Baking With No Starches?

[missy'smom]

Anyone tried baking with no starches in their blend?

I am allergic to tapioca, potato and corn now:( I can use arrowroot, but find it too strong in flavor to use much of. I had read that maybe sweet rice flour can be subbed, at least for part of the starches and tried that as a sub for a very small amount of the starch in a muffin recipe that had cornstarch in it for the other part and it worked well, but that was the batch that convinced me of my issues with corn No flax or almond here either.

Anyone? is it possible? or have I lost all baked goods for the time being?

[mushroom]

There is coconut flour, and RiceGuy has a source for sweet potato flour. Are these possibilities?

[ciamarie]

I did a ton of searching on here when I was searching for possible recipes for making bread. It's a work in progress. However, I made some text doc's with links to a couple of threads -- here's a blend by RiceGuy with his blend that doesn't have starches:

Here's an example of a blend which I know works:

2 parts teff flour

3 parts sorghum flour

3 parts sweet potato flour

And here's a link for Open Original Shared Link, haven't tried them myself though.

[missy'smom]

Sweet potato flour is possible, I did see something like that in the asian market. Do I want to say it was called Fu Fu Flour? I'll have to loook into it.

I have seen coconut flour but what I've see an low carb/grain-free recipes which have a high proportion of eggs, which doesn't set well with me-too many eggs. I did Low carb baking in the past before the almond and flax allergies.

Thanks for trying ciamarie, that recipe still uses flax and a fair amount of tapioca and some part of me feels like I should not get into coconut too much.

[RiceGuy]

Sweet potato flour is possible, I did see something like that in the asian market. Do I want to say it was called Fu Fu Flour? I'll have to loook into it.

I have seen coconut flour but what I've see an low carb/grain-free recipes which have a high proportion of eggs, which doesn't set well with me-too many eggs. I did Low carb baking in the past before the almond and flax allergies.

Thanks for trying ciamarie, that recipe still uses flax and a fair amount of tapioca and some part of me feels like I should not get into coconut too much.

According to Wikipedia, Fufu flour doesn't appear to be sweet potato flour. Or it may have other ingredients added. Sweet potato flour may also be called "Harina de Camote".

Coconut flour doesn't function like most other flours. And yes, it is usually paired with a considerable amount of eggs.

I've been working on a number of recipes which you may be able to use, but I'm reserving them for my book. However, I do want to have them tested by other bakers, so if you're interested, and can promise to keep the recipe to yourself, I'd be happy to supply you with something via PM.

[fantasticalice]

On the back of Bob's Red Mill Organic Quinoa there is a cupcake recipe using only quinoa flour. Also a carrot cookie recipe on the back of the Amaranth flour using some arrowroot and only amaranth. I have used teff, quinoa, & amaranth interchangeably. I am starting to give lessons in bread baking because I am finding most people are making this too hard! If I have enough yeast I can make anything rise!! I also have a solar oven which really improves the taste of anything! You say nothing about oat? So far so good here with Bob's. This year I am growing a small field of oats, can't wait to see how it turns out. I garden as much as I cook!

[missy'smom]

Thanks for the good reminder alice. I had seen some on the packages and should check Bob's site. These darn allergies, I feel overwhelmed at the moment! Every time I get something good going, the rules change and I have to reinvent everything all over again!

[fantasticalice]

Thanks for the good reminder alice. I had seen some on the packages and should check Bob's site. These darn allergies, I feel overwhelmed at the moment! Every time I get something good going, the rules change and I have to reinvent everything all over again!

Read my post under Carbs.....

[thefreespirit]

Hi Missy'sMom

Poor you, I do empathise, its not easy being us, is it?

However, there is hope. Apart from the flours already mentioned there are more:

Banana flour

Buckwheat flour

Carob flour

Chickpea flour - also called Gram or Garbanzo

Millet flour

Quinoa flour

Rice flour

Soya flour

Its trial and error really using these flours, they won't all give the same results. Some of them are stronger in flavour, some heavier and some need to be stored rather carefully. I have never tried banana flour, but I have read somewhere that its best used in a blend. I love Gram flour, but don't use it anymore because I have a real problem with pulses, but it has a great flavour. I find buckwheat useful but will make your baking rather heavy, good in a blend and very nutritious. Nothing to do with wheat by the way, its part of the rhubarb family, so completely gluten free.

Don't give up on your baking. Its fun and very therapeutic I find. It just takes a while to get the hang of a different style of baking, but when you find something you like it will be worth it.

Blessings - FS xx

[missy'smom]

Alice,

I am well aware of the impact of carbs an blood sugar and craving, if that's what you refer to. I don't crave carbs. I managed being insulin deficient and no meds or insulin on low-carb for 2 years. That was without soy, casein and little egg. But 1 by 1 I became allergic to most of my low carb foods so went off LC and on insulin and added back grains because I had so few foods left to eat. I was living off meat and veg and became allergic to most of the veg and the almond meal and flax used for baking etc.I just want some things for convenience and variety and a small treat. With the grains that are dropping out of my diet I am heading back to low carb again LOL, not by conscious choice. But I don't have enough veg. back. Working on gaining a few back that I'd lost a while ago.

