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Question about different GF flours

er1nya
er1nya Posts: 87
in Social Groups
I'm a little overwhelmed with all of the alternative flours out there. Bob's red mill alone seems to make over 10 kinds of flour. Even recipes I come across all seem to use different ones. If i were to just buy one kind of flour to start out with (I'm on a tight budget) which would you suggest? I'm more of an cook than a baker; but also bake from time to time.

Thanks everyone

Replies

  • vabrewer33
    vabrewer33 Posts: 185
    I would go with Bobs Red Mill All Purpose Baking Flour....that is what I use for everything. You might want to invest in a bag of Xantham gum though as well because adding some of that to recipes will make it stick together better. (a lot of my GF baked goods become crumbling/fall apart if I don't use xantham gum). Hope that helps!
  • momof8munchkins
    momof8munchkins Posts: 1,167 Member
    if you are looking for a good all purpose flour Pamela's mixes rock!! Gluten Free Pantry has really good stuff too.
  • WarriorCupcakeBlydnsr
    WarriorCupcakeBlydnsr Posts: 2,150 Member
    Depending on what you're planning to use it for, I tried the Gluten Free bisquick for pancakes and to make the topping on a dutch apple pie (I ran out of the Arrowhead Mills flour mix that I had), I haven't tried biscuits yet (mainly because I don't want to make a full batch since I'm single.) Seems to work for anything that you would use bisquick for.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    if you are looking for a good all purpose flour Pamela's mixes rock!! Gluten Free Pantry has really good stuff too.

    i normally use the gluten free pantry all purpose flour (got it from whole foods).

    also if you're into booking, definitely check out the gluten-free gourmet bakes bread by bette hagman. lots of great recipes in there for all kinds of baked goodies. i've only tried a couple (the biscuits and the muffins) but they turned out very well.
  • er1nya
    er1nya Posts: 87
    Thanks everyone! I'm on vacation now, but I will let you know what I pick up :)
  • Keladry
    Keladry Posts: 58 Member
    If you are talking about pre mixed gluten free flours, the differences will be in which kinds of flours they use and in what quantities. I think most use a combination of white rice flour, tapioca starch and some kind of bean/chickpea flour. White rice flour is obviously from white rice and so is fairly tasteless and low in nutrients, tapicoa starch is even more so. The bean flours have more protein and other nutrients but have a stronger taste so if you use too much your food will taste weird!

    But then you have flours like quinoa flour, buckwheat flour, coconut flour, sweet rice flour, amaranth flour etc which all have different qualities so I agree it can be a bit confusing! I recommend trying lots of different recipes and sticking to them and working out which flours you prefer.

    Personally for baking I usually use a combination of white and brown rice flour, tapioca starch and quinoa flour but I'm still playing with quantities of each. It's a lot cheaper than buying the premixed 'gluten free baking flour'. For pancakes I just use buckwheat flour alone, for sweet things I sometimes use some coconut flour, and for savoury things like fritters and falafel I use green bean flour which I can get very cheaply and is high in protein.
  • solarpower4
    solarpower4 Posts: 250 Member
    Keladry - do you mean green pea flour? Or green (mung) bean pulse flour? Or actual flour from the long skinny French green bean? If the last, where do you get that??
  • er1nya
    er1nya Posts: 87
    Okay! I bought Bob's GF brown rice flour. I haven't had a lot of luck finding recipes that specifically call for it, but I plan on experimenting this weekend. Has anyone here used it before in a specific recipe and would be willing to share it with me??
  • jenbridges
    jenbridges Posts: 213 Member
    most recipes that call for rice flour also call for starch (usually potato, corn or tapioca, or a mix). there is a website www.glutenfreeonashoestring.com that is very good. she mostly just uses a gf all purpose mix (better batter) but she recently posted a homemade version. I havent tried it yet, but I will soon! Here is my favorite gf bread recipe:

    Gluten Free Egg Bread

    1/4 cup shortening
    3 tablespoons honey
    2 eggs
    1 cup plain yogurt
    1/2 cup potato starch
    1 1/2 cups corn starch
    1/2 teaspoon baking soda
    1 tablespoon baking powder
    2 teaspoons xanthan gum
    3/4 teaspoon salt
    1 teaspoon vinegar

    Preheat oven to 350*. Combine all ingredients. Mix well to remove all lumps. The dough is very wet and sticky. That's normal. Put into greased loaf pan and smooth the top with wet hands. Bake 40-45 minutes or until loaf is lightly browned and toothpick inserted in the middle tests clean.

    I have not tried doing this with lower fat/calorie ingredients, but I will be experimenting soon. I posted this to the food search, so all the nutritional info is already here. Enjoy!

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