Looking For An All-Pupose Flour Recipe

[caspersgrin]

Hi,

I'm the baker in the house and my wife has a bunch of allergies that keep me from using commercial flours or rolling my own based on recipes I found on the net -- she's allergic to a number of the standard ingredients. Specifically, she's allergic to:

• 
  
  
• wheat
  
• sorghum
  
• tapioca
  
• corn
  
• soy
  
  

Tapioca and/or sorghum are standard in the recipes I've found so far. Does anyone have an all-purpose flour recipe that avoids all the grains she's allergic to?

Thanks,

Rob

[freeatlast]

Hi,

I'm the baker in the house and my wife has a bunch of allergies that keep me from using commercial flours or rolling my own based on recipes I found on the net -- she's allergic to a number of the standard ingredients. Specifically, she's allergic to:

• 
  
  
• wheat
  
• sorghum
  
• tapioca
  
• corn
  
• soy
  
  

Tapioca and/or sorghum are standard in the recipes I've found so far. Does anyone have an all-purpose flour recipe that avoids all the grains she's allergic to?

Thanks,

Rob

I think you could use Bette Hagman's Mix and just replace the tapioca with potato starch:

6 cups White Rice Flour

2 cups Potato Starch

1 cup Tapioca Flour

I usually half this recipe and mix it in a large plastic container, covered.

Hope this helps.

[sa1937]

I'm not that familiar with the all-purpose gluten-free flour blends on the market (very few available in in area) so your best bet might be to experiment with an all-purpose blend of your own and if you find one that works well, then mix up a larger batch of it.

I might be tempted to try buckwheat flour as a sub for sorghum and potato starch (not potato flour) in lieu of tapioca flour/starch or cornstarch. Some recipes I have also call for brown rice flour.

Hopefully someone else will chime in with their possible solutions to avoid the offending ingredients.

[ElseB]

Brown rice flour (not white rice) is a good substitute for sorghum. Avoiding the tapioca is the tricky part. Many mixes have tapioca and corn or potato starch. You could replace it all with potato starch, but I think the potato flavour would be overpowering. I think you may just have to do a lot of experimenting. I did a quick search on the internet and found the mixes below. Also, if there's not allergies to nuts, you can also try adding some almond flour/meal, but typically only in small amounts. Its great for pancakes!

I will add the caution that I haven't tried any of these mixes. Good luck!

Pastry mix (makes 1 cup)

1/8 cup potato flour

7/8 cup white rice flour

Cookie mix (makes 2 cups)

¼ cup chickpea flour

1¾ cup sorghum flour (replace with brown rice flour)

¼ cup sweet rice flour

Bread mix (makes 2 cups)

1 cup brown rice flour

½ cup potato starch

½ cup sweet rice flour

1 Tbsp. unflavored gelatin

Another one:

3 cups brown rice flour

3 cups cornstarch (replace with potato starch/flour)

2 cups soya flour (you could try another high protein flour like quinoa)

1 cup amaranth

[mushroom]

I agree with trying buckwheat for sorghum; you could use arrowroot for tapioca.

[Darn210]

Here's a list of alternative flours with my own personal opinion

White rice flour - finest grind you can find will make all the difference in the end product - I buy my white rice flour from Asian Markets as they are a finer grind and much cheaper.

Brown rice flour - same comment as far as grind goes - I buy Authentic Foods fine ground brown rice flour (and feel the pain in the wallet every time I do).

Sweet rice flour - small quantities - I don't care for this flour, it seems to make products kind of gummy and feels like its not all the way cooked . . . OK for cookies, not for cake.

Potato starch - I disagree with a previous poster - I do not think it will give you a potato flavor - my best cake recipe calls only for white rice flour and potato starch.

Potato flour - This is the flour that if you use too much, it will give you a potato flavor (or so I hear). I'm of the opinion that if I can't use very much, then it isn't worth the space it takes as there are many other options out there.

Bean flours (fava, garbonzo, garfava, soy) - Some people like these flours, they are too strong for me. Always leave an aftertaste. I went to a taste-testing function and I could always pick out the products with the bean flours. Perhaps in small quantities.

Millet flour - the best bread I made had millet flour in it (along with several others) - not the easiest to find.

Here are some other flours which I don't have any real experience with but have heard good things. Some are mentioned above (can be bothered to see which ones so I'm listing all I can remember). Perhaps someone else reading this thread who has had experience with any of these could comment.

Amaranth

Arrowroot (I like Midel's arrowroot cookies for whatever that's worth )

Buckwheat

Coconut

Pea Starch (This is also in a cookie that I like but have no idea how to purchase it)

Quinoa

I would use the Bette Hagman recipe above and just substitue the tapioca with one of these other flours and see how it works for you . . . oh, and only a total of 6 cups of rice flour whether its all/part white/brown.