference between this gluten-free cake and something made from like a Duncan Hines/Betty Crocker mix.

If you want to make your own mix, I like mixing 1 part sorghum flour, 1 part brown or white rice flour, and 1 part tapioca starch for sweet stuff. This works pretty well in most cookie and muffin and even quick bread recipes as long as there's enough protein/fat (i.e. eggs, butter, yogurt, sour cream, oil, etc.) and leavening in the recipe. If you want a little extra rise, though, in your quick bread or muffins, add a little xanthan gum. On the back of the Authentic Foods jar of xanthan gum it states 1/4 tsp. per 1 cup flour for cakes (and I think this would apply to muffins and cookies, too), 1 tsp. per 1 cup flour for bread (but I think you might use a little less for quick bread), and 2 tsp. per 1 cup flour for pizza crust.

[sashamay23]

Pamela's Products Ultimate Baking & Pancake Mix is a great all-purpose flour mix for those times you don't really want to think about it or mix several different flours at a time. It already has leavening (i.e. baking powder and/or baking soda), salt, and xanthan gum so you don't need to add any of those when making whatever recipe you're working on. I would not necessarily recommend using this for a yeast bread recipe, but muffins, pancakes, cookies, quick breads, etc., it's great. They also have several recipes on their website you can refer to, as well: www.pamelasproducts.com. I make some great pumpkin pancakes with the mix, their chocolate chip cookie & sugar cookie recipes are surprisingly good (the sugar cookies just go stale quickly) and I also use it to thicken soups, stews, beans, etc. I've also made one of their muffin recipes, too, and it turned out a tad dry, but my oven runs hot and I think I overcooked it. Their chocolate cake mix is also great - I use the recipe with the sour cream and NO ONE has been able to tell the difference between this gluten-free cake and something made from like a Duncan Hines/Betty Crocker mix.

If you want to make your own mix, I like mixing 1 part sorghum flour, 1 part brown or white rice flour, and 1 part tapioca starch for sweet stuff. This works pretty well in most cookie and muffin and even quick bread recipes as long as there's enough protein/fat (i.e. eggs, butter, yogurt, sour cream, oil, etc.) and leavening in the recipe. If you want a little extra rise, though, in your quick bread or muffins, add a little xanthan gum. On the back of the Authentic Foods jar of xanthan gum it states 1/4 tsp. per 1 cup flour for cakes (and I think this would apply to muffins and cookies, too), 1 tsp. per 1 cup flour for bread (but I think you might use a little less for quick bread), and 2 tsp. per 1 cup flour for pizza crust.

oo thankyou for this! i was wondering the same thing..

do you guys ever pre-mix your own flours and just leave em premixed in some container? cuz that seems WAY simpler than having to make the mix every single time you bake ya know? does it workt he same?

i wanna expierment with baking gluten-free (i love baking anyway so i have to figure out a way to make my own normal goodies gluten free =) and this should help me out!

ohh yea.. whats the difference between brown and white rice flour? ever a time u would use one over the other?

thanks =)

[RiceGuy]

do you guys ever pre-mix your own flours and just leave em premixed in some container? cuz that seems WAY simpler than having to make the mix every single time you bake ya know? does it workt he same?

i wanna expierment with baking gluten-free (i love baking anyway so i have to figure out a way to make my own normal goodies gluten free =) and this should help me out!

ohh yea.. whats the difference between brown and white rice flour? ever a time u would use one over the other?

thanks =)

I've seen many posts about premixing the flours in a large amount. It should work just as well as a freshly mixed batch, as long as the flours don't spoil. So if you have bean flours in the mix, or if you expect it to last awhile, it's probably a good idea to refrigerate or freeze it. Thing is, if you open a container of really cold flour, it is likely to get water condensation in it. That would lend to spoilage. So it may be best to separate the batch into portions you know you'll use in a reasonable period of time, keep one at room temp and freeze the rest.

I've found brown and white rice flours vary from brand to brand, and the results can be quite different. White rice flour tends to be lighter and less gritty from my experience, though I know the fineness of the grind has a lot to do with it.

From the baking I've done thus far, I don't know if there would ever be an "all-purpose" gluten-free flour that could work as well as ones specifically aimed at certain types of baked goods.

[bbuster]

I mostly use Bette Hagman's Featherlight Flour mix.

You can buy this, or mix yourself.

1 cup white rice flour

1 cup tapioca flour

1 cup corn starch

1 tablespoon potato flour (not potato starch)

You can mix up as much as you want and it does not have to be refrigerated. It makes good bread, and I also use it in the Tollhouse cookie recipe, along with some sorghum flour.

