All Purpose Baking Flour

[GlutenGalAZ 1]

I've been trying different box mixes lately (that do not contain tapioca starch/flour) but I am getting to the point where I want to make stuff myself without a mix in a box.

The Baking Flours I see in the store or mixes in books all have Tapioca Flour in them...

Question: Does anyone have a good All Purpose Baking Flour Mix that can be used for pretty much anything -- That does not contain Tapioca Flour?

Thank you!!

[myst 0]

I don't have a set all-purpose mix, but you should be able to use arrowroot 1:1 in place of the tapioca flour.

myst

[GlutenGalAZ 1]

myst -- Thank you for the reply.

I am trying to understand the whole what flours to use. I have only used boxed mixes and years ago when I use to make cookies (before gluten free) you just buy flour where now there is potato flour, rice flour BUT then they say in the recipes to use a gluten free flour mix or all purpose gluten free flour mix...

How do you learn what combinations to use and when you can just use say potato flour?

How do you know you can substitute one thing for another? Like myst mentioned "should be able to use arrowroot 1:1 in place of the tapioca flour"...

Thank you!!

[myst 0]

Firstly, I don't bake a whole lot. Mostly experimenting with trying to get the "gluten-free Holy Grail" - the perfect white bread/bun recipe. I have an awesome mock onion rye that I'm very happy with, and wouldn't change a thing about it, but that perfect white bun is very elusive. I can get the taste, or I can get the texture, but never both at the same time. Hopefully someone with more baking experience will chime in.

That said, I can give you a few pointers...

Most recipes use a combination of flours and starches and xanthan gum or guar gum.

Potato flour and potato starch are NOT the same thing.

The starches: potato starch, tapioca flour/starch (those are the same thing), corn starch, and arrowroot. These are basically interchangeable for the most part, although they do have slightly different properties. (I have problems making decent gravy with anything other than corn starch. ) Do NOT use potato flour unless the recipe calls specifically for it. A small amount will give moistness and even some density to the end product. Too much and the stuff will never get done, no matter how long you bake it. Yup, been there, done that.

The flours: white rice flour, brown rice flour, sorghum, amaranth, buckwheat, quinoa, teff, and probably some others I'm forgetting. These flours are pretty much interchangeable depending on what you're making and what flavors/textures you're looking for. Some are grainier than others, and don't work well in things like cakes and pastries. White rice flour and maybe even amaranth work better for the cakes and pastries, IMO. I find the quinoa to be rather bitter on its own, but a small amount combined with other flours works rather well, at least in breads.

Sweet rice flour and glutinous rice flour - I thought these were the same thing, but I've read somewhere on this site that they're not. I can't help too much here, other than to say a small amount will add some moistness to the product, and I think is often added to pastries, etc. Too much is not a good thing in most recipes.

The flour mix many people use is 6 parts rice flour (white and/or brown), 2 parts potato starch, 1 part tapioca flour. (I think I got that right, I haven't used it for a long time.)

I usually use a 1:1 ratio of flour to starch (usually white/brown rice flour and tapioca starch), sometimes adding a bit more flour than starch. I've had better luck with that in most things - rye bread, pancakes, brownies, pizza dough, etc. If you're using only one type of starch in your flour mix, I would suggest using arrowroot. I usually use the tapioca starch, just because it's inexpensive and I do a lot of experimenting.

I also use 1 tsp of xanthan gum or guar gum per 1 cup of flour mix, unless a recipe states otherwise.

Adding 1/2 to 1 tsp of gelatin or pectin may help the texture if you're making breads or buns. I usually don't use it, but maybe my white bun experiments could benefit.

HTH

myst

[myst 0]

This site might help a bit:

http://www.frot.co.nz/dietnet/resources/gluten2.htm

This one's about potato flour:

http://www.alamoceliac.org/actipspotatoflour.html

A little bit about arrowroot, but info is only about using as a thickener:

http://www.culinarycafe.com/Spices_Herbs/Arrowroot.html

[dbmamaz 0]

I havent been doing much baking since i tested reactive to rice

However, here is a page of flour mix recipes: http://www.csaceliacs.org/recipes/FlourFormulas.php

and the parent site of this board has a page, too: https://www.celiac.com/categories/Gluten%25...ee-Flour-Mixes/

They have recipes too. You can certainly use these recipes and sub arrowroot for tapioca.

I have a 'free sample' from Authentic Foods of their baking and pancake mix (think gluten-free bisquick) and it does not have tapioca, but I believe their flour mixes do.

[myst 0]

dbmamaz,

You should be able to use amaranth flour 1 for 1 in place of rice flours, unless there's a risk of CC. It's more expensive than the rice flours, but I actually prefer it.

myst

[dbmamaz 0]

Thanks, but i'm on a major elimination diet right now, becuase i reacted to 1/3 of 175 foods on my sensitivity test, and 90% of the 60 foods my allergist tested me for. I am only adding things every 3-4 days, and only if i'm symptom-free. So right now i'm using millet, but i'm not entirely sure i'm not still reacting to something when i bake, maybe xanthan? But if i want to add amaranth, I will need to test it in like every other food. I'm not missing baked goods much - i want to test out my b12 pills first, I REALLY miss those. In 2 mo i've gone from 19 to 28 foods and supplements . . . its really, really slow.

