Certain Flours Taste Better Than Others

[freeatlast]

Hey everybody!

Certain flours taste better than others, and it's all a matter of preference, I suppose. For instance, I WILL NOT eat brown rice flour b/c it tastes rancid to me, but do like the taste of white rice flour. I also like the taste of buckwheat and sorghum and amareth (sp?) flours. Have not tried almond or coconut flours. Bean flour is ok, but not my favorite.

So, keeping the above in mind, I have two questions:

1. Which flours do you like/dislike?

2. Are all gluten-free flours interchangable in recipes?

[jststric]

1. Which flours do you like/dislike?

2. Are all gluten-free flours interchangable in recipes?

I'm having computer issues, so sorry if this doesn't look write or post correctly. I cannot stand the taste of soy flour. That strong bean flavor just ruins everything I try it in. I have to limit my rice flour because rice is an issue for me, but its a much nicer taste. I'm still very new to all the flour options myself, but I don't think all gluten-free flours are good alternatives in any recipe. I think you must consider the texture you are wanting and consider the denseness or lightness of different flours. Some, like sorghum are a bit sweeter, so that's something to consider too. But I certainly don't have the answers yet myself!

[purple]

I started out with bean flour. The cookies were good right out of the oven. Then I switched to rice flour. I didn't like the gritty cookies I made. I switched to sorghum and use it mostly. I like the taste of sorghum and millet together, to me they taste like good old fashioned homemade gluten white bread.

I use Bob's all purpose baking flour for vegan waffles...best waffles I have ever had.

I like the whiteness of white rice flour, sorghum darkens things like biscuits. White rice for biscuits and pie crust.

I used buckwheat and liked it.

I have used white rice mix and sorghum mix together.

The sorghum mix works great in cake, muffins, sweet breads, brownies and cookies. The majority of my baking.

I find that I like to add moisture when converting recipes. A bit of applesauce, sour cream or pudding mix. Or an extra egg.

Might add...I am not gluten-free only my dd's are 18/21. I bake for them so I don't experiment with flours that much.

I have ground my own almonds for almond flour and flax too. They work great in microwave bread.

I sampled a few other flours in some baked goods but I am sticking with sorghum.

[missy'smom]

I like a sorghum blend for most things so far, and mostly bake muffins and pancakes. I have had alot of success this year with converting muffin recipes to gluten-free. All the ones I have used call for oats and "flour". I started with oaty ones because I like oats plus I figured with less flour to start with I'd have a better chance at success. All of them have turned out great-zucchini cranberry oat, apple cranberry oat, blueberry applesauce oat. Just subbed the sorghum blend for the same amount of flour and added xanthan gum according to the package instructions for muffins.

If your brown rice flour tastes rancid it probably is. The first time I purchased flax I thought it tasted terrible. Come to find out, the next package tasted so different so I realized the first one was bad. Better to store such things in the freezer.

I do like the bean flour blend for use in making a white sauce or gravy and for use in the breading process.

[RiceGuy]

As was stated, the rice flour might well have been rancid. I do know that Bob's Red Mill stone grinds a number of their flours, and stone grinding creates too much heat, breaking down some of the components in the grain/beans/etc. So it is essentially rancid right out of the mill. This is especially true for bean flours, and is one reason why some folks find bean flours taste bad. Though it seems not everyone is aware of the true cause, and just start avoiding certain types of flour.

Anyway, I found rice flours gritty compared to all others, so I haven't used them since. But everyone has their preferences. And of course, not just any flour, or blend of flours, will work for any recipe. Here is a thread which might help answer some of your questions: https://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/index.php?showtopic=57120

[one more mile]

I love the richness of coconut and almond. I mostly use almond flours when cooking and 1/4 of the total in tapioca to hold it together. I blend a few flours together most of the time.

[MagpieWrites]

Like? Thus far, quite a few are on the like list - Potato starch, sorghum, and brown rice flour make my world go round at the moment (or at least make some darned tasty English muffins!), but I may be spoiled on my experiences with the brown rice flour. For my birthday, I received a grain mill that will pulverize rice to the point I really get no grit. A nutty whole wheat type flour, but no grit and no rancidity. I also go through it fast enough, and store it in the freezer to not have to worry too much about it going off. Tapioca flour/starch and fresh ground millet flour is also pretty tasty. Masa (corn flour) and cornstarch get a lot of play in the kitchen as well. Buckwheat is fast becoming a go to as well.

While I can deal with the bean flour (garbanzo beans ground at home taste fine to me - store bought... shudder) soy flour just makes me nauseous. Almond and coconut flours are a no-go here... but that just because I'm allergic to both!

I suppose I'm lucky, most of the "standard" gluten free subs are pretty tasty to me. The biggest problem I have is the myriad of bottles, bags, and jars I'm constantly having to shuffle and search through to start cooking! And its also handy as well as easier on my wallet that I REALLY don't like any of the store bought flour blends I've tried. MUCH cheaper to grind it at home. And having everything really fresh helps too.

