Arrowroot/potato Starch

[WinterSong]

Has anyone ever tried using arrowroot instead of potato starch in a bread recipe? I know that they're both thickeners, so what's the difference between the two? Do you think it would work?

(I have SO MUCH arrowroot left over from a recipe that I didn't like much and am trying to find other opportunities to use it in the recipes I want to try)

Thanks!!

[mushroom]

I sub it freely for potato because I can't have potato starch.

[WinterSong]

Great, thanks! I'd hate to see all of that arrowroot go to waste, cuz I haven't seen many other recipes that use it.

I also have a ton of almond flour - any ideas on what I can use that for?

I'm so excited to experiment!

[sa1937]

Great, thanks! I'd hate to see all of that arrowroot go to waste, cuz I haven't seen many other recipes that use it.

I also have a ton of almond flour - any ideas on what I can use that for?

I'm so excited to experiment!

Elana's Pantry has a bunch of recipes using almond flour. I printed out a recipe for rosemary crackers but haven't gotten around to making it yet. Open Original Shared Link

[WinterSong]

Ok, so the mix I'm going to try will include Tapioca Flour, Arrowroot (instead of potato starch), and Sorghum Flour. The bread I'm going to attempt will also have a cup of either Teff, Almond Flour or Amaranth (instead of millet flour). Any opinions? Does that sound like a balanced combination? I'm only making a few slight changes, but I'm kind of nervous about how it'll turn out.

[Darn210]

Let us know how it goes. I've always heard that you need to use at least two and preferably three or more flours to replace wheat . . . and that one should be a starch or a light flour so it doesn't get too heavy. I think you are on the right track.

I inherited a bunch of different flours from someone that was on a gluten free diet with just about any wheat alternative on some sort of rotation. I need to start experimenting too.

[mushroom]

Ok, so the mix I'm going to try will include Tapioca Flour, Arrowroot (instead of potato starch), and Sorghum Flour. The bread I'm going to attempt will also have a cup of either Teff, Almond Flour or Amaranth (instead of millet flour). Any opinions? Does that sound like a balanced combination? I'm only making a few slight changes, but I'm kind of nervous about how it'll turn out.

This is MHO only, but I have found Teff to be quite a heavy flour. I think if I were going to use it I would use half Teff and half Amaranth and see how it went.

[lizard00]

Yes, it would work. I did it for one of my customers who is potato intolerant. It does have a bit of a distinct flavor though. I used it in a chocolate cake recipe and couldn't tell the difference tastewise or texturally. And sorghum/tapioca/potato starch blend is what I use 99% of the time.

[domesticactivist]

We've tried it and it worked great - however it gave me and my son horrible brain fog and other symptoms. I don't know if it was contaminated with gluten or just something we reacted to. I'd try a bit in isolation before making a huge batch of something with it.

[WinterSong]

Epic fail. I thought I was doing really well, but then my bread didn't rise. My sister thinks that when I dissolved the yeast in warm milk, that the milk wasn't the right temperature, and it killed the yeast. Any other input?

[Takala]

Welcome to the Rite Of Passage Known As Gluten Free Bread Brick.

It would depend on the rest of the recipe, and what was in it, and what you did. Did you performThe Ritual ?

This is why I make a lot of small things leavened with baking soda and vinegar. I will make a test batch of about a 1/2 cup to a cup of gluten-free flours in a microwave bowl, or in the little cast iron skillet or a mini loaf pan. They may not be yeasty, but they rise and come out.

[sa1937]

Epic fail. I thought I was doing really well, but then my bread didn't rise. My sister thinks that when I dissolved the yeast in warm milk, that the milk wasn't the right temperature, and it killed the yeast. Any other input?

Well, that's a bummer! Do you have an instant read thermometer? In a couple of cookbooks I have it suggests that the liquid (milk or water) should be around 110°. Do you think the milk was too warm or not warm enough? Many times a recipe also calls for adding sugar (or another sweetener) to the liquid to help feed the yeast.

As if I'm any expert at baking bread having baked a few bricks myself. HA!