I did make millet cookies the other day, but that was just at the end of testing out a new food which turned out to be NOT well tolerated, but took 3 days to make itself perfectly clear .. . so i'm still not sure if the cookies bothered me or not.

[myst 0]

Wow! That's gotta be hard. Hopefully it'll all be worth it and you can regain your health and expand your food choices even more. Good luck.

myst

[GlutenGalAZ 1]

Thank you myst and dbmamaz for the links and information.

Good luck myst on your bread/bun recipe.

Good luck dbmamaz with your food elimination, hope you find more you can eat.

[RiceGuy 55]

Once I tried millet and sorghum flours, I didn't have any use for rice flours. I hadn't noticed how gritty the rice flours were until trying others.

As for starches to use in place of tapioca, I find sweet white rice flour can be used in about the same ratio, but the resulting texture is different of course. It's probably a matter of preference. Probably the best rice flour I found for texture was from an Asian market. I guess they use a different variety of rice.

I've never used mixes, and I doubt there is a single blend that would work well in everything. It also depends on the other ingredients you use. For instance, I never use sugar, dairy or eggs, so that undoubtedly changes everything for stuff like cakes and such.

I still do a lot of experimenting, which I think is the best way to learn what to use to get the desired result. Your own preferences have quite a bit to do with it too. Since I don't like "white bread", I don't need high amounts of starches.

[GlutenGalAZ 1]

Whenever my mom comes to visit she always bring me different flours and mixes, haven't tried the flours yet -- still doing research on what combinations to do. I see Sorghum Flour a lot so I am taking it is a good one to use.

Thank you again for all of your replies they have been helpful. I saved the websites and information. I am keeping an eye out for Arrowroot (live in a small town) have not seen it yet. Next time we go to Flagstaff or Las Vegas area will look for it there.

Thanks again.

[Wonka 1]

I've been trying different box mixes lately (that do not contain tapioca starch/flour) but I am getting to the point where I want to make stuff myself without a mix in a box.

The Baking Flours I see in the store or mixes in books all have Tapioca Flour in them...

Question: Does anyone have a good All Purpose Baking Flour Mix that can be used for pretty much anything -- That does not contain Tapioca Flour?

Thank you!!

Here's a guide to help you figure out the ratios.

1) You want four main types of flour in your mix--

Bodifiers-- Teff, Sorghum, Rice, bean flours, brown rice, quinoa, millet, amaranth, and cornmeal are a few options. These provide bulk and protein as well as the vitamins (if any, teff is a great source of vitamins).

Modifiers-- Tapioca starch, cornstarch, potato starch, arrowroot powder. These provide lightness and smoothness to the mix.

Moisturizers-- potato starch (this is a duel status item and should be counted in the ratio as a modifier, but if you use too much it will over moisturize the mix), potato flour. These counterbalance the drying tendencies of modifiers.

Extenders-- guar gum, xanthan gum, pectin, (to a degree) fruit acids, and, to a degree, flaxseed. These substitute for gluten and add extra body and stretch to the flour mix, as well as extend the shelf life of your baked goods.

A good ratio to make is 2 cup bodifier: 1 cup modifier: 1/4 cup moisturizer: 3 tsp. extender

You can multiply this ratio for any amount. The secret to getting a mix you like is to mix and match within the categories, but keep the ratios the same.

[JNBunnie1 164]

Here's a guide to help you figure out the ratios.

1) You want four main types of flour in your mix--

Bodifiers-- Teff, Sorghum, Rice, bean flours, brown rice, quinoa, millet, amaranth, and cornmeal are a few options. These provide bulk and protein as well as the vitamins (if any, teff is a great source of vitamins).

Modifiers-- Tapioca starch, cornstarch, potato starch, arrowroot powder. These provide lightness and smoothness to the mix.

Moisturizers-- potato starch (this is a duel status item and should be counted in the ratio as a modifier, but if you use too much it will over moisturize the mix), potato flour. These counterbalance the drying tendencies of modifiers.

Extenders-- guar gum, xanthan gum, pectin, (to a degree) fruit acids, and, to a degree, flaxseed. These substitute for gluten and add extra body and stretch to the flour mix, as well as extend the shelf life of your baked goods.

A good ratio to make is 2 cup bodifier: 1 cup modifier: 1/4 cup moisturizer: 3 tsp. extender

You can multiply this ratio for any amount. The secret to getting a mix you like is to mix and match within the categories, but keep the ratios the same.

Wow, that was really helpful, thank you!

[Wonka 1]

Wow, that was really helpful, thank you!

You're welcome. When ever I find really great info like that I copy it and keep it (that way I don't have to rely on my memory, which sucks at the moment).