[RDR]

I use Carol Fenster's sorghum/potato starch/tapioca as my main. I still miss my old gluteny all-purpose flour but this comes closest taste-wise for me to the old stuff. I've recently been getting heavy into baking exclusively with potato starch and honestly as a lone flour it impresses me a lot. I like baking with coconut flour but haven't really gone beyond a few basic recipes with it. I still need to do more with it soon. Next stop, almond flour !

[Reba32]

I stick to low carb flours like almond and coconut for baked goods, and soy flour for stuff like pancakes and waffles.

[freeatlast]

I stick to low carb flours like almond and coconut for baked goods, and soy flour for stuff like pancakes and waffles.

So, is rice flour high in carbs? It would make sense, wouldn't it?

[chellalee]

I'm not much of a cook or baker, I've been gluten-free for 3 years, and have not done much experimenting. I just use an all purpose gluten-free blend from Tom Sawyer. It is great in brownies, cakes, crepes, gravy, etc. Haven't tried to make bread even once since dx, even though I used to bake bread every week. The Tom Sawyer blend can replace all purpose flour cup for cup and it tastes like the real thing to me, and I've fed it to plenty of nonGF and tastes fine.

[GFinDC]

I've used the Tom Sawyer blend and like it also. I plan to try making my own blend soon though. Here's link you might like that describes various non-wheat flours and their use. It is not geared towards celiacs though.

The Cooks Thesarus

Open Original Shared Link

I figure I will get a small amount of several flours and try them out. I saw this Orgran gluten free gluten product here on the Gluten Free Mall. It has good reviews so I figure it would be worth trying.

Open Original Shared Link

[gfbatali]

I've used the Tom Sawyer blend and like it also. I plan to try making my own blend soon though. Here's link you might like that describes various non-wheat flours and their use. It is not geared towards celiacs though.

The Cooks Thesarus

Open Original Shared Link

I figure I will get a small amount of several flours and try them out. I saw this Orgran gluten free gluten product here on the Gluten Free Mall. It has good reviews so I figure it would be worth trying.

Open Original Shared Link

[DMarie]

I use all types of flour in my cooking/baking. I prefer brown rice to white rice (nutrition wise - brown is better) - but I make sure to buy the superfine grind of brown rice flour. Otherwise, I would not use rice flour (because of the sandy/gritty texture).

I find that I like a mix of flours - but what mix just depends on what I am making. Sometimes it is a simple Brown Rice Mix (brown rice flour/tapioca/potato starch). More often than not though - I sub sorghum and/or millet flour for part of the brown rice flour. I think it give a better flavor over all.

I am also a fan of teff and buckwheat (buckwheat has a very distinctive flavor to me - so I only use that in certain things).

I use a flour mix for bagels that calls for garfava flour. I was at the store and couldn't find garfava flour - just found garbanzo bean flour. Does anyone know about the differences between the two (such as - is there a big difference in taste)? I am not usually a fan of bean flours - but we love these bagels - so I leave well enough alone! I am just wondering if I will notice a difference.

[Reba32]

rice flour (and rice) is extremely high carb.

almond flour - net carbs = 3 per ounce (approx. 2 tbsp)

coconut flour - net carbs = 4 per ounce

rice flour - net carbs = 14 per ounce

If you're low carbing to try and lose weight, rice flour won't help.

[Ellie11]

Like other people I generally like to use a mix of flours. I think this allows you to get a better texture in the final product and also allows you to better control the protein, fat and carbohydrate content better.

For savory things I think chickpea and buckwheat add a nice taste but this can be a bit overpowering in a cake or muffin that is meant to be sweet. Personally I find that soya flour add bitter taste to things so I use is sparingly.

On the blog 'Simply Sugar and Gluten Free' Amy is currently running a series on mixing gluten free flours to get the best finished product which i find really helpful. (I dont know her personally but her blog is really great!)

[freeatlast]

rice flour (and rice) is extremely high carb.

almond flour - net carbs = 3 per ounce (approx. 2 tbsp)

coconut flour - net carbs = 4 per ounce

rice flour - net carbs = 14 per ounce

If you're low carbing to try and lose weight, rice flour won't help.

Wooooooooooooo on the rice flour carbs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

Thanks for the advice. I will try the coconut flour and almond flour, then. Where do you buy it? Oh, I know. Saw them at Whole Foods for a gazillion dollars last week, lol!

Will check out the Indian store today and see if they have it.

[Reba32]

I get coconut flour off (Company Name Removed - They Spammed This Forum and are Banned) Evidently I can't say the name of a popular website that sells books and foods. It's $10 for 2 pounds.

I make my own almond flour by grinding almond slivers in a coffee grinder/food processor. Almond flour is normally about $10 for 1 pound, but a bag of blanched almond slivers is less than $4, and one bag is usually good for one recipe.

I made an almond flour cream cheese coffee cake and took it to work today. I went thru the office and said "I made cake, come and get some!" and they all said "Hey, you're not allowed to eat cake!"