Save some Money by mixing up this flour recipe yourself and using it as a substitute in your favorite recipes. Plus, read on for other tips for going gluten free.
Do you have gluten and wheat allergies? Pre-mixed gluten-free flours on supermarket shelves tend to be quite pricey. Last I looked a single gluten-free brownie or cake mix was a little over $5 per pound. If you want to save a bit of money, hit up local Asian stores or health food stores for the following separate ingredients and make the flour mix yourself.
Gluten-Free Flour Recipe
- 1-pound rice flour
- 1-pound tapioca flour
- 1-pound potato flour
- 1-teaspoon xanthan gum
- Mix all ingredients together with a whisk until well incorporated.
- Then put through a flour sifter once or twice.
- Store gluten-free flour mixture in an airtight glass container, free from any scents. The flour will absorb flavors from plastic, metal, or lingering odors.
- To replace the use of wheat flour in recipes, use it in equal measure called for except use more liquid as rice flour absorbs vast amounts of water compared to wheat flour.
Special Notes:
- Use actual rice, tapioca, and potato flours, not starches. The use of starches will create a gummy and hard texture. Moreover, tapioca starch and cornstarch found on supermarket shelves are rumored to have gluten added to the mix to improve their texture.
- Always use the exact ingredient called for in the recipes unless a substitute is given. Substituting margarine, cooking oil, butter replacements, powdered egg replacements, sugar replacements or any other food substitute will alter the results.
- For heartier bread or muffin recipes experiment with using cream of rice cereal, finely ground cornmeal, or alternate flours. For lighter bread, brownie, or cake mix add a one-pound box of rice baby cereal, or use half the amount of rice flour called for in the recipe above. Simply add 1 pound of the alternate flour to the recipe above.
- To turn the recipe into a brownie or cake mix, use the above mixture measure for measure in the amounts specified in the original recipe. You can try to use it to make pancakes, I have done so and on occasion, they have turned out okay.
Other Gluten-Free Flours Worth Mentioning
Buckwheat, contrary to its name, is not a relative to any wheat or oat grain. In fact, it is not of the same tricycle-genus plant family or even considered part of the grain family. Those with other grain or gluten allergies generally tolerate it. Still, check with an allergist first to rule it out completely. It makes for delicious and hearty muffins, pancakes, and breads. Sadly, its high protein nature does not taste good in cookies.
Chickpea, quinoa, amaranth, arrowroot, brown rice flour, buckwheat, cornflour, cornmeal, maize, millet, potato, sorghum, tapioca, Coconut,and teff, are also flours generally well tolerated by those even with the most severe gluten allergies and celiac sensitivities. (Many of these come in starch form too.) These are high in vitamins, minerals, fiber, and proteins. Not all of them work well in all types of cooking, some work in baking, others only for pancakes, and still others only as thickening agents. While they are gluten and wheat free, those with other food allergies may still want to be tested for allergies to them before trying them out in their diets. As with other unfamiliar foods, add them in small amounts over time before including regularly in a gluten- and/or wheat- free diet.
Photos all credited to Wikimedia commons.