Cornstarch Vs. Cornstarch Flour

[DoughGirl]

I am using a Gluten-Free Cookbook (The Gluten-Free Kitchen by Roben Ryberg) that calls for cornstarch for one of the "flours" in some cookies. I have both cornstarch (the regular kind for thickening gravies and such) and "cornstarch flour." I was of the impression that there is a difference between the two, and I can't seem to figure out which one to use. Does anyone know if there is, indeed, a difference between regular cornstarch and "cornstarch flour" (also gluten-free)? And if so, any suggestions on when/why I would use one over the other.

My FIL has just started a gluten-free, yeast-free diet, and I am in the process of trying to learn how to bake for him!

Thanks so much!

[DoughGirl]

Sorry, I just realized that it isn't cornstarch flour I have ... but potato starch and potato starch flour. Ugh! At this point I feel like I have so many unfamiliar flours that I have acquired, all rolling around in my brain, that it is about driving me buggy!

Sorry about that stupid question. I'll try to check twice before asking anything else.

[Darn210]

Sorry, I just realized that it isn't cornstarch flour I have ... but potato starch and potato starch flour. Ugh! At this point I feel like I have so many unfamiliar flours that I have acquired, all rolling around in my brain, that it is about driving me buggy!

Sorry about that stupid question. I'll try to check twice before asking anything else.

Nope . . . not stupid at all. Tapioca Starch and Tapioca Flour are the same. Potato Starch and Potato Flour are not . . . plus several different kinds of rice flour . . . yes, it can get confusing!

[purple]

Maybe some of us can help you with your gluten-free/yeast free baking??? That's what we are here for! Just ask!!

[Takala]

We love talking about this stuff, so don't apologize !

Use a clean new baking pan or cover the old one in foil for now- it's nearly impossible to get an old baking pan clean unless it's sandblasted...

For bread baking without yeast, you can leaven gluten-free breads nicely with apple cider vinegar and baking soda. If dairy is a problem, leave it out and use water and olive oil. Nut milks may be substituted. If eggs are a problem, there are substitutes such as Egg Replacer or boiled flax meal gel. Almond meal is cheaper if it is made at home by grinding in a blender, and can be substituted as a protein for powdered milk. Amaranth flour added to a recipe can produce enough stickiness that xanthan gum may not be needed in a skillet bread made with eggs.

If you like heartier, whole grain types of bread products, a good mixture is almond meal, potato starch, sorghum, amaranth, and millet. Seeds like raw sunflower, steamed millet, and poppyseed can be added for interest. A little molasses and a pinch of cumin and cinnamon add flavor.

Not everything has to be rice flour !

That said, cornstarch does come in handy for cookies and piecrusts.

In general, any 3 or more way blends work better than a single type of gluten-free flour for baking.

[DoughGirl]

Thanks so much, everyone, for being so supportive! I am feeling really excited at having my first sucess with gluten-free cooking (something that didn't taste like a brick, or like it was only fit for barnyard feed ). I used cornstarch and potato starch, along with guar gum and xanthan gum, to make some delicious chocolate cookies, which I then put in the food processor and made into a cookie-crumb crust. My FIL is so excited--this will be his first "crust" since he started the gluten-free/yeast-free diet a couple of months ago. (Thankfully, he can still have dairy and sugar, so I am making a chocolate-cherry cheesecake to fill the crust with.) I am the main "baker" in the family (thus my nick-name "dough-girl" ), since I am the only one who stays-at-home full-time. But my poor FIL has had to put up with mulitiple flops in the learning process of trying to go gluten and yeast free, and to be honest I was just about ready to give up and just stick with store-bought ... until I found the cookbook "The Gluten-Free Kitchen", and this forum. Tomorrow, I am planning to make another attempt at bread with a new recipe I aquired from his doctor (sorghum, fava bean, garbanzo bean, cornstarch and tapioca flours); I am hopeful that perhaps this will turn out also.

Again, thank you so much for all the encouraging words and wonderful information. I still have a lot to learn, but I am at least encouraged to keep trying!