For sweets (pancakes, waffles, my alternate chocolate chip cookie recipe, carrot cake) I love the Pamela's Ultimate mix already mentioned. But this mix does need to be refrigerated.

I used to use a lot more brown rice flour (it's in the Pamela's mix), but brown rice flour also has to be refrigerated, and my son prefers the lighter taste of the white.

[Juliet]

"do you guys ever pre-mix your own flours and just leave em premixed in some container? cuz that seems WAY simpler than having to make the mix every single time you bake ya know? does it workt he same?"

I do this for some things that I bake all the time, like muffins. But otherwise, I vary it from recipe to recipe, mainly because the taste and texture of each recipe and type of food your making also varies, and different flours lend themselves to different things.

"ohh yea.. whats the difference between brown and white rice flour? ever a time u would use one over the other?"

Brown rice flour has a nuttier flavor, a tiny bit grittier texture (why you rarely use solely this flour), and more fiber. If you use it frequently enough (like I do), it's not as necessary to refrigerate, but it must be kept in a cool, dry place, as do nearly all gluten free flours, and even whole wheat flour for that matter. I use brown rice flour, in conjunction with other flours and starches, in more savory (or less sweet) baked goods and some quick breads or cookies that benefit from a nuttier flavored batter. I sometimes even enhance the "nutty" taste by adding almond extract, almond meal, or hazelnut flour.

[Guest j_mommy]

Thanks everyone for your help!!!!

Here's another question.....When a gluten recipe calls for 2tblsp of flour do I need to add xanthan gum???? Like for roasts ect...not breads. Thanks

[lcbannon]

In my fridge, I keep a container of premixed gluten-free flour- white rice, potato starch and tapioca starch, then I have another one of Bette Hagman's French bread flour. I also keep teff, brown rice flour etc for receipes.

No, If I am only using that small amount of flour I do not add gum, For cakes, cookes, breads etc, I use it if the receipe calls for it.

Have fun experimenting.

[Guhlia]

I need a good all purpose flour recipe please!!!

Also if a recipe calls for all purpose flour, say like 2 tblsp...do I need to add xanthan gum too??? I know I do for bread ect.

Please help...I can't cook!LOL

I use the following all purpose flour recipe: 3 parts white rice flour, 2 part potato starch, 1 part tapioca starch. Then I add approximately 1/2 to 1 full teaspoons of xantham gum per cup of flour mix. It depends on what I'm making. If I'm not sure I always add the extra xantham gum and I rarely have a recipe fail.

I do NOT add xantham gum in a recipe that calls for less than 1/2 a cup.

oo thankyou for this! i was wondering the same thing..

do you guys ever pre-mix your own flours and just leave em premixed in some container? cuz that seems WAY simpler than having to make the mix every single time you bake ya know? does it workt he same?

i wanna expierment with baking gluten-free (i love baking anyway so i have to figure out a way to make my own normal goodies gluten free =) and this should help me out!

ohh yea.. whats the difference between brown and white rice flour? ever a time u would use one over the other?

thanks =)

I premix my flours and keep them in the refrigerator for maximum shelf life. I generally make about 12 cups at a time. It makes baking much quicker and easier. I don't add xantham gum though until I'm ready to bake.

Brown rice flour is much grainier than white rice. It's also much less processed, if processed at all. It has a different flavor than white rice also. I generally compare brown rice to whole wheat flour and white rice to all purpose flour. Though just using white rice isn't like using all purpose flour at all. You know what I mean. If I'm making something with a strong flavor where the rice flour flavor won't shine through very much, like pizza, then I use a combination of brown rice, white rice and the starches. Otherwise I use white rice because I don't like the flavor of the brown rice. In my flour mix, when I use brown rice, I generally use 1 part brown rice, 2 parts white rice, 2 parts potato starch, 1 part tapioca starch. I hope that helps.

[Cheri A]

The flour blend that I use the most is modified from Carol Fenster:

1 1/2 c. sorghum flour, 1 1/2 c. potato starch, 1 1/2 c. tapioca starch

I use it for cookies and muffin recipes.

For the bread recipe that I make, I do not pre-mix that blend.

Good luck finding a blend that works for you!!

[Juliet]

If a recipe calls for a very small amount of flour, I do not use xanthan gum. But, depending on what the flour is needed for, I will use different types. If it's used to really thicken, like a gravy, I will actually add either a starch (corn, tapioca, potato) at about half the amount. If it's only to barely thicken a sauce, like for a pot roast, I'll often just go with white rice flour. If it's for flavor (like when cooking Mexican style beans) as well as light thickening, I just use a little bit of Pamela's Ultimate Baking & Pancake mix. It does already have xanthan gum in it, but in this small of an amount it doesn't really come into play. I mainly use it for the flavor in this case.