[freeatlast]

Welcome to the Rite Of Passage Known As Gluten Free Bread Brick.

It would depend on the rest of the recipe, and what was in it, and what you did. Did you performThe Ritual ?

This is why I make a lot of small things leavened with baking soda and vinegar. I will make a test batch of about a 1/2 cup to a cup of gluten-free flours in a microwave bowl, or in the little cast iron skillet or a mini loaf pan. They may not be yeasty, but they rise and come out.

Takala, what is your formula again? Not just gluten-free flour and vinegar/baking soda?

[Darn210]

Bread making Brick building is quite common in gluten free cooking. Anybody know anyon who got it right the first time?

Something else on the yeast . . . make sure that it isn't expired.

[WinterSong]

I didn't have an instant read thermometer, so that may have been my problem. I checked the yeast, too, and it's good for another year and a half.

I tried to cook the bread anyway just to see what would happen. It was so sad and comical. The outside rose a bit, but the inside didn't at all and was incredibly sticky...I'm going to try to enlist one of my baker friends to help me (or convince my sister to fly across the country! ). Until then I'll have to stick with my non-yeast quick bread and Udi's (which I love anyway). Oh well, I'm off to Trader Joe's.

[sa1937]

I didn't have an instant read thermometer, so that may have been my problem. I checked the yeast, too, and it's good for another year and a half.

I tried to cook the bread anyway just to see what would happen. It was so sad and comical. The outside rose a bit, but the inside didn't at all and was incredibly sticky...I'm going to try to enlist one of my baker friends to help me (or convince my sister to fly across the country! ). Until then I'll have to stick with my non-yeast quick bread and Udi's (which I love anyway). Oh well, I'm off to Trader Joe's.

I had the same thing happen a week or so ago...it was sad and comical, too. In my case I was testing Jules Gluten-Free Flour and made a loaf of bread that wouldn't quit rising. First time that ever happened as bricks are my usual specialty. I bought one of her cookbooks and she gave directions for both static baking and convection. So naturally, I used convection since I had never tried it for bread. The front of the loaf looked high. She said that bread would "rise high above the pan". No kidding! And then I turned the loaf around and saw the funky back side where the fan hit it. A hilarious sight. But it tasted pretty good.

So soon (possibly tomorrow if I have time), I'm going to try it again and skip convection. I also bought a new bread pan from King Arthur Flour that's 9x4x4". With 4" sides, maybe that'll give the batter/dough something to hang on to.

[Takala]

Put about a half teaspoon of vinegar and a 1/4 to a 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda to each cup of gluten free flour mixture in a recipe. Maybe also a pinch of cream of tartar. You don't let it rise, you then just put it in the pan/bowl and bake it, or cook the pancake in the hot oiled skillet. If you can't do vinegar, you can use lemon juice, maybe a bit more. It's also okay to use more vinegar, if necessary. I am fascinated by how much you can put in, and it doesn't make the bread sour.

See here, if you want to try this out and make just one large pancake flatbread

bun in a bowl, microwaved, can be used to test out any gluten free flour mixes without massive effort

the bun in a bowl mixture can be cooked in a small hot cast iron pan on the stovetop, then finished under the broiler, for a nice crust:

Usually yeast does not like acid. Some gluten-free bread recipes will have dry powdered milk or yogurt in them, this is a base which tempers the acid and makes the mixture less acid, (but yogurt is a bit acidic) and friendlier to the yeasties.

But vinegar is a great gluten free dough conditioner, breaking down some of the ingredients so they act slightly more like wheat dough. Adding a little vinegar to water, then soaking something like buckwheat flour in it a few minutes, before adding the other flour ingredients, can make the buckwheat sticky enough that no xanthan gum is needed in a recipe - it's a trade off.

Yeast needs a form of sugar, and warmth and moisture, to grow and release those bubbles that make the rise. Bread recipes with very little sugars take longer to rise than those with some sugar added. But if conditions are "hostile," or if the yeast is old, or if it is too cold, nothing much will happen. Yeast can be added to a quick leavened bread type of dough, just to flavor it.