Adding Healthier Flours To Baking

[Joni63]

Hello,

I am so thrilled to be baking and having great successes thanks to all the great suggestions and recipes from the terrific people on this site. Thank you!

But since the holidays have come and almost gone (New Year's Day), I have gained some weight!

Now I need to lose as part of my New Years Resolution (Yes, I have the same resolution EVERY year). My idea is to try the South Beach diet and then incorporate more healthier whole grain foods and less processed foods into my diet.

My question is:

How do I add these flours into recipes that don't list them? When do I know which I can use in what recipe and the amounts I can add???

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

[Juliet]

You can substitute almost any gluten free flour with another gluten free flour and gluten free starch with another starch. The only thing is, you might not like the taste combination as much as you did before the switching.

I use the superfine brown rice flour in lieu of plain rice flour most of the time except for the super sweet and delicately flavored recipes (i.e., yellow cakes or sugar cookies). Muffins, quick breads, even chocolate chip cookies, etc. are all good with brown rice flour over white rice. I also use a lot of sweet sorghum; a combination of sorghum and brown rice often tastes closest to wheat flour than any other combination, in my opinion. I personally don't like the bean flours as much, but they do add a little more elasticity since they're higher in protein. If you add things like coconut flour or montina, know that your products will be denser and that you may need to add additional liquid since they absorb so much. And as a little tip, add ground flaxseed, whether untoasted or toasted (toasted has a bit more fiber). It helps to keep moisture in your baked goods, is extremely high in fiber, and also adds much needed Omega 3 fatty acids, which are good for losing weight and maintaining healthy balance of HDL and LDL cholesterol levels (a problem with gluten free diets since they are often lower in fiber unless you eat A LOT of fruits and veggies). For breakfast I often have a little yogurt and mix in some toasted flaxseed with dried blueberries that I get from Trader Joe's. It's reminiscent of wheat germ, but a little nuttier tasting. Also, if you can digest them, look into using gluten free oats. They're expensive, so I use them sparingly, but I do love them. I add them in my baked bread and also make flourless oatmeal cookies with dried fruits and eat them for breakfast.

[mftnchn]

I've just started experimenting with buckwheat, which we are grinding ourselves. About three cups of this plus an egg and a little water makes homemade noodles that are wonderful. Taste a little like pasta with some whole wheat in it.

We have also made "skins" with this for Chinese dumplings, and it worked okay. A little drier and thicker than what is best, we'll do some more experimenting.

We want to try this in bread, but haven't yet.

[celiac-mommy]

I use the Bob's Redmill bean flour mix and for every recipe I make, I use 1/2 that and 1/2 brown rice flour-it cuts the bean taste. No one could believe that all the baking I did this holiday was gluten-free. I also add ground flax seeds to a lot of my baking for extra fiber.

[Joni63]

You can substitute almost any gluten free flour with another gluten free flour and gluten free starch with another starch. The only thing is, you might not like the taste combination as much as you did before the switching.

I use the superfine brown rice flour in lieu of plain rice flour most of the time except for the super sweet and delicately flavored recipes (i.e., yellow cakes or sugar cookies). Muffins, quick breads, even chocolate chip cookies, etc. are all good with brown rice flour over white rice. I also use a lot of sweet sorghum; a combination of sorghum and brown rice often tastes closest to wheat flour than any other combination, in my opinion. I personally don't like the bean flours as much, but they do add a little more elasticity since they're higher in protein. If you add things like coconut flour or montina, know that your products will be denser and that you may need to add additional liquid since they absorb so much. And as a little tip, add ground flaxseed, whether untoasted or toasted (toasted has a bit more fiber). It helps to keep moisture in your baked goods, is extremely high in fiber, and also adds much needed Omega 3 fatty acids, which are good for losing weight and maintaining healthy balance of HDL and LDL cholesterol levels (a problem with gluten free diets since they are often lower in fiber unless you eat A LOT of fruits and veggies). For breakfast I often have a little yogurt and mix in some toasted flaxseed with dried blueberries that I get from Trader Joe's. It's reminiscent of wheat germ, but a little nuttier tasting. Also, if you can digest them, look into using gluten free oats. They're expensive, so I use them sparingly, but I do love them. I add them in my baked bread and also make flourless oatmeal cookies with dried fruits and eat them for breakfast.

Thank you! Just the information I needed about substitutions. I didn't know which recipes were more forgiving. I always have whole flax seed available and use a coffee grinder to grind it. I'll try adding it in next time I bake something. Great tip!

I've just started experimenting with buckwheat, which we are grinding ourselves. About three cups of this plus an egg and a little water makes homemade noodles that are wonderful. Taste a little like pasta with some whole wheat in it.

We have also made "skins" with this for Chinese dumplings, and it worked okay. A little drier and thicker than what is best, we'll do some more experimenting.

We want to try this in bread, but haven't yet.

Just curious, is there a reason your grinding it yourself? To get a better texture, perhaps? Do you use a pasta maker to make your noodles? Fresh noodles sound great, but I have no idea how to make them.

I use the Bob's Redmill bean flour mix and for every recipe I make, I use 1/2 that and 1/2 brown rice flour-it cuts the bean taste. No one could believe that all the baking I did this holiday was gluten-free. I also add ground flax seeds to a lot of my baking for extra fiber.

I'll have to try mixing them half and half. Do you use them both in place of all the flours in the recipe or do you add in any of the other flours?

[celiac-mommy]

I'll have to try mixing them half and half. Do you use them both in place of all the flours in the recipe or do you add in any of the other flours?

I do use them to replace any flour in any recipe. I haven't really used any of the gluten-free cookbooks I bought when my DD was diagnosed. There are a lot of ingredients needed for most of the recipes and I'm not a big fan of that--and mostly specialty ingredients. I most frequently use my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and I convert every recipe. No matter how much flour it calls for, I always use the 1/2 and 1/2 mix--but add xanthan gum for the baked goods.

[bakingbarb]

Is there a difference between sorghum and sweet sorghum? I wasn't sure if they were the same thing or not, there is rice flour and sweet rice flour and they are not the same thing.

tia

[Joni63]

I do use them to replace any flour in any recipe. I haven't really used any of the gluten-free cookbooks I bought when my DD was diagnosed. There are a lot of ingredients needed for most of the recipes and I'm not a big fan of that--and mostly specialty ingredients. I most frequently use my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and I convert every recipe. No matter how much flour it calls for, I always use the 1/2 and 1/2 mix--but add xanthan gum for the baked goods.

Thank you! I have to tell you I tried buckwheat pancakes using your 1/2 and 1/2 method, except I used brown rice and buckwheat flour. They looked funny, kind of grey-brown from the buckwheat flour but the taste was wonderful. I loved the taste and texture the 'darker' flours gave to the recipe. I cut out plain white bread long ago really like my recipes to be more like 'whole wheat'. This worked wonderfully, thanks!

Is there a difference between sorghum and sweet sorghum? I wasn't sure if they were the same thing or not, there is rice flour and sweet rice flour and they are not the same thing.

tia

Barb, According to the cookbooks I have sorghum and sweet sorghum are the same, but the rice and sweet rice are different flours.