FS, thanks. I USED TO enjoy baking. It USED TO be relaxing. I just don't enjoy food much these days as so many things give me symptoms and it is such a chore to keep up and feed myself everyday. I am aware of the many flours out there, been gluten-free maybe 5 or 6 years. Haven't tried a few yet, but have a number in my pantry. Just struggling with no starches. Did find a few on the Bob's site, with single flours or no starches.

Can't have buckwheat, banana, I see FU FU has plantain so that's out. I think I should stay away from the bean flours as well and no soy. All because of allergies.

[Takala]

Hmmmmmm. You are using Bob's Red Mill brand. You're not actually an "oat reactor," are you ? Because their stuff is cc'd with gluten free oats.

I'm a flax reactor. If I were you, I'd be cautious of the millet, that seems to be another thing that's either got a lot of cc problems or causes allergic reactions.

You could try 1/3 arrowroot, 1/3 sweet potato, 1/3 buckwheat (ask Rice Guy for the brand) and try a flatbread or bun n in cup.

Coconut in flour form is some weird stuff. They ought to market it like powdered Sham-Wow for its water sucking up qualities. I see a recipe sometimes with a lot of it in it, and laugh at the "and now bake it for an hour and a half and test for doneness." Yeah, uhm A little bit is okay.

I went lower carb in Nov because of a reaction to a commercially prepared gluten-free baked good I ate, (several times ) and felt a lot better off of baked grains (which I found disconcerting.) Now I am starting to experiment with other brands of flours/mixes.

[mushroom]

Can you tell me where you order your sweet potato flour, Takala? I would like to try some next summer, maybe bring some back

[missy'smom]

Hmmmmmm. You are using Bob's Red Mill brand. You're not actually an "oat reactor," are you ? Because their stuff is cc'd with gluten free oats.

I'm a flax reactor. If I were you, I'd be cautious of the millet, that seems to be another thing that's either got a lot of cc problems or causes allergic reactions.

You could try 1/3 arrowroot, 1/3 sweet potato, 1/3 buckwheat (ask Rice Guy for the brand) and try a flatbread or bun n in cup.

Coconut in flour form is some weird stuff. They ought to market it like powdered Sham-Wow for its water sucking up qualities. I see a recipe sometimes with a lot of it in it, and laugh at the "and now bake it for an hour and a half and test for doneness." Yeah, uhm A little bit is okay.

I went lower carb in Nov because of a reaction to a commercially prepared gluten-free baked good I ate, (several times ) and felt a lot better off of baked grains (which I found disconcerting.) Now I am starting to experiment with other brands of flours/mixes.

I use a mix of brands-Bob's, Arrowhead Mills, and the asian rice flour. I don't eat baked often because I have to bake all my own and don't have that much time or energy. I can no longer eat ANY of the commercially prepared grain based products, except rice chex, rice krispy type cereals and b. rice pasta.

My symptoms are classic allergy symptoms-mouth burning and some general malaise, etc. that is not like my gluten reactions. I did get immediate D with potatoes-not only potato starch.

So far so good with the oats, although I am nervous about losing it. I do us Bob's for them. I reecntly had an endoscopy and colonoscopy with numerous biopsies and they ran antibody test. Everything came back showing perfectly healthy tissue and no antibodies. My GI doc is celiac disease knowledgeable. So everything is pointing to allergies at this point, not cc. Although why I have so many allergies remains elusive. I do "get" the cc and flours issue. I do also "get" that I could have cc reactions and have it not show up on biopsies or labs.

[RiceGuy]

I use a mix of brands-Bob's, Arrowhead Mills, and the asian rice flour.

Sorry to hear that, as Arrowhead Mills is often contaminated. I found that out the hard way, and it took a really long time to track it down.

[RiceGuy]

Can you tell me where you order your sweet potato flour, Takala? I would like to try some next summer, maybe bring some back

If Takala has a different source than I do, I'd like to know as well. The only source I know of is barryfarm.com, and they do ship internationally.

[thefreespirit]

Sorry Missy'sMom I didn't mean to come on all 'knowy' and I do realise you have been at this a lot longer than I have.

However although I was only recently diagnosed, I have been trying to get the bottom of my condition for about 20 years or more *I honestly can't remember, its been going on so long*. Also I used to own a wholefood shop so I have some degree of experience with grains, flours and starches. I guess I tend to think of 'flours' as being synonymous with starches, and I think the foods that I mentioned are starch sources, though perhaps not as good as the more commonly used baking products.

I too have gone through the various stages of baking. I went from baking a lot to not at all, because the challenge was just so huge. I don't have children at home any more so really I only had to bake when they came and in the end I bought products for such occasions so I didn't have to face the challenge.

I guess we (my husband and I) just became bored in the end. I had a huge turn out in my kitchen, got rid of all the old bakeware that had been ignored for best part of a year. Then I went out and bought a variety of new stuff and started to bake again. It is challenging and of course, there are failures but there has been progress and I am finding alternatives. Joy of joys, we have cakes and cookies again. Even better the family seem to enjoy the new style of product even more, perhaps because there is more variety in flavour and texture.

I hope you find a way to enjoy your baking once more and more to the point, you find a way to enjoy your food.

FS xx

[missy'smom]

Sorry to hear that, as Arrowhead Mills is often contaminated. I found that out the hard way, and it took a really long time to track it down.

I hadn't checked into it, but it doesn't suprize me, with so many companies dealing with both gluten-free and non-gluten-free. When I first went LC and dropped all grains I used TRader Joes Almond meal and clear got glutening symptoms so I switched to a company that doesn't deal with any gluten and everything was fine.

It may be that my body's healed enough that I don't notice symptoms as much?

I appreciate the info. I had dropped this kind of thing off the radar for a few years. I was very careful before that. Just too many distractions now. I need to concentrate some effort this week on obtaining corn-free allergy meds!

[missy'smom]

Thanks FS,

Nor did I intend my reply with a certain tone.

There are starches and there are starches LOL.

I got rid of so amny baking pans early on and didn't bake to speak of the first couple years. Now I am getting my mojo back again, slowly. I understand the no one to eat it angle too. My DH doesn't like sweets so won't eat anything but an occasional cheesecake at the holidays. I dropped all sweets with the diabetes dx for 2 years. Now, I am more confident, have some energy and am getting back into baking, with my son's help eating, or just for him. 5 yrs gluten-free and this past xmas was the first making Xmas cookies.

[missy'smom]

I tried this recipe this morning for pancakes using only oats as the flour. Used rice milk for dairy-free. I took a small risk and used a baking powder with potato starch. Hope it doesn't bother me. Need to get in the kitchen soon and make my own corn, tapioca and potato free baking powder.

Open Original Shared Link

I have to say, these tasted very good and had a nice fluffy cake like texture, more so than regular pancakes. They were just the right sweetness for me. Since rice milk has some sweetness(I use unsweetened/original) I backed off the sugar by 1 tsp.

I found a waffle recipe and some cookie recipes on the Bob's site that use only flours and no starches or so little starch(1/4 c. or less) that I could try subbing mochiko and more flour). I may try a brown rice and raisin cookie this week. Let you know if I do how it turns out.

Thanks All for your input. I've been on and off the board for several years now and remember some of you and appreciate that the community is still here for me and supportive when I need help.

[Takala]

I have been seeing "Zocalo" brand sweet potato flour at the one Whole Foods down in the city (not at the other one I checked for the same items, which did not have much gluten free). I purchased a box recently (it is pricey) but have not tried it yet. So I can not vouch for it as "tried it, no reaction." I have been okay with their blue corn flour, but have only used a few tablespoons at a time in other baked goods for flavoring.

sweet potato:

Open Original Shared Link

I use a mix of brands-Bob's, Arrowhead Mills, and the asian rice flour.

Wow, that's a risky combo, each with its own set of potential problems. Bob's has the oat problem, Arrowhead Mills comes in paper sacks, and their gluten free status can be really iffy for sensitive people because stores I have seen put both gluten free and regular flours from Arrowhead on the same shelves, and who knows what is in the asian rice flour.

___________

edited 2nd time to add:

I really think a lot of what people suspect as allergy to certain ingredients can actually be cross contamination issues. Again and again, I find I am okay with the unprocessed, natural form of a single ingredient, but put several of them together in a commercial mixture, and I am reacting, and it's not my imagination.

I was at a store this winter where the regular flours had spilled onto some boxes of gluten free flours on the shelves, dusting them, I was so disgusted by this sloppiness I took a picture of it, and now I won't buy something if I see wheat crap stashed above it.

[missy'smom]

Wow, that's a risky combo, each with its own set of potential problems. Bob's has the oat problem, Arrowhead Mills comes in paper sacks, and their gluten free status can be really iffy for sensitive people because stores I have seen put both gluten free and regular flours from Arrowhead on the same shelves, and who knows what is in the asian rice flour.

I was at a store this winter where the regular flours had spilled onto some boxes of gluten free flours on the shelves, dusting them, I was so disgusted by this sloppiness I took a picture of it, and now I won't buy something if I see wheat crap stashed above it.

I used to be quite careful but these days with SO many issues...I hear ya, I remember paying more attention to those things. I've seen it.

Well, if someone could put together a list of safe/recommended souces-PM if you are not comfortable with posting. I'll look into it.